When my January newsletter arrived in your in box, I was packing for my trip to India. This one finds me teaching in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and when I leave here, I'm heading to the AQS Quilt Week in Phoenix, Arizona. It's no wonder I keep finding myself humming the old Willie Nelson tune, "On the Road Again."
My trip with India Quilting and Textile Tours was wonderful. I had a lovely group of fellow quilters accompanying me as we toured parts of India where most tourists never go. We visited several villages in the far western region of Kutch known for their huge quilting
and embroidery traditions. Most amazing was the opportunity to go into the villages
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The village children loved seeing the digital images of the photos I took of them.
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where the cottage industries are keeping their intricate handicrafts alive. Their work can be found in shops around the world, often in high-end boutiques. Everyone was so friendly and the women were beautifully dressed leaving us feeling a little drab in our practical neutrals. I will be going back to India, this time with
Sew Many Places, next October. Maybe you can join me then.
Back here in the Studio, we have two exciting new quilts to premiere this month including our Block of the Month quilt for 2014, a fabulous new tote bag, advice for those who wish to hand-piece while traveling, and a great time-saving quilt tip.
If you haven't yet seen the March/April issue of McCall's Quilting, then you haven't seen my latest quilt, 
We love patterns from Aunties Two and we think you'll share our excitement about this one. We quilters, soccer moms and grandmas-on-the-go are always using extra bags for the abundance of "stuff" we need to cart around. Instead of grabbing one of those mass-produced bags we all seem to accumulate, make a statement with the Atlantic Tote. Using 
I have always said that one of the best things about being a hand-piecer is that I can work on a project in found moments almost anywhere I happen to be. With all of the travel I have had lately, this is especially true. Recently, on our Facebook page, we had a picture of me on a plane piecing and many of you expressed an interest in what I was able to bring through security. As a result of that discussion, my staff has put together some of our favorite products for "
