Excuse the abundance of photos, but if you have been following me and this blog for any length of time, you know that peonies are my favorites. This year they came on fast after such a long, cold winter. I was a little surprised at how early they showed, but still so happy to see them return. Each year I watch in anticipation and each year I am still just awed at the huge blossoms that come out of those little buds.

Life is so busy for our family right now. Soccer is wrapping up, field hockey is starting. The end of the school year is in sight. Jane is finishing up her 8th grade year. It's really hard to wrap my brain around the fact that she will be in high school in August. At the same time, she is so ready to make the move that it only seems right. I'd be lying if I said that there hadn't been some tears already. And I'd be kidding myself if I said that there won't be more. Watching these girls grow is such an incredible gift. I feel lucky to be along on their journey.

Malka Dubrawsky is one of the quilters I admire most. I am constantly inspired by her use of color, her graphic fabrics and quilt designs that look difficult, but are really straightforward. She uses shapes and patterns in the most interesting ways.  Her latest pattern, Klee's Trees, is no exception.

In Malka's words,

A while back I traveled to Switzerland and saw so many amazing things, but not the Bern Bears. Rather, I opted to visit the Klee Museum and view an extensive array of work by the artist, Paul Klee. I was especially struck by his drawings of trees. They were simple, stylized and abstracted.
I came home knowing I wanted to translate those drawings into a quilt pattern and, after several attempts, came upon a block design that I feel captures the essence of Klee’s trees.
This simple-to-piece block is graphic and clean and has a decidedly modern feel. Craft it in solids against a dark or light background or play with warm and cool colored prints to differentiate the “trees” from the “forest”.

I was happy that Malka asked me to share this pattern with you. More specifically, I was excited to make the block and have a chance to play a bit! While I love Malka's use of solid fabrics, I was intrigued to see how the modern shape would translate if I used a more traditional fabric for the tree. I chose a guava colored shot cotton and a Liberty print from my stash and just love how they look together. Even with a fussier print as the main fabric, this block still has a decidedly modern feel to it. Can't you just see a whole quilt of Liberty Klee's Trees? I can!

You can get your own copy of Malka's Klee's Trees pdf pattern in her etsy store.

She is also offering TWO copies of the pattern as a giveaway to my readers. To be eligible for the random drawing, please comment on this post before Sunday, May 18th at 5:00 pm EST. Good luck!

I wrote this post five years ago for my friend Lecia's blog. Today I'm bringing it home. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.

My mother gave me thick hair and blue eyes, fair skin and freckles. She taught me to write my name and how to bake. She made me a reader and lover of books. She passed on her appreciation for collections and started a few of mine. She gave me her sense of colors and taught me how high to hang a picture. She drove me to soccer practices and swim meets and paid for lessons of all sorts. She taught me good table manners just in case I was invited to eat at the White House. She let me have the yellow carpet in my room when she really wanted the green. She bought me the Izod shirts and Tretorn sneakers but would never let me have clogs. She made braided ribbon barrettes for my hair and bought me beads for friendship pins. She always makes sure there is an apple pie on Thanksgiving because it’s my favorite. She took me skiing at age 3 and pretty much every year after that. She drove me to college and didn’t cry until she was on her way home. She kissed my scraped knees and wiped away my tears. She cooked my favorite meal on my birthdays. She bought me my first sewing machine. She still has a sweater I knit her although it is really way too big. She was there when I gave birth to my babies. She trusts my judgment although she sometimes disagrees. She is sensitive and thoughtful, kind and caring, generous and gracious. She is beautiful inside and out. She supports me. She has loved me every day for the last 38 years. And I know it. I always have.

I hope my kids know I feel the same way about them. Because I gave them thick hair, blue eyes and freckles. I correct their spelling and make them hold their pencils correctly. I let them stay up reading because they love their books. I let them crack the eggs and measure the flour. I add to their bottle cap collections. I encourage them to draw and then hang up their drawings. I sit through volleyball practices and watch their swim meets. I tell them to chew with their mouths closed and to put their napkins on their laps. I’m repainting their rooms because they want a change. I let them wear clogs. I have pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving because that is their favorite. I kiss scrapes and wipe away tears, too. I take them skiing. I cried when they left kindergarten, but didn’t let them see me. I go to California Pizza Kitchen and Red Robin on their birthdays because that is what they choose. I rethread the toy sewing machine 15 times in 20 minutes. I keep all their love notes. I want to be there when they have their babies. I respect their differences although I sometimes don’t understand. I have loved them from the moment they were born.

Being a mother is a precious gift. I feel blessed to have learned from the best.

Popping in this Friday to make you aware of three different opportunities for crafty people like you and me...

1. Wise Craft Pin it to Win Contest

Blair Stocker is hosting a very fun contest in conjunction with her new book, Wise Craft. (You can read my interview with her about it here.) She is challenging us to make projects from her book or projects inspired by the ones in her book. All you have to do is take a photo of your finished project, tag it with the hashtag #wisecrafthandmade, and post the photo to pinterest, instagram or the Wise Craft Facebook page. You can enter as many projects as you want! The project ends on July 31st so you have loads of time to get those crafts made. The prize package is pretty stellar - it includes a quilt made by Blair! For more info and all the nitty gritty, see her post about it on the Wise Craft blog.

2. The Sew-Along Central Newsletter

Meg has started a newsletter that will fill you in on all the sew-alongs that are happening so you won't miss a thing! Ever found out about a sew-along that you would love to join, only to find out it is almost over? Yeah, me too! This will solve that problem! The newsletter will fill you in on all those great community-building opportunities each month. You also have the opportunity to tell Meg about your sew-along so you can spread the word. So cool! Sign up for the Sew-Along Central Newsletter by following this link. You can find more info over at Meg's blog, Elsie Marley.

3. The Accu-quilt Quilt Block Design Contest

Accu-quilt, makers of the GO! cutter, are hosting a quilt block design contest. The contest is already underway, but you still have time to enter a design and get people to vote for it. The prize package is AMAZING. Long arm machine, anyone?!? All the details are over on their site. This is a great opportunity to flex those design skills. Go for it!

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Hope your weekend is lovely. Happy Mother's Day! I'm celebrating with some selfish sewing, perfectly behaved children and a soccer game. Can't wait!

I have seen many projects that I think I'd like to make only to not jump in because they involve needle-turn applique. Of course, I know that I could modify these projects and machine or raw-edge applique the pieces, but I don't. I love, love, love the look of needle-turn applique, but it just seemed so fussy and time consuming to me. The thought of hand stitching tiny bits of fabric to a background did not appeal to me at all. It wasn't the by-hand part, per se, or even really spending hours doing it. I like to knit. I like to crochet. I've dabbled in embroidery and I oil paint. All by hand, all time consuming. Rather, my train of thought was long the lines of "Why do something by hand, when you can do it faster by machine?" And, man, what a limiting outlook that is.

I tried it.

Turns out, I was wrong.

I like needle-turn applique. I maybe even love it.

I love it for many of the same reasons I love needlepoint and knitting. I can take it with me. It's easy to put down and pick right back up. When my hands are busy, my mind is at peace. I can have conversations with my friends, family, the other people in the waiting room while I applique away. I like to make and it allows me to squeeze in a little bit of making time when life is busy and time is short. Most obviously, it's fabric and thread - two of my favorite things.

Yes, it is time consuming and a little fussy, but in the best possible way. I am savoring the time spent stitching fabric to a background. I am dreaming about what I can applique and how to work it into more things. It's making me take a second look at projects I have passed by before.

I'm so glad I gave it a go. I'm having so much fun! How about you? What is something you want to try, but haven't? What's stopping you?

Have you seen the new four week classes that Creativebug has been producing lately? First there was line drawing with Lisa Congdon and then garment making with Cal Patch. I've taken parts of both of these classes and they are fantastic. It is so great to be able to learn more about a subject in depth versus just learning how to execute one project. And I can come back to it again and again. Talk about value!

The newest Creativebug four-week class is Log Cabin Quilting with Susan Beal. It starts next Tuesday, May 6 and each week a new segment is posted. Susan covers the basics - measuring, cutting and piecing log cabins - along with a look at the history behind this well-known quilt block. She provides a wide range of projects - pillow, baby quilt, table runner, tote - that will get your creative juices flowing and teach you some good skills along the way.

I had the opportunity to make one of Susan's projects on Monday night and it was so fun! This pillow is the project for the first week of the class and it came together easily and fairly quickly. The hardest part was choosing what fabrics to use!

I decided to use some of Denyse Schmidt's Chicopee fabrics. As I was sewing this together, I realized that I had bought these at one of Denyse's workshops I took in Portland with Susan! Totally meant to be.

Take a minute to watch the trailer for Susan's class over at Creativebug and I think you will agree it looks great. Her class includes a weekly live chat so you can even ask her questions as you work on the projects - so cool! Additionally, if you sign up to take the class, you have access to all of the site's content and classes for one low subscription price - $9.95/month. There is so much to discover! I like to watch classes when I have a block of free time and I also have found that Jane and Kate have enjoyed watching them, too.

Lucky for you, there's a giveaway involved! Creativebug is offering a free 3-month subscription to a House on Hill Road reader. To put your name into the hat, please comment on this post and tell me what kind of classes you would like to watch on Creativebug. I will close the commenting on Sunday, May 4 around 12:00 pm EST. The winner will be all set and ready to start learning to log cabin quilt on Tuesday when Susan's class goes live. Best of luck to everyone!

Full disclosure: I have a Creativebug subscription of my own that I use often. At times it has been given to me free of charge and at other times I have happily paid for it. As always, all opinions are my own and reflect my personal experience.

While in Nashville a couple of weekends ago, I finished this quilt top. These are the improv blocks I made last month, sashed with various widths of Kona Snow and sewn together with a few empty blocks. It's about 6o" square - a nice throw size.

This is one of my favorite kinds of quilting. I keep saying that, don't I? The freedom of improv lends itself to fun, and when I am having fun, I am definitely my most creative. I need to remember this for those moments when I'm doubting myself or feel stuck. If I put aside what is giving me trouble and just sew fabric together without too much thought, the other work tends to sort itself out. Light bulb moment, friends.

I have another improv project in the works at the moment that I am trying to spend a little time on every day. I'm using it as a warm up for another, very large, work project going on. That project is one of those long-term ones, that is printed on paper and put between two covers. (Wink, wink.) The best kind of work! I am super excited to be doing this again and, while I can't share what exactly it is, I can say that it involves lots of sewing. As such, my personal sewing time has been happily cut down to almost nothing during the week. I am relying on these little bursts of improv for fun and to keep me inspired and creating my best work. While I can't share the work sewing, I can share the fun sewing and will do so as I go along.

My friend, Blair Stocker, writes the blog Wise Craft and has just published a book with the same name. Wise Craft: Turning Thrift Store Finds, Fabric Scraps and Natural Objects into Stuff You Love is jam-packed with a wide-range of crafts. Seriously, there is something for everyone. The book includes sewing, painting, crocheting, paper, paint and more. There are 60 (!!!) projects divided into four sections based on the seasons of the year. The ideas are clever, with some crafts taking merely minutes to others that are more long-term (quilts, etc.) and most use items you might already own or could pick up easily at a thrift or craft store. Not only are the project varied and interesting, the entire book is a visual treat with gorgeous photographs and illustrations. I asked Blair if I could interview her and she graciously agreed. Here is what she had to say:

Erin: Blair, it's no secret that I have been eagerly waiting to get my hands on your book and I am so happy to finally hold it. Congrats! It's wonderful in so many ways! Can you tell me a little bit about why you wanted to write this book in the first place?

Blair: Thank you Erin! It's been such a fun process to work on this book, and I'm so happy it's out in the world! There are a couple of reasons I wanted to write a book like this. So often in my life I hear people say "I wish I had the patience to do (insert hand making skill here)", "I don't have the patience for (insert project name here)", and "Where do you find the time?". The projects in this book are meant to prove that anyone with the least amount of desire to make their home a reflection of their creativity can do it. Folks are always surprised when I tell them I have no patience and yet I make quilts and other time-consuming crafty projects. Sometimes I like the quick projects with instant gratification, and sometimes I want more from a project and find the process of making it relaxing. Throughout the book there is a range of projects from quick to not so quick, so that folks can find what it is they like to do.

Erin: I've been reading your blog for a long time now and I immediately got the feeling from Wise Craft that the projects are very "Blair". Can you explain your aesthetic and what your approach to crafting and DIY are?

Blair: I am excited to hear that! (I tell everyone in my blog talks that if you want to know what your aesthetic is, blog about it and before long, you can see it). I always challenge myself creatively to use the fabrics, supplies, and materials that I have on hand. What I mean is that I enjoy playing with just the fabrics I have in my stash when I make a quilt, or using just what I have in my basement or can find at the thrift store when I want to make something new for the house. If I really need something else I'll go to a thrift store or secondhand shop, but that's also part of the fun for me.  All of the projects in the book were made using what I had or what is easily accessible for everyone. And the colors and fabrics in the book were the ones I found while thrifting. I didn't seek out special fabrics for any of the quilts, I limited it all to what I could find.

Erin: One of the things I love about Wise Craft is the way you organized the crafts. Why did you divide them this way and how did you develop those gorgeous color palettes?

Blair: I wanted the book to feel more like an interiors book, less like a crafty book, because that was something I felt I could contribute to the assortment of craft books on the market right now. I wanted it to be the book I would grab off the shelf for some quick inspiration. Plus, the seasonal chapters reflect how I get creatively inspired (now that it's Spring, I have a desire to make new pillows for our family room, for example.) I wanted each chapter to feel very different from the others, and all the color palettes are based off of something (fabric, yarn, paint, etc) that I found either in my stash or while thrifting. Everyone who worked on the book had their own color card of each of the seasonal palettes and we stuck to those for not only the projects themselves, but also the props and styling of the photos. The photographer, Jane Armstrong, has an incredible eye (she views everything as a vignette or possible photograph).

The crafts are organized within each chapter, basically, from quick and easy to a bit more challenging (a quilt project ends each chapter).

Erin: After reading the book, it easy is to see that you included something for every kind of crafter. Some projects are quick and simple while other are more involved, but still very doable. Did you set about this consciously or is it a natural reflection of the way you craft?

Blair: This is a direct reflection of the way I craft. In every way. I wanted the projects to touch on the different mediums (knitting, crochet, quilting), provide a jumping off point to perhaps introduce the reader to a new technique, without become a true technique book. When the inspiration strikes for me to make something for my own home, it could be any one of these types of crafts, using any kind of material.

Erin: I'm anxious to make the woodgrain quilt and try my hand at dip dyeing dishes (brilliant!). Which of the projects were your favorites to make? Did any surprise you along the way?

Blair: I love the dip-dyed dishes too. I think my very favorite project might be the leather-covered rocks in the Spring section. Peter is a big fan of those (several of his architect coworkers have requested sets to hold down their blueprints) and I love  projects that appeal to both men and women. I also love the Avalon quilt in the Winter section. It is made from corduroy clothing my children outgrew, and back with a flannel sheet, and it is THE coziest quilt ever!

Erin: What's next for you and Wise Craft?

Blair: I am working on a new set of quilt patterns that I'm really excited about (those will be out in the next couple of weeks). I will be teaching in 2014 in the Seattle area (details for my first class at Drygoods Design can be found here), and I plan to write more books! (Folks can sign up for my newsletter to get news as it happens.) I will also be at Urban Craft Uprising July 12th and 13th at Seattle Center, talking about and signing copies of my book, with many of its projects there to show and tell. I will also be at Schoolhouse Craft in September 27th and 28th.

2014 is the year I get out of my studio and mingle with the crafty masses and I couldn't be happier!

Erin: That sounds fun! Thanks for taking time to talk with me.

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Blair has generously agreed to give away two copies of Wise Craft to House on Hill Road readers. To put your name in the drawing, please comment on this post with what craft projects you have on your to do list this spring before Friday, April 18 at 12pm EST. The drawing is open to US and International addresses. Good luck!

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