Angel in Flight Art Quilt on “A Joyful Embrace: A Memoir”

So I wrote a book entitled, “A Joyful Embrace: A Memoir.” It is now available for purchase as an e-book, paperback, or hardback on Amazon. The book was a labor of love about the rare glimpse into the inspiring and joyful life of my daughter, Mimi, who was born with cerebral palsy. Though wheelchair-bound with the mental capacity of a delightful two-year-old her entire life, her extraordinary social and spiritual gifts challenged what is “normal” for anyone she encountered.

I also designed and made the collage art quilt, entitled Angel in Flight, which graces the cover of the book. My friend, Lisa Taylor, did a beautiful job longarming the quilt. The pdf pattern is available for sale in my Etsy shop.

Profits from the book will be joyfully donated to The Village Learning Center in Mimi’s memory.

Collage Quilting students are the best!

The Christmas Quilt!

Lots of new Kaffe fabric

Lots of blue!

Picking out background fabric

She made a smaller version!

Notice the Tula roses?

Can you find the tuna can?

Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of presenting and teaching for the Tri-County Quilt Guild in Cypress, Texas. This is a large guild with over 300 members and 80+ in attendance at the meeting. I was treated to dinner before the meeting. Not gonna lie. It made me feel like a rock star! Later in the week, I taught a dozen enthusiastic ladies at Bobbins & Threads Quilting & Crafts in Houston.

I have found the heart pattern is the best way to learn collage quilting and the ladies certainly stepped up! It is a large enough image that students gain confidence in their collaging skills to move on to a more challenging pattern. The ladies came ready to work and by the end of class we actually auditioned lots of completed hearts for background fabrics.

Each heart is so unique! This is the first time I’ve had someone try Christmas motifs and it is beautiful! The lady in the hot pink shirt had lots of new Kaffe Fassett fabric. Seriously, I was on the verge of drooling. It was all so new, I didn’t have any of it in my stash. Also, you might notice a Tula Pink vintage tuna can in one of the quilts. I allow students to pick through my secret stash when I teach. I have found quilters to be very good at sharing. It is probably why I always wind up with more great fabric than when I started teaching the class.