What are your favorite color combinations for quilt art and surface design? I particularly love the combination of hot pink with orange and turquoise. Or red, yellow, and orange together. And then there are the sun-washed combinations of yellow, blue, and green.

Now that the sun is shining in New England and summer is nearly officially here, I'm feeling the tug of nature and the need to try a new outdoor fiber art project. Although I've experimented with sun printing and dyeing techniques, there are many variations that I haven't tried. I am especially inspired by the beautiful quilts made by Gail Ellspermann from her sun-printed fabrics using stencils.

I've always found quilters to be a generous bunch, always ready to share a technique or some fabric from their stash.

Treat your mom (yourself, or a friend) this Mother's Day!

I'm an equal-opportunity fabric monger: I drool just as much over hand surface-designed fabrics. I gobble up every new technique and have even tried some fabric stamping, ice dyeing, resist dyeing, and fabric painting. I love it.

Last year when Pantone announced its Color of the Year—Tangerine Tango—I was a fan. I like cheerful, sunny colors, and this one hit the spot for me. I could see using it in different modes, from fabric to embroidery, to surface design techniques.

Are you thinking of turning your art into a business? Do you have an art business but aren't sure how to spread the word? Do you want to use social media to promote you art, but aren't sure how to go about it?

When I returned to New England from QuiltCon in Austin, Texas, this week, I couldn't help but notice: it snowed again while I was gone. Yes, while I was in the climate-controlled comfort of the exhibit halls surrounded by colorful quilts--and quilters--Mother Nature had thrown another heavy blanket of snow over my region.