Hey there! For those of you going to QuiltCon, I will have a book signing for Make Your Own Medallion at the Lucky Spool booth TOMORROW (Thursday, February 22nd) at 1:30 pm. Come by and say hello! I will be walking the floor on Thursday and Friday with Fatty (yes, he's coming, too!) so if you see me, please introduce yourself. I am excited to go - this will be my third QuiltCon. I am not taking any classes. The main reason I am going is to see my quilt, Centerpiece, hang in the show.photograph by Page and PixelCenterpiece was one of the first quilts I designed for Make Your Own Medallion. I wanted to show that while medallion quilts are mostly traditional, they can also be modern. To do that, I made sure to include a lot of negative space and solid fabrics. The flying geese and half square triangles nod to tradition, but make a strong graphic statement. Don't let all those pieces intimidate you! Most of the piecing is done in the center and one border and can be easily chain-pieced, making it come together faster than you'd think. That kind of sewing is meditative to me - I just put on a podcast or music and get in a groove. If that is not your thing, you can swap different blocks in and really make this your own.I'm super excited to see Centerpiece hanging at QuiltCon. I'll be sure to post photos over on Instagram while we are there. But now, I need to finish packing for my flight that leaves in about 3 hours! If you will be at QuiltCon and are still waiting to get your own copy of Make Your Own Medallion, they will be for sale at the Lucky Spool booth. For those of you staying home, you can grab one in my shop or at Amazon (affiliate link).  If you make Centerpiece or any other project from the book, please use the hashtag #makeyourownmedallion and tag me so I can see YOUR medallions!

As I was thinking about what order to showcase the quilts from my new book, Make Your Own Medallion, it seemed fitting to start at the beginning. Studio Window started as a 12'' block that I drew with a pencil and ruler on a piece of copy paper. After I had finished it, I had the idea of making it into a center medallion and started searching for a book that would help me figure out the math needed to make a medallion. When I couldn't find a book that fit the bill, I decided to write that book.It's hard to pick favorites when it comes to my own quilts, but this one will always be towards the top of the list. The color palette was inspired directly from the view I have out the window of my third floor sewing space. I don't think that it is a color combination that I would have chosen if I sat in front of my fabrics contemplating a new quilt. But one fall day when I looked up from what I was sewing, I saw our Japanese maple framed by the stained glass and aqua walls and immediately pulled every fabric in this quilt from my stash. That said, I can imagine this quilt sewn up with all different kinds of fabrics - solids, scraps, in rainbow order. It's a very versatile design!

Studio Window is a great quilt on its own or to use as a template of sorts to make your own medallion. I designed it on the fly, border by border, and you could do the same with blocks of your own choosing. The size of the medallion block is 12'' finished, which allows you to swap in any other 12'' block for it if you want. The borders are a combination of pieced blocks and single fabrics, all with cornerstones. There are myriad opportunities to switch out the blocks in each border, change up the cornerstones, replace the single fabric borders with pieced blocks and vice versa. And at 66" finished, it's large enough for a throw quilt, but not too large to be overwhelming to make. Want to make it bigger? Keep building it out, border by border! Smaller? Stop when it is the size you like.I love seeing how you all are using the book to make your own medallions. Please tag your Instagram posts with the #makeyourownmedallion hashtag. If you still need a copy, you can find autographed copies of Make Your Own Medallion in my shop or buy one without my signature from Amazon (affiliate link). They will also be for sale at QuiltCon at next weekend (February 22 - 25) in Pasadena. I'll be doing a signing at the Lucky Spool booth on Thursday, the 22nd at 1:30 pm - please come say hello!

My newest book, Make Your Own Medallion: Mix and Match Borders to Build Your Quilt from the Center Out, is available now. This book has been a long time coming and I am beyond thrilled that it is finally out in the world for you all to hold, see and use. The idea for this book came to me when I wanted to make a medallion quilt, but couldn't find any resources to do so. Never one to shy away from a sewing challenge, I jumped in and started fiddling around with fabric. As I made my quilt, I kept thinking about how there needed to be a book about customizing medallions - different centers, different blocks for borders, multiple sizes of blocks with the math all figured out. Really, all the tricks and tools that I wish I could have had at my fingertips when I started my medallion.Spoiler Alert: I WROTE THE BOOK!Actually, that is over-simplified. I pitched my idea to Susanne Woods of Lucky Spool Media and, with her guidance, developed the idea into Make Your Own Medallion.  The book contains all you need to design your own medallion quilt - 30 individual blocks in three to six sizes each and 6 stand-alone center medallions. Think of this book as the chose-your-own adventure version of quilting. Pick a center and add to it border by border! And no need to worry about the math - I did it all for you! If designing your own quilt isn't your thing, I've got you covered with 6 full quilt patterns, each with a unique medallion. There really is something for everyone in here!I'm going to take some time over the next few weeks to highlight the different quilts and medallions here on the blog. I want to show you how to use the book and get those creative juices flowing. I've already seen a few glimpses of projects on Instagram and it makes me so happy to see people jumping in and starting their own project. If you make something and post it, please tag me and use the hashtag #makeyourownmedallion . I am so excited to see what you all make using the book! I have some quilt-along plans up my sleeve, too. Stayed tuned for that!Make Your Own Medallion is for sale in my shop (ships for FREE in the US) and I am happy to dedicate and or sign it for you.  Many of your local quilting stores also have it - I know because I've seen photos on Instagram (exciting!). If your local quilt store doesn't have it, ask about it. It can also be found at Amazon (affiliate link) or other book sellers.And, for those of you going to QuiltCon, one of the book quilts, Centerpiece (seen above and quilted by Angela Walters), will be hanging in the show. Pinch me! I decided that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see my quilt handing so I will be there to walk the floor and for a book signing (more details on that soon). Fatty is joining me for this adventure! If you see us, please say HELLO. I promise, we don't bite. ;)Back here soon with more information on the quilts in the book. I'm so excited to share them with you all. Until then, happy quilting!

I looked up this week and it is January. How did that happen? December whizzed on by like no one's business. Logically, I know that this is how it works. That time between Thanksgiving and the new year is jam-packed with holiday things, end-of-year things, school things and, in our house, some birthdays and, most years, some travel. But, still. That went fast. The girls went back to school yesterday and it was time. I was also sad to have an empty house. Funny how that works, huh? Jane is skating into the second semester of her senior year of high school and Kate is nearing the halfway mark of her high school career. If I really start thinking about how fast time is moving, I want to scream, "STOP!" I don't though. These young women are delightful and mature and ready for their next steps. I am proud of the individuals they are - kind, creative, generous, smart, interesting. I know they are moving on to great things (college for Jane, driving for Kate) and I love being their mom. I would like it if they would keep their rooms clean, but I realize that is my fantasy, not theirs.I spent the first few months of the year working on my new book, Make Your Own Medallion (shameless plug and Amazon affiliate link). It has been winging its way into shops and mailboxes in the last week or so and I cannot wait to see what you all do with it. I'm immensely proud of this accomplishment. It was a long time in the making and I am thrilled that it is finally out in the world. One of the quilts was accepted into QuiltCon and will be hanging in Pasadena in February. Talk about a bucket list item checked off! I won't be there (insert sad face emoji), but I hope to see photos of it on Instagram (please tag me if you take one!). Back to the Make Your Own Medallion, though. I promise much more information and details soon - it obviously deserves its own post. I also have some fun project ideas up my sleeve using the book and hope you will join me. It's going to be fun!I sewed some other quilts this year, too. They were all gifts or charity donations or added to the Harris family collection. I was horrible about documenting most of them. I want to do better at writing about my process and taking photos of what I make this year. Sure, there are snippets of most, if not all, on Instagram, but I do miss the pre-IG blogging days for that reason. If I had to choose a craft-related resolution, I think that would be it: more documentation. But I don't really do resolutions so I am just going to make a bigger effort to document my projects in 2018. That, to me, seems doable.Knitting has become my downtime craft of choice these days. I love how I can knit and talk or knit and watch TV wherever my family is instead of being squirreled away in the studio by myself. I have found that sewing is good for when the kids are at school and Fatty is at work or I have a day with little commitments. It reminds me of how I used to sew when the girls were sleeping. I still do that, of course, but it's me sewing on a Saturday morning while the two of them sleep in. Times have changed! Knitting works best when they are awake, when they need me, when I have to wait for them. I also love that I knitted 2 2/3 sweaters for myself last year, 2 wraps and a lot of socks. And the yarn. We won't talk about the yarn. Gotta work on knitting through it all before I start clicking "buy" again.Fatty continues to be my best friend. We traveled many places in 2017 - some together, some as a family - with big plans for more travel in 2018. He still reads all the time, rides his bikes often and makes me laugh daily. We watched some good TV and saw some great films together this year. The ones I am not interested in, he watches on his own or with his buddy (thank you, Pope). Life is fun with Fatty by my side and I can't wait for more good times ahead.The collage of photos above is my best nine from Instagram. I think it is a pretty good representation of my year - my book! quilts! knitting! the girls! Fatty! champagne and french fries! I am generally over there, posting one photo (if not more) each day. It's also the home of my gratitude practice, where I post a photo and a list of things I am grateful for each day. There aren't any hard and fast rules as to how much I post except that I try to find three things to be thankful for even on the crappiest of crappy days. In the process, I have become a happier person. It's truly been transformative and I don't plan on stopping soon or, really, ever. I don't always list my constant gratitudes (family, friends, shelter, food, freedom), but please know I include those of you who take the time to read what I write, support what I do and follow along with my creative pursuits in that group. Thank you for sticking with me all these years, especially when through the times when it is more silence than not. I appreciate it deeply.And so we go, my friends. Onward! Here's to a beautiful 2018.

A few weeks ago, my copy of The Fussy Cut Sampler by Nichole Ramirez and Elisabeth Woo arrived on my doorstep. It is such a beautiful book with 48 great quilt blocks that made me want to cut up some fabric right away. Nichole and Elisabeth walk the reader through all the in's and out's of perfecting fussy cuts in quilts which is something I could use some help with. I have fussy cut before, but not to the extent these ladies do, and let me tell you, just reading through I was having all kinds of a-ha moments. They are so smart!

To top things off, there is a sew-along happening right now for the book. It started this past week and continues through the summer with the goal of four blocks each week. You can get all the details on Nichole and Elisabeth's blog. (There are some amazing prizes!!!) I really tried to resist, but it was useless. I had to jump in.

Here are my first four blocks. I am working only from my stash and only in blue and white. The constraints are making me really stretch myself and that is good. It's kind of crazy just how much fabric I have that fits those parameters! I am going to try and stay on track with the sew-along, but no promises. It's summer, my kids need me more, we are traveling some and I am still working behind the scenes on my book. All good stuff. Sewing, included.

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You guys! Today is a great day. It's my 46th birthday AND this is my new book!

I am so excited to announce that Make Your Own Medallion, published by Lucky Spool Media, will be available in November 2017. I am enamored with medallion quilts and have so much fun designing and making them. I wrote this book so you can have the tools to design your own quilt from the center out. It includes 6 stand-alone medallion quilt patterns that you can follow as written as well as 6 additional center medallion patterns and.....wait for it....30 (yes, THIRTY) different quilt blocks in at least 3 (but sometimes up to 6!) sizes so you can build your own medallion quilt border by border until it is just how you want it. The best part? I did the math for you (and I had fun while doing it!).

Of course, there is a lot more to tell you about the book and I promise I will spill more as the release date gets closer. In the meantime, it is available for pre-order on Amazon. If you do pre-order it, thank you! And, please save your receipt/proof of purchase because I will be offering a bonus to send to anyone who pre-orders - details on that coming later this summer. It'll be good - I promise!

I am sincerely grateful the support all of you have given me over the last ten plus years. It's crazy to think that starting a blog on a whim sent me on a journey to writing quilt patterns and books. It has been more than I had ever thought to dream or hope. I appreciate you sticking with me and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Ok, time to celebrate!

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I knew it wouldn't be long before I made a second Ryan Top. Four days since I finished the final hem stitches on my first version, I was wearing my second.

I followed the same process for making this one as I did the first. It's a size L and I omitted the neck facings and used a bias tape instead. I did cut my bias strips at 1 1/4" instead of 1 1/2" and I think this was a better choice. It's a much better and proportionate fit. The fabric I used was two separate pieces of Liberty Tana Lawn that I bought back in 2010 when we took a family trip to London. The pattern pieces *just* fit. One of my fabric pieces was slightly longer than the other so I used that for the bodice pieces, but it was still too short for the pattern as designed. To make it work, I shortened the torso by 3 1/2" at the bottom edge and folded the selvedges in towards the center of the fabric to give me 2 folded edges. For the front and back yokes, I folded the fabric in the same manner. It took some serious arranging and the fabric pattern on the back yoke may be upside down (who's looking?), but I made it work. Take that, Tim Gunn.

It's still a little snug under the arms and if I had had a more generous cut of fabric, I would have tried adding a smidge of width - maybe a 1/2" or so? Alas, it was not to be and the resulting top is still totally wearable. I love the length on this shorter version just as much as I like the long length on the original one - it's just a different look. This one worked great with my boyfriend jeans and will be equally as cute with shorts. Yay!

This week is a busy one and I wasn't holding out high hope to get much sewing accomplished. This top is so damn quick to come together - I think my total time cutting and sewing was just at 2 hours - that I couldn't resist jumping in. I do love a fast sew! I also managed to work a tiny bit on one of the quilts I have under construction in a spare hour on Monday and am wishing for a small chunk of time to put the finishing touches on the last blocks. Sometimes I get so discouraged when my time is limited. To that end, I have spent hours and hours each week at physical therapy for two minor, yet painful and annoying injuries over the last two months. It has really eaten into my creative time and that is has started to wear on me. I miss the making. I realize that I just need to change my lens when it comes to how I approach making at the moment. There ARE more minutes available to me than I think. I just have to find them. Have you read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert? (I LOVED it! And I would highly recommend it and, yes, that is an affiliate link.) There's this part when she suggests having an affair with your creative work. Get sneaky. Steal the time to create. Revel in the process. Do the work. Don't tell anyone what you are doing. Just keep it a secret. That is the notion fueling me right now.

Scraps, Inc. Vol. 2 is hitting the shelves soon and I am thrilled to have a quilt in it. Published by Lucky Spool Media, this follow-up book to the widely popular and beautifully done, Scraps, Inc. Vol. 1, is much like the first. It is chock full of great quilt projects, all of which are designed with using scraps in mind. There are patterns for 15 different quilts made by 15 different designers. It's also a visual feast with gorgeous photography by Nydia Kehnle.

I made my quilt, Argyle Medallion, last summer over the course of a few days. At the time, the hydrangeas in my yard and down my street were awash in pink, purple and blue blooms and that directly inspired the color palette. I think it would be striking in a monochromatic palette or using a true, anything goes scrappy vibe. The quilt uses a few different piecing techniques, a variety of shapes and is very fun to put together. I'm a fan of negative space and I think that this quilt has that in spades. Natalia Bonner quilted it and she did the most amazing job with zero direction from me. She made it sing!

There are so many wonderful quilts in this book that I am anxious to make. Each quilt specifies what kind of scraps it uses - squares or strips. I love this little bit - it makes digging through and sorting scraps for projects that much easier.

Scraps, Inc. Vol 2 is available to order in the Tauton Store. To make it even sweeter, save 30% through February 16th by entering the code Scraps30. I am also giving away a copy of the book here on the blog. To enter, leave me a comment and let me know what quilters inspire you with their use of scraps. I'll leave the giveaway open until Sunday, February 14 at 6:00 pm EST.

Want to see more? Be sure to check out the blog tour stops!

Monday, February 8

Amy Smart, Diary of a Quilter

Nydia Kehnle, Nydia Kehnle Design + Photography

Tuesday, February 9

Amy Friend, During Quiet Time

Alexandra Ledgerwood, Teaginny Designs

Wednesday, February 10

April Rosenthal, April Rosenthal - The {Studio} Blog

Dorie Schwarz, Tumbling Blocks

Thursday, February 11

Erin Harris, House on Hill Road

Janice Ryan, Better Off Thread

Friday, February 12

John Adams, Quilt Dad

Kari Vojtechovsky, Craft Happy

Saturday, February 13

Katie Blakesley, Swim Bike Quilt

Kati Spencer, From the Blue Chair

Sunday, February 14

Melissa Lunden, Lunden Designs

Allison Harris, Cluck Cluck Sew

Sherri McConnell, A Quilting Life