Well, we are certainly on a wild ride right now. It's one of the many times in my life when I am so glad that I have hobbies. Not only do they keep me busy and productive but they keep me off the internet. Listening to too much news is not healthy for me. I hope you are able to keep your life as normal as possible. I'm trying to see this time as a unique opportunity to truly take every day as an opportunity to create without distraction.

I'm not a very social person. I love my alone time so in some ways things aren't very different for me. But I don't just run out to "pick something up" anymore and there are no more drinks with friends or quilt club meetings. We are all adapting to online and phone connectivity. Who knew that I could have a drink with a friend without combing my hair or even putting on a bra? II might get used to some of this!  My Mom's apartment complex (for seniors) is on lock down. Yesterday I met her at the fence and tossed over some supplies. It felt like we were doing an illicit drug deal but that's our new reality.

Meanwhile I'm continuing my dyeing schedule and trying to get a lot of quilting done. Last week I got  some new Stars fabrics made. These are all one yard pieces and they are perfect when you need just one color and more than a fat quarter. There are over 30 colors to choose from!

Many of us are busy finishing up quilt tops and if you need a special backing I can help! I make a lot of custom quilt backs in different patterns. Two of the most popular are gradients and monochromatic spirals. These are 108" wide and are $26/yard. You can send fabric swatches and I can match colors for you. Just contact me with your vision.

We quilters are generous people and with every crisis we search for a way to help. When I saw all the social media talk about making masks I was dubious. There's no way the homemade masks could be what our health professionals needed. So I went to the source and emailed my own primary care physician to ask her opinion. Well, I was wrong! She immediately asked for some for her office and for some of her doctor friends. They are well aware of the limitations of these masks but they are perfectly suitable for some (non-viral) situations and help the N95 masks last longer.

If you are considering making them contact your local doctor, nursing home, veterinary office, hospital....to see if they need them and to see if they are looking for a particular pattern. Make sure that where you are sending them really needs them.  I made a second set with ties (because I ran out of elastic) for a nurse friend and her hospital. In hindsight I think the ties work best.

This is how I spent the last 2 days and I'm grateful for my stash of fabric, elastic and seam binding (ties).

Now I'll get back to my projects  which involves a bit of online shopping. For those of you who need to do a little online shopping I have a little gift for you.

I usually do a summer vacation store wide sale but I wanted to move it up since we are all on "vacation". I do wash my hands thoroughly before packing orders and I'm the only staff.

I hope you are safe and comfortable with your families. I know we all have a long road ahead and our help will be needed by our fellow citizens for months to come. Quilters are generous people and we will keep making and giving as long as it's needed. While I wait for more mask orders or for something totally different, I'll get back to making and quilting veterans quilts.

Just a quick reminder today that if you "need" fabric in the next 2 weeks, get your order in by Friday!

​There will be no shipping March 14 - 22.
No custom orders accepted after March 11 (tomorrow). Custom orders and shipping will resume March 23. You are welcome to contact me about custom orders at any time but I will not be dyeing again until the week of March 23.

Before I get into the fabric news this month I want to announce the shipping schedules for March.

There will be no shipping March 14 - 22.
No custom orders accepted after March 4 (tomorrow). Custom orders and shipping will resume March 23. You are welcome to contact me about custom orders at any time but I will not be dyeing again until the week of March 23.
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This week all Stars fabrics are on sale 15% off! Stars are One Yard cuts of fabrics in one color but with lots of texture. There are over 30 to choose from! Use code STARS15 at checkout.
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Reflections are kind of the hot fabric right now and that's grand by me because I really love making them. I'm starting to expand my color palette beyond water and sky. I hope you like these new fabrics in the collection. You can see all of the Reflections here.

The dark side of fabric! All of the featured fabrics this week are the darkest of shades. 
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We're starting with a dark grayed purple as the fabric of the week. Eggplant is a dark rich gray purple  and it's on sale through Sunday. Fat quarter packs are ready to ship. Larger cuts will be dyed when ordered.

Here's a quilt that Katie Lewis made with a custom dyed purple similar to Eggplant. She made her stars with hand dyed Shades and Stash Packs.
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The new Midnight Gradient was very popular and sold out in a week! If you missed your chance to get some, it's back. 

​Black, sold by the yard, is also back. This is my own black recipe and it's a deep, rich, beautiful black.
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There are lots of other dark fabrics available too bring contrast, depth and richness to your next project!
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This week I have a quick newsletter for you and it's all about gradients. The Fabric of the Week is South Pacific. South Pacific is in light shades of watery blues and greens and could be a great background for a sea-themed quilt. It's 20% off through Sunday, or while it lasts!
Gradients are sold by the half yard. If you purchase multiple quantities it will come as one continuous piece.
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Sugar Maple and Pueblo are back in stock! Sugar Maple is great for cutting into leaf blocks in a traditional or modern quilt pattern. Pueblo is very popular for backgrounds for Southwest themed art quilts.

There are over 30 gradients to choose from! Check them all out in the shop.

Did you know that you can get any gradient on 108" wide fabric? This piece by Rachel Derstine was dyed with Blue Sky gradient. It can be any length, 1 yard or more and the gradient can be either orientation. Wide fabric dyed in a gradient pattern is $26/yard. Just send me a message and we can work out the details!

I've been pondering a night sky gradient for a while and I have a new blue dye that was perfect for my vision. I can see this as a background for a full moon night sky scene. I hope that the Midnight Gradient will inspire you too.
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Keeping with the Midnight theme, the fabric of the week is the Midnight Stash Pack. The pack has 10 fat eighths in a wide variety of dark blues with some purples and grays. This pack is 20% off through Sunday.
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If these aren't quite right for you check out these other fabrics in dark blues.

This week I'm working with a loose theme of sky and water. Starting with the fabric of the week, Skyscapes Stash Pack. It's 20% off through Sunday. Stash Packs have 10 fat eighths of fabric and this pack was designed around sky elements for art quilts. But it's also a great collection of pastel colors to add value variety to your stash.

The image on the left shows 4 of the streaky fabrics layered for a sunrise effect. On the right silk fibers are streamed on a blue mottled fabric for a cloud effect.

​But there are more sky fabrics this week!
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Four new Reflections fabrics are in the shop this week. Reflections are also great for sky and water element. Cheryl Kotecki used blue and gray Reflections for tree bark effect on this panel of a king size quilt. The 4 new ones are featured here but you can see all of them in the shop.

Nabha and Dyaus have the pretty pinks, orange and purple of the last minute of sunset or the first ray of sunrise.

Elden reminds me of the reflection of cattails in my little pond and Nilafar reminds me of ripples in a lake on a lazy Spring day. I hope they inspire something for you.

All of the news this week is about gradients: sale, new and back in stock. The fabric of the week is Flourish. This beautiful floral-inspired gradient is 20% off through Sunday! Get yours while supplies last.
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Obviously inspired by the beautiful colors of autumn. The color transitions from butterscotch to orange to almost brick. This gradient is similar to Sassafras but much brighter. It's your one stop shop for applique autumn leaves!
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Miriam Ahladas used Jenny Lake for the background of her art quilt. Jenny Lake was inspired by a hike around Jenny Lake in the Gran Tetons. 

Shelly Crosby used Forest Canopy as the background for her adorable fox.  Forest Canopy was designed to coordinate with Woodlands gradient.

Summer Sunset is actually my favorite gradient and I'm planning a quilt in this palette.
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I love Stash Packs! While I'm not an art quilter, I am a scrap quilter so a pack of fat eighths really feeds my soul. It's the textures of 2 Stash Pack fabrics that are going to make this Hunter's Star quilt sparkle. I used one pack of Crossroads and a pack of browns that's out of stock. I couldn't let the most popular color theme of Stash Packs stay out of stock though. I have a new pack for you this week.

Good Earth has 10 beautiful, rich and very textured shades of brown. These are great for landscape quilts or even traditional quilts, like I'm doing.  Here are a few other quilts made with Stash Packs.

Marcy George used Stash Packs in browns and greens for the background of her tree silhouette.

Margaret Griffiths used three Stash Packs, including a purple, for her striking quilt.
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Patricia Caldwell used one fat eighth from a Stash Pack of blacks, grays and browns for her Moonlight Leaves quilt.

As you can see, Stash Packs are very versatile! They come in almost every color theme, color wheel and shibori.

Shop Stash Packs now!