I recently realized that the pillow section of my shop was nearly empty. Of course, that’s generally good news– but the one remaining pillow looked so lonely.

Well, I’ve remedied that with some super simple squares-and-strip shot cotton designs (I’m such a dork about alliteration).

Some curly cue free-motion quilting, naturally.

And a slight variation on the same basic design.

I love pillows. And as our move-in date for our new condo approaches (too slowly, but surely), I’m very much in home-decorating mode. A sofa is just so ‘meh’ without a couple decorative throw pillows.

I took a little break from my shot cotton kick to make a quilt for an upcoming publication I’m partaking in. Per usual, the pattern came to me after a few days of constant, back-of-my-mind brainstorming. All of a sudden, I had a thought.

This wasn’t entirely out of the blue. I recently across these gorgeous quilts by Chabronico on Flickr. Love. Somehow, combining the oval motif with a brick roads patchwork evokes Candyland (did anyone else love that game?), so I’ve taken to referring to this as my jelly bean applique.

As tends to happen when I get a particular idea in my head, I had to try this out more than once.

Back to shot cottons, and a baby-sized quilt.

As you can see, I’m still exploring the combination of stripes and solids– bold new territory, folks.

On another note, it’s getting to be that crazy time of year– my husband’s graduation from business school, weddings, reunions, and even our first wedding anniversary. So I’ll admit I’m struggling a little bit to keep the balance, between devoting myself wholeheartedly to my quiltmaking and finding the time for… life. I’ll figure it out– I always do– but it’s worth mentioning. Sometimes I need that gentle reminder to take a step back and see the larger picture, which is certainly full of my passion for what I do, but rounded out and made so much more joyful by the wonderful people and celebratory times that accompany it.

Wishing you all the same.

A couple of years ago or so, I realized that I loved to work with solids, that they emphasized the simple geometry of a quilt top in a way that really suited my aesthetic. But apparently somewhere along the line, this preference became a rule– something I realized as I continued to dive into my shot cotton stash, avoiding all those beautiful striped patterns that I once coveted.

Until one afternoon, I decided to rip the bandaid. Which makes it sound like this was a painful decision– au contraire, I love how this nearly wholecloth quilt top is a true celebration of stripes, with a simple (and yes, solid) patchwork border along one edge.

In case you haven’t noticed, once I get a particular idea in my head, I roll with it for quite a while…

I vary it a little bit.

And I try it out in different sizes.

It’s not just the unusual insertion of striped fabric that I’m loving. There’s such simplicity to this design– it’s clean, minimalist, very modern.

All of these shot cotton quilts are actually part of a specific project I’m working on– details to be disclosed soon.

Anyway, it’s nice to have broken out of my self-imposed mold. Funny how we do that to ourselves, but that’s part of what I love about quilt making– the constant evolution.

Leftovers makes me anxious. Just ask my poor husband. If I cook a big dinner, we will be eating the same thing for lunch, dinner, even breakfast when appropriate. I freeze food like you wouldn’t believe and I won’t throw anything away until it’s molding. If we’re being totally honest here, sometimes I pretend I’m a contestant on Food Network’s Chopped, doing brilliant things with a random sampling of ingredients… when the truth is I’m often producing an oddly disjointed meal because I’m too cheap/lazy to grocery shop (Reheated spaghetti, scrambled eggs, hoisin sauce, and cookie dough? Totally meant to go together!)

I’m the say way with fabric. And fabric never goes bad…

I’ve tried imposing scrap size limits on myself. As in, if it’s smaller than 1/2″ square, I’ll throw it away. Alas, these little fridge magnets are 2″ square finished size– that’s some itty bitty patchwork my friends… and some itty bitty bits of fabric. You know what this means; I will not be throwing away ANY of my scraps from now on, no matter the size.

And considering how rapidly my scrap stash seems to self-generate, I might end up with a whole lotta magnets.

I was inspired by these adorable magnets by A Cuppa and A Catch Up.  Not sure her exact method, but basically I made tiny 2 1/2″ patchwork squares, sewed them right-sides facing to a piece of backing fabric + batting, turned them inside out, slipped in the magnet, stitched up the opening, a little outline quilting– and voila.

That would be my second color scheme.

And if you’ll excuse me, there’s reheated Mexican Lasagna calling my name…