We are well into spring in north Texas. The days are warmer and sunnier, and the flowers are blooming. My front yard, which no longer has grass, is looking better every day! I thought it would be nice to share some of the colors of north Texas spring with you…

The Texas Bluebonnets are thriving. I have some in my yard. They are a lupine and they grow from seed. I'll let mine go to seed in the yard. They don't look great at that stage, but the plants that grow from the scattered seeds are better than the ones I've bought at the nursery.

We use very little in the way of herbicides – only Round-Up on the weeds that I just can't dig up – and no insecticides. We have ladybugs now. Bees and butterflies will be here soon.

I finished quilting the quilt for the new book that I've been working on for weeks. Oh happy day! I knew I might not have enough of the right fabric for binding as I was working on the quilt. I don't know what I was thinking… maybe that the bit of fabric I did have would somehow make more of itself when I wasn't looking? It didn't.

I needed a 33" square of deep turquoise binding for this quilt. I had bits of a few fabrics that looked like they would work so I sewed them together into a square…

… and I made a 2 1/2" wide strip of continuous binding from this square. (FYI – the instructions for this are in just about all of our books.) Below is the puddle of binding that formed on the floor as I cut the continuous strip.

This worked like a charm! The binding looks great on the quilt (wish I could show you, but it's too far from our publication date) and I can move on to the next thing.

I finished quilting the quilt for the new book that I've been working on for weeks. Oh happy day! I knew I might not have enough of the right fabric for binding as I was working on the quilt. I don't know what I was thinking… maybe that the bit of fabric I did have would somehow make more of itself when I wasn't looking? It didn't.

I needed a 33" square of deep turquoise binding for this quilt. I had bits of a few fabrics that looked like they would work so I sewed them together into a square…

… and I made a 2 1/2" wide strip of continuous binding from this square. (FYI – the instructions for this are in just about all of our books.) Below is the puddle of binding that formed on the floor as I cut the continuous strip.

This worked like a charm! The binding looks great on the quilt (wish I could show you, but it's too far from our publication date) and I can move on to the next thing.

I gave my favorite blogs a quick look-see just now and this is what I found on A Cup Of Jo:

Jessi Arrington (a founder and designer at WORKSHOP) LOVES color. Her friend, Jessica Hische, suggested a color-themed party to celebrate Jessi's 31st birthday. All the guests dressed head-to-toe in a single color and Jessi, the birthday girl, decided to opt for 11
outfit changes.

Her friend and colleague, Josh Stewart,
turned the day into a website. Click here to see it. Once you're there, click on the photo and it will take you to another page where you can click on each outfit for more views.

I think it could be fun to do this when I'm on the road teaching. I would, however, need more clothes because everything I've bought for the last year is highly patterned. Speaking of which, have you every shopped BodenUSA? I can attest to the fact that the clothes are really nice.

I am often asked how I carry my projects when I travel. I have what I think is a very good system. I start with a plain sheet of paper, folded in half. I cut a piece of flannel 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and place it inside the folded sheet of paper. I place my applique pieces on the flannel in a sloped stack – being sure to place the applique pieces in order so that #1 is on top and the last piece is on the bottom.

In the photo above you can see my paper 'folder' on the left. Once you close the folder, the applique pieces are covered by paper. The flannel keeps the pieces in place and everything stays nice and flat. The folder fits neatly inside a gallon sized zip bag, along with the block background, the overlay, a small pin cushion, bobbins, and scissors. I carry my sandpaper board separately.

I make a "folder' for each block and border in a project. You can write on the paper if you want to, labeling it with pertinent information. I save and re-use these folders as I finish one quilt and move on to another.

Happy travels!

I'm still chained to my sewing machine and getting very little else done but I did see this shower curtain on the Design Sponge blog. Grace Bonney writes that very excellent blog. This post has the directions to make the shower curtain. I thought several things when I looked at this…

1. Why didn't I think of that!?
2. It looks a lot like my DIL Lorna's living room curtains. She and her mom made them and I have always loved them.
3. This would make a nice quilt back – which may mean that there are a lot of quilt backs that would make nice shower curtains.
4. I have that bird fabric and I want more of it! And the turquoise fabric is one I need…

So, I'm going back to the sewing machine now. I have high hopes that I will have this quilt quilted today or tomorrow. Wish me luck!