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| Little House—Winter |
Little House was born as a Christmas present for my mom. My mom is also a quilter and the person who taught me to sew, bake, paint, knit and generally be creative. And because she's a fellow maker, I wanted to give her a small handmade project that evoked the warm, cozy feeling of winter (and Christmas!) in New England. I'm a sucker for all things miniature, so I decided that a little house, surrounded by little quilt blocks and little embellishments was the perfect idea. (Hmmm, now that I think about it, maybe I was making the perfect gift for me?!)
I had so much fun making Little House for my mom and was thrilled with how it turned out, so I made a second one for my sister. And because I was sad to part with the Little Houses at Christmas, of course I made a third one for myself.
And then I got carried away. I started to wonder what life would be like at Little House during the other seasons—what color palettes, blocks and embellishments would best represent spring, summer and fall? I sketched out ideas for the different seasons and experimented with color and stitching and over time Little House became a series.
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| Little House—Spring |
I realized that it wasn't just the darling end result that I loved about the Little House series, but also the process of combining of my favorite quilting and handwork techniques in one tidy package. Paper piecing made easy work of the miniature quilt blocks, and simple wool appliqué and embroidery added warmth and interest and helped to tell a story. And as I worked away with the four seasons and quilting and wool and stitching circling around in my brain, I began to think that maybe I had an idea for a book.
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| Little House—Summer |
I remembered once hearing an author say that she wrote the books that she wanted to see on her bookshelf. And I definitely wanted to have a book of seasonal quilt projects that combined patchwork, wool appliqué and embroidery! One that was full of color and charming details—eye candy that would get me busy creating and might even inspire me to try something new.
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| Little House—Fall |
So with an idea in mind and a quartet of Little Houses that would inspire and inform my journey, I set out to write Stitching for the Seasons.
Stay tuned to read more about how four Little Houses turned into a book!
—jen