Where it all began....

This old, primitive picket fence, turned on end, is one of my favorite decorating "finds" and displayed on it are some of my favorite quilts!  As I was thinking of listing them all for you, I realized that most of my favorite designers are also represented! So, starting at the top is "Union Moon" by Cherie Ralston, "Friendship Garden" by Blackbird Designs, one of my own favorites, "Crazy Bears", "Serendipity Sampler" by Kim Diehl, at "Young at Heart" by Brannock & Patek.  On the rocker is "Hugs N Kisses" by Sherrie Saffiote-Payne.  Both "Union Moon" and "Young at Heart" were made back in the day when I was paper piecing.  I've never liked making and cutting out templates, so I usually opted to convert a pattern to paper piecing if I could.  And, for me, since I like to use lots of plaids in my quilts, and didn't always like having the plaids going every which way and bias on the outer edges of my blocks, paper piecing wasn't a perfect piecing method for me but, to my way of thinking, it was better than the alternative of templates!  

Young at Heart



So, after paper piecing all those hexagonal hearts and stars and setting in each and every seam as I stitched the zig-zagging vertical rows together for Young at Heart, I needed to let my mind rest!  I had lots of  left over fabric, which I can't stand to waste. So as Pam likes to to tell you at our trunk shows when asked just how we came up with our "Crazy" technique of piecing, I'd been paper piecing, had a bunch of leftover fabric and decided to sew my way out of my sewing room one Christmas break. 

Which is exactly what I did and "Buggy Barn Crazies" was born!  Recognize those fabrics? And 15 years later we are still going crazy!  I use to worry about what I was going to do next; I didn't think we'd be able to keep coming up with ideas but since I'm in the middle of designing & writing our 20th book, "Still Crazy" (hopefully due out in May), I've tried to let that worry go, since stress makes me stupid and then I can't hold two thoughts together!  However, I do like to ponder and think things over. 

One of the most important things I learned in college I learned from my Fluid Dynamics professor, Dr. Watts.  He always suggested we read through the entire test before starting, and then begin and solve those problems you absolutely knew how to answer, while your mind worked on solving the ones you aren't quite sure how to answer.  And he was right!  It really works!  I'd leave the "holy crap I don't know how to do that one" questions till the end, and lo and behold, by the time I worked my way to that question, the light bulb would turn on!  So whenever Pam gives me a suggestion for a crazy, that I think is going to be impossible to cut up, it usually takes several months of pondering before the light bulb finally turns on!  Last week was a good week: the light bulb finally came on and I was able to finish up this turkey she wanted, added some gourds, and now await the "Pumpkin Pie" fabric so we can get him made up!  Having the design done and instructions written are a major victory for me and "Yes!" I get to put an big old X in the done column!  However, my chart appears to still need quite a few more of those "X's"!!  So best I get back to work!  Happy Quilting!

p.s. my Pumpkin Pie strike offs just arrived!  Don't you think Mr. Tom will look so much better made out of these?