Doxie Love

I decided to concentrate on organizing my unfinished projects in November. All the pieces to these projects are together now. I knew which project I wanted to complete first but had no idea beyond that. Coincidentally, in December one of the quilting sites I follow, American Patchwork and Quilting, posted a challenge — the 2022 […]

Detours

I have been thinking about detours. Not the kind of detour where you are directed off the highway onto a country road that will add minutes to your journey. No, the detour that upends your well-planned day when a too-good-to-pass-up project with a short timeline comes your way. As previously mentioned in various posts, I […]

Pragmatic, Except When …

I consider myself to be pragmatic. I tend to think sensibly and realistically. This is true in almost all areas of my life except when … it comes to my sewing and quilting projects. In my work life I like to complete projects in a well-orchestrated timeline. As soon as the last piece of an […]

Special People

In November 1984, I resigned from my job with First National Bank in Charleston, S.C., to get married and move to Boulder, Colo. On one of my last days, my father told me I would probably never work with such a kind and considerate person as Peter B. Read. Peter — my boss — was […]

Finding Joy

When 2021 arrived, I wanted things to be normal or, at least, familiar. I hoped for a COVID-19 vaccination, for children to return to school, for businesses to re-open; the list went on and on. Little by little those things did happen. I now live in a “new” normal, and I am trying to find […]

Yes, Please Use

My favorite quilts to make are those to be bestowed as gifts. I revel in thinking of the person who will receive the gift, the occasion and the fabrics to use. And I have learned to tell people when I gift them a quilt, “Use It!” I want the quilts to be loved (aka used). […]

Pillow Talk

My move to North Dallas 21½ years ago was my 13th move in 15 years. One of those moves took place due to a hurricane, one took place Christmas week and one involved three shipments where we went eight weeks before seeing all our possessions. During each of those moves I would unpack and immediately […]

Lighting the Way

I think most quilters do not approach quilt shows as I do. I do not feel the need to attend the Dallas Quilt show or Houston International Quilt show every year. I can see the changing trends by going to my favorite quilt shops. It had been a few years since I had gone to […]

A Golden Moment

I cannot speak for all people, but I imagine many people, at some point, obsess over a hobby. I prefer to call my “obsession” with quilts more of a passion. In January 2020, I was reading an email from The Quilt Asylum about new fabrics and spring classes. One of the March classes was for […]

Hex on the Beach

Sometimes you just don’t know what you can achieve. I was 4 years into a my second round of high school teaching in 2010, and I was drowning. I was teaching five marketing classes AND was the advisor to a student group I traveled with to competitions AND was on two committees. I knew the […]