My student, Lena (far left), at Independence Square, Kiev

You have probably heard in the news of the recent volcano eruption in Indonesia and the political unrest and violence in the Ukraine. I have visited both of these places in recent years, as my batik fabric is made in Solo and I've taught several times in Kiev. I am saddened by all they are going through and hope that their lives in these beautiful cities can return to normal very soon.

With all of the travel I've had lately, I'm looking forward to the month ahead and the opportunity to teach here at the Studio. The classes I taught in Ft. Lauderdale as a fundraiser for quilter Libby Lehman's medical expenses were very successful and filled with a wonderful group of quilters. The following week, I gave the keynote address at the American Quilter's Society show in Phoenix. If you've never been to a major quilt show, I highly recommend adding it to your quilter's "to-do" list. The quilts are always spectacular and inspiring.

Here in the Studio, the past month has been filled with cancellations and delays. We have had classes postponed due to inclement weather which had to be rescheduled, production of batiks stopped due to the volcano, and yet another delay in the shipping of my next collection, Milan, because it seems to be on the slowest boat to ever cross the Pacific. We expect all of that to right itself by the end of the month. On the bright side, our newsletter this month does have exciting projects, tips and tools to make your work easier, Quilter's Quest news, and the next installment of Starstruck, this year's Block of the Month.

Those great little timesavers, precuts, are becoming more and more popular and so are patterns which use them. Using 2 ½ inch wide Pixie Strips from my Ashford collection, I've designed a super-fast, super-easy quilt which is perfect as a graduation gift or to keep and snuggle under. Parquet comes in two colorways and simple strip-piecing techniques make the process speedy. The introduction of one thinner connecting strip and a narrower focus strip give the rectangular blocks a sense of unity and interest, taking away the predictability of having all of the strips the same width. The quilt has partial seams but never fear-you will find a step-by-step tutorial and video on my website which will have you mastering this technique in no time and with all straight seams!

Look for Parquet to make its debut this Wednesday as our Weekly Web Special. Not a subscriber? Click here to receive our weekly email with information on our specials and a bonus only to subscribers. In fact, we think this quilt is so fun that we are offering the web special pricing (available in subscriber email only) to subscribers today.