Update: QuiltWest - Quilts for West, Texas first responders' families

Goodness!  I'm sorry I've gone so long without providing an update on the QuiltWest project.  People have been so incredibly generous with their time and talents, so we've been busy, busy! 

First, I want to highlight the people who have provided our inspiration.  Their selfless actions remain at the center of this project:

Kevin Sander, emergency medical technician
Captain Robert Snokhous, firefighter
Captain Doug Snokhous, firefighter
Joseph "Joey" Pustejovsky, firefighter
Captain Kenneth "Luckey" Harris, firefighter
Cody Dragoo, firefighter
Cyrus Reed, firefighter
Jerry Chapman, firefighter
Perry Calvin, firefighter
Morris Bridges, Jr., firefighter
Jimmy Matus, honorary firefighter
William "Buck" Uptmor, honorary firefighter

Here's where we are in the process:

Best Practices: Working with 100% Cotton Thread

If you're quilting Jelly Roll Race quilts along with us for QuiltWest, you'll know that I requested participants use 100 percent cotton thread for both the piecing and the quilting.  I have a confession to make:  I pretty much hated quilting with cotton thread until a fellow long arm quilter gave me some tips...

Today's Photo Journal: A Berry Christmas Quilt

I am so enjoying this journey of sewing and quilting and blogging about it.  Between my tutorials, my students and long arm clients, I'm gradually gaining an entire new circle of friends and colleagues.  I can't believe how many talented people surround me, but even more astonishing is the discovery that the beauty of their creations almost always reflects the quality of their hearts.  The act of spending long periods of time in the painstaking process of creation -- almost always for the benefit of someone else -- belies a tremendous serenity of spirit and generosity of soul.

These people play, dance and laugh, and the most critical remarks they save for their own works.  I am equal parts humbled and delighted.

Tutorial: Fabric Leaders for a Long Arm Quilting Frame

When I bought my long arm in 2009, we didn't have a gigantic room I could devote to a huge frame.  We cut the frame supports to about 7 feet long and set it up in the basement.  That time period really tested my love of quilting:  The lighting was terrible in that room even during the day, and the first machine was a lemon that took almost two years to get replaced under warranty.  I nearly gave up.