I went in JC Penney for the first time in a long time a few weeks ago. I was looking for clothes and was pleasantly surprised with the changes in what they were carrying -- esp. in plus sizes. There was still what I call the bingo/casino collection, but there were more stylish choices and also active/workout wear. And the prices were great. I've never been one to collect and manage coupons very well (cut them out and forget them, or even put them in my purse then forget them, they expire on me, etc.) so the one-price thing is fine for me. I thought the store redesign looked like they were trying to become the Target of department stores (letting Sears be the Wal-Mart of department stores). But the iPhone/iPod-based checkout system seemed a little to Apple Store for Penney's, KWIM? There must be a corporate connection there somewhere. Back to home goods. I took a spin through tat department and it was indeed very, very sparse. I only looked at lamps and pillows, but there were a lot of empty shelves and everything was on clearance. So I guess the back half of the store is about to get the same treatment the front half of the store already got.

Rosa--Yeah, I quilted that one the hard way! Most of the time, I do linked curves in the diamonds so I don't have to mess with the thread tails, but I wanted a more traditional look and so I had to do all that putzy knotting and burying! It was a good job to do while watching TV in the evening. The thread in the gold stars is rayon, so that made it even harder because it's so fine and slippery. Thank goodness the quilt is small--only lap sized. Still one of my favorite designs and one of these days I want to make it queen-sized for my bed. It's on a "to-do" list as long as my arm! Annie

I like your feather quilting on the Fall quilt. I would like to learn how to quilt the feather design with some sort of confidence. I can barely DRAW it on paper, much less quilt it! Need to practice more. You and your friend are both very talented! Love the colors in the last quilt. Julie

I can't wait to see your designs! I work free-hand most of the time, too. I have a lot of "original" designs that I use as well. The funny thing is that sometimes when I think I've come up with something new, I'll see it a month later in some quilting magazine. I think it's because we all have so many similar sources of inspiration, or that we unknowingly remember something we've seen and our brains pull it up again months or years later. I like sitting down and doodling on a scrap piece to see what I come up with, but sometimes I just need to get quilting and at times like that, it's nice to have some patterns to look at for inspiration.