Mocha Latte

Kinda reminds me of a great thick rich coffee with whipped milk and a little stir stick cuz that's what this quilt evokes when I look at it.

Start with a cappucino Bali pop, add some browns, and really dark browns (I so LOVE brown -- it's the new black, you know!), sort them into four groups and start strip piecing and subcutting.

You can have this generous lap size made up in a couple of afternoons. No kidding.

Paper Roses

Okay, this isn't exactly a new pattern. I first made it in a Heather Bailey pastel fabric that didn't sell patterns very well for me. Then I made it in the bright bold red and gold palette from the Kaffe Fassett collection. Voila! the pattern started to do VERY well. But just this week I saw a version of Paper Roses made by a member of a suburban Chicago quilt guild that was just lovely. I had to share. I just love it when someone makes my pattern, follows the pattern instructions, AND makes it even better than me!

Bargello Placemats!

So, I'm at retreat making a new sample of Bargello Placemats, when my friend, across the way looks over and says, "Why would you put so much work into placemats that are just going to get spilled on?" The funny part was that she didn't know it was my pattern. One of my first patterns and probably one of my best selling patterns!

As I was teaching Bargello Placemats to a group of quilters in Ely, MN not long ago, I looked around at all the different color schemes and thought it really IS the perfect pattern for a placemat. It's artistic, easily displayed, usable, can be customized for any decor -- and you don't HAVE to eat on it!

Color Splash!

Guess what I'm going to make with this!!!!!

Blueberry Cobbler

This little tablerunner pattern was inspired by two things:

1) my friend, Sharyn, found this Warren Kimble Country Orchard fabric while on a bicycle/quilt trip to Wisconsin, and

2) She is in charge of the guild challenge project and over a bottle of wine, we concocted the "Recipe Runner Challenge" for the fall '10 guild show. You interpret your recipe into a tablerunner using a recognizable amount of the Country Orchard fabric. Mine became a pattern!

I couldn't stop with Blueberry Cobbler, so I made the green pears -- so many interesting brown fabrics -- and then I made the orange marmalade version. One of my nearby shops has ALL these fruit and vegetable fabrics, so now I'm thinking of making it with tomatoe fabric , grape, squash or a blackberry print! I might even add some applique in the center! So many possibilities....

I think more quilters should bicycle -- myself included!

Quilt on.....Lori Allison

Feather Your Vest!

So, have you feathered your vest yet?
Well, everyone at spring quilt market this weekend LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it. But virtually everyone thought it was too complicated. But it's not. Too complicated. You just send it to the long arm quilter FIRST. She does her magic and you make your vest. It's super flattering with the nice darts and couture finishes. And, yes, that's a first place blue ribbon on it from the Machine Quilter's Showcase in Kansas City last week! My first BLUE. Also very exciting.

My friend, Cathy Stiele models her vest for me. She thinks the green background makes her look green. She might be right. But nothing can make the vest look anything but fabulous. It has nice sized darts that make it fit beautifully.

And, yes, you can 'feather your vest' too. There is a pattern available individually from www.quilterswarehouse.com or ask for it at your local quilt shop. It is available from the major distributors as well.