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Last Saturday, I direct sowed baby spinach and buttercrunch lettuce seeds. The bright sun was beaming down, the breeze blowing my hair wildly while sounds of lawnmowers lulled me into Fake Spring. Honey, I lost my head. I didn't consult the almanac...

"I need a writing regimen," I announced. At this point, I think even my gemini twin rolls her eyes when I come up with such. Here she goes again.... Thus, The Joy Post was born. Which really works out because...

It's December 19th. The skies outside my window are a dull winter white. In fact, the weather folk are calling for record low temperatures for Christmas Eve night. It's a rare occasion when the foothills of Northeast Georgia are expected...

  “Oh, my child, can you not see? You must let go of yourself. For if a seed wishes to live, it must sacrifice itself and grow outward, not inward.” ― Seth Adam Smith, Rip Van Winkle and the Pumpkin Lantern  ...

“Can we go where we saw the Grinch?” Caroline asks from her car seat. Jason and I look at one another, our wheels turning in an effort to understand what she meant. Jason circles the truck around our local town...

Happy Andina Day, fabric lovers! I am so excited to share with you how to make the Flying Geese Pillow as seen in the Andina by AGF Studio for Art Gallery Fabrics Lookbook.

I am *thrilled* to surprise you with a FREE BLOCK TUTORIAL today and SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOP that I was a maker for the “Velvet” by Amy Sinibaldi for Art Gallery Fabrics Lookbook! 

When I arrived, Mama had everything together, all ready to go in a bag. Grandmother’s nursing cape was safely tucked inside a vintage leather garment bag that belonged to my PaPa. Her nurses cap, wrapped in the original plastic, sat on a stack of old photo albums and scrapbooks. “Look,” she exclaimed. “The cap still has the original bobby pins pinned inside.” When I’d asked Mama to gather a few nursing belongings of my Grandmother’s, I knew she’d deliver.

    Can you actually get paid to test a quilt pattern? The short answer is yes. The long answer is there are multiple avenues of compensation. Today we’ll discuss the many different ways Quilt Pattern Designers thank their testers...

Good hello, everyone! I am so honored to share my final interview of the Quilt Pattern Testing series. Today, I am pleased to share my final interviewee, Erin of Love Sew Modern. Her voice is unique in that she started testing patterns and grew her knowledge and experience into designing. I cannot wait for you to know more about Erin!

For today’s interview in the Quilt Pattern Testing series, we’re chatting with Jen Levin. She’s quickly becoming one of my favorite quilters and I so enjoyed hearing her honest and thoughtful feedback. I am grateful she’s agreed to share a bit more of her creative journey and experience in testing quilt patterns with you all.

Welcome to the much anticipated interview portion of the Quilt Pattern Testing blog series. This week we’ll get to know more about a designer, a tester, and a tester that blossomed into a designer. I am confident you’ll be just as enamored with each of these ladies as I am, if you’re not already!

To begin, I’d love to introduce you to Brittany of White Plains Quilts. Brittany is a dedicated wife and mother to two boys. Her quilting journey began four years ago. She jokes that it was an “Instagram made me do it” kind of push, more appropriately a "Suzy made me do it” nudge. She finally took the plunge and has been hooked ever since.

Welcome back to the quilt pattern testing blog series. This week I’d like to discuss communicating quality feedback. After polling fellow testers in my Instagram stories, a great deal expressed that sometimes they don’t know exactly what designers are looking for or what feedback to send to them. Naturally, I became intrigued by the idea of setting some kind of standard.

Today, I’d like to gear our discussion towards etiquette. From my conversational research, I’ve gathered that the quilting community is not immune to a lemon or two. Some of the testing stories shared in confidence would earn a lashing from Emily Gilmore herself. Allowing as much grace as I can muster, I lean into the idea that, perhaps, we tend to forget that quilting is actually a livelihood for some.

Are you curious about quilt pattern testing? Are you wondering how you can start? This post serves as a starting point in a series of blog posts discussing the essentials of quilt pattern testing. I’m hoping to expand the conversation regarding how to start, proper etiquette, clear communication, identifying quality feedback, and I’m even addressing uncomfortable questions such as “Don’t I get paid for this?” Buckle up!

Have you ever made something for someone right under their nose? Have you publicly shared the process knowing the recipient would see the details? Have you ever kept a secret, for months, from your own mother? I have.

The quilt pattern that introduced me to modern quilting. I'll always remember this quit represents that little spark - that wild idea I had when the wind picked up as I hugged my newborn close.