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!
Oh, thank you so much for including us in your anniversary celebration! I read the Fairy Tale Girl in two days! Even though I wanted to savor it, I just couldn’t put it down. And thank you so much for the chance to win the quilt. I always look at them in antique stores and consignment shops, but they can be pretty pricey. But you know what would be my favorite thing to win? One of your paintbrushes! What a prize!!!! Thanks, Susan!
Susan . .I’m reading your M.V. book now and loving every word, page, picture. Thanks so much for sharing yourself with everyone.. .you’re the best!
Just today in going through some papers I ran across Willard 6 which reads like a synopsis of your memoirs. And in which you promise to never tell your story again. Ha! Looking forward to reading the long version.
Hi Susan – There has been a wonderful buzz in SLO County that you will be speaking here. I have met so many of your wonderful girlfriends. Each time they see your books they tell me how they met and know you. My sister Carrie and I just went this AM to Arroyo Grande to pick up our first copies of Isle of Dreams and to get back in stock in A Fine Romance and The Fairy Tale Girl for our shop. So excited to forward Willard to my friend in Atlanta and her quilting group about you and Spoonflower. Safe travels.
I’m so excited to hear that! I can’t wait to be there . . . Thank you for telling me . . . hope I’ll see you and Carrie there! xoxo
Just finished reading “The Fairy Tale Girl” and enjoyed it ever so much! Read it quickly, which is not the usual for me. I’m a few years older than you, but I could identify with a lot of what you wrote about. – Love the quilts you showed! I have been making art quilts for the last 10 years. They are small and I just couldn’t handle the large ones in my little sewing machine. How lovely to have such a nice collection.
Wow! Spoonflower looks amazing. I still have your earlier – very inspirational – cookbooks from many years ago x
Oh Susan, The Grand Prize Quilt is simple edible!!!!!! Am starting the countdown for your May 24th visit to Salt Lake City. Have a safe trip.
Warmest Regards,
Pat
Oh my, I just love the fabric, I wish I could sew. I could just throw it on a table and use as a table cloth couldn’t I? Just love it!
Your little stove on the top of your stove says YUM.and that’s what morning light shining into the house is…YUM..as is the whole enchilada we got this morning from you. 🤗 Willard and the blog post. So much fun stuff coming up. Isnt the Internet wonderful..could you have even envisioned how not alone you would be 30 years later?? 🌹
Never! I dreamt it, but did not “foresee” the Internet! 🙂
Susan, WOW, you have a lot of irons in the fire! I don’t know how you do it all, and kitties, too. Delighted to hear about the fabric site. My dear friend (who is also named Victoria) and I were just having a long conversation about finding good cotton. I have three wonderful T-shirts from long ago, with a brand name Peggy Sue, that are 100% cotton made in the USA. They are oversized long, with scoop neck and long sleeves. When I found them, I got one in light blue, white, and a lovely cream color with a little lace inset. And I have worn them to the place where, except for the cream one, I wouldn’t allow myself to be seen in them and just wear them around the house. How do they not make such wonderful shirts anymore!!! And my friend is very concerned about buying ‘organic’ and looks for organic cotton. So I am delighted to hear about Spoonflower and all their wonderful fabric choices, and I am super delighted that your fabrics will be there because what you do is SUSANWONDERFUL . The way you do the things you do! Tom Hanks should make a film about YOU! Your pink dawnlit kitchen is wonderful. Thank you for sharing all the wonderfulness with us!
Hi Susan! Oh my, I just love that quilt and am so excited about the fabrics!! I am almost done with Isle of Dreams……truly trying to savor it but can’t put this gem down! Thank you for sharing your Story! 😘
Love the quilt – I have 1 old one that is falling apart that I can’t use anymore. And I am painting a fox – started it today. You inspire me to keep on with my hobby – I made a little studio in our laundry room and I paint on my mom’s kitchen table. It has a porcelain top and was purchased in 1926 – the year she married my dad. I remember eating meals with my parents until I was 21 and got married – I still sit in the same place I did when I ate all those meals with them. As I paint I think of them, and of you, who also loved to draw when you were a child, and I’ll just keep on until I can’t paint anymore. Thanks, Susan. You are a great inspiration!
Fabric! The possibilities are endless! Awesome!
Doing a happy dance! Love your fabrics and now we can get more. My stash thanks you.
Off to pre order your cookbook. I’ll make room with my others, AFTER I read it from cover to cover.
Your soooo creative! Thank you for sharing with us.
I recently started creating a pinterest board called Cozy Cottage Dreaming, because I love cottages, all of which MUST have quilts!
YES! I have been waiting for your fabric. Thank you! Happy Anniversary too! Love you!
How do you find the time to read all these comments?
Loved your fabrics, loved your jammies too!!! Mine are getting worn, so perhaps I’ll have to make some from your Spoonflower collection!
Can’t wait for the 30th anniversary book. . . .my original is water stained from beautifully displaying them in a “chimney” shelf in this great Fort Bragg house we were renting. (It rains alot up there, and it leaked on your book!)
Travel safe. Hope to be able to catch one of your book signings in California.
I LOVE reading these, of course I do, and I wish I could answer them all . . . but not this time, too many too fast. I’m enjoying them though! Grateful, humbled, amazed, tearful, laughing out loud. THANK YOU EVERYONE!
I enjoy your blog so much. I am new to quilting and learning about fabrics. Thank you for the give away.
Quilting is such a labor of love. I think these quotes are great “Those who sleep under a quilt sleep under a blanket of love” and “Blessed are the quilters, for they are the piecemakers”
What a generous and precious gift to give someone. Thank you Susan for continuing to inspire us and enrich us in so many ways❤️
Oh my goodness….Spoonflower , welcome to our girlfriend’s world!! I do not sew, BUT my husband does… so at least I will have something made from your wonderful fabric designs! So happy you have a place to share your lovely creativity with us in yet another way. Even though I don’t sew, I do love fabric! Is that odd? Almost finished with the book (sigh) and looking forward to 29 May in Morro Bay!
Dear Susan, Happy trails to you and Joe. There’s nothing like a road trip to broaden your horizons and really get away. We all need that, even if we don’t know it until we go. Since retiring I have been sewing, sewing, sewing – quilt, clothing, embroidery. Maybe your next venture could be teaching sewing to all the girlfriends that never had the opportunity to learn. Projects and directions…? Just what you need, more ideas! Peace and love
Dear Susan, You never cease to amaze me! Honestly! Your creativity is infinite and beautiful! I will undoubtedly be ordering your designs as gift wrap. Have wanted that for so long! I do sew and I’m sure that I will be using your fabric for Christmas pillows and other occasions also. I just love your Martha’s Toile! Perfect for outdoor summer cushions! Thanks for letting this happen for all of us girlfriends who wait for anything new from you! I still wonder when you have the time for everything you jam into your life. Amazing woman, you are! Have a great day!
You have rocked my world! I never knew such a thing as Spoonflower existed. Just think of the personalized fabrics I can design for my grandkids. And I’ve wondered for years who designs the material I buy. Now I know how that happens.
You go girl! xoxo
I know you are excited…I am too..😍
How COOL about Spoonflower! Thank you for sharing this information. I teach a sewing class in the Summer at Cuesta College For Kids and can’t wait to share this information with them. So fun and fabulous!
Love the Willard, Sue, new column, and your new giveaway … Lol. You sound so very happy after all your hard work stemming back from our “first ” trip to England on the QE2. Looking forward to everything once again.
I would especially love to have the packet of Wisteria seeds to plant in my back yard on Bainbridge Island, WA. Wisteria grows well there so would love to have the connection to “Branch Hall”.
Take care and enjoy your new adventures!
❤️ Jackie
Oh Susan – you bring so much joy to our lives! Happy anniversary, happy traveling. Thank you for sharing 🙂
What great news on the fabric especially for those of us who missed out. Finished the book and it was terrific. I do wish Joe would let you write his story. I also hope that maybe in a year or two we will all have another one to read about your next trip to England and Scotland. You both will love Scotland. Happy travels on your book tour.
This may just be the inspiration I have been needing to get back to quilting! Happy Anniversary and thank you for sharing all your creativity with all if us! Had hoped to come home to a nice glass of wine and read Willard for my first time, but it didn’t come to my mailbox or my junk. Help! Heartbroken in Canada 🙁
Looking forward to seeing you in June at Bookends in Ridgewood, NJ!
Belated Happy Birthday, Susan! I just returned from Georgia and there, among the pile of mail held at the post office, was my copy of your new book! The very best welcome home present a girl could have! I am looking forward to seeing you at Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville, NC. Your book talk there is a great reason for another road trip for us! Safe travels to you and Joe as you embark on your tour.
Good Evening,
I love the Spoonflower fabric. It is on my wish list now. And I happened to find a charm pack of some of your fabric on Etsy recently. I want to use it but yet I don’t,I like to just admire it the way it is. Silly ,huh.
I love vintage quilts,wondering where the fabrics came from-were they picked from a fabric store,feed sacks or from scraps of family members clothing. I am the proud owner of a quilt made just for me when I was 10 years old by my paternal grandmother,who was a wonderful quilter. I personally did not recognize any of the fabrics,but my Mom did. She would touch a piece of the patchwork and tell me that it was from her dress or from one of my aunts or from grandma’s own dresses. We looked over that quilt so many times that I now remember the origin of nearly each and every diamond in the Lone Star pattern. I received that quilt 50 years ago.
With sadness I tell you that after 45 years,my sweet husband is in Long Term Care with Vas cular Dementia. He no longer knows me and is looking for his mother. She was a quilter…..and lived to 100 and one day. If i could win, that sweet quilt would wrap around him, a nd maybe he would feel safe.. You and Joe enjoy every day you are gifted with. You are blessed to have each other.. Love is ALL.
I’m so sad for you Judy. I know just what you mean about wishing your loved ones to feel safe. Maybe in his mind he is rocking in his mother’s arms. That would be perfect. Sending love. God bless you both. xoxo
So sorry, Judy. Sending up a little prayer for you. I hope you win the quilt.
Judy, Saying a prayer for you and your husband. Love, Susan P.
Oh, Judy, that is very sad and so difficult for you. Your husband may not know exactly who you are but he knows that you are there and that you are loving and kind to him. Please believe that you are still a comforting presence for him. Hugs and prayers. And maybe you will win the quilt. I sure hope so.
Judy, Your comment touched me. My heart goes out to you both. It must be so hard on you. If I win, I will give it to you to wrap him in. My thoughts are with you. xoxo
Wow, what a wonderful give away, beautiful vintage quilt and your book trilogy sets. So generous and thoughtful. I’ve never been much for sewing, but I do love quilts and have a couple passed down to me from my mom. They are not in the best condition anymore but I still treasure them. It’s great that your fabrics can be ordered again from the new website because I know a lot of the girlfriends have been wanting them. I need to go and check them out, I can sew simple curtains or a pillow slip. Still waiting on Willard to arrive, probably tomorrow if not this evening. See you in a few weeks in Hudson, Ohio!
I can’t sew a lick as my Mom would say, lol! But I could sure find something to do with a piece of your fabric, I am sure! It would be a treasure just to look at!
You are such an inspiration and blessing. I get so exctied reading your blog…so many ideas to get my creative mind going. I love your fabric and designs. I cannot wait to get your book! Thank you for an opportunity to win! Many hugs!!
I have been a fan, since I bought your first cookbook, so many years ago . . . Keep up the good work, Susan! I love that you are so generous with your little “freebies”, and, that you share your sweet thoughts, wishes, and, dreams with all of us . . . I remember the days when you used to mail-out the “Willard” letters!! I still have them, I treasure them, because you are such a “dear friend”, that I have never met face-to-face, but feel like you would be the best kind of “friend”!! Thank you very much, Susan!!
What a wonderful idea about sharing your creativity with Spoonflowers. How inspiring to know that we are all designers at heart❣👏🏻💐
Oh, how fun Susan! Fabric to enjoy…so many projects to create now!! I have a feeling I will need to re-decorate my room pretty soon!!!
What a fun time ahead for you and Joe…and all of us Girlfriends who will be joining you along the way. Can’t wait to see you soon! Safe travels to you both.
“May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always to your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
The rains fall softly upon your fields and until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”
Oh my! Such exciting news!! I’ve perused the Spoonflower website and have considered having tea towels made with my mama’s chocolate chip cookie recipe written in her special handwriting (all the more dear since she is no longer living) – I must get that done along with ordering some of your Happy Birthday Fabrics!! Please, please come to Houston for the International Quilt Show. I attended last year for the first time and was in complete awe of the creativity of quilters. I especially loved the quilters who “painted” with their fabrics. Come stay at our home – what a treat that would be!
Love your blog! It’s such a bright spot in my day!
I love to look at the fabric. Too bad I don’t quilt, but an apron sounds wonderful!! Can’t wait for our next trip to England. We had so much fun on the last one. It did get a bit crowded in the suitcase, but it was lots of fun to be there with all the other girlfriends!! Hugs to all, especially the kitties. *S*
Hope to see you in Pasadena. Thank you for all your inspiration.
I am so excited to look on Spoonflower.com..I have some of your fabric that I saved to make a baby quilt..how exciting we can now get your old and new designs!
Thank you for ALL you share with us..you bring sunshine every day!
See you at Vromans!
Anne
Susan, I really love the choices of design and product. Wrapping paper came to my mind. Thank you soooo much for sharing this!!!!!!!🤗🌷💞
You enrich so many lives by sharing yours with all of us. Your creativity
knows no end! Just when I thought you were taking a much needed rest
you were actually starting a new endeavor. Thank you for having more
drawings for your trilogy and also the beautiful quilt. Wishing you a safe
and happy book tour/road trip.
Oh, Susan, how generous of you to give away a precious quilt. I do needlepoint and counted cross stitch but never had the patience for quilting.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your fabric, just as I love all your artwork. Your drawings and painting are unique and a style I am drawn to. That is what made me take notice of your work when I first came across your calendars. I knew I loved your style right away. I would love to see cupcake fabric come back. I seem to have an obsession right now with all things “cupcake.” Even my dog has a bowl with cupcakes. Sorry I will not be able to see you on your book tour, but like other people in Florida, hoping maybe some day you will make it down here. Or maybe some day I will make it out of here and be closer to where you are somewhere in the Northeast. Happy touring.
Hi Susan, I met you in Cayucos last year at Happy Go Smile, and I’m so looking forward to seeing you again in Morro Bay in May! Now I’m off to check out the Spoonflower website!
Happy 30th anniversary! I love quilts too. I’ve made a few over the years. But I really love the old ones. I have one from my great great great grandma made and treasure it!! I’m going to have to check out Spoonflower. Love your blog.
Whew, I found the entry form! Lots of hopefuls ;). How very exciting…..I especially love the birds fabric. I love the idea of decorating tea towels with your fabrics! and a hot pad holder, and an apron….
Thank you for another great issue of Willard and another great blog post! I’m looking forward to your book signing in Morro Bay at the end of May. I’ll be there with a stack of books! 😊
What a wonderful surprise! I haven’t done any serious sewing in quite a few years, but this might get me going again. I absolutely love your creations, and this would be as if we had collaborated on a project.
Have a wonderful book trip and be sure to keep the updates coming!
Love to read (especially your life story and traveling adventures ), love to quilt, love to garden….. can we possibly be twins separated at birth ??? Lol….NOT….I can’t even draw stick people!!
Wisteria seeds! Now THAT’S a giveaway!
I can see everybody wants them, and so do I–for my sister who grew up inhaling its scent outside her childhood bedroom window.
Gee, Susan. You think of every little delight!
Your fabric is so pretty! I think it’s great that it’s all made in the USA! Hurray!
Ahhhhhhhh!!! I am SO excited about the fabric!!! I’ve just recently gotten back into quilting and can’t wait to bag some. I was sad to not get any the last time around. For sale forever? Yes please!
Love love love your fabric designs!
Those blue birds – swoon! I can just see an apron made from that tied around my waist right now!! CAN NOT WAIT!!
Hi Susan,
I started quilting a couple of years before a girlfriend gave me my first Susan Branch book: Christmas from the Heart of the Home. I have enjoyed all of your calendars and books (including the latest trilogy) since then. I did love being able to buy your fabrics in a little quilt store we had in town.
It’s been so fun journeying through the years, and even going into the past, with you. Lately, thanks for reminding me to just turn down the noise of the angry, rude, scary aspects of the world portrayed by the media for a bit and focus on the beauty and kindness that dominates my actual day to day experience. Keep up the good work! (or just relax…whatever works best for you).
Love the new fabrics. Hope to be able to see you at the bookstore on the Vineyard this summer!!!
Oops, I did it again. I swore I was going to only read one chapter a day in Martha’s Vineyard, Isle of Dreams. I wanted to make it last longer, but I couldn’t put it down. I read it in two days. Now, I’m so sad it’s over. Well, I’ll read it slowly the second time around. Thank you for sharing so much of your life with your “girlfriends.” I really feel we are kindred spirits, except for the fact that I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler. 🙂
Hi Mary Ann in Missouri…. I am Cindy Maulin in St Louis… where are you in MO? Are you planning on going to Susan’s book signings in either St. Charles or KCMO in May???? Hope so !!!!!!!
Susan, I forgot to add, love the fabric ! Your designs are gorgeous 😉
Hello Dearest Susan! ❤️
I just want to say omigoodness! You have been so busy and now you get to travel and meet
all of the girlfriends! All of your adventures are so exciting and I am so happy we, as your girlfriends, get to share them with you!!!😊 I am happy to hear you had a delightful birthday! You deserve it plus many more!!! 😍 Thank you for all of your talents! Thank you for sharing your hopes, dreams and life with us! GOD Bless! Love, Hugs and Prayers, Tricia B.
Hi Sue,
So…..I was working outside cleaning a garden bed when suddenly I heard tiny music coming from somewhere. I stealthily (is that a word?) followed the melody to my mailbox…the source of this lovely serenade. I think it was a group of hiding (is that an adjective?) garden fairies making magic inside that dark place. As soon as I opened the mailbox, the tinkling stopped! Inside was a largish (is that a word?) white padded envelope. I took the package out and couldn’t believe how heavy it was!! Yikes! Did someone send me a brick? It weighs 2 pounds and 2.95 ounces! I removed the brick…errr…book from the package and immediately had HAPPY EYES! When I opened “Isle of Dreams”, music came out. Happy Eyes and Happy Ears! What fun I had reading page after page after page. This book is a masterpiece! Of course I had run away to read your book leaving my garden bed looking like a mess-terpiece! (is that a word?).
P.S. I’m so glad that you’re a Twain-iac! I am thrilled that I will be starting volunteer work at the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford in a couple of weeks. I think I’ll be assigned to the curatorial dept. which means inside the house! I can visit the story mantelpiece whenever I want. Gasp! (Is this gal nuts?)
“There is nothing in the world like persuasive speech
to fuddle the mental apparatus.” Mark Twain
See you in Madi-sunshine, CT (is that a word?) on Rabbit, Rabbit Day!
Love, Carol from CT … tra la
I am so excited to learn about Spoonflower! I am a smocker and am always looking for really nice fabrics for little girls dresses. Now that I know all about them, from your excellent description, I will look into their company. I have no drawing talent, but I love yours and maybe we can connect in a masterpiece!
I open your E-mail first. It is like having a quiet Me time. Blessings!!
What a treat to read your post today. Loved all the pictures and info about your fabrics. I also love reading all the comments. It’s so nice to go to a site where all comments are positive, inspiring, and uplifting, a great place to go to unwind and soak in all the goodness of others. And it’s because of You, Suasan, that we have this wonderful place to go to. Blessings to you.
So exciting! I can’t wait to check out Spoonflower! What a great idea. The Internet certainly can be a creative place to explore! Thank you sharing your wonderful life with all of us.
So happy to be able to get creative with some of your fabric, Susan. I’ll be checking out the website tonight.
Happy Anniversary and happy travels!
Thank you so much for your books and blog. They are so inspiring and a pleasure to read. Please enter me in your fabulous give away. Beautiful quilt. Not sure we can grow wisteria in my part of Idaho, but would love to try. Happy 30th Anniversary!
Thanks for the info on Spoonflower! It sounds wonderful! I will definitely check it out and look for your fabrics.
How exciting! I can’t wait to explore Spoonflower and look for your gorgeous fabrics! Thanks for bringing a smile to my face.
Oh my gosh! Susan! I could barely finish reading this blog post before commenting. I am so excited about that fabric idea! I want some of yours, and I want to try my own, and I’m thinking about gifts! Well, that’s all for now…..I have to go check your fabrics out! Thank you for letting us know!
So happy you found Spoonflower! I’ve ordered from them in the past, and was able to make one of a kind, personalized gifts for friends and family. The quality of the fabric is great! Looking forward to buying some of your designs. The internet truly is a magical place!
What a wonderful post….helps me through the sadness of finishing Isle of Dreams way too quickly. Thanks so much for sharing the Spoonflower site. I cannot wait to purchase some of your fabric for my granddaughter’s baby quilt.
So exciting! I’m so thankful for you!
What a great idea the fabric is! I am going to check it out. Thanks Susan.
Thank you for a wonderful post! I have been planning on making tea towels from handwritten family recipes. I am fortunate to have many examples from both of my Grandmothers. My mom’s mom, aka Great, would have been 101 today.
Love love love your fabric. Can think of so many things to make with it!! keep it coming!!!
Thanks for your encouraging words to all of us. I was cleaning out a drawer as we are downsizing and I found a package of November stickers from you and a rub on transfer with hearts. I can’t wait to use them. They are several years old. But I have always liked your drawings. Have a wonderful trip across America.
Happy anniversary! I have loved your stuff forever….i was doing some spring cleaning of my baking supplies and came across a set of labels/stickers that were yours! Enjoy the upcoming book trip!
I’m excited about Spoonflower and the chance to win a wonderful giveaway.
Thank you!
I enjoy all your books and use them as seasonal decor….the one on the top of the pile! I hope you write us one on you upcoming trip to Britain, and I hope I win this quilt to snuggle under while I read it! Thank you for making the world brighter!
Love the quilt and the sheets blowing in the breeze.
Oh boy! You make want to start a new hobby at 44….Lol
You are so young! Forty-four is perfect for a new hobby!
Dear Susan,
The quilt is so very pretty! I hope I win it! 😇
I look forward to seeing you in Denver next month! Yippee!
I feel like I know you after reading your books. And Joe too. I was telling my girlfriends today about your first weekend together in Boston…..you know, the time you didn’t go to the Symphony?! 😋 How much fun was that!?!?
Blessings & love,
Mary Windemuller
Loved seeing all these fabrics. My mom made several patchwork quilts many years and while they really aren’t antique, I love them. Please enter me in the contest.
Yay for finding a place to print your designs! And I love quilts too 🙂 I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
Wow! This is very exciting. I would love to win the Wisteria seeds. I had no idea that I could grow a Wisteria in New England. Thanks for your remarkable inspiration. Because of you I have started a diary again and may even start sewing again. Good luck on the tour. I will be seeing you at the luncheon in Plainville. Can’t wait!
Oh my, that quilt is beautiful but my heart would sing to get the wisteria seeds from Martha’s Vineyard . I found my birth sibling on the Vineyard and we were reunited on the vineyard I was 45 and she was 40. WE both love Wisteria. It would also be great to win your 3 books! I love your blog, always brightens my day and makes me smile and reminisce.
Thank you for you wonderful creations! I just moved and need all kinds of curtain fabric and some upholstery fabric too. You have always had the best designs and knowing that will be available on an ongoing basis is a lovely gift!
I so love your blog!! It’s always exciting to see I have mail from Susan Branch..thank you
Love this post! What fun. Thanks for the info about the fabric printing web site and a chance to win the quilt or your books. I signed up for WILLARD but didn’t receive a separate newsletter. Just this blog post. What am I missing??????
You will if you’re signed up . . . it takes four days for it all to go out . . . more start going in the morning. Otherwise it’s Internet overload and something goes really wrong! xoxo
Oh my where do I begin? Those fabrics that company made in USA 👏🏻 That beautiful quilt that I would love to be mine ! Your latest book I’m just beginning to read and know I have to have time once I begin because I can’t put them down once I start.😁😘 I love you and all you do you have made my life better Thank You
I was in Martha’s Vineyard this past week and all I could do was get to the book store right off the ferry. I was happy to come home with your new book and several more. You give us all inspiration in our daily lives from the big things to just tiny little things. I am so happy that I follow your blog.
So excited about the fabric…going to check it out now. A little over two weeks left to meet you in Hudson, Ohio can’t wait!!!
I love your fabrics! I checked them out and will order soon.
Oh how I wish I had artistic talent like you do! Your blog never ceases to make me smile and be happy. The lamb fabric design looks very similar to fabric Grandma used for my baby quilt.
I create quilts and I collect antique quilts. I would love to win
I can’t sew a stitch, but have loved drawing and painting them!