I really haven't disappeared off the face of the earth -

I've just been sewing and proofing and sewing and proofing and sewing and.......well, you get the idea. It's about all of these deadlines for Fall Market.
This is the KC Star BOM by Edie McGinnis and myself that will show to the shops at Fall Market. Now that I have 9/10ths of my work done on it, I kind of like it again. In the middle of a big quilt or book, when all the pressure is on to get things done on time, sometimes I don't like them very much. I think that's why so many of my quilts are BOMs or BOM types. That way I really get to like each block as I finish it. Both versions of the quilt are made from Linda and my Blessings line - by Moda, of course. To see Edie's version (mine is more intense - go figure - and Edie's is softer and more subtle, go to pickledish.kcstar.com/)



And speaking of Edie - You all just have to see - and read - all of the awesome work she did on my Flags book. When I originally made this "Flags of the American Revolution" quilt, I had a small paragraph about the history of most of the blocks (or flags) in the quilt. She edited the book and took the idea and ran with it. There is a full page of history on the center eagle block and on each of the Flag blocks. It adds so much to the book that I tried to get her to have her name on the cover too, etc. She said no, that she was content to have her name on the history pages. And I have learned not to argue with Edie McGinnis. It just does no good at all. It turned the book into a great read with all sorts of information as well as, I think, full of great quilts to look at.



"Flags" was truly a collaborative quilt. One day my husband was "dinking" around on the net, looking for a Gadsden flag - the one with a coiled snake and the words "Don't tread on me". And he said, Jan, come here. I think these are your kind of colors and your kind of thing." So I did a little research on that site. I had already been scheduled to take a rare day off and go see my birthday sister Cherie Ralston in Lawrence. I jumped in my car the next day and as usual, instead of taking the day off, we played and she drew out the quilt for me. I can draw on the computer myself, now but she still does a lot of my left brain stuff whenever I yell "help". She's a very neat lady and I like her a lot.



Anyway, this is a great book - first to look out and secondarily, thanks to Edie McGinnis, great to read. I don't think it's up on my website quite yet - I just sent it to Shannon - but if you want one you can email Tara at info@janpatekquilts.com you can order one from her.
Cost is $24.95 + S&H.

Then there's this year's Girl Gang Quilt - Sunny Days that we're finishing up as well as 2 quilts using my our new Looking Back fabric line - one using lots and lots of Moda designer triangle squares. But I can't show them yet. We do have lots of things to look forward to.



Of course, I do have a life outside of quilting. Two of my grandchildren have birthdays this week. Aidan will be 7 and Cullen will be 3. Birthdays do have to be celebrated.

For now, back to proofing and sewing - ond proofing and sewing --------