Fellow Quilters,

Happy May 5^th!  This day has several significant holidays, most popularly known as Cinco de May, when the Mexican army defeated French forces in the Battle of Puebla.  It is also recognized in Japan as Children’s Day, in the Netherlands as Liberation Day (from WWII) and in Canada as Red Dress Day.  While googling this date, I came across this lovely quote that, I think, has something that each of us can relate to:

My birthday is also in May and I think I might be having a wee sale at Patti’s Patchwork for newsletter subscribers later this month – you can subscribe here if you’re not already on the list (scroll to the bottom of the page).

I’ve been listening to a series of podcasts lately that talk about the artist within.  Yes, we are all artists, whether we think we can draw or not.  When I was growing up, I dabbled in many different artistic hobbies, from macrame to knitting and crochet, to paint-by-numbers, needlepoint, embroidery, decoupage, pottery, quilling, candle-wicking, origami, cross-stitch and rug-hooking.  I had drawers and boxes of supplies!  My Nana was very crafty and taught me several crafts.  My mom was always sewing, and I begged her to teach me how at age 7.  There was nothing that I wouldn’t try.  Lately I’ve been dabbling in jewelry-making or, more accurately, jewelry repair – restringing pearls (thanks to YouTube) and replacing tarnished wires on some much-worn earrings (again, YouTube to the rescue).

I replaced the tarnished wires on my earrings and restrung my black pearl bracelet, adding a clasp.

I’ve also fallen down the creative stitchery (a.k.a. Sue Spargo) rabbit hole.  That’s one deep hole!!

However, I chose a different medium when the call came out this month for Quilt Block Mania.  The theme is ART and I selected pottery.  Here is my Painted Pots block, featuring Northcott’s lovely Mariposa border stripe in the pots.

My Painted Pots block for the May Quilt Block Mania blog tour

You can download the Painted Pots pattern here.  It has curves (I seem to be on a curve trend currently) but these are large gentle ones so they should be quite doable.

My trick for sewing curves is to have the “circle” part on the bottom and the “outside-the-circle” part on the top.  I tend to use minimal pins and only try to keep the fabrics just in front of my sewing machine foot aligned – the fabrics ahead of that don’t come into play until they reach the foot.  Give Painted Pots a whirl with a bodacious print from your stash and let me know if this tip helps.

Here are links to the other 11 designers participating in the ART-theme Quilt Block Mania this month:

Colored Pencils by Carolina Moore
Crayon Block by Scrapdash
Mini Iron by Inquiring Quilter
Craft Paint Bottles
Artist Palette by QuiltFabrication
Draw Block by Tamarinis
Painted Pots by Patti’s Patchwork
Gradation Quilt Block
Paint Splatter by Appliques Quilts and More
Still Life With Pear by Flowerdog&Co
Stained Glass Star

I’ve been finishing up some projects these past few weeks, in between repairing/repainting a rental condo (Hubby is Mr. Fix-It and I actually enjoy house-painting – is that considered art?!?  We make a good team).  In the “curves” category, I stitched up the throw size of my PC335 Hello Beautiful pattern because I just love this quilt – it might have something to do with the Anna Maria Textiles fabrics (from her Perennial Borders collection).

A snapshot of my blocks in various stages of completion

You can find the pattern here. I can’t wait to get it on the longarm and dress it up with some creative quilting.  I also stitched up a text-themed block for my modern guild’s block-of-the-month using the prompt “pick one word”.

My modern guild’s BOM block

I’ll be away from my sewing machine for the next 2 weeks so my sewing of choice will be my Toned Down stitchery project – slow and steady – I’m on Circle #1 of 90!

Still a very long way to go on Toned Down

Speaking of quilting, I’ve got a new pattern in the shop!  Twenty-four years ago, I designed a classic bargello beauty that was featured in The Quilter magazine, and I’ve been getting requests for it ever since.  When Northcott came out with the oh-so-pretty Mariposa collection, I took the opportunity to write a pattern for this quilt, adding 2 more sizes – let me introduce you to Long & Winding Road PC342. It looks fabulous in so many fabric combinations and is available here.

Are you considering heading to Pigeon Forge TN for A Mountain Quiltfest?  This jam-packed show and conference is coming up June 8-11^th and classes are filling fast.  My Skill-building Sampler workshop is already sold out but there is still space in Monday’s Panel Pizzazz, Tuesday’s Rosebud Wreath and Thursday’s Garden Blooms classes, as well as my Interesting Quilts trunk show on Monday evening.  Find more details here.  When I’m not in the classroom or viewing the sizeable quilt exhibit, I’ll likely be shopping for a new western belt or two at Stages West (I should own shares by now) – lol!

If you’d like to have me speak or teach at your guild please pop me an email.  You can find my list of lectures and workshops here.

Chat soon,

Patti