So here’s something for quilters on both sides of the orange fence:  if you have a passion for orange, you’re really going to enjoy this month’s show, which features stunning and innovative uses of it in quilt projects both large and small.  If orange is not your favorite and you tend to stay away from it, you’ll be surprised by what you see:  one of the quilters in the show felt the same way and unexpectedly found herself relying on it for her designs.

Get advice from the pros and see their quilt designs and fabrics using orange.  This month I host Edyta Sitar, Betty Alofs, Pat Sloan, Sarah Whitney, Geri Richardson, Faith Wellman, and Laura Berringer of Marcus Fabrics.  To view the show in Full Screen mode or to embed this slideshow in your blog, just click the Menu link.  Remember to support these wonderfully creative designers by asking for their patterns and fabrics in your local quilt shops!

Color Tips for Quilters by Maria Peagler

The cupcakes were baked, decorated, and ready to be nibbled on in a ladylike manner.  My studio was sparkling, ready for the Mom & Me Quilter’s Tea guests to take a tour.  Their parents won the experience at a silent auction for my son’s school.  Books autographed, check.  Camera, check.  All done a day before.

My elder son and husband were away at a Boy Scout caving trip, so it was just me and my younger son.  Who came to me in the middle of the night saying, “Mom, I don’t feel so good.”  Poor guy.  He was up all night with a stomach bug.

Tea postponed, check.  After all, fiddle-dee-dee, tomorrow is another day.

Like the frosting on those cupcakes?  Then you won’t want to miss February’s Color-of-the-Month show.  It’s the first Tuesday in February, only 7 days away!

• New Color-of-the-Month feature offering innovative tips on color from the industry’s top quilters and designers
• My latest teaching schedule. If you’re in Georgia, you’re in luck! If not, forward my newsletter to your program chairperson
• A fabric bundle giveaway
• Chicken Cutlet in Mustard Sauce recipe

Haven’t signed up for my newsletter yet?  Click on the Email Newsletter tab at the top of the screen, and soon they’ll be coming to your Inbox automatically.  And I don’t do anything with your information but use it for my newsletter, of course.

My lecture at Ann Litrel’s gallery last Friday was delightful – thank you to so many of my friends, readers, and students who came out and supported me.  I talked to gallery visitors as they stopped in and then my lecture was at 7p.m.  I talked for only a short time about each art quilt, the inspiration behind it, and how I approached color in each.  I’ll be premiering a new video from the lecture each week, and this week’s is about my spiritual art quilt, Redemption.

The Monastery of the Holy Spirit, one of the inspirations I mention in the video, says of their facility:

What matters most about the monastery is precisely that it is radically different from the world…
In a world of noise, confusion and conflict it is necessary that there be places of silence, inner discipline and peace.
– Thomas Merton

Woodstock is a delightful town with so many great shops and restaurants.  After my lecture we headed over to a great burger place that had the best black bean burger ever (I don’t do red meat).