I Was Away...

I went to Nova Scotia. Be still my heart.

Walks on the beach in the morning, in the storms, in the quiet, in whatever moment I got.

Oh yes, and there was teaching too. More on my amazing students next time.

Sunsets led to candlelit dinners filled with stories and laughter.

And many moments of peace.

On the Radio with Pat Sloan

This afternoon I am quite excited to join Pat Sloan on her American Patchwork and Quilting radio show! Pat is a force in the industry and such a joy to talk to. I only wish we would have our chat over an afternoon walk. Join us.

Tune in online live or download the podcast later. The show starts at 4 pm Eastern.

We'll be talking A Month of Sundays, low volume fabrics, and a lot more.

In My Hands, And Yours - A Month of Sundays

In the midst of vacation and gathering quilts and blocks for Just One Slab my next baby came out! A Month of Sundays is now available in stores! (And on-line.)

A Month of Sundays is about everything we do on the weekend - Eat, Explore, Relax, and Shop. The quilts, sewing projects, and essays are all inspired by these four themes. And each theme includes a number of prompts and tips for embracing the lazy Sunday afternoon.

There is so much to say about this book, about the book writing process, about the photography, the photographer, and oh, the quilts! Then there are the essays, recipes, and 8 other sewing projects. This book is so intensely personal and I want to tell you everything about it. But I don't want to bore you with the details (and I want you to buy the book to see for yourself).

There are two quilts and two sewing projects per theme, that means 16 projects in total. All of them are designed with ease of use and creation in mind. They aren't necessarily meant to be finished in a single Sunday afternoon, but they can easily be picked at like a bowl of cherries - devoured at once, red fingertips to show for it, or nibbled each time you walk through the room.

Oh, and did you know ALL the projects feature low-volume fabrics? Indeed, my own fascination with low-volume fabrics fueled the book. You could easily turn up the volume and embrace all your modern brights with each project too.

I do hope you all love it. I'm looking forward to sharing more with you in the coming months, in addition to hearing from you. If you have any questions about the project comment here and I will try to  add those my discussions, over a loverly cup of tea.

Friday Favourites: Kate Inglis

There was a day, a few years ago that I came across this beautiful blog. Full of honesty and light and pain and creativity. Captivation at first blush. Fast forward a few years later and that loverly lady is in my house, threatening to steal my baby and chasing my girls with screams of zombie underpants. And I was totally okay with that because she was also taking pictures for my book. Ethereal and beautiful pictures of the projects, of kids, of my family. I can forgive almost anything for her beauty.

Kate Inglis is a writer, photographer, Mama, teacher, and more. She is a quiet, reflective soul who has a different set of eyes in her head for seeing the world. We love her first novel, The Dread Crew, in this house. I love her boys and all their energy. When we get together we can get lost in tangents about whiners who claim they have no inspiration to creative expression to Lego to old windows. Then there is the work.

I was, and still am, blown away by the work done for A Month of Sundays. Seriously folks, the photos are incredible. For a sneak peek head over to her blog.

The 5 days Kate and I spent together photographing the book were INTENSE. In between downloads and nursing sessions and breaks for cookies and lunch that my Mom made us we lived those projects. We drank wine at the the end of the day to just take a moment to breathe. Kate made friends with all my friends. I don't think I could convince her to leave her lovely home on the East Coast, but I'm thankful that she has family here and a potential excuse to visit beyond me kidnapping her.