Brought to You by the Number Two

Today is February 2nd and it's also Day Two of the Moda 'Pillow Talk' Blog Hop!

Alma and Barb are the two fabulous designers behind the beautiful Blackbird Designs. Hop on over to their blog to see what they have in store for you.

The 2nd bit of news today is that Sarah and Joyce, the unstoppable mother and daughter team who continue to amaze and inspire me (and many others), have had quite a significant thing happen. If you've already gotten the April issue of American Patchwork and Quilting, open it to page one. Sarah's smiling face will be right there beaming back at you:

She has been featured for her story about learning to sew through her contributions to the Million Pillowcase Challenge, and how she brightened the hospital room of her dear friend Kristen — a leukemia patient born with Down syndrome. Sadly, Kristen passed away last summer but she is remembered and honored every day at JEllen's where they continue to make and donate pillowcases. Sarah is also making quilts to donate to Reece's Rainbow.

You can read all about how Sarah, Joyce and i met in this post. And you may have heard me talk about them with Pat Sloan the other day. When i was digging back to find that post, i was so surprised to see that it was almost a year ago. You just can't believe what these two have done in that time — it is remarkable.

Speaking of remarkable, there are two other women who have some pretty exciting stuff happening that i've been eager to share with you. Not only because they welcomed me into the quilting world with wide open arms, but also because they're both very talented in their own right.

The first is Rachel Griffith (rachel, hope you didn't just *faint*). You might know her from her lively blog ps: i quilt where she is the non-stop hostess of quilt-a-longs and siggy swaps. Or from her recipes on the Moda Bake Shop. Or from the new book she is included in (and on the cover of). The list goes on. And now her first-ever quilt design and pattern, called "Flipside" is being offerred exclusively on the

Fat Quarter Shop!

Yes, i'm a wee biased because she used Central Park, but it's such great quilt design for the jelly roll lover in you, that i bet it would look good no matter what fabric you use. But you really want to use Central Park, right?? *wink* Congratulations, Rachel!

The second woman is Vanessa Christenson, the creative mind and bubbling spirit behind V and Co. Vanessa has a clean and simple style to her designs that invite even beginners (like me) to take on sewing and craft projects with a certain degree of confidence.

Like Rachel, Vanessa's list of accomplishments has been ever-growing. She's been a chef on the Moda Bake Shop (you can find her recipes here), she's also going to be published in this book, she'll be a guest speaker at the Sewing Summit in October, annnd she emailed me last night to share the fabulous news that three of her projects are in the Spring issue of Quilts and More magazine! Whew! So why did she email me? Well, this cutie quilt she made with Verna (almost a year-and-a-half ago), will be featured in there at last:

Congratulations, Vanessa!

And what do Rachel and Vanessa have in common? They were the first two people i knew of who made the first things i'd ever seen with my very first line of fabric. They're pretty special to me and i'm so very happy to applaud their successes.