I have a huge announcement! I am working on my third book with Lucky Spool Media. It’s titled Petal + Stem: 40 Modern Floral Quilt Blocks to Mix-and-Match and it’s scheduled for publication in spring 2020, just in time for QuiltCon!

It’s because of QuiltCon that I get to share this news a little earlier than I would otherwise. I am teaching two full day classes from my new book at QuiltCon 2020 in Austin, TX next February.

If you have followed me on my blog or social media for any length of time, you know that I am an avid gardener. I have loved flowers for as long as I can remember. And thanks to a little inspiration from my friend, Becca, I decided to base a book around my love of flowers, modern quilt design, and paper piecing. I have spent all winter dreaming up stylized flower, stem and leaf components for you to mix-and-match in beautiful, modern quilt layouts. It’s been a really nice way to spend the winter, sewing floral quilts while waiting for my gardens to come alive.

On Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020, I will be teaching FDP200 On Point Paper Piecing. There is a sneak peek of the quilt that we will be sewing above. In this class, we will learn how to sew the two blocks that were used to create this design using an on point, modern layout. There is an angular, paper pieced stem and leaf block, and there is the petal block. The petal block incorporates paper piecing and curved piecing skills. This is a skill that can be transferred to a number of traditional blocks, such as the New York Beauty block.

On Saturday, Feb. 22, I will be teaching FDP203 Piece An Alternate Grid Garden. Above you will see a mock up of the quilt that we will be making (the real one is currently being quilted!). This quilt also incorporates curved piecing and paper piecing. We will also learn a bit about how to deconstruct a paper pieced block. That technique was used here to make the petals in the upper right look like they were blowing away in the wind. We will also discuss alternate grid layouts, like the one used to create this design.

Both of these classes are a step above beginning paper piecing. The book itself is intended for the confident paper piecer. It assumes a good working knowledge of paper piecing and provides you with blocks and layouts that are a little bit more challenging and unusual. In class, you will be able to work more confidently and accomplish more if you have experience paper piecing. If you do not, and you are eager to learn and patient, I am more than happy to walk you through the steps! After all, I love helping quilters come to love paper piecing.

There are no flowers here, so this class isn’t from the book! But I wanted to also let you know that I will be teaching two half day classes on Friday, Feb. 21 called DES102 (morning) and DES105 (afternoon) Alt Grid Design. This is a paper and pencil class focused on the role that alternate gridwork plays in modern quilt design and layouts. In this class, we will talk about how to incorporate alternate grid design into your quilts. We will also experiment with original ideas on worksheets, exploring staggered columns, asymmetrical quilt top designs, blocks of different sizes, on-point layouts, and more. This is a no sew class.

Let’s just look at that cover again for a moment. Isn’t it pretty? I have a lot of people to thank for it. I designed and pieced the quilt top and sent to it Christine Perrigo for the beautiful quilting. We collaborated on the ideas and I feel like she really understood the modern, angular look I was going for. She did a lot of quilting on this and it’s a big quilt, but it was totally worth it for this cover shot! (I hope you think so too Christine!) The photo itself was taken by Nissa Brehmer, one half of Page + Pixel. The other half, Kristy Zacharias, is the book designer. And, of course, Susanne Woods, oversees it all! I love how it’s all come together.

I hope you are all excited about this new book! I can’t wait until I can share more, but it will be awhile!