Monday, March 18, 2024

HOORAY! Time For the 2024 Villa Rosa Designs Fast & More Fun Blog Hop -- Today is My Blog Day!

 

Hello There Friends! 

Welcome to you, both old and new friends!  

I'm sew glad that you are here.  Today is my day on the 2024 VRD Fast & More Fun Blog Hop and I'm thrilled to be part of the 2nd Villa Rosa Designs Blog Hop.  

If you've come for the prizes -- I'm happy to tell you that you will be able to register for prizes at the bottom of this post.  But before I give you all the prize info, please read on and enjoy my post celebrating Villa Rosa Designs.

A Little Bit About Me

If you've already recognized the writing style, you're not imagining things -- I am also the blog writer over at the Villa Rosa Designs (VRD) blog, Villa Rosa Quilts. Yep, it's me Tricia @ VRD.  LOL!

I met Pat Fryer, the owner and Rose Queen at VRD when I attended my very first Fall Quilt Market in 2010 (which, incidentally, was Pat's second Quilt Market promoting her new company, Villa Rosa Designs -- kismet, I think) in order to promote my first quilting book, Orphan Block Quilts.

                                                       Orphan Block Quilts: Making a Home for Antique, Vintage, Collectible and Leftover Quilt Blocks by [Tricia Lynn Maloney]
 

Sheesh!  2010 -- that seems like ages ago now.  Pat and I met up at every Market I attended after that and in 2017, I became part of the VRD family of designers.  Mostly I design the table runner patterns, but I also create patterns for baby quilts, throws, large quilts, and some smaller accessory patterns, too.  You can check out all my VRD Rose Card patterns HERE.

In 2021, I started a new life-changing position working for VRD as a virtual assistant -- virtual because we are located on opposite sides of the US -- Pat and VRD in California and me here in Pennsylvania.  Writing the weekly VRD blog, Villa Rosa Quilts, is just one of the fun and cool things I get to do.  I also write patterns, do graphics, work closely with fabric companies for cross-promotional purposes, and whatever else I can do to help Pat and VRD.  BEST.  JOB.  EVER.

VRD Fast & More Fun Blog Hop 

Now that you know a little bit about me, let me tell you all about the Blog Hop.  I hope you are having fun hopping from blog to blog to see all of these amazing quilts, meet the cool quilt bloggers, and to register for awesome prizes which were donated just for you by our wonderful sponsors (see below). 

Today is Day 5 on the Hop, so if you haven't visited blogs for the first 4 days, here's the schedule so you can.  Go for it -- the more blogs you visit and register for at, the more chances you have to win.

Blog Hop Schedule:

Thursday, March 14
Villa Rosa Quilts — https://villarosaquilts.com/ 

Friday, March 15
Kathleen McMusings — https://kathleenmcmusing.com/
The Morning Latte — http://livelylatte.blogspot.com/
Homesewn By Us — https://www.homesewnbyus.com
Pieceful Thoughts — https://www.piecefulthoughts.com/
C & T Publishing — https://www.ctpub.com/blog/

Saturday March 16National Quilting Day!
Needle and Foot — https://needleandfoot.com/
MMM Quilts — https://www.mmmquilts.com/
Texas Quilt Gal — https://www.texasquiltgal.com/
Time 4 Stitchn — http://time4stitchn.blogspot.com/
SIY (Sew It Yourself) — https://blog.siysewityourself.com/

Sunday, March 17Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Quarter Inch Capers — https://quarterinchcapers.blogspot.com/
Norton House Quilting — https://www.nortonhousequilting.com/blogs/news
Quilting Gail — https://quiltinggail.com/

Wazoo! Newsbits — http://wazoonewsbits.blogspot.com/

Monday, March 18
With Strings Attached — https://withstringsattached.blogspot.com/
Jaftex/Scott Fortunoff — https://scottfortunoff.com/
Cocoa Quilts — https://www.cocoaquilts.com/ 

Quilt With a View — http://quiltwithaview.blogspot.com/ (YOU ARE HERE)

Tuesday, March 19
Shout 4 Joy — https://shout4joy-shouting.blogspot.com/
The Darling Dogwood — http://thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/
Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting — www.knitbug2.blogspot.com
Something Rosemade — https://somethingrosemade14.blogspot.com/
Quilts of Valor Foundation — https://www.qovf.org/

Wednesday, March 20 — First Day of Spring!

Grace and Peace Quilting — https://www.graceandpeacequilting.com/
Happy Cottage Quilter — https://happycottagequilter.blogspot.com/
Joyfully Tracie — https://joyfullytracie.com/
Patchouli Moon Studio — https://patchouli-moon-studio.blogspot.com/
Electric Quilt Company — https://doyoueq.com/blog/

Thursday, March 21
Villa Rosa Quilts — villarosaquilts.com 

The VRd Blog Hop couldn't even happen without the amazing support from our sponsors.  Thank you Sponsors!

https://hoffmancaliforniafabrics.net

https://modafabrics.com

https://www.ttfabrics.com

http://jaftex.com

https://electricquilt.com

https://www.northcott.com/home.aspx

http://benartex.com

https://www.hancocks-paducah.com

https://foxchapelpublishing.com

https://www.ctpub.com

https://www.pbtex.com

I am honored that 2 of my Villa Rosa Designs Rose Card patterns made it into the 5 patterns selected for the Hop:  Clover and Twinkle.  Did you know that you can purchase a set of the Blog Hop patterns???  You can go HERE to get your own set.  Or maybe you'll win a set....

Blog Hop 2024 SET of 5 CARDS

 

 Okay, now that we've got all that out of the way, wanna see my quilt???

Twinkle, My Blog Hop Quilt

When I designed Twinkle in 2019, I was torn about what fabrics and colors I should choose.  I decided to use a white background and some fun bright 5" squares.  It turned out really fun and flirty so I went with it.

 



In the back of my mind, though, I always wondered what it would look like with a black background.

Fast forward 5 years and I decided to answer that "what if" question for my Blog Hop post by creating a brand new Twinkle quilt featuring a solid black background paired with a great selection of 5" squares of Batiks.  


I am really pleased with how it turned out!  The Batiks shimmer and really pop on the black background, don't they?

 When I went outside to photograph the Twinkle top (not Toes -- LOL!), it was really nasty -- the temperature dropped, it was very windy, and then snowflakes were swirling around as I was trying to catch a quick photo when the wind stopped blowing for a second.  Just one teeny second was all I needed. It took me several tries as you can see below in my "windy" photos, but I finally managed to get a decent photo. 

What was really cool while I was taking photos is that way up high soaring on the wind was our neighborhood eagle!  Sure I was freezing, but it never fails to take my breath away to see our eagle (or eagles, last year we had 4 -- 2 parents and 2 youngsters), no matter how many times I see him/her (not sure which one it was today). I hope we get eaglets again this year!

Here are my "windy" photos. Seriously, I wouldn't have gone outside today to do photography if I hadn't wanted to get a good clean image for my blog post.  If I hadn't gone outside, though, I wouldn't have seen the eagle soaring on the wind up above.  Simply beautiful....


 

Maybe you noticed that I didn't add a border....yet.   I'm not entirely sure what I want to do about the border.  It needs something, but I'm not sure exactly what.  

I will say I was really inspired by Cheree over at The Morning Latte last Friday with her gorgeous pieced border for her version of Gypsy, so maybe I will go that route.  I just don't know.  What do you think?  Aha!  I think this question will be my question for the prizes, below.  I am SEW open to ideas!

Now, how about some PRIZES??!!

Blog Hop GIVEAWAYS

I know you've all been waiting for this!  Here's your reward for reading all the way down my blog post -- thank you!

And thanks to our Sponsors, we have some really awesome prizes up for grabs!  Here they are:

1)  1 set of the Blog Hop patterns, donated by Villa Rosa Designs (each blogger will give away a set)

2)  3  chances at 3 of the Grand Prizes (you will need to register to win the EQ8 download on the Electric Quilt blog, beginning on Wednesday, March 20th) donated by our rockin' Blog Hop Sponsors (each blogger will choose 3 people to go into the Grand Prize drawings)

3)  3 Individual Sponsored Prizes (each blogger will choose 3 winners)

But wait!  There's more!

I'm adding some fun prizes to give away here on my blog too!

4)  A signed copy of my first book, Orphan Block Quilts 

5) A mystery set of my Villa Rosa Designs Rose Card patterns

You have up to 2 chances to win the above prizes here on my blog!  International Friends are welcome to register for prizes, too, as some of the Sponsors are able to ship internationally.  Winners will be randomly selected following the Blog Hop.  Winners will be announced after all winners have been contacted.

Here's what you need to do to be registered for prizes here on my blog:

1)  Leave a comment on this blog post and tell me what you think I should do for borders on my Twinkle quilt.

2)  Become a blog follower/subscriber and leave a comment on this blog post telling me you are a follower/subscriber (if you are already a subscriber/follower -- thank you -- please leave a comment letting me know).   PSST!  The Blue "Follow" button is at the bottom of the Followers box on the top right side of the blog.  You can also Subscribe with Netblogs, My Yahoo!, and Atom.  I think I'm on Bloglovin, too.

 Please make sure to leave an email address so I can contact you if you win! If there isn't an email address, I will move on to the next commenter.

Remember, you have until Sunday, March 24th to leave a comment to register for the prizes above.

That's it!  Really!  Easy Peasy!

Good luck to each and every one of you!  

Enjoy the Hop (socks are optional)!

                    Best,

Tricia 

P.S.  Please stop back soon to see what I'm up to....

 

 



Thursday, March 14, 2024

The Villa Rosa Designs Fast & More Fun Blog Hop

 Hello Friends!


Today's the day for the kickoff to the 2024 Villa Rosa Designs Fast & More Fun Blog Hop!  I hope you are as excited about it as I am.  

 Here is the Blog Hop schedule with bloggers links:

Thursday, March 14
Villa Rosa Quilts -- https://villarosaquilts.com/

Friday, March 15
Kathleen McMusings -- https://kathleenmcmusing.com/
The Morning Latte -- http://livelylatte.blogspot.com/
Homesewn By Us -- https://www.homesewnbyus.com
Pieceful Thoughts -- https://www.piecefulthoughts.com/
C & T Publishing -- https://www.ctpub.com/blog/

Saturday March 16 -- National Quilting Day!
Needle and Foot -- https://needleandfoot.com/
MMM Quilts -- https://www.mmmquilts.com/
Texas Quilt Gal -- https://www.texasquiltgal.com/
Time 4 Stitchn -- http://time4stitchn.blogspot.com/
SIY (Sew It Yourself) -- https://blog.siysewityourself.com/

Sunday, March 17 -- Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Quarter Inch Capers -- https://quarterinchcapers.blogspot.com/
Norton House Quilting -- https://www.nortonhousequilting.com/blogs/news
Quilting Gail -- https://quiltinggail.com/

Wazoo! Newsbits -- http://wazoonewsbits.blogspot.com/

Monday, March 18
With Strings Attached -- https://withstringsattached.blogspot.com/
Jaftex/Scott Fortunoff -- https://scottfortunoff.com/
Cocoa Quilts -- https://www.cocoaquilts.com/ 

Quilt With a View -- http://quiltwithaview.blogspot.com/ (You are here)

Tuesday, March 19
Shout 4 Joy -- https://shout4joy-shouting.blogspot.com/
The Darling Dogwood -- http://thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/
Vicki's Crafts and Quilting -- www.knitbug2.blogspot.com
Something Rosemade -- https://somethingrosemade14.blogspot.com/
Quilts of Valor Foundation -- https://www.qovf.org/

Wednesday, March 20th -- First Day of Spring!

Grace and Peace Quilting -- https://www.graceandpeacequilting.com/
Happy Cottage Quilter -- https://happycottagequilter.blogspot.com/
Joyfully Tracie -- https://joyfullytracie.com/
Patchouli Moon Studio -- https://patchouli-moon-studio.blogspot.com/
Electric Quilt Company -- https://doyoueq.com/blog/

Thursday, March 21 st
Villa Rosa Quilts -- villarosaquilts.com

 As you can see from the schedule, I won't be blogging for the Hop until Monday, but I thought you might like to have the blog links before then!

And here are the awesome Sponsors for the event.  There will be all kinds of prizes to give away -- 4 Grand Prizes, lots of individual prizes, and  Blog Hop Pattern Sets.  Thank you very much, kind sponsors!

https://hoffmancaliforniafabrics.net

https://modafabrics.com

https://www.ttfabrics.com

http://jaftex.com

https://electricquilt.com

https://www.northcott.com/home.aspx

http://benartex.com

https://www.hancocks-paducah.com

https://foxchapelpublishing.com

https://www.ctpub.com

https://www.pbtex.com

 

Wow!  That's a lot of great sponsors!

Head on over the the Villa Rosa Quilts blog to find out all about the Fast & More Fun Blog Hop!

See you right here on Monday, March 18th!  

                     Best,

                Tricia





Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Let's Have a Blog Hop!

 Hello Friends!


I'm SEW excited to announce that I am participating in the Villa Rosa Designs Fast & More Fun Blog Hop March 14-21. 



This is the 2nd year for the Hop and I'm thrilled to be part of it again this year.  Do you remember the Hop last year?  It was awesome!  Each of the bloggers created a VRD quilt and revealed them on their blog posts for the Hop.  There will be tons of prizes, too!  And 4 Grand Prize drawings this year -- wow!

The Hop kicks off this Thursday, March 14th, on the VRD blog -- villarosaquilts.com

Make sure you stop by the VRD blog on Thursday to  find out how everything works and how to register for prizes.

The time is perfect!  National Quilting Day is Saturday, March 16th -- what better way to celebrate quilting than to go on a Blog Hop adventure from the comfort of your home.  You can even wear your jammies!


More info to follow.......

                            Best,

                                     Tricia

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Hello From Somewhere

 Hello Friends!


Yes, it's been a long long time.  Life just happens, you know? 

2023 brought a lot of challenges and surprises, both personally and professionally.  I'm sure the same can be said for all of us.

Needless to say, my personal blog fell by the wayside.  

I keep telling myself that all I have to do is make it a priority.  Make it a new habit.  Pick a day of the week/month and stick to it.  But I just can't seem to be stick with my blog.

I LOVE to write.  I mean, I really really love to write.  So, what's the problem?  I write a lot.  I have a couple new books in the works.  I write a blog for work.  I write patterns.  I write, write, write.  Hmm. Maybe I just write too much? 

Anyway, I'm going to try again to work on my blog regularly.  I think it would be nice to talk about my personal quilting journey once again.  

So, I'm saying it one more time, I am going to try. 

You know the story -- I think I can, I think I can........

Stay tuned!

            Best, 

                    Tricia

Saturday, January 21, 2023

Welcome to the Villa Rosa Designs Blog Hop!

Hello There Friends! 

Welcome to you, both old and new friends!  I'm sew glad that you are here.

I'm thrilled to be part of the very first Villa Rosa Designs Blog Hop. 

                        

A Little Bit About Me

If you've already recognized the writing style, you're not imagining things -- I am also the blog writer over at the Villa Rosa Designs (VRD) blog, Villa Rosa Quilts. Yep, it's me Tricia @ VRD.  LOL!

I met Pat Fryer, the owner and Rose Queen at VRD when I attended my very first Fall Quilt Market in 2010 (which, incidentally, was Pat's second Quilt Market promoting her new company, Villa Rosa Designs -- kismet, I think) in order to promote my first quilting book, Orphan Block Quilts

                                                       Orphan Block Quilts: Making a Home for Antique, Vintage, Collectible and Leftover Quilt Blocks by [Tricia Lynn Maloney]
 

Yikes!  2010 -- that seems like ages ago now.  Pat and I met up at every Market I attended after that until 2017, when I became part of the VRD family of designers.  Mostly I design the table runner patterns, but I also create patterns for baby quilts, throws, and even a few large quilts.  You can check out my VRD Rose Card patterns HERE.

Then in 2021, I started a new life-changing position working for VRD as a virtual assistant -- we are located on opposite coasts of the US.  Writing the weekly VRD blog, Villa Rosa Quilts, is just one of the fun and cool things I get to do.  I also get to write patterns, do graphics, and work closely with fabric companies for cross-promotional purposes.  Yay!  Best job ever!

The Villa Rosa Designs Fast & Fun Blog Hop

Now that you know a little bit about me, let me tell you all about the Blog Hop.  By now, you've seen many quilts made by the awesome bloggers participating in this Hop using Rose Card patterns in the Blog Hop Collection.

 Here is our Blog Hop Schedule:

01/19/23 ThursdayVilla Rosa Quilts — Today, where it all begins
01/20/23 FridayFrom Bolt to Beauty
Kathleen McMusing
Jaftex Companies
01/21/23 SaturdayPieceful Thoughts
Little Penguin Quilts
01/22/23 SundayQuilt with a View
mmmquilts
01/23/23 MondayCheryl’s Teapots 2 Quilting
Devoted Quilter
Quilts of Valor Foundation
01/24/23 TuesdayNeedle and Foot
Am I Shouting Yet?
Electric Quilt
01/25/23 WednesdayThe Crafty Quilter
Jo’s Country Junction
Keepsake Quilting
Stitchin At Home
01/26/23 ThursdayVilla Rosa Quilts — Blog Hop Wrap Up                                 

I hope you're keeping up because there are quilts to see and prizes to win!   Villa Rosa Designs created a special collection of Rose Card patterns and asked each participating blogger to make one of the 5 patterns.  You'll have to hop from blog to blog to see which quilt each blogger created!  And while you're there, stay a while and look around.  Don't forget to leave a comment and register for prizes!

Here are the Rose Card patterns included in the Blog Hop collection.  You can purchase all 5 of the patterns at the special price of $8.95 HERE.

I'm honored that my pattern, Snow Goose, was chosen as part of the Fast & Fun Blog Hop Collection!  

I thought I'd share more about this pattern with you for the VRD Fats & Fun Blog Hop.

Snow Goose, My VRD Rose Card Pattern

I was inspired to create this table runner because I love watching the gaggles of geese fly over and it makes me smile to hear them honking at each other.  I can just imagine what they're saying to each other -- LOL!  

When I'm outside and they're overhead, I stop and watch, because I think geese are simply amazing -- they fly hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles and even from way up there, they know where they're going. And they return to the same areas year after year.  Wow!  Nature is fascinating, isn't it?

 
Image by wirestock on Freepik

When I learned a new way of making Flying Geese using the flippy corner method with strips, I knew I just had to design a project and after some tweaking, Snow Goose was born.  I dipped into my stash of blue batiks for the wings and a solid white for the bodies.  And I just love how it turned out.  You can never go wrong with a blue and white quilt, no matter how many blues you use.

Snow Goose is a great project to use up leftover strips from other projects.  Of course, you can use fat quarters, too, and make several runners out of the same group of fabrics.  You could also make this runner into a larger quilt, see below.

Here are some photos I took of my Snow Goose runner:





After I make a project for a Rose Card pattern, I take many photos of the quilt and then choose the one I like the best for the cover of the pattern.  Since I'm not a great photographer, I prefer taking my quilt photos outside in natural light.  

Winter photos can be a little more difficult, though, due to grey days and sometimes lots of snow, so occasionally I have to be a little more creative about finding an indoor space to take photos.  I lucked out with Snow Goose and was able to get out between snow storms to grab these photos.

My mom (Hi Mom!) actually chose this photo over the others above and it became the cover of the Rose Card pattern.


 Now, let's play a little bit! 

What happens when you switch the lights and darks in Snow Goose?

 
What if you use bright fabrics with black?  
 

Or maybe a scrappy Christmas Goose?

What if you make 25 blocks (5 blocks across by 5 blocks down) to make a 50" x 50" quilt?  I'm thinking it needs a blue border, what do you think?
 
 
 
Yes, a 3" finished border (making this quilt 56" square) adds a nice frame effect to the geese, keeping them from escaping the edges of the quilt.  Tehehehe.......
 

The ability to adapt, expand, modify, and even shrink down Villa Rosa Rose Card patterns is just one of the things I love best about VRD patterns.  Of course, they are always FAST & FUN to make!

Blog Hop GIVEAWAYS

I know you've been waiting for this!  Here's your reward for reading all the way down my blog post.

Thanks to the Blog Hop Sponsors -- 

Moda, Hoffman, Electric Quilt, Creative Grids, Timeless TreasuresThe Gypsy Quilter, Quilts of Valor, Annie's, and Banyan Batiks

We have some awesome prizes up for grabs!

1)  1 set of the Blog Hop patterns, donated by Villa Rosa Designs (each blogger will give away a set)

2)  2  chances at the Grand Prize Boxes filled with lots of quilting goodies donated by the Blog Hop Sponsors and even some of the bloggers (each blogger will choose 2 people to go into the Grand Prize Boxes drawing)

3)  3 Individual Sponsored Prizes (each blogger will choose 3 winners)

And I'm adding some fun prizes to give away here on my blog too!

4)  2 packs of a selection of VRD table runner Rose Cards

5)  2 packs of a selection of my VRD quilt Rose Cards

6)  1 signed copy of my latest book, Blue Moon Block of the Month Quilt Planner

 
7)  1 signed copy of my book Orphan Block Quilts
 
                                                     Orphan Block Quilts: Making a Home for Antique, Vintage, Collectible and Leftover Quilt Blocks by [Tricia Lynn Maloney]
 
 
8)  1 signed copy of my book A Russian Journey in Quilts, which is out of print now
 
                                                         

9)  1 signed copy of my book I Love Precut Quilts!
 

 
 You have up to 2 chances to win the above prizes here on my blog!  

All you have to do is:

 1)  Leave a comment on this blog and tell me how you would change or adapt the Snow Goose pattern.

2)  Become a blog follower/subscriber and leave a comment on this blog telling me you are a follower/subscriber 

 Please make sure to leave an email address so I can contact you if you win! 

Remember, you have until Sunday, January 29th to leave a comment to register for the prizes above.

That's it!  Really!  Easy Peasy!

Good luck to each and every one of you!  

Until next time --

Tricia, AKA The Orphan Quilter


 

 

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Sew Excited About the Villa Rosa Designs Fast & Fun Blog Hop January 19-26

Hello There Friends! 

 I'm getting really excited about participating in the first ever Villa Rosa Designs Blog Hop January 19-26!  That's next week already and I haven't even started composing my Hop post -- I'd better get busy with that, hadn't I?

 I wanted to tell you a little bit about the Blog Hop, though, before next week.  Everything starts on January 19th on the Villa Rosa blog, www.villarosaquilts.com.


Have you ever done a blog hop?  They are just the most fun events!  Blog Hops are a lot like quilt shop hops, but you hop from blog to blog on the Internet from the comfort of your own home instead of from shop to shop.  

As this is Villa Rosa's Blog Hop, all of the participating bloggers (me included) will share quilts they've made using Villa Rosa Designs Rose Card quilt patterns.  You can visit the VRD website and check out the over 500 patterns in their catalog HERE.

Oh!  Did I mention there are prizes????  Lots and lots of prizes!!!  And I'm not kidding, either.  Some of your favorite quilt companies are sponsoring this event -- Moda, Benartex, Hoffman, Timeless Treasures, Banyan Batiks, Electric Quilt, Annie's Publishing, Quilts of Valor Foundation, Creative Grids, and The Gypsy Quilter.

There are 18 bloggers all together for the hop -- 18 bloggers!  WOW! 

Here are all the bloggers for the Hop:

https://villarosaquilts.com

http://frombolttobeauty.blogspot.com

https://www.kathleenmcmusing.com

https://scottfortunoff.com

https://www.piecefulthoughts.com

https://littlepenguinquilts.blogspot.com

https://www.keepsakequilting.com/blogs/keepsake-quilting-blog

https://quiltwithaview.blogspot.com

https://www.mmmquilts.com

https://cherylsteapots2quilting.blogspot.com

https://www.devotedquilter.com

https://www.qovf.org

https://needleandfoot.com

https://shout4joy-shouting.blogspot.com

https://doyoueq.com/blog

https://thecraftyquilter.com

http://www.joscountryjunction.com

https://www.stitchinathome.com

So, make sure you mark your calendar for this amazing Blog Hop and tell all your quilty friends so they can join in the fun too!  

I'm sew excited to be participating as a blogger and I can't wait until next week.....

Get ready!  Everything starts on January 19th!

I almost forgot to mention that my post is scheduled for Sunday, January 22nd.  See you then!

Until next time --

Tricia, AKA The Orphan Quilter


 

 

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Back in the Saddle and Looking Forward to 2023

 

Long time no see!  I'd like to say that I stopped blogging because of the Pandemic, but I dropped the ball back in 2019, so I don't think that excuse will fly.  LOL!  All I can say is that life got in the way and then I just got out of the habit of writing my blog.

I took a very lllllooooonnnnnnggggggg break, but now I'm ready to get back into blogging mode.

So, hello!  Let's start over together.

A lot has happened for me since 2019.  I bet you can say the same, huh?

New Job

First, let me tell you a little bit about my cool new job.  I am now a Virtual Assistant at Villa Rosa Designs, www.villarosadesigns.com.  I started this new job in 2021, after I left the library I had worked at for over 10 years.  

It was time for a change.  Starting a new job is always a bit scary, but I was more excited than scared about my career change.  Now I work from home, which is awesome -- my commute is only down the stairs to my office/studio dungeon in the basement.  I write patterns, do quilt diagrams, create quilt mock ups, write the weekly blog, do tutorials for the blog, and whatever other projects that come up.  Love my job.  I will say that working from home does have a few drawbacks, though.  I am now more physically available so I get more interruptions.  Sometimes it's hard to get to my work because home/family things get in the way.

New Pets

After losing all of our older/elderly cats during the Pandemic, all of a sudden we were the pet parents of one lonely cat, Pip.  I adopted a kitten in late 2021 and this year as in a couple months ago in 2022, we adopted a very energetic and sweet Shih Tzu puppy, Bailly.  We have a super active furry family now with a young cat and a 5 month old puppy, who by the way are about the same size, and Pip who is about as energetic as a snail.

Here are my furbabies:

This is Bailly in her Christmas dress!

Here's my boy, Griffin!


Here's my perfectly plump Pip!

New Books

In 2021, I tried something new -- self-publishing on Amazon.   Luckily, I had already written 3 books the traditional way and published them with craft book publishers, so I had a more-than-average understanding of the world of publishing.  Which was good, because writing, editing, and illustrating your own books takes time and patience.

My first self-published book:


Feed Sacks is a tribute to my love of vintage feed sacks.  I started collecting them a couple years ago and now I have a large growing collection, so it made sense to photograph the different patterns and designs.  Then I put over 1000 of them together in this book.  It's a great Look Book of feed sack designs and patterns along with sections containing historical information and where to find your own feed sacks.
 
You can buy my book HERE.

My second Feed Sack book will be out soon, which will have another 1400+ feed sack designs and patterns!  So stay tuned to early 2023.
 
My second self-published book:

 
                                    
 

I love planners, journals, and calendars!  So it wasn't a hard decision to create my very own Quilt Planner with blank weekly and monthly grids so people can start it when they want to.  But the coolest thing is that my Planner is also a Block of the Month project!  Woo-hoo!
 
You can buy my planner HERE

Well, I guess there's not much more to say right now except:
 

Happy New Year!


Image by callmetak on Freepik


Stop in next week for more information about a FUN event coming in January 2023........did anyone say Blog Hop???

Until next time --

Tricia, AKA The Orphan Quilter