Last week I visited (virtually) the quilt guild in Beaumont, TX. It was so much fun! I taught my Bullseye class on foundation paper piecing all day Friday. Two quilters sent me photos of their finished blocks before Hurricane Laura turned in their direction. They are wonderful! Look at those perfect points and the happy color combinations!

Laura shifted to the east so Beaumont ended up not being in the direct path but Louisiana has been hit hard. I am sure you join me in the sincere hope that those who are/were in harm’s way have made it through the storm. I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to be evacuated, to know that your home might be gone when you get back. There are no words.

Stay strong, ladies. Be safe.

Dee Dalton sent me this photo of her quilt from the 2nd edition of our book, the Applique Sampler. I love the pieced border that she added to the quilt… it definitely pulls everything together. Congrats, Dee, on making a lovely quilt!

Here is an excerpt from Dee’s email, talking about her applique journey. I do like hearing that my teaching is helpful (always a nice thing) but I was particularly happy to hear that changing the way she holds her needle made such a big difference! For those of you who have not had a class with me, read the Best-Ever Applique Sampler, or watched any of my videos: I teach you to hold the needle a little differently and it really does make a difference in your stitches.

I read through it and set the book aside for awhile. I then started a journey on how to improve my applique. I saw that you were teaching at a symposium in Raleigh, NC so I signed up for the class. Best class ever. I am a visual person and need to see hands on how things work. Changing how I hold the needle was a game changer for me. Ha!! Now I can’t hold the needle any other way. For me when I started applique, I knew I would love it and I do, but taking classes and learning for me answered a lot of my questions. After taking many classes on the subject, I place you and Suzanne Marshall at the top of my list.

Dee Dalton

Wendy Thibodeau will receive the slightly crunched copy of The Best-Ever Applique Sampler! Congrats to Wendy!

This book will teach you how to appliqué the Piece O’ Cake way. It is a comprehensive guide where you will find everything you need to know about hand appliqué. The written instructions are clear and complete. The photos are up-close and informative. If you are not Wendy, you might want to order a copy now :-).

I’ll be back with another Giveaway next Wednesday. Until then you can shop for all sorts of sewing notions, books, and other fun stuff at pieceocake.com!

Mary Hubbard from Green Valley, AZ, saw our Whimsical Quilt Garden quilt on Pinterest, found the pattern, and made the her quilt. Isn’t it lovely! Mary worked on her quilt for about 7 to 9 months all hand appliquéd and hand quilted. She put on a different border that she saw somewhere online. I do love that border, it frames the blocks very well.

Thank you, Mary, for sharing!

The pattern is out of print but you can find the digital pattern here: https://www.pieceocake.com/shop/Books–Patterns/eBooks/p/My-Whimsical-Quilt-Garden-Digital-Download-x31059772.htm.

You might find an old copy of the pattern for sale online as Mary did, but before you buy, be sure that all of the pattern pages are with it.

Jackie Bailey from West Olive, MI, sent me this picture of her finished Searching for Beauty quilt. She modified the pattern a ‘wee bit’ to avoid a square quilt. I particularly like the way the dark inner border frames the blocks.

Well done, Jackie! Thank you for sharing your quilt with us!

Vicki Martin sent me this photo of her Aunt MIllie’s Garden quilt. Isn’t it pretty! FYI: This pattern is out of print but you can find the eBook here.

Vicki’s colors are well chosen, and notice how nice it looks on her cream-colored wall! Well done, Vicki—thank you for sharing!