Quilt Show and Etsy Updates

 Hello Everyone,

Since the quilt show, I've been busy decompressing after the show then ramping it back up to get ready for my last Sew'n Wild Oaks Retreat for the year.  I wanted to share my friend's Calico Cottages quilt which she entered in the show.

Diane’s quilt is absolutely spectacular! Every stitch reflects her incredible attention to detail and precision. I especially loved her use of low-volume sashing; it frames each block beautifully and really lets the design shine. It’s also a brilliant way to put those scrap bins to good use… and don’t pretend you don’t have a few overflowing ones tucked away. This is scrap quilting at its finest

Toward the end of the show, my sister Gail and I got a little giddy.  We roped Diane into taking our picture in the booth, but not before we perfected our strategy for disguising our double chins. 

After much thought, I’ve decided to begin offering my patterns on Etsy as digital downloads. This wasn’t an easy decision. Copyright infringement is a serious concern. I've seen my designs and patterns resold across the internet by people who didn’t create them. It’s disheartening, to say the least.

That said, I’ll still offer my original paper patterns for those who prefer a printed copy. But several factors have nudged me toward this change. Tariffs have driven up the cost of paper, toner, and even the plastic bags I use for packaging. Printing expenses are climbing fast, and it’s simply not sustainable.

Sending patterns as PDFs feels like a more eco-friendly option, too—less waste, less shipping, and less daily order fulfillment on my end. It’s a shift, but one I hope will make things smoother for all of us while still honoring the heart of what I love to do: sharing beautiful, thoughtful patterns with fellow quilters. 

In my Etsy site, you will see two listings for each pattern.  The digital copy will always cost less and is clearly marked DIGITAL.  It takes me awhile to create a new listing, so I'm slowly converting over to digital.  As of this morning, I only have three patterns listed digitally. I will be working on this over the next few weeks. 

I hope this will help all of the quilters across the world by making my patterns more accessible at a lower cost and no shipping charges!

Here's what I have converted so far:

Cozy Country Christmas is located HERE. 

Country Courthouse is located HERE.

Calico Cottages is located HERE. The download for Calico Cottages also includes my tutorial which I use when I'm teaching this pattern. I have to review my own tutorial prior to teaching paper piecing just to wrap my head around this technique.

On a humorous note, the bathroom facilities at the quilt show chose the worst possible time to throw a hissy fit—shutting down multiple times throughout the show. Not ideal when you’ve got hundreds of women of a certain age who appreciate regular access to such amenities. One resourceful guild member took it upon herself to make shuttle trips (yes, we cringed at the word “runs”) to a nearby business called The Glory Hole, offering much-needed relief to those in urgent need of a pit stop.  You just can't make this stuff up!

Soon,

Lynn