I'm working on a project for the new book. This is a Christmas book that will be out in a year or so. I can't share many details (don't want to ruin any surprises) but I thought you would enjoy this tidbit.

I needed to put words on this project. Didn't want to applique them, didn't want to paint them, didn't want to use photo transfer. And then I remembered the antique Scrabble tiles I've been saving! I used a tiny little drill bit (1/16") and my husband's drill press to drill the holes. I'm sewing them down with red perle cotton. Cute!

So my advice is – if you see Scrabble tiles at a garage sale or flea market, buy them!

I'm feeling guilty for not posting but I hope you'll understand – the book deadline is looming! But I did want to share this with you…

I've been stuffing bird pin cushions. Do you remember the bird Christmas ornaments I made last year? These pin cushions are made from the same pattern with a wider base – and they will be in the new book! I'm filling my pin cushions with lizard litter, AKA crushed walnut shells.

I learned about this stuff from my friends at the Quilt Asylum in McKinney. You can buy it at some feed stores, I found mine at Petco. It's a big bag and if you don't want this much lizard litter you can buy it in small quantities from the Quilt Asylum. It's a little messy, but worth the effort. If you do use it, you need to really pack it in to make a firm pincushion.

Here are a few of the birds I'm making, perched on one of my bird baths. They don't have their eyes yet, or any other embellishments, but I'm loving them!

I took a break from machine quilting to do a little blog surfing. I visited decoeuracao, a Brazilian blog. I'm not bilingual so I just look at the pictures which works for me on this blog. I found this video that seems to be made for quilters. I have no idea what they are selling but isn't this great!?

Hollis Chatelain is a friend of mine and she has done something amazing. She has gathered together 12 of her most powerful quilts and paired them with 14 black and white photographs by prominent photographers for a major exhibition called Imagine Hope. If you are going to Paducah, you'll have an opportunity to be one of the first to see this exhibit.

Please join Hollis April 20, 2010 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM to celebrate the opening of The Imagine Hope Exhibition at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky.

Our hope is that this exhibition becomes much more than a show. Hollis’ vision is that her quilts will help us not just imagine hope, but help provide it by confronting the issues and working toward solutions.

The exhibition will be shown April 9 through May 25, 2010.

For more information, please contact The National Quilt Museum.

To view some of the work and find out more about the non-profit Imagine Hope Worldwide Foundation, please visit Imagine Hope Worldwide. AND watch the video below!

I'm machine quilting this week and probably next week. I like to bury the tails of thread at all my starts and stops. I usually bury them as I go rather than waiting until the whole quilt is finished. Judy Mathieson told me about easy threading needles that she uses for this task. They are an amazing time saver! Thank you Judy! Watch the movie to see how they work.

Here's a close-up of the needle. The brand I found was Mary Arden in sizes 4/8. If I can talk Linda into it, we can put these or something like them on our site.

Barb Vlack shared the link to this article from the Wall Street Journal. Long haul truckers have discovered hand work!