Hi Reader,

"No sooner do I get close to finishing a quilt than another idea grabs my attention."

Yes, this is the way I started my last email and yet again it still applies. I had the opportunity to visit family and friends in Maryland AND visit a fabulous quilt store, the Artistic Artifacts, owned and operated by Judy Gula. More details below!

It was a wonderful spring visit with lots of blooming trees everywhere! All those beautiful colors make me excited to get back to quilting! Now I have a fabulous collection of spring fabric just waiting to become quilts! DON'T MISS this video!!!

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If you ever find yourself driving on I-95 between Virginia and Washing DC, take a bit of time to stop in and take a look at this store. It's not a traditional quilt store, it's so much more. In addition to quilting fabrics, there is a great collection of reasonably priced quilt kits. You'll also find gorgeous batik panels and other very unique fabrics and trims. Check out the shop on YouTube - @ArtisticArtifacts to see her shop and all the fun extras she keeps on hand.

Judy Gula is a mixed media artist and shop owner. Her videos focus on touring the shop to show what's new. Those of you who are inclined to occasionally step outside of quilting, will love the room with the mixed media supplies. This is actually where she started her business. If you're not careful, you'll get lost in the main shop filled with threads, hand stitching supplies, books on quilting and fiber & textile art, and much more.

The fabrics I show at the end of the video are the ones I purchased at the shop. I also bought the Peanut Butter Pinwheels Quilt Pattern at the shop. This link takes you to different quilts made with this pattern, My favorites are the Spectrum and Polaris. Sorbet is wonderful too, but you know me and purple! A little goes a long way. It's fun to see a quilt pattern made in completely different colorways to energize you're inspiration! You'll be seeing me make this one soon.

After watching today's video, you'll get to reacquaint yourself with my friend Phyllis. She lives close to the shop and couldn't wait to bring me there. As my husband took a nap in the car before we had to begin our drive home, I had the full tour and loved it. Probably one of the most interesting and inspiring quilt shops I've ever seen!

Phyllis is a dear woman who loves to keep you laughing with her many quips and jokes. Maybe because she was actually a clown for parties. Imagine a quilting retreat along with her; it'd be a full show with lots of laughs as we all try to get some quilting done!

We talked on the phone yesterday about ideas for the fabrics and panel she gifted. Yes, there are fat quarters and potato chip blocks involved, of course! I can't thank her enough for these beautiful fabrics. She has an incredibly generous spirit and loves quilting and especially quilters! 🥰 We have become close friends who love to share quilting together along with whatever else life brings us.

I want to thank Judy for spending a minute to say hi and introduce herself. This is a remarkable shop that I want to share with you. Please know that I'm not receiving any money or products for sharing this with you. It's a special place I believe every quilter would enjoy. Just ask Phyllis! 🤣

We've mostly recovered from our wonderful trip to Maryland. We kept very busy and ate far too much, but what fun we had. I want to thank my Aunt Helen, who always reads these emails. She and my cousin were wonderful hosts and took such good care of us! We also met up with my sister and her family at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Laughter carried across the restaurant as we all caught up with each other. Yes, of course we had cheesecake! And LOVED it!

More Quilting News: NEW Baby Blocks Pattern

There is a layer cake on my table that will soon become two, very adorable baby quilts! One will be made with my Layer Cake Walk (40% Off) pattern. This is the first time I'm making a baby size quilt with this pattern. It's looking adorable and is so easy to make!

The other is my new pattern, Baby Blocks. As I was making these blocks, which will be shown in my next video, all I could think of were toy blocks. It'll also work great with panels and novelty prints! These really look nothing like the primary colored blocks we grew up with, as the fabric is a sweet pink and green print. Nonetheless, they look beautiful and I'm so excited to show you these quilts...Very Soon!

Getting Back to My Gardens

Spring has arrived and I'm thrilled with my gardening progress! Lots of bulbs and perennials are already many inches tall which really gets me excited. My perennial bed is flourishing and will put on a spectacular show this year. There will be pictures to follow.

In addition to countless birds visiting our bird-sanctuary, we now have a pair of racoons visiting. Initially we thought there was just one, but my son's trail-cam showed us otherwise.

This sneaky bugger climbs into the bird bath and jumps onto the wooden post holding the feeders. Then he gets on top and shakes all the seeds out. My husband intentionally wrapped the wooden post with galvanized duct work to cover the bottom 6 feet of it so the squirrels couldn't climb up. We never thought about racoons or the lone opossum who snuck in for a quiet visit. He probably has friends that we don't know about, too!

So the bird bath now sits on the ground. The racoons seem to be eating the seeds the birds drop on the ground. But then they get up on top, knock lots of seeds everywhere trying to get into the feeders. It's fun to see them in the yard but I'm afraid it may become problematic. Especially since there are two, as we may see little racoons joining this fun adventure.

Let me know if you have any racoon experience and just how concerned we should be with them close by. The trash is secured, but not sure what else they may get into or destroy. My cousin in NH once had them nesting in her chimney! That took professional expertise to remedy.

Wow, my word counter says I'm over 1,200 words! If you made this far, thanks for following along. It's fun to catch up and share my quilting progress...an other goings on here in Georgia and wherever else we may be.

Be sure to check out the FQS ​Precuts of the Week! There's a large Anna Maria FQ Bundle on sale and it's filled with fabulous fabrics. This is one of multiple colorways, so there's many more to see. Plus you'll also love the Piecework FQ Bundle. Each fabric is printed with different patchwork quilt patterns. I bought the flying geese print and can't wait to use it! So perfect for quilting, though I also see them as wonderful options for backing!

On that note, it's time to sign off before I hit 1,300 words! Oops, this just put me over!! 🤣

Thanks so much for following along. Have a great rest of your week!

Don't Miss THIS MONTH'S Fat Quarter Shop Specials!

FYI: I've gotten layer cakes at under $22 in the Weekly Precut Bundle Sales!

• ​Precuts of the Week (changes weekly)
• ​Basic of the Month​
• ​Notion of the Month​
• ​Book of the Month​
• ​Pattern of the Month​
• ​Cross Stitch Sale of the Month​

Happy Quilting,

Lea Louise

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