Here in Northern California we are going into a hot, hot summer. I don’t ever remember a time when Auburn (East of Sacramento in the foothills) was forecast to have a stretch of at least 8 days over 100”. Usually we get a few 100’+ days in the forecast and Sacramento would get many. Here at my house we have ways to beat the heat! Swim early and often, make and eat ice-cream, eat plenty of salads using local produce from the Auburn Farmers Market, walk early in the morning and close all the blinds and live in a cave! That last one I don’t like so much.

June is over and what have I been doing? I taught three different classes both on Zoom and in person and I traveled to Temecula in Southern California. I taught Sunflowers (a great 3 hr Zoom class) to Wandering Foot Quilt Guild in Pasadena, CA, a House and Home workshop in Temecula and Zinnias and Stitch to a local community group. All were great classes and well received. I never fail to say quilters are all such nice people.

I have been working on getting through my commissioned quilts using neckties and T-shirts. I feel a sense of achievement and relief when the tops are made. This is the more time consuming and daunting part. I am happy to report I sent off one Necktie quilt and have 3 T-shirt quilt tops made. I have also been free-motion stitching and finishing a few projects of my own, which is great for me! And as always I am embarking on a few new designs also. Sharing some of my smaller patterns on my Facebook Group: Fabric Collage School is what I am doing this summer. These smaller projects I enjoy hand stitching. This I tend to do at night and as I heard it called “sofa crafting”.

This also seems like the season to sign up for classes and to enter quilt shows. Sign-ups for my classes have been going well but I do still have availability in some. If you enjoy doing the Zoom classes especially if you can’t travel to take a class with me check out the Mancuso Virtual Schoolhouse 9 where I am teaching Colorful Cats and Dogs and Paintbox Chickens. Both of these classes you will be emailed a choice of pattern and then you can use some of your scraps.

International Quilt Festival in Houston I still have room in Christmas Cardinal and Fish and Stitch workshops, both 3 hr with a kit. If you have already signed up for my classes I have added a page here on my website with more details about my classes, especially if you will be doing the 2 day Pet Portrait workshop. Check it out.

Road to California January 2025, my classes re filling but I have a room in Puffin Collage and Stitch, and My Turtle and Fish fabric Collage.

All the links are here for details and registration. Perhaps I will meet you soon.

Mid June we took a family trip Morro Bay to collect James from collage, enjoy some walks on the beach, visit a couple of wineries and of course take photos of this finished quilt. It’s my newest downloadable pattern available in my shop. Birds on a Wire.

On a sad note I recently saw that Ruth McDowell died. She was a big influence on my early quilting and I think part of why I love being challenged in my quilting goes back to when I would work in Ruth’s style of piecing.

See her incredible work here.

Continue to enjoy the summer, beat the heat if you can and maybe I will see you later this month at Maine Quilts, where I am teaching 3 sold out classes and a lecture.