Dreams can lead the way

Dear Friends and Fabric Lovers,

It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that my sister, ellen edith, passed away peacefully at home on May 15th.

She discovered hand quilting in her last months and was able to complete 4 wonderful quilt tops.

I am sorry but fabric, books and dvds are no longer available for purchase. If you have any questions, please contact me Kelly Hogan at kelhogan@mac.com

Thank you for your support over the years. ellen loved every chance she had to share her fabric and techniques and to encourage quilters everywhere.

You can share your feelings and remembrances in the comments area below.

Richard’s imaginary friend, Bulldozer

This quilt is in honor of my little brother Richard.
He was a quiet and angelic boy with beautiful blonde curls.

He had three very noisy sisters who were a little too much for him. Here we are ellen, Kelly, Richard, and Jill.

So Richard made up an imaginary friend named Bulldozer who spoke for him and helped him cope with his loud sisters.

My job was to set the dinner table and Richard would remind me, “Don’t forget to set a place for my imaginary friend Bulldozer.”

Richard couldn’t say his R’s. He turned out to be really smart.

More story quilts can be found in my book & DVD.
See my favorites on display in my  featured artist Special Exhibit
at the Pacific International Quilt Festival in a few weeks:

14 – 17 October 2010
Santa Clara Convention Center
Santa Clara, CA

FREE How-to quilt videos

WATCH & LEARN with ellen edith

Totally brand new!

Assemble the TROPICAL BREEZE quilt kit alongside designer ellen edith in this step-by-step video mini-series. Learn innovative techniques for fast & fun assembly! You’ll use these tips again and again on future projects – but don’t tell the quilt police you’ve learned something new! In five parts.

Part 1 – Cutting the bulls-eye square with the hand-painted stripe:

Part 2 – Sewing & assembling the bulls-eye square:

Part 3 – The center of the quilt and cutting tricks:

Part 4 – Instant Borders for easy perfect borders every time:

Part 5 – Corner set squares allow you to increase the center:

NEW on DVD! Funny Story Quilts lecture

1 hour presentation features over 200 slides narrated by ellen.

This funny and entertaining DVD slide show features 30 small quilts, illustrating hilarious stories with close-up details, inspirational photos & how-to-tips. ellen’s funny story quilts are true stories about her quirky family and their travels through California & Mexico. Techniques include: appliqué, piecework & embellishment. People say it’s a laugh riot!

Butterfly Preserve

I just finished a new story quilt celebrating the day I met Larry. Here’s the finished quilt, story and a few close-up details:

My first date with Larry was bicycling to the monarch butterfly preserve. He was so cute & I was so nervous I was yacking away. He finally said “If you would lie down & be quiet the butterflies might land on you!” Right then I knew I could relax & be myself around him. We have had 15 wonderful years.

I painted his favorite shirt with dog paw prints & the motto “Down Boy Down!”

I used some of my own butterfly fabric, dressed myself in bright colors & added a vintage pin as a hair ornament.

I’m almost done with another story quilt about my brother, Richard and his imaginary friend, Bulldozer. Stay tuned.

Tropical Breeze quilt kits

My newest quilt kit,Tropical Breeze, is inspired by Mexico. The focus fabric is a 12′ repeat with the sun, birds, frogs, butterflies, turtle & shells. The instant border runs selvedge to selvedge & the fabulous hand painted stripe can be used for bindings, sashing or blocks. Check out the close-ups below.

This is a close-up of  the quilt sample I made for the Tropical Blue quilt showing a bit of the focus fabric and the bulls-eye square made from the hand-painted stripe fabric:

I’m thinking of making a how-to video to show how to make this quilt! It’s so vibrant and perfect for summertime. The Amazon Spice reminds me more of autumn, especially with the pumpkin coordinating print.