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June 2018 -- I live "smack dab" in the middle of Kentucky Wildcat country, so I'm familiar with how strong the bond can be between a sports team and their fans. This is a quilt I just finished, a gift for a fan of the Georgia Bulldogs. I was pleased with how well it came together, especially since I essentially limited fabric choice; all but two fabrics are Georgia Bulldog themed.

May 2018 -- Memorial Day is coming up fast, followed by July 4th. This time of year always brings to my mind patriotic-themed quilts, for example, my Hometown Crossing pattern. I've just updated it, illustrating it with fabrics from the Brave and Free collection by Windham Fabrics, shown above left. The fabrics in the quilt shown above right are from the Home of the Brave collection by QT Fabrics; it's an older collection but some shops still have it in stock. The pattern has instructions for two quilt sizes and is available at https://payhip.com/brendaplaster.

May 2018 -- Fabric companiies introduced new collections this past weekend at Quilt Market. Two that I absolutely fell in love with are Midnight Poppies and Contempo Fandangle from Benartex. My Interlaced Blocks (also known as True Lover's Knot) design looks great in either. The quilt's pattern has instructions for two quilt sizes and is available from Craftsy or at https://payhip.com/brendaplaster.

April 2018 -- Carvin' Artist Bob Gibson, my husband, has demonstrated his carving at the Kentucky Artisan Center several times. We love visiting KAC, giving us the opportunity to meet travelers stopping by the Center and see other artisans' work. As part of its 15-year celebration, KAC is hosting a reception for these artists April 8. Come be part of the celebration!

March 2018 -- Blue Ridge Beauty was featured in Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting magazine a few years ago. Windham just released Adele, a perfect collection for this design. I've updated the pattern, illustrating it with fabrics from Adele and resizing it to king size. The pattern is available from Craftsy. 

February 2018 -- Connecting Threads has just released their beautiful Marika Indigo Batiks collection. I've illustrated my Nine Patch Maze pattern in fabric from the collection, shown above. I love the interlocking aspect of the design, and it's easy to sew too! Pattern and fabric are available from Connecting Threads.

January 2018 -- Marcus Fabric is introducing their Sea Glass collection in February. I love the vibrant colors! I've just updated my Double Star pattern, available on Craftsy, illustrating it with fabric from the collection as shown at left. The design at right uses fabric from the same collection.

January 2018 -- My On the Boardwalk pattern has been available on Craftsy for a while. Whenever I need to find a current collection to use in illustrating the pattern, I check Andover Fabrics first; I can always find a collection that's perfect for this design. At left is the quilt as illustrated in the updated pattern, using Andover's Field Day and Dimples collections. I pulled fabric from their Uptown collection to create the quilt at right. 

January 2018 -- There are some beautiful fabric panels on the market that can be used to build a themed quilt around. My Sunny Lanes pattern, available on Craftsy, was designed to do just that. I illustrated the pattern with fabrics from the Where the Wise Things Are collection by QT Fabrics, shown above left. Fabrics from Elizabeth's Studio are featured in quilt shown above right; the panels are from their Sand Scribbles collection. Vist the pattern's Craftsy page to see a neat fishing themed version and a variation included in the pattern that does not use panels. 

December 2017 -- Andover is introducing a new collection, Sundance, next month. I've updated my Texas Crossroads pattern, illustrating it with fabrics from the collection, shown above left. For a softer look, I reversed the placement of the two focus fabrics and came up with the version shown above right. The pattern is available from Craftsy. For more variations using Sundance fabrics, view the images shown on Craftsy.  

December 2017 - You might think I'm partial to this design, as I've posted about it before. I suppose I am. It seems my pattern and quilt customers are too; the pattern is one of my most popular and I've been commissioned to make several quilts of this design. I just updated the pattern available from Craftsy, illustrating it with fabrics from the Portofino collection by Quilting Treasures (shown above left). The quilt shown above right uses fabric from the Mariposa collection, also by Quilting Treasures. (I'm a bit partial to Quilting Treasures, too; they have gorgeous fabric!)

December 2017 -- Connecting Threads is featuring my Winter Wonder design in their current catalog. Their Glacier Peak collection was perfect for the design and in fact inspired it. Quilters, wouldn't this make a nice Christmas gift? It could be used as a wall hanging or lap quilt. The pattern, kit and fabrics are available from Connecting Threads. Photo by Connecting Threads.