Hello to everyone popping in from Willard (or wherever you’re popping in from)! MUSICA (sorry that the Musica doesn’t work unless you can open two screens at a time on your device. If you can, click on the link, then come back to this page while it plays) . . . Welcome to my pink kitchen!
Well, it’s not really pink. But there’s yesterday’s sunrise . . . see what it did to my kitchen . . .
You can see the reflection of the sunrise from the windows directly across from these . . . turning daffodils, walls, and Beatrix Potter People sunrise pink!
The stove was splotched in pink too . . .
Morning sun sent rays across my dishes cupboard . . . had to grab the camera! Such a nice way to start the day! 
Later on, a breeze came up from the harbor and under blue springtime skies, out went our sheets for . . .
. . . a little flight in the cool salt air . . .
And that reminded me, of a really good idea I had, of the perfect 30th Anniversary Giveaway for some lucky person . . . I thought perhaps a vintage quilt would be just the thing! The Grand Prize I mentioned in WILLARD. . .
I actually decided to do this way last summer . . . you can tell by the leaves on the trees and the green . . . to give away this quilt, the one closest to us in the picture, white with the patches of color . . . I’m not sure where I got it, I’ve had it for so long. Be sure to sign up for it at the end of this blog. I do this A. because I have lots of quilts and it’s fun to share the wealth. B. It’s the 30th Anniversary of Heart of the Home and that would never have happened without YOU ♥. And C. In honor of my dad who told me to 
Here I am in 1999, thrilled because I had just gotten my first collection of fabrics with Springs Industries. They put me on the cover of Giftware Business (which I don’t think exists anymore), wondering, in the headline, “Who the heck is this person?” So this was an unexpected thrill. I never imagined my cookbooks could lead to designing fabric (I couldn’t even imagine cookbooks!). We won a prize for our booth at the 
International Quilt Show in Houston that year.♥ My corner of their huge showroom was set up as a bedroom, furnished in white wicker, a bed (the headboard), chairs, desk, even a hope chest, and the Springs people had made everything in it from my fabric, pillow cases, duvet covers, throw pillows, dolls, dresser scarves, cushions, quilts, book covers, wall hangings, lamp shades, table toppers, you name it. At a time when so many quilting fabrics were tea stained, we stuck out, not like a sore thumb, more like a rainbow on a sunny day. I’ve always loved sewing and quilts and embroidery and every kind of needlework so designing fabric with my watercolors just seemed like a natural to me, and now they were actually letting me do it! How could it be anything but fun?!
And it was fun! After Springs Industries, I was lucky again to be approached by RJR and I designed fabrics and quilts for them for several years. The only thing about fabric designing I didn’t like was that they would print the fabric only once and after it was sold out, that was it, they didn’t make any more. You’d blink and it would be gone. Like everything you see above, all gone. So it wasn’t all roses in that respect. And it was hard to get the fabric stores to know you existed, because consistency was impossible.
See those cute little teapots? I was heartbroken when they sold out and no more were made. “Why?” I wailed . . . But, it was fun while it lasted and I did love having fabric, I loved designing.
I had so much fun piecing together quilt design ideas with paper on my living room floor.
I’ve loved quilts ever since my grandma gave me one that her mom made. That was it, I was hooked, and since then I have looked for old quilts wherever I go, antique stores, flea markets, anywhere and everywhere.
I used to quilt a little bit myself, but then I learned that I could paint quilts faster than I could sew them. So when the time came, I was thrilled to design my own fabric. I just wished it could be around longer.
But no, I was not in charge, it was all gone, no cupcakes, no blue flowers, no hearts with teacups in them, no flipping tea balls. Months of work, on the parts of so many people, only six months on the market, it was all gone.😳
The licensing business has gone topsy turvy in the last 15 years, along with many manufacturers and many fabric houses. Huge wonderful Springs Industries, for all practical purposes, doesn’t exist anymore. So I have waited, still getting letters all the time from you asking for fabric, wishing and hoping and thinking, maybe someone will find me again someday.
Gone↓
But so far I’m still waiting. And while they were not finding me, wonderful things were happening on the Internet. New ways of doing things were being invented. Even our small studio could give you free bookmarks and stationery to 
print out. We could send you patterns, via email. A new world was opening. And somewhere else, genius people were learning how to print fabric on demand. ON demand!!! Which meant a designer could put a fabric design onto their website, a customer could find it there, and get just what she needed, a quarter of a yard, 10 yards, whatever. The customer had a choice of designs that were available in no other place. And those print-on-demand sites have just been getting better and better.
And now, in case you haven’t heard of them, I’d like to introduce you to Spoonflower.com. Because all by myself, with no contract to sign and nothing standing between me and you, I can upload any fabric designs I want to this site, and you can get them there, in a magnificent almost unbelievable choice of 20 (twenty!) different fabrics. And you know what else? Not only can I do this, YOU can do it too! You can design your own fabric, and they will make it! Anyone can! Your child’s drawing could be fabric! They will send you one of their little swatch books for $1 (like the one above and below) so you can see all the different fabrics, check the quality, touch it and feel it. Too good to be true.
Not only can you provide your own designs, but you can shop Independent Designers from all over the world. And they have twill, they have organic cotton, they have silk Crepe de Chine, they have poplin, they have stretchy! You choose the fabric you like, and then you choose what weight you would like it in. You can cover chairs in their fabric! You can line picnic baskets! And you know what else? Let’s say you like a fabric so much you wish it was wallpaper. Guess what? You can have any of the fabric designs in wallpaper! AND in wrapping paper!!!! I am beside myself.
So I asked them to send me a fat quarter sample of my Martha’s Vineyard Toile in “Linen-cotton canvas” so I could check the quality, and this is what they sent. I wish you could feel it. It’s gorgeous. Digitally printed, eco friendly. You could make a bag out of it, or heavy drapes, or thick pillow covers. But you can also get this design in quilt fabric, you could make poplin jammie bottoms, it could be curtains, it could be wrapping paper. It could be wallpaper. And you can do this with any fabric on their site. All of it designer, all of it one of a kind.
My samples came fast too. Took maybe a week.
I asked for samples of my birthday fabric designs . . . and here’s what they sent. I thought it was wonderful. And this is a new design for me, it was never made! So we’ve decided to go ahead and let this fabric make its debut on Spoonflower! I see napkins, I see pillow cases, I see an apron. I see wrapping paper! I even see wallpaper used as drawer paper, polka dot drawer paper!
I’m a pros and cons person, so I really thought about it ~ the pros for doing fabric this way far outweighed the cons: Spoonflower fabric is made in America! No one can discontinue my fabric but me. I could wallpaper, make drapes, cover a chair, and make a duvet all in the same pattern. It ships internationally so my Australian and German and Japanese Girlfriends can get some if they want!♥
(Does anyone recognize those shoes on the window sill in my sewing room! Agnes!)
The other thing is that Spoonflower isn’t my business. They will sell my designs, but Spoonflower is responsible for the business side, not me. They take care of the customers, answer questions and are responsible for quality control. Once I upload the designs, they take over. And they carry so many choices of fabrics, they even have patterns you can buy that come with the pieces all cut out for sewing. And believe it or not, there is no minimum order! The Pros go on all day. I think they offer an amazing service. And they started their business the same way I started mine, at their dining room table. So I get to support a small business.
My wheels keep turning . . . I can have a line of Baby fabric again! My Teds! Lamb wallpaper! Lamb wrapping paper! Lamb curtains!
There is only one con that I can see, better known as a drawback . . . but even that has a pro side. It’s the price. Print on demand and “made in America” doesn’t come cheap. And their fabric isn’t available anywhere else! But prices aren’t really as bad as you might think, especially for the heavier weight fabrics ~ compared to other designer prices, it’s 
affordable. And the bright side of this “con” is that Spoonflower does not compete with all the wonderful little quilt stores that we love and want to stay around forever, because for all of this amazing service, they really can’t compete with quilt-store prices. The good side of that is that the shops don’t carry Spoonflower fabrics, and Spoonflower doesn’t carry the shop’s fabrics. They are the same yet entirely different.♥
And you can make a lot of pretty things with just a little bit of fabric. You can edge pillowcases, and make tiny quilt squares . . .
You can have sweet little appliquéd dish towels with way less than a quarter of a yard.
You can appliqué cupcakes for almost nothing. You can line a bread basket or make a window valance, or a scarf (because they also have 100% silk). You can cover boxes or line your shelves in the peel and stick wallpaper. You can use the wrapping paper as scrapbook paper. And I’m sure, with your kind of creativity, you can think of a jillion other things to do with it.
A little fabric goes a long way . . . someday I’ll design an I Love England collection. I’ve been playing with paper ever since I learned about this. I love the birds, that will be next.
Gone, but not forgotten. ↓
Just so you know, this is not paid advertising, or even unpaid . . . I have never spoken to anyone at Spoonflower, we’re not connected in any way. They don’t know me from Adam. I just like them and knew that if you didn’t already know about them, you would want to. You can follow them on Twitter, along with their 33,000 other followers, of which I am one, at @spoonflower. So NOW:
As of today, we’ve put up three collections, 15 designs, HERE. And we’re just beginning . . . The first is called “They Say It’s Your Birthday” ~ the second is the “Martha’s Vineyard Watercolor Collection” ~ and, lastly, just in time for the think-
ahead people, our “Christmas Watercolor Collection.” And we will just keep adding on . . . we’d love to hear what you want, you want the big Santa face that looks like Joe? No problem! We will always do our best. Slowly, over time, when we are not crazy with new books or on the road traveling the country, we will add more collections and build up a nice little store where the fabric designs stay up forever and ever and ever. Ahhh, the Internet, how I love thee, let me count the ways.
And here are a few more reasons to love the Internet ↑ Giveaways! And we can connect in a way we never could before. This back and forth we have together is just amazing.♥ When I was in my twenties, I had to have my wisdom teeth pulled, and they gave me some sort of knock-out drug. While they were waiting for it to go into full effect, I started talking to my mom in a drugged-up-loony-bin-way about how someday, la-la-la . . . I wanted to have a knitting store, la-la-la, Mommy, where all my girlfriends could come and we could sit around and knit and embroider and drink tea from a tea pot and watch soap operas and teach each other things. The idyllic world. And guess what? If you count Downton Abbey as a soap opera, which I do, I got my dream! Pretty darn close, anyway!
So Girlfriends, Happy my Anniversary! Please be sure to leave a comment at the end of this blog. Just any little comment will enter you in the drawing . . . there will be three winners, three names drawn in a week or so, each getting a set of books (the trilogy) PLUS a well-used paintbrush, a pencil stub, a blotter bookmark, and a seed package from my own driveway . . . And then, ONE MORE name will be drawn, for the Grand Prize . . .
This gorgeous old quilt ~ and of course, a package of wisteria seeds. Because I know you. ♥ Happy Almost Mother’s Day! ♥ See you at the bookstores! ♥ Lots to look forward to in 2016!
Dig and be dug Girlfriends! Wob you!
Love the fabric idea. Checking out the Christmas collection. I have a few old quilts myself but never tried making anything. Maybe it’s time!
OMG, fabric, love it. I want to make a garden tote. I would love a design with the gardener in mind by you Susan. See you at the bookstore.
Uh oh! Fabric? Oh no, I will admit to being a ‘Fabric Whore’. I’d better not look into Spoonflower……… (at least not now, maybe next winter).
But seeds, free seeds, of a wisteria – must be careful not to drool on the phone. Plants will always be my first love /<=
What a wonderful way to celebrate 30 years!! I bought your book 30 years ago and still use it today!
Susan, I love your new book! The second it came in the mail I sat down and read it all afternoon. I read the last chapter as we were stopped dead in Colorado on I-70 near Vale in the freak snowstorm they had last weekend. We sat there for 2 hours until they finally closed the freeway, turned us around and told us to go back the way we came! We missed my niece’s wedding in Denver on Saturday but we felt lucky to make it home to Utah safely! Your book saved my sanity as we waited in that snowstorm to be rescued! Thank you, Susan! I love you!
Susan! I am thrilled beyond words that your fabrics will be available again! I am a new about-to-be grandma, and have been dithering over what to make for the little one – now I know! Please add baby designs soon, please!!!
Thanks so much,
Mary
Love reading your posts! Brightens my day! Thank you!!! 🌷🌷
You are such an elf every day! I love the fabrics you design. It has in spired me to find a quilting class.
Plants are always my first love /<=
Very excited about the fabrics… can’t wait to get my hands on some!!
Dear Susan,
how exciting! I would die for some of your tea party theme paintings in a fabric. My little girls room is currently a tea party theme and I could make so many beautiful things for her (once I learn to sew) ha ha. Also, I would love to win the contest but I already own all three books. I would be a happy gal with just a bookmark and paintbrush honestly. I devoured Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams and I am so excited. I can’t wait until you come to Pasadena for the book signing. I live in Murrieta so it isn’t too bad of a drive. You are the best and I just love how much you inspire me. Thank you for such wonderful books and true stories that make me laugh out loud so much. I cried my eyes out when I read the part about your book getting published with Little Brown and how they gifted you a copy of Little Women. How special that must have been!!
It was all beyond actual belief, but everyday, at sunrise, it was still happening, not a dream!
Thank you dear Susan for all that you do for your Girlfriends!
Hi Susan
Always bringing new ideas to us….Bravo !
Would be doing the happy dance in Indiana if I could win anything created by or from the awesome Susan Branch! Love you! <3
Hi Susan,
I am so excited for the opportunity to order your awesome fabric! Wow! So exciting! My daughter who is in Veterinary School just adopted a 3 legged kitten named Pistachio. She was surrendered to the animal hospital after a horrific accident involving barbed wire. Being born a smart and agile Tuxedo kitten, she is adapting well to 3 legs but will not be able to go outside. My husband is building her a “widows walk”( screened in on the roof outside) for part of her upstairs sanctuary in my daughter’s bedroom. She will have access to it when the bird watching weather is good! Also I am heading to Boston for a reading conference July 7th -11th and wondered if you had any book signings going on in or near Boston around that time??
I’m so happy she’s with you! My kitty stays in too, and I also plan perches for garden surveillance. July 2nd on the Cape is our last signing. Close but not quite, sorry!
Hi Susan,
Do you think you will ever visit Washington state for a book signing? We would love to have you come…
Love the quilt! My grandmother sewed quilts by hand, even though she was a seamstress by trade. I love the quilts I got from her….she made each child and grandchild one….26 and they were all made with templates, and like yours, not just squares sewn together. She made many more for Church missions. I grew up reading Nancy Drew books over and over sitting on her quilt. Wish she was still here but that was many moons ago. I’ve got her quilts to comfort me.
I love quilts so much. The ones on your
clothesline are beautiful. Isn’t laundry dried outside the best smelling?
Wow! Spoonflower looks so interesting! I can’t wait to see your designs on fabric. I also am interested in your books. I have a few of your books and I have used a lot of your Scrapbooking stickers. Thank You for all your beautiful items.
Wow! What a find Spoonflower is. Thanks for spreading the news.
Susan you do know how to make a girl happy! Wow what wonderful fabric, I just want to reach out and touch it. Thanks again for all of you wonderful ideas and positive thoughts.
I would love to curl up with that gorgeous quilt you are so willing to share with one of us…could really use it at this time in my life. I’d also have loved to have seen that SB bedroom way back when…and I know I would love to have it as my own as it had to be spectacular!!
Love, Love, Love your books, Susan…read them both in one day each as I just could not put them down!!
I wish more of the older things, especially stickers were still available. I won’t even use some of my stationary, notepads, cards, etc. because I don’t want them to ever be gone.
YOU are a blessing to our world!!
Wonderful news! I can’t wait to see what’s available…I’ve always wanted to learn how to quilt! Now, I have a good reason to dive in!!
I’m not sure whether I’m more excited about the chance to win that lovely quilt or finding out that I can get that wonderful Martha’s Vineyard toile again! Oh, happy day! You have surpassed your “Prime Elf Directive” today!
Love, love, love quilts! Spoonflower sounds great and so wonderful that the patterns will be there! Terrific post!!
Love the Martha’s Vineyard toile! It coincides so perfectly with the launching of your new book, clever Lady! And it is so beautiful and fanciful. Thanks Susan for all you do and your unending generosity.
Love, love, love the birdie fabric. Can’t wait till it comes out. I’ve been keeping a stash of your fabrics for quite some time. Missed the most of the Vineyard Haven set, but got quite a bit of the tea party and some lambs and the garden set. If I saw it I bought it (tho not nearly enough). Have had a hard time deciding to cut into it. But I finally did with the brown tree names to make a trip-around-the-world memory quilt of our trip to New England & Martha’s Vineyard during the fall (2013). You were gone to California (my home). Wonderful trip, comfy quilt! I’m so excited remembering it all. 😊
Susan,
You, dear lady, are too generous but love you for sharing! I absolutely love your blog and look forward to reading each new entry and your photos? They bring me a beautiful, peaceful and relaxing feeling. Keep writing, painting and enjoy your trip!
Loved your fabrics and now this…oh, glory!
Choose me, choose me, for the winner! I don’t care what it is, because I love everything you choose to gift someone with! If I were in early grade school, I would be frantically waving my hand in the air in hopes of being chosen.
Am reading your book which came last week and can hardly put it down. Back to reading.
Dee
Beautiful quilts. I can smell the freshness from here.
Ah, yes….old quilts, I love them too!
Love your blog, I have your new book & plan on starting it next week for my birthday. Thanks for the sunshine you bring to our lives. Patty
I am guessing that “Pollyanna” with Hayley Mills may have been one of your favorite movies? It was definitely one of mine, and your photos of dappled light either in early morning or late afternoons brings to mind ” the glad game” and hanging prisms in windows to catch the light and make rainbows! I so enjoy reading your books, your blog and Willard as I find renewed inspiration to create, but also comfort and pleasure in the memories your writings evoke. Thank you for all of your gifts.
I finished reading Martha’s Vineyard, Isle of Dreams a few days ago…and I just loved it ! I was laughing out loud at so many things, but I also had tears. When you talked of being lonely, I just wanted to hug you ! I couldn’t stand the thought of it ! What a wonderful book, and what a wonderful life ( aside from the lonely part). Thank you for sharing your story with us…and for all of the years that you have shared ideas, recipes, beautiful artwork, and stories, through your books, calendars, and blog ! You are the best ! The quilt is gorgeous…fingers crossed. XOXO 💕
Hi Mary….. remember… Susan will be at Main Street Books in old St Charles on May 15 to sign her new book!!!!!! Hope to see you there!!!
Susan,
Thank you for filling us in on Spoonflower..I had never heard of it before.
Looking forward to browsing through it.
Good luck with your new venture with them, sounds very exciting!
I love your pink kitchen. I have been quilting a lot this week. It is a joy to have the time to sew, knit,and read when I want to now that I am retired. I look forward to the new book. Have fun on your trip. I am headed to England in June. Can’t wait.
So excited about the pretty fabrics that we will now be able to purchase. Oh my love of quilts goes so far back, as I watched my Grandma piece quilts by hand and then quilt them, such a happy memory!
Loved your books, kitties and fabrics. Hope you have a wonderful time on the road.
I love any kind of quilts. Vintage or new. They all speak to me in some way or other. Enjoy your book signings. Safe travels.
Susan, I LOVE your blog, your website, your stories, your style, just everything! I am so excited for your new books and can hardly wait to get my hands on them to read them. SO EXCITING! Thanks for doing such an awesome job!!!
Susan, I am so excited about your fabrics!! And the lambie wall paper is just to darn cute. I also believe I have squirreled away your Vineyard toile napkins – is it possible? I can’t for the life of me remember where I put them, but I’m sure it’s the same fabric. Time to start digging thru all my drawers and see what I can find. Have also just started reading ‘Isle of Dreams” and loving it. I’m purposely reading it slowly to make it last. Thank you for all that you do!!!
I got your new book yesterday and Poof! I read it all- I tried to read it slow and savor the words, but it was too good to not zoom thru!!
Very interesting that Cliff discovered too late that you had been his best friend as well as wife, maybe that scared him and he needed to screw it up and be “in charge” with other woman. Oh well, all’s well that ends well !
The only thing missing between book 2 and 3 is the story of your wedding to Joe and the 1st trip to England you two went on, and when did you buy your current house? I love to know all the details!!
Have a terrific book signing, and a great trip!
I love the fabric you have designed and now we can get it!! I will bookmark this site! :o)
Oh how I would love to have that quilt! My mom used to make quilts.
Yippe! Such great news. Thank you !
Thank you for your kitchen full of pink light…..all times of year have their own special lighting, in the morning especially…..soon we will have an indie bookstore opening in our n’hood and your new book will be the first I purchase there!
Hi Susan – Thank you for telling us about Spoonflower! Love your fabrics – can’t wait to see what you will come up with for your “I Love England” collection! The possibilities are endless! Have a wonderful evening.
Crazy excited!!! All this stuff! All these happenings! EEEEEK!!!! How incredibly blessed we are! Thank you, Susan! xo
Can’t wait for Pasadena! Can’t wait for some new, fun fabric! I ❤️Your blogs! Quiet time to just sit and browse! Thank you for bringing us sunshine☀️
The fabrics are fabulous! I received my book, but I am saving it to read this summer. It is my cozy, beach read. It is absolutely beautiful!!!! Maybe I will win the quilt for my new home! Thanks Susan and Happy Anniversary!!!
Oh how exciting!! Love Love Love!
Hi Susan. I am so excited! My sister, Kathy, and I are going to your book signing in Asheville, NC in June and can’t wait to meet you! I’ve just finished Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams and loved every word of it. You are such an amazing storyteller and a true inspiration!
I LOVE the quilt! I just finished reading “A Fine Romance” and am visiting your blog for more England info!
Dear Susan,
Due to an article in my Tea Magazine, I found the Willard just today and have enjoyed reading it so much. In fact my new sewing machine will also enjoy the Spoonflower with all its possibilities in fabrics. I too was born, raised and lived in Southern California and have a husband named Joe and a black and white cat named Maxi and a Siamese cat named Sami. Small world! LOL We hope to make it to So. California for your book signing and to meet you. Thank you again for all the joy and happiness you bring all of us “girlfriends”. Blessings and safe travels…
I am filled with so much happiness and joy today. LOVED the book!! The fabric info is almost too much to take in! Winning one of your quilts would be beyond unbelievable! But most exciting is that my husband and I will make the trip to Asheville, from South Louisiana, to see you in June❣Was praying you would make it to Louisiana one day but u can wait no longer. We love Asheville, Biltmore and YOU!!
On another happy note, attended our 7th James Taylor concert last night in Baton Rouge AND I got his autograph and a selfie with him. This grandmother is checking off the bucket list. See you in June❣❤️
The fabrics are awesome!
Absolutely adore the fabric and gift wrap designs <3
the whole idea of having your special fabrics to create a special something is awesome!
Can I change my email address, new computer..Love Willard’s letters..Even when they came in the mail, many years back..
Thanks for call the great work…
Just finished your new book and loved it! Looking forward to hearing about your trip across country and then to England & Scotland!! Also looking forward to the 30th anniversary Heart of the Home!!!
I can’t wait to start your new book! It’s in my ‘to read’ pile!! Thanks for everything, Susan. Maybe see you in Austin!
Susan,
I am a new girlfriend who is so excited to get to meet you in Hudson, Ohio in May! I am tickled pink (just like your sunrise kitchen).
You not only produce such creativity, but your enthusiasm oozes out of your writing. I am so glad that I found you!
See you in living color on Cinco de Mayo!
Ruth
Hi Susan,
What an exciting experience enjoy your new adventure!
All my best,
Jena
I love Spoonflower fabric, a few years ago my daughter gifted me a yard she designed with little images she drew of my grandson and their pets.
This is VERY good news! I have made several aprons for friends using your pattern and material and then, POOF!, no more material 🙁 for me to make one for myself! YAY for Spoonflower!!!
Hi Susan,
Received your latest book “Martha’s Vineyard”, but I am saving it when I go on vacation next week. I want to savor every word and picture with no interruptions! I love the quilt you are gifting to one very lucky person. I would treasure it if I would be so lucky to win. Have a good day and I loved the pictures of your kitchen with the early morning shining sun.
Oh, my goodness, I was just saying to my girl friend that I wished I could get fabric with Susan Branch prints and lo and behold, you have answered me. Thank you, thank you. Can’t wait to check out the website. I am truly having a wonderful birthday month.
Hi Susan, I love Spoonflower, have ordered several very different and unique fabrics from them and I have always been very happy!! And now, I have even more reason to go and visit their site! I am so enjoying Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams and only wish you were coming to a bookstore close to me. Do enjoy your book tour and safe travels.
Susan, I just love you…your books, your drawings, your everything….and now fabric!!! I’m a quilter and a traditionalist…would love to win anything from you…especially the vintage quilt. Thanks for the chance to win.
So excited about the new fabrics especially the Martha’s Vineyard toile. Will be able to have a piece of the island here in RI!
Claudia
Wow! LOVE the birds fabric! You are soo talented, and generous. See you in Cedar Rapids! Safe travels.
Best!
Marita
Hi Susan! I love Willard….So, I just want to say, short and sweet with lots of sugar on top..That gorgeous quilt would look awesome on my clothes line with my island salt air and sunshine and the breeze from my harbor….but most of all it would adorn my cannonball bed beautifully….Thinking of you and thinking of Vanna when she does her magic!!!!
Love from my island to yours! xo
What glorious fabrics, & how wonderfully versatile the system via Spoonflower! I should love to own an antique quilt, so thank you so much for the opportunity to win one, or to win a set of 3 fabulous books, not to mention a bookmark, paintbrush, pencil & some seeds. (It sounds like a party game – remember the list & add one thing to it!) Congratulations on your 30 year anniversary.
Thank you for your generosity! I’d love to win. Now to check out Spoonflower!
Just finished reading Isle of Dreams, loved it! Whatever became of the sweet Martha’s Vineyard cottage? I hope it is still inspiring someone to follow a dream.
I think it might be . . . there is a single woman living there . . . I dropped off the book to her last week.
That is so sweet of you❣
that is so thoughtful ! she will LOVE it !
Susan, thank you, thank you, thank you. This is too wonderful. I will definitely check out Spoonflower.com. My mind is exploding with ideas. Oh fun. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you for everything Susan!
🎶 wob, wob, wob 🎶 All you need is wob🎶
💛 LOL.
Always a friendly, warm feeling when I read your blog! I love sheets dried on the line too–so fresh and sweet when you jump in bed! Looking forward to seeing you in Asheville NC in June–
Susan you bring so much joy to all of us with the many ways that you share your talents! And now we have the return of fabrics–spectacular! I must thank you too for bringing back books long out of print to go along with your new masterpieces. Although I greatly appreciate public libraries, I have always wanted my own copies of books you wrote years ago. Thank you for everything!
Looking forward to meeting you in Morro Bay (and eating baked oysters at the harbor!) — your book reminded me a lot of my own story moving from Brazil to California in 97. Brazilian hugs!
Thank you, Susan, for the info on Spoonflower…
I take back everything bad I’ve said about technology: )
Thanks for sharing a bit of yourself with us
and
Thanks especially for your example of generosity in action!
Truly exciting news! I love your art in all its many forms. Have a wonderful trip around the country!
Thanks for sharing the website, Susan! What a great find. Enjoy the beautiful spring weather! 🙂
Just when I think you must be out of ideas, you come up with more! As I’ve said before, thank you for sharing your talents with all of us; you make the world a happier place. Best wishes for a safe and pleasant book tour.
Oh my goodness, a quilt giveaway!!! I LOVE QUILTS!!! SO excited about the new fabric, wallpaper, and gift wrap! My husband has surprised me for my birthday with a trip to meet you Susan at your signing in Morro Bay, CA!!! Also, my BFF, Dee Dee, is driving up too! I’m a pretty happy person right now! Thanks for brightening our day with this great Willard❣❣❣Donna (Idaho)
Reading Isle of dreams right now. Love the quilts & fabrics!
I just love these quilts! The one you’re giving away is in a pattern called Shoo-fly. I just love your blog, it warms my heart!
Your wisteria is beyond beautiful !!
Susan, trying to slowly savor MVIOD, a little each evening. I’ve laughed, cried, nodded knowingly about serendipitous happenings, shook my head over the behavior of some men, been encouraged to keep dreaming my dreams and inspired to keep taking forward steps. For months I have felt I should be starting on a particular book project, beset by those “what if no one wants it ” thoughts….at 60 I think I should be old enough to know better than to think this way. If no one wants it, I’ll read it and enjoy my illustrations 🎨 📝 Thank you for the motivation I needed.
It’s hard no matter how old you are. Only thing to do, step over the voice, and move on. xoxoxo
Oh my gosh! Spoonflower sounds incredible and so exciting. I had never heard of it before, so thank you, thank you, for that tidbit and so much more. I am going to check their site. I am so looking forward to your fabrics being available.
The quilt for the grand prize is wonderful. Just my “cup of tea” – I love scrappy ones with a lot of white. To have my name drawn would be amazing. I am a quilter, so I have a small collection, but to have one of Susan Branch’s – WOW! –
Thank you for cheering me up (again), Susan. Your newsletters are always so cheery and help me look at the world through a rose-colored point of view!
Also, I didn’t know you designed fabric. It’s wonderful! If I sewed, I would be so tempted. Your quilt is gorgeous!
Thanks again and again,
Beth
I just love your fabrics at Spoonflower.com.
Thank you for sharing so much of yourself with a loyal fan!
Be Sew Happy,
Elaine
This blog makes me want to start quilting! I sew but I don’t quilt. Keeping up with you, Susan, is a full-time job! But I love it!!! I had six friends today for tea….used my pastel Luray dishes, silver spoons and pots of different teas and coffee. I happened to lay your three books on the table as a centerpiece because they just go with the theme and………it actually became the Susan Branch tea. Believe it or not, they all knew about you, some met you in Westfield, but they don’t “follow” you like I do. It became all about you, dear Susan. I have 5 orders (not counting my own) for your Isle of Dreams when I see you in Madison! Of course, I told them they can’t read that unless they have the other two, that they just go together. Will your other books be at the signing in Madison? xoxo
Yes, Ann Jane Koerber, you are just too much. Thank you!
Great! The girls are thrilled about not having to pay shipping charges……….and, by the way, one girlfriend said she was going to check the library for the book, but my “threesome” looked so nice as a centerpiece on my table that she will buy them. Just love it!!
Hi Susan, I share your blogs with my Mom who is the same age as QE2, whose birthday is tomorrow (the Queen that is). Somehow I think you already knew that (about the Queen’s birthday!) Having a hard time being precise tonight! How ’bout a Downton Abbey Quilt?
Oh my word! Thank you so much for telling us about Spoonflower. I could cry. I’m a quilter…well a piecer. I let someone else do the quilting on a long arm. So often I get some specific idea of what I want but cannot find it and don’t know how to design my own fabric. I don’t care if it costs a little more. If it’s made in America I’m willing to spend a little extra. Thank you, Susan! This post really lifted my spirits. I was in a funk because I had to purchase airfare today. You’re a bad influence on me (in a good way, though). I don’t want to fly anymore. Could you write a post about arranging your train travels? What websites do you use to book, etc.?
I call the 800 number for Amtrak, when the recording starts, say “Agent” — you go straight to a human. Half the battle is now won. After that you tell them where you want to go, have a talk, and they will help you plan your trip. Love, the bad influence. xoxo
Love love love quilts, and your books, I have your original Vineyard Seasons cookbook ( and all that followed) and want to frame every page. Glad your fabrics are available on Spoonflower!
Oh, Susan what a JOY it was to read your Blog today and take in all the beautiful patterns and colors ! There is so much to learn and you are a wonderful teacher ! Much Love from Sunny Florida ! Sure do hope you come our way soon so that we can once again see your smiling face at a local Bookstore ! My sister so enjoyed meeting you some years back now and we treasure our books and photos with you! Love, jenni
What beautiful fabrics!! Spoonflower, what a find!
Oh my! What a thrill to learn about Spoonflower! Thanks sooooo much, Susan!
I read your England book recently & loved, loved, loved it! We will be going to there in the fall, need to decide where we will visit, so many choices! Looking forward to your book talk at Rakestraw next month. Thanks for the info on Spoonflower:)
Sharon
Your new fabrics are lovely. Looking forward to receiving the new Willard and reading the new book…has arrived but I’m saving it for a bit. As always, I thank you for your beautiful and interesting blog.