New Book Update . . and other assorted tidbits

Well, my week and weekend didn’t go exactly as planned so I haven’t gotten around to getting this blog post finished.   I had it started on Friday, but ran out of time before I had to leave for the weekend.  I had to go up to Walker, MN to present a trunk show at their guild’s annual quilt show.  It was a beautiful drive.  I didn’t even mind the 3 hour trip – I had my i-pod going and the colors were beautiful.  Fall in MN is really beautiful.  Right now the Sumac is a brilliant red.  I’m sure all of the other trees just think the sumac are big show-offs, but I don’t mind.  I plan to enjoy it while it lasts, as another long winter is sure to follow.  Anyways, when I got to my hotel on Friday night, I planned to finish my blog post.  Unfortunately their Internet was down.  Delayed again!!!  I seem to be full of excuses, but we are really busy here.  I just finished up the color pages for the new book and 4 single patterns.  I am turning in the text of the new book today.  That means I am almost done.  Here’s a sneak peak at the new book:

It’s called “Livin’ Large”.  This is just the cover, but I’ll show you more later as I have more finished.  The book will contain 11 projects, all designed for large-scale prints.  I’ve been busy collecting large-scale prints (as you may have noticed in my past blog posts), so it wasn’t hard for me to come up with a theme for this book.  I’ve been collecting these prints for a while now and wondering what to do with them.  I figured if I’m thinking this, the rest of you might be too!  I think these large-scale prints require a special pattern, one that will enhance the beauty of the prints, while not taking away from them by cutting them into tiny pieces.  More to come soon . . . .

I’ve finally gotten a chance to cut up some of my new fabric.  I’ve been so busy with the book and patterns, that I haven’t even been able to touch it yet.  It’s just been sitting there for the last month, just waiting for me to have time to come over and play.  Here’s what I’ve started – Stop back in later this week to see the finished quilt.  It’s something from the new book.  In this case, my prints aren’t that large in scale, but the pattern will still work for these traditional/regular fabrics.

 This isn’t nearly enough pictures to make up a blog post, so I thought I would show you something that I like to do when I’m not busy quilting – knitting!  My love for knitting started a couple years ago.  I began to get frustrated with the fact that my hobby became my job and I had no creative outlet that was just for fun, with no deadlines.  I can’t wait for my deadlines to be over so I can get back to my projects.  The items are a few things that I finished earlier this year.

  The yard is Classic Elite’s Waterlilly – the pattern is found in Tahki Yarns 2007 Spring/Summer Collection

   The pattern is Wicked by Zephyr Style.  I don’t remember the yarn. . .

  This pattern was from a magazine – one of the latest editions of Interweave Knits.  See that tiny ball of yarn?  That’s what I had left of this yarn!  That’s cutting it a little too close for my comfort.  The yarn is bam boo and has wonderful drape and weight.

  This is for my niece Addi.  This was knit from the top down – so again No Seams. 

  Here is Addi modeling the sweater, while being fed a chocolate chip cookie by her naughty grandma (my Mom).  That’s my sister (Addi’s mom) in the background.