sorry, so sorry about the week long absence…. book, pattern and fabric deadlines. I swore I would not let them get the best of me…. well, let’s just say I’m trying to be true to my word [I’m sure my husband would say I was failing, LOL]. As I’m cleaning up my studio after a flurry of design, I often find myself designing a whole new slew of projects in the process. I don’t set out to do it and don’t intend to work, just to clean. But somehow in the process of cleaning up and playing with all those discarded scraps and swatches of fabric and putting away all those design resources, my mind quickly starts a fresh… This time around I was so inspired by my wheels of wool swatches. Their texture and their colors just…

I just wanted to thank everybody for such a warm welcome to blogland. It really is a magical place that you don’t know is there until you find it. Then you wonder how you ever got along without it. You have showered me with emails and left such lovely comments… a girl could get addicted to this! I am sorry if I haven’t had a chance to respond to all your emails or comments yet. I’ve been answering a few at a time, especially all the emails. This week has been one of those deadline weeks for me that I know other designers have blogged about in graphic detail. I have to tell you that although I don’t enjoy the anxiety that usually surrounds this time, I do work well under pressure and so I have gotten an unbelievable amount of…

Fig Tree’s newest line of fabric is about to hit the streets, so to speak! I have to admit that I have been working & creating with this fabric for many months now and am almost ready to move on to something new and different but I know that it is new for all of you and I am excited to see what you think and what you do with it. One of my favorite things about designing fabrics is when I get to see the wonderful creations you all come up with. Honestly, I am often inspired all over again when I see what your imaginations have created, even more so than by my own designs sometimes. For me seeing the fabric through someone else’s creativity is one of the greatest “perks” of being a designer. I never get tired of people sending…

One of the questions I get asked the most often is, “What is Fresh Vintage?” If you’ve looked at our website or ever heard me lecture or do a workshop, you’ll know that I call the look and feel of the palette I use for Fig Tree, “Fresh Vintage”. I’ve been calling it that for so long, I don’t even know how it started except that I can tell you that is is very descriptive of what the style actually is. It is “VINTAGE” in that we work hard to reproduce colors and designs from yesteryear, using the tones that were used so much in days gone by. Now, mind you, these are not pastels or “cottage” colors or primary colors as we think of today, not that I have anything against any of…

Hello fellow quilters, crafters and bloggers- For those of you who are finding me for the first time, please read more about me in the ABOUT ME section of the blog. For those of you who are Fig Tree fans— I am so glad you are here. Many of you have asked me to share my inspiration and the process of design for me and this is what I hope to do here… It was sometime early last fall that I was first introduced to the world of blogging by my friend Jackie of the Wren’s Nest. I just didn’t get it. I couldn’t understand what all these people could talk about and more importantly why anyone else would read them. Well, I understand all too well now! I am hooked on catching up on my favorite blogs, love the search and…