What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

It's the last weekend in January, and Facebook reminded me that it's three years since I attended a Green Diamonds course with Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably.  I really enjoyed that day at Wellington Girls College, even though it was very hot!!

Kaffe commenting on my plan

I like to challenge myself when I go to courses, so I chose green and red as my colour palette.  You know I love green, but I don't often use red.  

Last year I admitted that I was never going to make Green Diamonds. I'd cut ...

The day before yesterday I came up with this wild looking circle as one of the circles I’m doing, loosely following Sue Spargo’s Toned-Down Circle Sampler 90-day project that she is doing on Instagram. Often I’ve been using a stitch or two that she’s using for that day as a prompt and then seeing what… Continue reading Working Through Creative Blocks

A number of people expressed interest in seeing the pieces I use to illustrate a particular stitch I’m demonstrating during my YouTube videos. As I’m showing how to do a stitch, the camera is focused on my stitching, and doesn’t pull back enough to see more than a few inches of the piece I’m working… Continue reading Inspiration is Everywhere

I know today’s Thursday because I post a new blog Tuesdays and Thursdays, and also because I have my glasses on and my iWatch conveniently tells me that it’s Thu April 23rd. I also now know that it’s cloudy outside, and at this moment 42℉. Of course, one is putting a great deal of faith… Continue reading I’ve Lost All Track of Time & Other Thoughts During This Pandemic

I haven't stepped foot out of our house since Saturday, but I have had hundreds of interactions with people from all over the world, which is both amazing and delightful. Community. During a period when we cannot actually be with our friends and extended family, connecting over common interests is all the more desirable.

Eight weeks ago today, I posted my first video to the YouTube Channel I created, On the Other Hand. Yesterday I hit 1,000 subscribers! What began as an idea to benefit Left Handed people who love to sew and hand stitch, has grown into a much larger more all encompassing vision and where I demonstrate… Continue reading 1,000 YouTube Subscribers and Some Gratitude

Merlin, my co-worker, inspects my thread choices.

I’m not sleeping much these days. The up-side is I’m getting a ton of stuff done. Also, photographs of empty New York City streets, though eerie, have a certain grace to them. I only venture out every few days, but when I do, I’m struck by the same things: the exquisite beauty of New York… Continue reading Courage is not the Absence of Fear…

The juxtaposition of the dire and frightening, with the joy and hopefulness that inevitably arrives with spring and warmer weather, is on display everywhere here in New York City, the city that has been my home for almost 40 years. At no time in my life have I been more aware of death. The collaborative… Continue reading Here We Are: A City & its People Transformed

The Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom here in New York City, and they’ve parked a mobile morgue six blocks from where I live on 7th Avenue. Both are off-white. Life has utterly changed in such a short time, it has left most of us reeling. And yet, we find ways to adapt. It is… Continue reading Coping and the Pandemic In New York City

Since launching my YouTube Channel Ariane Zurcher ~ On the Other Hand on February 20th, I have gained close to 550 subscribers! Much of this is due to the enthusiasm shown to me by the members of the private FaceBook group, Friends Who Like Sue Spargo Folk Art Quilts (thank you everyone!) and my friend… Continue reading Coping During The Pandemic

In honor of International Women’s Day I am featuring four women in my life, who have influenced me the most. All four of these women are exceptional and I am deeply grateful to each of them. The first – my grandmother, who, though I did not always have an easy relationship with, I greatly admired… Continue reading International Women's Day – 4 Women I Admire

A month ago I taught a 2-hour stitching workshop exploring shapes and stitches at my quilt guild. It was a huge success, and lots of fun! I prepared squares of wool and precut circles in different sizes. More than 20 people attended and each person got to pick a wool square and some circles, which… Continue reading Teaching at Gotham Quilts!

Things have been busy around here. I had the idea to start a YouTube channel over a year ago. My thought was to go through Sue Spargo’s Creative Stitching book and demonstrate every stitch (but for left-handed stitchers) featured in her book, one stitch a week. I discussed my idea with Anna Bates, my friend… Continue reading YouTube, Blogging, Stitching & Life

I love a good zippered pouch. Preferably one that I can take on an airplane, large enough for a tablet or small sketch book, a needle roll, small pair of scissors, and project, but not so large that it becomes cumbersome. I began looking around at what is already out there and found many lovely… Continue reading The Perfect Zippered & Lined Bag

I'm still plugging away at my Spirit Song quilt top, albeit intermittently.  So far I have four of the twelve 16" blocks completely assembled:

Four 16 Inch Blocks Assembled, Eight More to Go

That’s it! I’ve fallen down the wool applique rabbit hole. I’ve spent a good bit of my sewing time talking about ways to avoid hand sewing and here I am… HAND SEWING....

See more sewing and quilting adventures from Jen Eskridge of ReannaLily Designs

I've finished my Sue Spargo quilt and I love it.