I spent a great chunk of last weekend happily piecing my lastest fabric acquisition into a pile of 96 flying geese blocks. They have since been sewn into a quilt top that, with any luck and some free hours, will get basted and quilted this weekend. My favorite part of making a quilt is undoubtedly piecing. I get in a rhythm when sewing 1/4" seams in rapid succession. I love it when I can get in that groove and sew a bunch of pieces together in a short time. For these flying geese, I used a great method for making multiple blocks that was fast and fun so I thought I'd share how I did it with you.

Flying geese blocks are rectangular with the finished height being 1/2 the measurement of the finished width, or said differently, their measurments have a ratio of 1 to 2. The blocks I made for the purpose of this demonstration finish at 3.5" x 7" (with the seam allowances they measure 4" x 7.5"), but you can easily adjust this formula to make the blocks any size you desire. It's easy. Another bonus to this method, is that there is no fabric waste when you piece flying geese this way.

This method produces 4 identical blocks. You'll need:

- 1 square of fabric cut 1 1/4" larger than the desired finished width. (For my block that is 7" long when finished, I cut my square to 8 1/4").

- 4 squares of fabric cut 7/8" larger than the desired finished height (For my block that is 3 1/2" high when finished, I cut my square to 4 3/8").

- a marking pen or pencil, straight pins, sewing machine and thread, a rotary cutter and ruler

1. With you marking pen and ruler, draw a diagonal line from corner to corner across all four of the small squares.

2. Place 1 small square on the corner of the large fabric square with the diagonal line starting at the corner. Make sure that the fabrics' right sides are together with the edges lined up.

3. Place a second small square on the opposite corner. The diagonal lines should meet and the squares will overlap by a 1/2".  Pin the small squares in place.

4. Sew a 1/4" seam on each side of the drawn line. This is a great time to use a 1/4" piecing foot if you have one.

5. With your ruler against the drawn line, cut the square into two triangles.

6. Press the seams towards the small pieces as shown. You now have two pieces that are somewhat heart-shaped.

7. Take another small fabric square and pin it to the point of the heart shape so that the drawn line runs from the point to between the top triangles.

8. Sew seams a 1/4" on each side of the drawn line. Once the seams are sewn, cut on the line just like you did in step 5.

9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 for the second heart.

10. Press seams towards the small triangles. Ta da! You now have 4 flying geese blocks.

I hope you all have a great weekend. I plan on sewing!

but then I did. Buy more fabric, that is.

I don't need it, but I wanted it. And now that the camera straps are all finished, I'm going to attack that pile with the rotary cutter and then sew it back together again. Which, if you were wondering, is exactly my idea of fun.

The shop has been re-opened. Books! Camera Straps! Everything is there. Please take a look if you are so inclined.

Thank you and happy weekend!

Although the calendar says September and there are traces of fallen leaves, it feels decidedly like summer here. Highs in the mid-90's, killer humidity and a non-stop AC unit  - you get the picture. It's too hot to be outside most of the day. After dinner, when most of the busy-ness of the day is done, the only thing I have been wanting to do is lie on my bed and read. And as such, I thought I'd share the list of books I've finished since my last list.

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout

And the Mountains Echoes by Khaled Hosseini

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

The English Girl by Daniel Silva (I loved this thriller so much that I started back at the beginning of the series and read The Kill Artist and am half finished with The English Assassin.)

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

That puts my total summer reading count at 17 books. Not too shabby!

Hello! I've got three things to cover today so I'm going to attack it list-style.

1. If you are reading in a reader, click over to see the BEAUTIFUL new blog design that happened over the weekend. Actually, it happened over the summer, with a lot of hard work by the talented Dorie Schwarz, but we (she) pushed the buttons to switch everything over on Friday afternoon. I love it so much and keep wondering why I didn't do it sooner. If you click on my picture, the about page is updated and housed at its new home - long overdue! A huge thanks to Dorie for making it happen and for dealing with very vague direction from me and still being able to design such a lovely product. You're the best, Dorie. Also, go check out the quilt she just finished. Amazing!

2. Along with the new design, there are new social media links. A Facebook page? Check. Twitter? Got that, too. Instagram? Yep. (It's a locked account, but as long as everything looks like it is on the up and up, I will accept your follow request). Pinterest? You know it. Flickr? It might be dead, but I'm still there. You get the idea...go like, follow, etc., for the most up-to-date news like shop updates, book stuff, and probably, a good dose of little tidbits, too.

3. The update on the SHOP UPDATE. The books are ready to go and the camera straps will be ready soon, so I'll start with those. How does Friday sound? Good? Good. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 around 2:30 p.m. When it's live, I will announce it here, Twitter, Facebook and probably Instagram. Scrap bags and the fabric destash will be coming soon. Remember, I am happy to sign books if you'd like.

That's a wrap for today. Back soon.

In a somewhat spur of the moment decision on Friday night, I started pulling fabrics for a new batch of camera straps. It's been a very long time since I've made any, mostly because I was busy writing a book and then recuperating from writing said book. And so now seemed like as good of a time as any to jump back in. The girls are back in school. I am finished traveling for a couple of months. I don't have a big project on my plate at the moment. So, there you have it: camera straps coming soon.

I've chosen fabrics for four colorways and am thinking of adding a fifth one. Any requests for color combinations? I'm all ears.

In other news, a large box of books arrived here this week! I cannot tell you how surreal it is to know that QuiltEssential is out in the world. I am thrilled with how QuiltEssential came together and hope you will enjoy it, too. I'll be adding those to the shop soon as well and will be happy to sign them however you want me to - for you, for someone else, whatever you desire. There should be some scrap bags and some bundles of destashed fabrics for sale in the near future, too. I don't think there will be one huge shop restock, but rather, I'll add things as I finish them. At least, that's my plan. Regardless, I will let you know before anything I list anything. Sound good?

Crazy, but so good, right?

School starts in just a few days and we have been busy soaking up the last of summer between back to school errands. We're enjoying local produce, cooking and baking, organizing the studio, savoring the mild weather, spending time together. Before I know it, we'll be knee deep in backpacks, homework and sports (those have already started!) so I'm going to continue to enjoy what is left of summer.

That said, I am craving a routine. And studio time!

I met my friend Suzanne when her daughter and Jane were in the same 3 year old preschool class. That was over 10 years ago. Our girls were fast friends (still are) and their friendship, like many between small people, led to a friendship between the big people. One day, when picking Jane up from a playdate, Suzanne was filling bags with different crafts. When I asked what she was doing, she chimed in with, "Are you crafty?" Yes, I am. That's how I joined the craft swap.

Joining the craft swap was just the beginning. Our kids played, we hung out together at the pool during the summer, Fatty rode bikes with Suzanne and her husband, we met for coffee, had birthday lunches and swapped lots of different crafts. We shared knitting patterns, Suzanne taught herself to sew. Our kids even swapped crafts a few times. I have a lot of different things made by Suzanne and when I see them around my house, I smile.

Suzanne and her family just moved across the country. I thought it would be appropriate to make one more thing for her. A little souvenir, so to speak - something that will remind her of the place they called home for many years.

Godspeed, friend. I'll miss you.

(Pillow details - linen ground with machine appliqued Kentucky and matching binding in a Liberty of London Lifestyle print, from the Bloomsbury Garden collection. Hand embroidered by me).