Open Gate Blog

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...

Welcome to the second day of Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts blog hop!  Hopefully, you got to see Thelma's blog yesterday and read about the blog hop.  If not, make sure you "hop" right over there!  Today's day is Lisa from Stashmaster . I also met Lisa through Carrie.  I had the opportunity to retreat with Lisa this past September in Wisconsin.  This was the first time that I had actually met her face to face and she is just as wonderful in person as she in on her blog.  I felt an instant friendship with her and look forward to the next time I see her.  Hope you enjoy her blog and see what she has done with her chosen quilt. See you tomorrow!

Welcome to our blog hop featuring quilts from my new book Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts ! We are kicking of the blog hop with one of my favorite bloggers, Thelma from Cupcake's 'n Daisies .  I met Thelma through Carrie Nelson from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.  Thelma is such a sweetheart and her quilting is truly inspirational.  If you haven't visited her blog, please do!  You will be inspired and excited to read about her and see her lovely quilts.  She also has a wonderful dog, Cooper and will share some funny stories about him.  And...I hear that a rumor is going around that I may be giving a prize away and it might be Tillie.  Thelma, some days you can take her but I think Bill and Maple might miss her!  :)  (Me too!) Who me?  I'm innocent! During the blog hop, you will have a chance at each blogger's blog to win a copy of Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts.  You will also get to see some wonderful adaptations of quilts from t...

Starting next Monday, March 26th, I am hosting a blog hop for my new book Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts.  I am so excited about the upcoming hop and have been furiously working on my project.  Each blogger that is participating will be doing a sample of one of the quilts in the book.  They will use their creativity and expertise to add their own touch to the quilts.  Here is the schedule of participants: Monday - Thelma http://www.cupcakesndaisies.blogspot.com/ Tuesday - Lisa http://the-stashmaster.blogspot.com/ Wednesday - Denise http://www.quilterswindow.com/blog/ and me http://opengatequilts.blogspot.com/ Thursday - Sherri http://www.aquiltinglife.com/ Friday - Carrie http://lavieenrosie.typepad.com/lavieenrosie/ and Nicole http://sisterschoice.typepad.com/sisters_choice_quilts/ C&T Publishing also has a give-away of Traditional Fat Quarter quilts going on right now!  Go on their blog , leave a comment and you are entered for a chance to ...

Today is the launch of the debut issue of Quilts from Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks!  If you go to Quiltmaker's blog , they are giving away issues of the magazine.  The magazine features quilts made from the blocks from the Quiltmaker 100 Block magazines.  I am fortunate enough to be included in the magazine!  I contributed Mezzanine to this issue, shown below. It’s made with block #162, my design for Volume 2, called Tile Works . I used black, cream and red from Memories of Provence.  Let me know what you think! Exciting things are coming up in the next couple of months: Several other bloggers and I will be doing a blog hop on my new book, Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts through C&T Publishing.  Look for that at the end of March.  There will be giveaways, tips and some surprises!  I have designed a new ruler and will be debuted at Quilt Market in May.  I'm very excited about it and hope you will like it too!  I'm sure ...

Well, it looks like my new book is out!  I should be receiving my copies within the next week or so.  The price for the book is very reasonable, $16.95 and I can't wait for everyone to see it! Here is another sneak peek at two of my favorites in the book: Solitaire Solitaire is a great scrappy quilt.  I used one background, as I did for most of the quilts in the book, and I really scrapped up the blocks.  I also used the leftover of the fat quarters for the binding.  I love to use ALL of the fat quarter if I can. Canfield Canfield is very interesting because it is the same block as Canasta except it's on point.  One of the most fascinating things about quilts is the way you can change the look by changing one or two things.  One more thing that I did different with Canasta is that I used fat quarters for the backgrounds instead of all one.  Here is Canasta: Look for Traditional Fat Quarter Books at your local quilt shop or on my w...