I love simple silhouettes. And just like my favorite Japanese sewing pattern books, Everyday Style is another essential resource for learning how to take basic pattern pieces and turn them into a simple, wearable, uncomplicated wardrobe....

artisan, [ahr-tuh-zuh n], noun 1. a person or company that makes a high-quality or distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods. 

I can feel spring coming in my bones. Can you feel it? That crazy urge to put your hands in dirt. To physically exert yourself in pursuit of future promises.

They say that sometimes the happiness in anticipation is greater than the happiness actually experienced in the moment. Is that why nothing is better than the day the seed catalogs start to arrive? Future promises. 

Here is one of the future promises I put in my shopping cart this week [...]

Even the sunniest of windowsills is often not enough light for seedlings. Low light levels cause weak and "leggy" plants. Since strong plants produce a strong harvest, give your baby plants the best head start possible with artificial lighting. My preferred light source for plant-starting is full-spectrum fluorescent bulbs. Although LED grow lights are becoming popular, I have not seen sufficient evidence (personal or research) to suggest that plant growth under LED is significantly better than fluorescent to warrant the higher upfront cost [...]

I am positively head over heels for Craftsy's newest collaboration with Michael Miller: the Noodlehead Poolside Tote with Sarah Jane's Sommer fabric! I loved working with the awesome folks at Michael Miller to create this kit. [...]

Ahhh! Numero tres! And possibly my favorite Liesl + Co Gallery Tunic. I'm calling this one "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". My first thought when I saw it completed was Bollywood. But now I like to imagine this as something that Maggie Smith's character would wear on a night on the town in Jaipur. Which is just so perfect because most people like to brag that they're really just a kid inside, and I like to brag that I'm really just a 75 year old inside. For "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", I chose one of my favorite Kaffe Fassett prints [...]

I made this little quilt in August of 2014 as part of a quilt club assignment to explore 3D and transparency quilt design. The quilt is inspired by color theorist Josef Albers' seminal work "Interactions of Color", originally published in 1963 as an "experimental guide and teaching aid for artists, instructors, and students". The quilt top makes use of Robert Kaufman Kona solids, a Carolyn Friedlander print, and Robert Kaufman Essex Yarn-Dyed linen for the background, binding, and backing. 

For years I've felt creative pressure. A pressure to create. To turn each moment of inspiration into something tangible. To achieve. To accomplish. To complete.

It doesn't help to read blogs written by people who gave birth to five babies and finished five king-sized quilts and then wrote a book about it all before I've had my morning coffee. 

Learning to love sewing again meant learning how to set a goal and then completely release my attachment to how it was achieved. [...]

During the turbulence and transition of last year's end, I took New Year's Eve as an opportunity to reflect, thinking deeply about the year that had just transpired and the ideal upcoming year that I wanted to create for myself. That thought-space begged for a framework, and what follows is the framework for a Personal Year-End Review that I created last year (to astounding effect that I can only describe as transformational) . . . 

A beautiful vegetable begs for an equally beautiful way of cooking it, and a rich puree seemed especially fitting. Purees are easy and make the perfect canvas for a meaty main dish. The addition of goat cheese and thyme in this recipe lends a summery freshness . . .

Many people never realize that there can be no "salvation" in anything they do, possess, or attain. Those who do realize it often become world-weary and depressed: If nothing can give you true fulfillment, what is there left to strive for, what is the point in anything? . . . 

Yep. Navajopa31, self-described "Last of the Renaissance Men", YouTube sensation in my head, sharing decades worth of knowledge with anyone willing to watch. Install a freeze proof yard hydrant? Check. How to cook Chesapeake Bay blue crabs? Check. Caterpillar nest removal and Victoria food strainer tips? Check, check.  . . .

With daytime temperatures breaking 100 and evening temperatures that rarely dip below 80, it's garden half-time here in North Texas when most vegetables go into survival mode and we're lucky to harvest enough to make breakfast. So it's good time to reflect on the varieties that have performed well up to this point.

Here's a list of the vegetable varieties I have tried this year so far, whether they passed (and get to grow again in 2015) or failed, and why…