It’s the kind of an afternoon where the temperature (above freezing in what seems like forever), and the sunshine can almost make you think of springtime. Officially, the calendar count of 25 days until springtime has at times seemed like it would never end. Maybe it was the gray skies that have hovered over many of us this year; maybe it’s the large amounts of gray that I have been stitching on with my Never Ending Embroidery project - when the pattern gives you 3 skeins of gray and you wonder if you’re going to have enough - that’s a lot of gray. But today almost almost seems like the beginnig of spring…and with springtime comes possibilities.

Like many quilters, I began my career collecting books and magazines. I’m sure hundreds of magazines have crossed my path through the donation table at my guild…I used to bring a bunch home with me over the summer, and look through them over coffee on the screen porch all summer long, occasionally bookmarking an article or a technique or two. I scanned those into the computer and then returned the magazines in September, ready for the next quilter. This was in the time before social media was even a thought, and that was how I learned and my style developed.

There are however, a very few magazines which I actually keep…and there’s usually a reason why. In a year where working through UFOs is part of the program, there are some new things that I want to try out. I want to share one of those with you today.

Hi, I’m Linda Pearl - quilter, teacher, designer and blogger, and I’m happy to have you here. I’d like to tell you a little bit more About Me…

Picture it….Paducah, 2012…my very first trip. I picked this magazine up along the way through one of the vendor malls, and poured through it through out the entire trip. I was soaking up everything I could about my first national-level show…and this pattern (shown at the top) absolutely fascinates me everytime I pull this out.

The pattern is strip pieced, and uses a method of machine applique/reverse applique - and the reverse applique will be a learning curve for me.

The author of the pattern is Dilys Frank, and she is a Welsh quilter. I don’t know much more about her than that now, but I know she has a blog and a website.

So now I want to know - what project/technique have you been wanting to try? In keeping with my goal of Simplicity for this year, this will take something off my bucket list.