As most of you know, I recently released a new book, Vintage Notions: An Inspirational Guide to Needlework, Sewing, Cooking, Fashion, & Fun. My inspiration for this was The Woman’s Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences and its founder, Mary Brooks Picken....
Many times I’ve been asked how I get the ideas for my books, patterns or fabric lines? And the short answer is lots of places. My passion for seeking out vintage sewing treasures and collecting sewing books and ephemera has lead to many of my projects over the...
I had a blast this year at Quilt Festival. It was so inspiring to see the creative designs – you could feel the energy and dedication sewn into each quilt. I’ve created a gallery of my favorite quilts, enjoy! Have you ever had a chance to go to Quilt...
As you know by now, one of the reasons I felt compelled to write Vintage Notions was due to how deeply I was moved by the writings of Mary Brooks Picken and The Woman’s Institute. As this year wraps up, I’d like to share another selection from an Institute...
On a recent visit to Des Moines for the AQS Quilt Show, I met up with Kelly Kegans, senior home editor at Better Homes and Gardens. She and I first met at the Creative Connection in Minneapolis a few months ago. We discussed my book Vintage Notions and the fact that...
If you live in the Kansas City area, I’m sure you have already heard that Deb Dusenberry, proprietor of the fabulous Curious Sofa, is closing her Prairie Village store on Jan 15th. Why? As Deb said on her blog, she’ll “post [her] personal story about...
I recently came across some darling vintage stockings and fell in love with one in particular, “ROB.” That is my little brother’s name so I had to have it…a perfect gift!! I thought I would share a few in my collection. I love the shapes and...
As I am thinking of the Thanksgiving dinner menu I am thinking of Fall and of all the things I have enjoyed doing and all the things I had wanted to do but was not able to fit in. My mind never slows. A million creative ideas but how to fit them all in… A blog...
More Joyous Blur… In addition to the opening night activities shown in the previous post, the book launch offered me the opportunity to collaborate with some of my favorite retailers in Kansas City. Here are a few pics sharing some of our displays and...
In a 1924 Woman’s Institute ‘Inspiration’ publication, Katherine Rabuck wrote about the evolution of Institute Clubs, networks of women in cities around the country, and compared them to the Sewing Circles of days gone by… The same spirit that...
I cannot begin to tell you how much The Creative Connection event in Minneapolis meant to me. To start with, I have so much to report, I’m going to be breaking it down into three posts. The event was masterminded by Nancy Soriono and Jo Packam, two wonderfully...
The Launch Evening Way back on Sept 1, my newest book, Vintage Notions: An Inspirational Guide to Needlepoint, Cooking, Sewing, Fashion and Fun, officially launched. That seems like ages ago, but I wanted to stop for just a minute to share with you some of the...
