Open Gate Blog

Just 2 more weeks and the first block will be published for the Blogger Girls Block of the Month!  In preparation for this, I have provided a supply list on my website.  Click to get directed to the Supply List .   Also, this page on my website will have all the blocks and information as I post them.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Don't forget, we start on Tuesday, January 1st, 2013 and make sure to check everyone's blog to see their wonderful color selections.  Blog participants: Sherri from A Quilting Life - aquiltinglife.blogspot.com Thelma from Cupcakes ‘n Daisies ~ cupcakesndaisies.blogspot.com Lissa from Moda  Lissa  ~ ModaLissa.blogspot.com Denise from Quilter’s  Window ~ Quilterswindow.com/blog/ Nicole from Sister’s Choice  ~  sisterschoice.typepad.com Lisa from Stashmaster ~ The-Stashmaster.blogspot.com Bundles and Bolts now has the red and black fat quarter bundles and block background of Roya...

I'm so excited about the newest issue of Quilt Magazine !  They have included one of my designs in the Feb/March issue.  It is called Simple Elegance formerly known as Amaryllis.  My good friend Peggy Drake sewed it for me and it is made out of the blacks, reds and creams from Royal Gardens .  Here it is: Notice that Tillie had to get in the picture?!  She thinks that she has to stand guard and make sure that no one steals it!  Bundles and Bolts will be offering kits but we are waiting for some of the fabrics to come in so when they do, it will be on the website.  I will post it on my blog when it's on.  I am still working on the supply list for the Blogger Girls Free Block of the Month.  If you are anxious to get started gathering your fabrics, I used fat quarters for the piecing and 1 3/4 yards for the main background.  I also used 2 of my rulers, the Fit to be Geese ruler and the Fit to be Quarter 6.5 & Companion .  I...

I'm starting a Block of the Month, January 1st, 2013!  I am so happy to have the following friends/bloggers join me: Sherri from A Quilting Life - aquiltinglife.blogspot.com Thelma from Cupcakes ‘n Daisies ~ cupcakesndaisies.blogspot.com Lissa from Moda  Lissa  ~ ModaLissa.blogspot.com Denise from Quilter’s  Window ~ Quilterswindow.com/blog/ Nicole from Sister’s Choice  ~  sisterschoice.typepad.com Lisa from Stashmaster ~ The-Stashmaster.blogspot.com Here's how it works: Starting January 1st, 2013, I will have a block along with instructions posted on my blog.  You can download the block instructions and sew along with us.  I will post one block a month on the first day of the month from January to June.  There will be 6 blocks posted and you can make the 6 block quilt or make 2 of each block and make the 12 block quilt.  Each participating blogger is using different fabrics so that you can see how beautiful and different ...

Nothing better than sewing with friends!  Remember I told you that we were getting together to work on the Peppermint Wreaths table topper?  Well, we did get together and worked on it.  Sue had everything cut out and we just had to sew.  Of course, there was much eating, chatting and laughing as we worked.  Here is one of our snacks, chocolate peanuts...yum!  And, we finally got some sewing done.  Here are my pinwheels and starting to put a section together.  We will continue later this week.  Remember Fields of Green ?  It was a quilt I designed that was featured in Irish Quilting.  Joyce helped me remake it with Royal Gardens fabric.  Here is a picture of it.  Will keep you up to date on Peppermint Wreaths and other exciting things I am working on!  Have a great week!

This week is a short week for most of the workforce.  I am lucky to have a 4 day weekend too!  It's not hard to guess what I will be doing, besides eating a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner!  I have several projects that I plan to work on.  My friends, Sue and Joyce and I are planning on starting a new project (like we need a new project!) but we couldn't resist.  This table topper/tree skirt was designed by my good friend, Bonnie Sullivan from All Through the Night.  It's called Peppermint Wreaths .  I'm excited to get started!  I will show progress next week.  We are doing the smaller, table topper and I just happen to have the perfect feather tree to put on it! Although I wasn't at Market, some of my quilts were! Maywood Studio puts up wonderful displays of current and new fabric lines.  They sent me a picture of one of the displays of Royal Gardens.  Thanks for stopping by and Happy Thanksgiving!   

I don't know if you know but my mom is a wonderful bag maker.  She has made me several bags and I love them all.  Unfortunately, she lives in Canada and we can't make them together or I can't easily call her up and ask her to make a bag for me.  So, I had to learn for myself.  I have been making bags and purses for a while now.  This past weekend, I did not have any commitments so I decided to make a bag.  The bag I chose to make was an Indygo Junction bag and it is called In-Style Suitcase Bag .  I really liked the looks of it and also liked that it was big enough to be able to put all my stuff in it.  Here is a picture of the one I made:  I used the black stripe from my latest fabric line, Royal Gardens .  The handle is made with the green dot.  Once I received my fabric, I did get some sewing done and here is one of my latest patterns, Chocolate Cherry Crunch , using the blacks and reds in Royal Gardens. One more thi...

Finally, I am back blogging and ready to go!  It has been a tough year for my husband and I.  He is doing much better and I am so thankful for that.  I am still sewing, creating and traveling.  I have been to Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa in the last few months.  I have met a lot of great quilters and had a great time.  The most exciting news is that my third fabric line, Royal Gardens is in stores!  I love the colors and the prints.  It has my favorite reds, blacks, greens and creams and this time we added purple.  So beautiful.  If you want to see the entire line, click on the Maywood Studio link and it will take you to it.  Meanwhile, here is some samples of the fabric: I am thinking about offering fat quarters on my website, what do you guys think?  Would anyone be interested?  If so, let me know. In the next few months, look in your favorite magazine for quilts featuring Royal Gardens.  I ...

Here is my guest post from Quiltmaker's blog :    We just got back from a fun-filled retreat in Williamsburg, VA. This was the first Block Party Quiltmaker organized and they did an outstanding job! All the wonderful details that they put into the retreat were enjoyed by everyone. There were giveaways, interesting speakers, a wide variety of classes and an excellent hotel. I was blown away with the number of goodies that each participant received, including the teachers! We got a welcome pack that included patterns, batting, books, retreat information, thread and other goodies. Tote bags were filled with surprises from our partners and sponsors in the quilting industry. Each evening, there were more gifts and giveaways and everyone went away with a special package that included fabric, books and much more! Our generous industry partners and sponsors filled the tote bags with quilty treasures. One of my favorite parts of the retreat was meeting ...

I am so excited to be interviewed by Pat Sloan again for American Patchwork & Quilting Radio.  She will be interviewing me on Monday June 25th at 4:00 pm eastern, 3pm central, 2pm mountain and 1pm pacific. I hope that you can all join me.  Here is the link:  American Patchwork & Quilting Radio Things with my husband are getting back to normal.  He is recovering and I am not as anxious as I have been.  I'm planning on starting to blog next week and hope to be able to update my website with all my new items including pictures of my new fabric line coming in September. Thanks for all the good wishes and your patience!  Hope you can make it Monday!

Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and commenting!  All the good wishes for my husband are so much appreciated!  He seems to be doing better and I am so thankful for that. I really enjoyed learning all about your favorite flowers and some of the reasons that you like them.  I even learned of some new flowers and remembered some that I had forgotten. Here are the winners of the drawings: Quiltmakers 100 Blocks Volume 5 goes to: 1.  Quilt Hollow said... I love flowers with fragrance however tulips are near and dear to my heart because I was fortunate and got to live in The Netherlands for four years during hubby's military career. I looked forward to Keukenhof each year and all the variety of tulips and COLOR! Thanks for the chance...I've been seeing many post about your rulers too! 8 Fit to be Quarter 2.5: 1.  Joyce said... So sorry that your husband is ill...hope for a speedy recovery. Lilacs are just blooming ...

Welcome! It is so nice to once again be included in the magazine and the blog tour!  I love to hear from everyone and hope that you will comment for a chance to win a copy of the magazine plus much more! The block that is included in the Quiltmaker 100 Block Volume 5 is called Diamond Eyes.  It may not be a surprise to some of you that one of my favorite elements in a block and quilts as well, is the diamond shape.  I think it adds beauty to the quilts and some different elements.  Here is my block: Since my husband has been ill and I have been working on getting ready for Market, I decided to do some give-aways instead of a project.  I hope that you understand and although I don't have alot of time, I can do some great give-aways.  If you make a comment, you will be entered to win one of the following: First, the magazine is giving away a copy of the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Volume 5. Second, my newest rulers will be debuting at Market....

Hi Everyone, I don't want you to think that I have fallen off the face of the earth.  My husband has been ill and I have been busy with him. Hopefully, I will be back to blogging regularly soon.  Thanks for checking in. I will be doing a blog hop for the newest Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks in the next few weeks.  Hope to see you then!

Hi Everyone! I'm so glad that everyone stopped by and made a comment on my blog.  I so enjoyed reading whether you were a math hater or lover.  Thanks for stopping by! The winners are: 1.  Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts: Sandy who said: Have rulers- ready to quilt. Liked the change-up examples and colorway you chose.  2.  Fit to be Quarter Ruler:  Sherri D. who said: How about a love/hate relationship with math? lol Actually, math was one of my better subjects, but you wouldn't always know it from my quilting math skills! I've gotten lazy and ask my husband who has a computer for a brain. He always knows the answers! lol Thanks for this wonderful give away! 3.  Mini Fit to be Geese ruler: Mariam who said: I loved math all the way through school. When I got to uni I found I had met my match!! It was tough going! I asked someone to help me who I knew was a couple of years ahead of me. We ended up getting married and almost 35 y...

Welcome to the last day of Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts blog hop.  It is a sad day because it is the last day but it's also a good day too because we are not blogging with just one blogger but two!  If you have missed any of the other bloggers, make sure that you check them out.  Monday was Thelma's day, Tuesday was Lisa's , Wednesday was Denise's and me and Thursday was Sherri's .  Okay, now for today's bloggers.  First, Nicole from Sister's Choice .  I met Nicole through Carrie again.  Carrie is quite the connector, isn't she?  Again, Carrie sent Nicole my Fit to be Geese ruler to try.  Nicole put it away and some time later decided to try it.  Once she tried it, she was hooked and blogged about it.  That was the best sales that I have had!  Thanks, Nicole!!  I met Nicole face to face when she traveled to Illinois to take a class from Carrie.  Nicole is a wonderful, gentle soul and I immediately liked her....

Welcome to Day 4 of Traditional Fat Quarters Blog Hop!  We have all had great responses so far.  I am so excited to read all the comments and see what everyone is doing with the quilts in the book. If you have missed anyone so far, you can go back and check them out.  Monday was Thelma from Cupcakes 'n Daisies , Tuesday was Lisa from Stashmaster , Wednesday was Denise from Quilter's Window and me.  Today is Sherri from A Quilting Life .  I met Sherri through blogging and Carrie Nelson.  Carrie sent one of my rulers to Sherri to try it.  She liked it and blogged about it.  I emailed with her and we because email friends.  We met face to face at Quilt Market this past spring and she is delightful.  As wonderful as she is talented.  I really enjoy her and her blog and hope you do to!  She is also designing for several magazines so you may recognize her name.  Check her blog out to see what she has for giveaways and the w...

Welcome to day 3 for the Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts blog hop.  I hope you have been visiting everyone's sites to see what they are doing.  Monday was Thelma's day from Cupcakes 'n Daisies and yesterday was Lisa's day from Stashmaster . Today, there are 2 of us blogging: Denise from Quilter's Window and me.  I met Denise at Quilt Market several years back.  She is one of those people that you instantly like because of her easy manner and sense of humor.  She is always laughing and smiling and you feel instantly comfortable.  If you have never been to her store or her website, please check it out!  I travel to visit her, teach and lecture usually twice a year and I get to stay with her in her lovely home.  Her husband and sons are always so tolerant of us chatty girls and of course, one of my favorite members of her household is Rocky, a Cairn Terrior.  We get along wonderfully! Before I get to my project, I want to tell y...