I know it has been a long time since I made a post, sorry but I have a good excuse. In late April I was approached about being part of a new quilting and sewing magazine. Well, it was an opportunity I could not turn down. I accepted an Assistant Editor position with a new company Valu-Publishing (part of All-American Crafts) to work on a new, start-up magazine. Two publications will be produced, called Quilt-it Today and Sew-it Today. Deborah Hearn, the former Editor of Quilt Magazine is our Editor and I have to say it is such a pleasure to be working with Deb, we are kindred spirits and both enjoy quilting and sewing and bringing the craft to beginning quilters. I am having a lot of fun in my new career!

The first issue of Quilt-it Today will not be out till the end of September but I am busy, busy working on getting it ready right now. I will be sure to let you know when it is out and available, a lot can happen between now and then, each day is a new adventure for me, so let me keep you posted on this as we progress.

Other magazine doings: The Easy Quilts issue by Fons & Porter has my Daydreams quilt featured as a bonus quilt. This quilt features my Dilly Day collection fabrics and can be seen at: www.fonsandporter.com/daydreams.

I am pleased to be able to share with you a quilt made by one of my readers. Ana Maria Perna of Spain has been following my blog and made her own version of my Wildwood Quilt I posted in December 2011. It was so interesting to hear from Ana and about her quilt. I love how hers turned out! Very summery, fresh and fun.

Here is what Ana has to say about choosing her fabrics;

"Regarding the fabric, it's just scraps, plus some I bought, but normally we don't pay much attention to the brand here. They are known as "American Fabrics" (meaning they come from America, but I wouldn't say people know if they are Hoffman, or Kaffe Fasset, or the like) , and they are usually quite expensive so we try to make do with whatever we have at hand. We get jelly rolls, charm packs and kits, but they are usually expensive. There's still a long way to go in this aspect!"

You can see some of the other projects Ana has made using this link: http://quiltwithus.connectingthreads.com/profile/AnaMariaPerna

It is a wonderful feeling to have been able to inspire another quilter and to see the outcome. Thank you Ana for sharing your quilt with me (us)! I may not be able to make as many posts in the coming months, but I do hope to continue providing inspiration and fun projects through the new magazines. I am looking forward to all the new things I will be learning, the new projects I will be laying out in the pages and the people and designers I will meet along the way.

I would like to use the forum of my blog to extend an invitation to any quilters, sewers and/or designers who would like to submit easy to intermediate quilts or sewing projects to these new publications. We are looking for original designs geared towards beginning sewers. We are also looking for any groups or organizations that work together to create quilts for charity or personal fulfillment for a regular feature "Sharing Your Stash" that will run in our Quilt-it Today magazine.

If you are interested, please email me at Contact@sharonhollanddesigns.com and I will get you more information on how to submit your project for consideration.