As I sit here writing to you and watching the snow fall, I'm thinking about my family vacation from which I just returned, a week on the beach in Costa Rica. My biggest decision each day was whether to just sit in a lounge chair looking at the beautiful view, read, sew, nap or play with the grandchildren. As the saying goes, "All good things must end." So, as I ignore the cold and snow outside, I'm focusing instead on all that is happening at the Studio this month.
Next week we will begin taping the videos which each month will accompany the lessons in our new Block of the Month, Stellaris. We've also been busy making room for the latest fabric to arrive, my new collection, Aruba. Plus, the classroom has been a busy place. The next class up will be my Hand Quilting class.
Please read on to learn about my new fabrics and products, upcoming web specials and a tip about working with border prints fabrics.
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The New Aruba Collection Has Arrived!
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Aruba includes five brand new prints, a border and new mini-stripe colors.
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My new
Aruba collection just arrived this week. The fabrics are inspired by the colors of the breathtakingly blue waters, blindingly white sand, and rugged limestone formations combined with textures of gentle waves, delicate sea anemones and island plants.
This 31-piece collection includes four border prints, mini-stripes, blenders, paisleys and focus fabrics and is available in four distinct colorways - aquamarine, dusk, morning mist and sunset.
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Aruba Tote
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Whether you are packing up for a quilting class or packing for vacation, the
Aruba Tote is ideal for whatever you have planned. This roomy tote has two useful interior pockets and a zippered top closure to keep the contents safe. The soft mountain-mist colored fabrics found in the foundation-pieced pineapple blocks, striking paisley print and a mini-stripe give the bag lots of design interest. This is a fun project for those with some previous sewing or quilting experience.
For a closer look at the
Aruba Tote, click
here.
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Coming Soon, Our New BOM, Stellaris
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 The past couple of months, we have given you a peek at
Stellaris, our new Block of the Month. Debuting in April, I designed this project based on your feedback from past BOM quilts. A "Technique of the Month" might be a more accurate way to describe it.
Stellaris will be available in five colorways including the red pictured here.
These lessons are only available through the newsletter so encourage your friends to
sign up and sew along together.
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Coming Up in Our Weekly Web Specials
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Protea Grand Bundle
Both you, our customers, and we here at the Studio have had so much fun with our past Grand Bundles -
Irish Heather,
Desert Dawn and
Island Escape - sharing techniques for putting colors together and creating projects for them. This week, we introduced our latest bundle, Protea, based of the colors of the unique South African flower. Mini-bundle #1 is now on sale. Check out the entire Protea Grand Bundle
here.
Malam Batiks
I can't believe it has been nearly six years since I created my very first batik collection. Creating batik fabrics was a completely different process from traditional quilting cotton. From quilts to bundles to bags and other projects, watch for my
Malam Batiks to be featured in the coming weeks in our web specials.
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Quilt Tip - Creating Perfectly Matched Designs
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 Many of my quilts make use of my border prints and other mirrored fabrics. Sometimes, when a quilter hasn't had experience with it before, they have trouble matching the pattern exactly. Minor adjustments have to be made to make the design line up and mirror.
Fabric, unlike paper, is fluid and not stationary. Usually, it is the bias edge of patches which must be matched. After carefully marking and cutting the patches, it is not uncommon to have trouble lining up the motifs exactly. Start by matching the design at the center first and balance out any discrepancies in either direction of the center lining up the design and not the cut edge. Use the stretch of the bias to your advantage and don't worry if one piece has less than a ΒΌ" seam allowance and one a bit more.
For help with this and useful tips, visit the "Working with Border Print Fabrics" page on my website.
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