Thank you!

I just want to thank Jamie for sharing her blue ribbon prize winning quilt! This is what the circle of creating is all about! Thanks for taking the time to share this with me Jamie! Good Job! To see another pic go to www.fernhillgiftsandquilts.blogspot.com 

Peaceful Resignation...

I am thrilled to feature a new piece of art. My City Waterworks painting has been a journey in the making. This is acrylic and pastel on masonite. The City Waterworks is beveled glass from an old door from an actual waterworks facility. I asked Joe Rance to make a frame for me and he did, about three years ago, and about three years ago they cut down rows of trees on 1st Avenue in Cedar Rapids where I lived at the time and where I painted. I was finishing a custom order when I heard the hacking and buzzing of saws. These beautiful healthy trees stood there with these great white X s slashed across their trunks, waiting. It has haunted me to this day. So this is an environmental piece. When you see this painting think of the trees, think of the ribbons tied around them by their guardians begging the powers that be, not to do this. But also the resounding resignation that we are all trees with white Xs. Peace.

WOW!

I want to say Thank You! To all who supported my work and our Fern Hill/ Stephanie Brandenburg Studios booth in Chicago and then in Paducah. I was truly inspired by everyone and so thankful to have your encouragement and support. My bookshelf pattern is flying off its shelves!

This excitement is contagious and I promise I will continue to produce the best work I can for all of you- So you can be as excited about your projects as I am! Fern Hill's Hollyhock Dolls and Garden Garments is reprinting... and ...

my new collection Urban Squares is printing as we speak!! It is a different line for me but very cool.

What is coming for May Quilt Market?

These are some of the new designs I have put together for the International Quilt Market in May for Camelot Cottons!

I am very excited about a new look with Urban Squares. I'll give you a sneak peek!

Also Irish lace will accompany our Hollyhock Collection so enjoy!

I will be introducing my first official quilt pattern- Winter Garden-the bookshelf quilt.

The weather is warm today! Spring is around the corner!

Winter is tough!

In this age where we are supposed to be inventing, staying positive and dreaming of the future- I feel like I am stuck under a cloche- without the benefit of warmth!

But I will say I am very excited to unveil our little contribution to Country Gardens Magazine Early Spring 2009!

When the Country Gardens Early Spring Edition comes out it is like a breath of fresh air. It is a little nudge toward Spring letting you know everything is really going to get warm again. You will not be in this tundra forever. Spring will come, plants and flowers will grow... you won't be able to leave work because of a blizzard and go take a nap with your two year old because why not? we are stuck in tundra anyway...

Ok maybe that is just me- but really we can soak up these moments because when Spring does finally pull back the curtain of white cold we will be so pumped we will keep moving, running, traveling, searching and discovering-and it won't stop until the cold blizzard grips us again to force us to be still.

Listen to the stillness of the snow falling, the sounds of the cars and snowblowers muffled, the birds off in the distance like a little promise that they will be there for us soon.

And in this quiet go get the Country Gardens Early Spring Edition from Fern Hill of course. Have a cup of coffee or tea and dream of what will be this season. What plants will bloom? What is the look I want for my home and my garden? At Fern Hill we are tearing it up! We are gearing up for Spring and resetting the whole shop! Barb Connor of Crosscreek Antiques has been nice (crazy;-)enough to help me move furniture and offer her creative talents so come in and see what chaos is all about!

Brrrrrrr...

Now is the time to thank everyone who helped us make it to 2009! We have had such a great year designing new patterns, new fabrics and doing shows. I personally want to thank everybody for your interest in my designs and the encouragement to press on, keep it different, vibrant and exciting!

I am giving you a sneak peek at some gorgeous additions to my Hollyhock Dolls and Garden Garments Collection!

Coming soon...my first original quilt pattern. My friend Sue Penn is starting her own fabric company her designers have been hard at work and she will release Bluebird Dishes - and Watermark- Both are exciting new looks.

I am working on a very different look for SB Studios a line called Urban Squares with Camelot Cottons which will premiere in May 2009. I can't wait to share it with you!

The Nativity

I wanted to share some Christmas shots of the Nativity that Roxanne Pierce and I get to decorate each year. This is always a special event for us in the hubub of retail- to pause, take a moment and reflect on the season. 

Check out the Amanas "Festival of Trees" The Tannenbaum Forest- in the village of Amana all proceeds go to Make A Wish! A wonderful dream come true for a little child. 

This is a photo of last year but it is always amazing- Go over and check out what we did this year!

Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Happy Muharram. and Happy Kwanza...

Peace to all - 

We need peace and understanding-the foundation, the real underpinning of all of these faiths.

God Bless.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

John 4:8

This quote best represents me...

The Truth is that we are always moving toward mystery and so we are far closer to what is real when we do not see our destination clearly- Rachel Remen

I never see my destination so I'm good - SB

Peace.