Welcome quilters to Day One of Kay Mackenzie’s blog tour for her newest book, Inspired by Tradition: 50 Applique Blocks in 5 Sizes. If you’re new here, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Maria Peagler, author of the Benjamin Franklin award-winning book Color Mastery: 10 Principles for Creating Stunning Quilts. I’m a workshop instructor and [...]
Posts under ‘Books’
How Much Does Beauty Cost?
I guess that’s an unanswerable question, isn’t it? How can you put a price on what each of us deems beautiful?
Since we’re quilters, our stash is a beautiful thing, one we would loathe to put a price on. Those quilts are works of love going to cherished family members, people in need, and our own [...]
Come Celebrate with Me
If you asked God to grant your biggest dream, what would it be? My answer would be different depending on when you asked me. Some dreams come and go, while others stick with you, and others you work diligently to see to fruition.
My first dream? A happy, healthy marriage. No small feat for any couple, [...]
My Kindle’s Here! My Kindle’s Here!
I’m like a kid at Christmas – my Kindle’s here! After putting off buying one for too long, I’ve finally succumbed to Kindle love. I’m an avid reader, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the Kindle once Amazon lowered the price. Now it’s here and guess who downloaded the first books? My [...]
Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks: Old Glory is Mine!
When Carolyn Beam from Quiltmaker asked me to participate in their 100 Blocks issue I was thrilled to contribute, as Quiltmaker is the magazine I recommend most to my students. It’s a great learning tool, and their 100 Blocks collector’s issue does not disappoint. It’s packed with appliqued, pieced, and mixed-technique blocks, so no matter [...]
Inquiring Minds Want to Know
I’m humbled and thrilled at the response from quilters and reviewers to Color Mastery. I’m giving lectures and workshops, producing videos on color, and building relationships with quilters across the globe on my blog, email newsletter, Twitter, and Facebook.
I’m starting to work on my next book, talking to shop owners, industry experts, and fabric companies. [...]
A Real Book’s Lasting Value
I want my work to last. Longevity is one of the three main goals I have for my books. The other two? A post for another day.
I realized long ago that it took just as long to write a book that was trendy and out of print after two years as it did to write [...]
A Color Feast at Sew Bee It
First impressions mean a lot, and I was greeted with a feast of color and a warm welcome as I entered Sew Bee It quilt shop in Ringgold, GA. Owner Gloria Black gave me a warm hug, introduced me to her fantastic staff, and gave me a tour around her incredible shop.
If I worked at [...]
Book Tour Fun
I’ve met wonderful women (and men) this week during the first half of the Color Mastery book tour. I’ll be featuring many of these creative folks in future posts and interviews, but here are a few photos first.
Debbie and Marie were so much fun. Marie used to work at Olan Mills, and she posed [...]
Easy Applique Blocks Book Launch Party
Welcome to the launch party for Kay Mackenzie’s terrific new book, Easy Applique Blocks: 50 Designs in 5 Sizes from Martingale & Company / That Patchwork Place!
I’m pleased to host Kay here at Quilts and Creativity, and to be the first stop on her Book-A-Round blog tour. You’ll get to meet Kay, hear the [...]
March/April Newsletter
My latest newsletter is out and it’s bursting with all kinds of spring goodies, including all the details on the latest Color Mastery news: a book tour across Georgia. All the details are in the newsletter and over at the Color Mastery blog.
Every author dreams of doing a book tour, and I can’t wait to [...]
Chatting About Color at the Book Launch Party
I’ve got an entire gallery of photos from the book launch party over at the Color Mastery book blog. Here are the personal ones:
My younger son announcing the winners of door prizes. He was all smiles, sneaking sweet treats, picking out fat quarters, and giving me hugs throughout the evening.
My older son would quietly rub [...]
February Newsletter Hot Off the Press
February’s Quilts & Creativity newsletter went out this week, and I can’t wait for you to see it. It includes last-minute details on my book launch this Friday, an opportunity to win a color consultation with me, the scoop on fresh, innovative spring color palettes, a sneak peek at a new product I’ll be [...]
Top Ten Reasons to Independently Publish
One of the big questions any author considers is “who’s the best publisher for my book?” After writing eight books, being published by four different publishers, and independently publishing my own books, my answer has changed over time. I’ve been published by big houses like Tab and McGraw-Hill, I’ve had a literary agent, and I’ve [...]
Teapots 2 Applique – Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway
Today’s gift is the beautiful book Teapots 2 Applique by Kay Mackenzie of Quilt Puppy Publications. Kay has written an entire line of applique books, each centered around a different theme. Teapots 2 to Appliqué includes 16 creative teapots to appliqué using your favorite method. Includes a sampler quilt pattern if you’d like to show [...]
2008 Best Craft/Hobby Books
I adore books. Really. I would buy books before food and clothes, and when I go into a quilt shop I always look at what the new books are. So I was excited to see USABookNews.com’s picks for best Craft/Hobbies books. Take a peek and see how many quilting and sewing-related titles are here.
Looking for [...]
Holiday Goodies in My November Newsletter
The November issue is out, and I included some incredible articles:
how to keep a color journal
how to orchestrate the colors in a “blended-type” quilt
a fabulous source for free machine quilting patterns
my favorite cranberry sauce recipe
details on my Twelve Days of Christmas giveaway
You are on the email list, right? Well, if not, you can sign up [...]
Quilt Project Runway: Meg Cox, Quilting Evangelist
I profiled Meg Cox, author of The Quilter’s Catalog: A Comprehensive Resource Guide, months ago here, and I attended her session at Fall Quilt Market. Meg is the new evangelist for all things quilting, her goal being to create new quilters in the 85% of American households that don’t have one. Can it really be [...]
Quilt Project Runway: Color Mastery’s Photo Man
Multimedia message, originally uploaded by Colorful Quilter.
Ok, so he’s The Photo Man for The Quilt Show too. Gregory took all the gorgeous photos of the quilts in Color Mastery, and he is a large part of why the book turned out so beautifully. After all, the colors in the quilts had to be not just [...]
Color Mastery Now Available for Pre-Order!
It’s a big day in the Willow Ridge Press studio. Color Mastery is now listed on my distributor’s website at AtlasBooks.com. You can pre-order your own copy and be one of the first to hold it in your own hands. I decided to use a distributor for book sales and fulfillment so I can concentrate [...]
Olympics in China: That’s Not All!
The Olympics aren’t the only exciting thing occurring in China. This package arrived on my doorstep from Hong Kong: the bluelines for Color Mastery. I sure wish I knew what this said. I’m sure it’s something quite boring, like “folio 1 of 7,” but the writing looks so elegant.
I’ve been poring [...]
From Sketchbook to Art Quilt
(You’re gonna want to scroll down for this one.) So what does all this stuff about sketching have to do with quilting? It prepares you for the single moment that inspiration strikes. I want to make a quilt of a house, a bird, a cup of coffee. I want to make [...]
Capturing the Moments
At some point in my sketchbooks, I stopped using them as a place for only my ideas and inspiration, but also as a place to capture the daily moments of my life by drawing them. My husband had given me the book How to Make a Journal of Your Life , and it really [...]
My Journals’ Humble Beginnings
Keeping a journal has transformed my art. It’s hard to believe initially I resisted keeping a journal of any kind, as writing is my profession and I didn’t want to do more of it at home. Surely I keep visual journals and sketchbooks as well, but I started by keeping a simple journal [...]
Color Mastery: 10 Principles for Creating Stunning Quilts
Congratulations – it’s a book! This is a sneak peek from the cover of the upcoming book I’ve been hinting at:
Color Mastery: 10 Principles for Creating Stunning Quilts
If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you know how passionate I am about color. Now, I’m sharing that passion with you, and giving you [...]
