Just a central Pennsylvania gal that loves all things HANDMADE and HOMEMADE! I grew up baking, sewing, knitting, canning and crafting with my mom; building, hunting, fishing, camping and DIY-ing with my dad. My paternal grandmother also lived with us; so I gained the benefits of her quilting and gardening as well. Nearby, my …
Finding Women in History Through Sewing
GREAT WOMEN KNOWN FOR THEIR SEWING SKILLS! Of late, I have become fascinated with historical fiction novels that accurately depict the story of little known women in the midivil ages up through the American Civil War. I love the ways that they work the everyday details of their lives into the stories and how you …
Quilting is a Language
THE QUILTING BRAIN The Quilting Brain is an amazing thing. I think most of us take it for granted. Common traits among quilters, crafters, and artisans include the ability to “steal” an idea- to see how something is put together & pull an idea from it. You might not go home & make the exact …
Quilting to Heal…
I will not go into a lot of detail because the incident that I am about to describe is very graphic. However, I do feel that the most general parts of it & the things that I learned are important to share… On a beautiful autumn day, I saw one of the most horrible things …
Applied Art™
THE NEW ART OF LABOR & TRADE: Today we think of art as something that will go into a museum or decorate a space. However, art was once a trade. Michelangelo was part of a sculpting guild & apprenticed under a master in the same way that masons pass on their knowledge of building & …
Planning Your Quilt…
It has been said that the hardest thing about painting is getting started. “It is so fine & yet so terrible to stand in front of a blank canvas.” Paul Cezzanne Quilters face no less of a challenge. Painters have a couple dozen colors to choose from; quilters have hundreds of bolts, patterns, techniques …
The Secret to Complex Patterns
THE STORY: I had so much fun recently at the restoration grand opening of a historic home in our town. As any quilter will do, I walked around GETTING IDEAS! Whooo-hooo! They had lovingly restored complex quilt pattern-like wooden flooring made from a variety of woods (the darker ones created shadows in the designs!). There …
Quilting & Canning…
Canning just goes with quilting- & it doesn’t get any funnier than this; so yes- you’re welcome in advance! (Home production for home consumption if you need to make the connection. 😉 *Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links for products related to the post. If you purchase any of these products via these links …
Moving My Mojo
Life is more than a little bit crazy this summer. At Church, I have been asked to work with the regional activities for our young women ages 12-18; so we’ve had a week long girls camp, we’ve got a weekend long youth conference (both boys & girls from about 1/3 of PA) coming up soon, …
The Quilting Lies I Told Me
A LOGICAL EXCUSE… One of the most common phrases I hear when I’m demonstrating or talking with perspective students for art, quilting, or any hand craft is, “I wish I could do that, but I just don’t have the patience…” And it’s true. Part of what we have lost in modern society are the values …
