Hello Friends. Nothing says fall to me more than sunflowers, and as I was putting my sunflower cuttings into a vase, I realized that the endless hot days of summer are rapidly coming to a close. That and I turned the page on the calendar, which caused me a few moments of anxiety. This year, fall is greeting me with a strange quiver. I have spent the last two years without deadlines, bookings or a do it or leave it “To DO” list. So this September, I am fielding calls from quilters, anxious to get back to classes, guilds looking to book in person guest speakers along with a trip to the UK thrown in there, for the arrival of our new grand baby.

So lets start at the beginning and go through all my here and there and what’s going on!

September always has me thinking of new beginnings. I guess it resonates from the back to school time line, where I feel September is the start of a new quilting year. It’s at this time of year that I like to re-evaluate my classes that I teach out and about, along with new ones for the Quilt Shops and also In Studio. I have spent a few days redoing my website so I invite you to have a look around, check out the classes I have available for groups and guilds, and new ones in the In Studio section.

My patterns are now available on my website as PDF Downloads with paper patterns available through my Etsy site with a link on my website as well.

Another new task has been creating the pattern for the Cruise. I have the fabric coming in slowly and will be ready to get at my sample in November when we get back for the UK.

I guess I need a few days to start pattern writing. Looks like Hubby is going to have to fend for himself for a few days. Yikes!!

Oh the Cruise! It is time to seriously start planning to join me on a Caribbean vacation. Check it out, www.quiltandcruise.com. If you have questions about the quilt projects feel free to give me a shout.

I have a few new classes booked to teach at Cindy Bee’s Quilt Shoppe in Espanola this fall. One of which is last spring’s cruise quilt, Colour my Quilt. Due to Covid, the cruise was cancelled, so that means I have kits available for this class. The kits are pre-cut into their respective squares, rectangles and triangles and available in two colour-ways. No cutting no fuss just come and sew. It’s that easy! For more details call Cindy Bee’s Quilt Shoppe at (705) 869-2548

Also at Cindy Bee’s, a fused tree skirt and my latest obsession “Nantucket bags”. So far I have made 5 with 3 more to go. They will be excellent travel bags to put things like cosmetics, medicine, charger cords, etc…. they are fast, easy and even the zipper was fun. Great for gift giving with Christmas around the corner. Only 107 days until Christmas! AHHHHH!

I have received a few Pictures from quilters who have finished some of their projects. Diane completed her Colour My Quilt in reds. It turned out beautifully. I just love seeing all your finished projects.

Susan sent along a photo of her Pathway to Spring. Such a great choice of fabric colours. Thank you both for sharing. Both of these quilts are from my pattern line and can be purchased either as paper via my Etsy site or PDF downloadable from my website.

I just held my first In Studio Class since spring of 2020. We had a blast. I must admit I felt a bit rusty but once we got going - it was like riding a bike. The quilters were making the “Migrating Geese” Table runner. Lots of laughs and chatter, and that is what it is truly all about.

A few of us Studio 180 Certified Instructors are taking part in a Block Exploration Challenge. We post pictures of our exploration for this basic quilt block every Thursday in September. The intent of these challenges is to explore a quilt block. We just want to have fun playing with blocks, sharing what we came up with - through the Studio 180 lens (what S180 tools and/or techniques can be applied to this block to create it) and checking out each other's designs. You can take a look or follow along on Facebook or Instagram. Not on Instagram, that’s Ok, just go to my instagram page and have a look. Find me on Instagram at Quiltingbytheriver.

I will most likely not be posting a newsletter for a bit, until we get back from the UK in mid November. This quilter will be relishing in baby snuggles as we great our now grand daughter in October. I will be available via email during that time if you need to get in touch. I also would like to remind you to sign up for my newsletter so that you will receive it via email.

Thank you for dropping by, Until next time, have a look around my website, get in touch with a friend and start a new quilt project