For me this looks like jumping up and down while doing the twist. I am not normally much of a morning person, especially before coffee, but I was celebrating the fact that it was the official publication day for Inspired by Tradition: 50 Appliqué Blocks in 5 Sizes!

Here’s the Table of Contents, beautifully presented by That Patchwork Place’s book designer.

Here are a few more blocks.

Six blocks from Inspired by Tradition

Some more very cool news: Pat Sloan has invited me to be a guest on her Creative Talk Radio show on March 21! That should be so fun, as Pat is a relaxed, outgoing person and totally easy to talk to. There will be giveaway goodness associated with this event, so be sure to mark your calendars.

The next day, I’m kicking off Book-A-Round 2, a 10-day tour visiting other quilting bloggers. Each one will feature something a little different about Inspired by Tradition. More giveaway goodness, as a copy of the book will be offered in a drawing at each stop of the tour. Mark your calendars for March 22-31, and stay tuned for more information.

In celebration of this long-awaited day, and to say thanks, I’d like to offer blog readers a coupon for $2.00 off orders from my website. Use coupon code BLOG2 during checkout. Coupon expires March 31, 2011.

Still got happy feet,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

The story of this bright, beautiful quilt, which uses patterns from my Teapots to Appliqué:

My quilting bee was asked by by son’s girlfriend, Lyndsay Benson, to help her DAR chapter make a teapot quilt. The name of their chapter is the Wilmington Ladies Tea Walk Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

We began this project in October of 2008. My bee, which is part of the Quilters by the Sea Guild of Wilmington, North Carolina, attended one of the Tea Walk meetings to show them how to applique and quilt. Each person in my bee and each lady in the chapter were given a choice of the teapot patterns and then made their block from material that was chosen for the project.

The quilt will be used as a raffle to make money for the projects that the chapter does for the community. As you can see there was hand quilting, machine quilting, hand applique, and machine applique as each person did their own thing. After getting all the blocks back, I then put them together and added the teacups in the corners and the border. It was really a fun quilt to do.

Ann, this bright quilt is brightening your community in so many ways. Your bee took time to teach appliqué and quilting to the chapter, and you all collaborated to benefit the good programs of the DAR. I love the fact that all kinds of appliqué and quilting come together in this way. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for choosing my teapot patterns for this wonderful group project. I hope it raises lots of $$ for the cause. By the way, did you know that North Carolina is my home state? I grew up in Chapel Hill.

I think those are picnic ants making off with a chocolate chip cookie.

Teapots to Appliqué, which was my first collection of teapots, is now out of print, but an unbound pattern pack is available on my website. Teapots 2 to Appliqué is still in print.

Still smiling at the cheerful teapots,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

In fact, Willie has started his own dogblog! He’s be very pleased to have you share in his rich times. Visit The Most Excellent Life and Times of Willie the Quilt Puppy.

Now back to the subject of change. I’ve been feeling for some while now that it’s time to step out from behind a cute name and be myself. To that end, my design and publishing company is now By Kay Mackenzie.
Quilt Puppy Publications will remain a publishing imprint.

Visit my redesigned website! It still has all the same stuff on it, but it’s got a different look now.

As part of the reorganization, kaymackenzie.com (the former url for this blog) will automatically redirect to the new website. To visit this Show & Tell Center, either go to www.kaymackenzie.com/wordpress or go to www.kaymackenzie.com and click on Show & Tell.

Thanks for hanging in there with me during this exciting time. Sometimes a little change can make you feel fresh and new.

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

That’s right, all of the books and patterns that are design sources for the Show & Tell you see here are on special, through February 29, 2008.

On my appliqué blog, I put up a picture of A Spin in the Garden, aka “the bunny quilt,” and also relayed DH Dana’s explanation of how often Leap Year comes leaping along. (Hint: it’s every 4 years, except when it isn’t.)

Oh, and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Until next time,
Kay