When the leaves start to turn and the mornings turn chilly, some people go shopping for new fall fashions. My first thought is, "Hey, I wonder if they've started making apple cider donuts at U-pick orchard down the street from the Quilting Arts offices?"...

I love quilts that have been encrusted with lots of beads, baubles, buttons, found objects...you name it. The more outrageous the embellishment, the better! So I can't wait to share with you our latest ready-to-download eBook, Fine Embellishment Techniques from Quilting Arts : 5 Innovative Ways To Embellish Your Fiber Art ....

You'd think after 10 years and 45 issues of Quilting Arts Magazine , we would have written about every kind of process, technique, design, or supply that exists. But that's the beauty of contemporary art quilting: someone is always putting a new twist on an old technique, combining materials and processes in a way no one ever thought of before, or coming up with a new product that changes the game....

I confess: sometimes I get so caught up in the "art" I forget about the "quilting." Let me explain. An idea for an art quilt forms in my mind based on, say, a favorite TV show such as (still--and forever) Tony Soprano. Or, a new line of gorgeous fabrics hits my desk and I have to do something with those luscious colors and witty patterns. Or, I get obsessed with a new surface design technique and suddenly all I can think about in my studio is Thermofax ® printing or soy wax...

You may recall from a previous Quilting Daily blog post that the first day I taped an episode of "Quilting Arts TV" I was having a very bad hair day. This stemmed from the fact that I had forgotten my shampoo and had to wash my hair with a bar of hotel soap. This left the show hairstylist little choice but to apply a ton of product to make my hair behave somewhat reasonably....

When we first started Quilting Arts , one of the ways we spread the word about our fledgling magazine was by passing out lapel pins with funny, quilt art-related sayings on them at quilt shows. "Give me all your buttons and nobody gets hurt" was one. "I don't exaggerate, I embellish," was another. And who could forget the very popular (if somewhat snarky), "Stitch this"?...

Now that I'm dashing between two studios 2,000 miles apart, I realize I have to get organized if I'm going to complete all my handmade quilted gifts in time to actually enjoy the holidays. So I asked Studios Editor Cate Prato to offer some advice for getting my handmade holiday act together....