I love to write. Like most of my writer friends, I have more stories inside of me than I can ever hope to write. But I can only take so much computer time before my eyes start to cross and my stashes of fabric and paper start calling my name. (In the summer, the garden calls, too, but not so much in December.) As Christians created in the image of God – the ultimate creator – I think we are supposed to live a creative life. You are creative! It doesn’t have to be BIG creativity. You don’t even have to be talented or trained. You don’t have to be “craftsy.” Just think outside the box (yes, I know a creative writer shouldn’t use cliches like that, but it fits.) A creative life doesn’t necessarily involve arts and crafts at all. It might just be a matter of rearranging things you already have. Cooking a new meal. Reorganizing your bookshelves. It doesn’t have to be expensive. I’ve always liked dressing up my house for the changing seasons, but I seldom spend money on it. I just pull out quilts, dishes, linens, and anything else I could find in the right Read More
Tag: GloryQuilts
I’m reading Christmas books. Are you?
Is this weather crazy or WHAT? It’s definitely a season for reading Christmas books! We had a beautiful September, a cold October (including a 9” snowfall here in Minnesota), and then it was in the 70’s again this past weekend, and now we have another winter storm watch. Like I said… Minnesota. But I think this kind of fickle weather is a pattern for most midwestern states. The nice weather was a blessing as we visited our Wisconsin kids and grandkids over the weekend. We met our newest grandson, 4-day-old Fynnigan! Christmas books are here again! I have five of them now, including Potato Flake Christmas in the 2020 Christmas Lights Collection, Hearts Aglow. Have you read it yet? All my Christmas books are available in paperback and for Kindle. The Kindle books are just $2.99 – less than the price of a peppermint mocha latte! – or you can read them free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription! Speaking of Kindle Unlimited (as I so often do), be sure to check out this super collection of Christian Christmas books. You can read ALL of them through your Kindle Unlimited Subscription! Some are novellas, some are big collections – enough that Read More
Is There a Quilter on Your Christmas List?
I’ve enjoyed writing the traditions of my own Swedish heritage into my Glory Quilts books. My fictional Anderson family are descendants of immigrant farmers in central Minnesota – just like my own family! Throughout the series, Great-aunt Violet – spinster, quilter, and genealogist – chronicles the family history in a series of quilts. There’s plenty of laughter and fun and romance in these books, along with a multi-generational mystery that dates back to before World War II. And romance, too, of course! To make it even better, there are QUILTS! In each of the Glory Quilts books, the heroine and Aunt Violet make a quilt together. Those quilts are featured on the cover of the books, and you can get the patterns to make your own. You can find those on Amazon, Etsy, and my website, in digital and paper formats. The Glory Quilts Christmas Gift Set So… just the other day, I had a brilliant idea: I put together a Glory Quilts gift set with The Christmas Glory Quilt and The Swedehearts Glory Quilt and their patterns. It’s the perfect Christmas present for the quilter or reader on your list! I’ll inscribe and sign the books if you like, Read More
Betwixt Two Hearts ~ A Crossroads Collection
I felt very honored to be invited to participate in the new Crossroads Collection: Betwixt Two Hearts. I bought the first three when they came out, and I enjoyed the unique concept – a collection of novellas that are each free-standing book but tied together in a theme, and one full-length book by Amanda Tru that connects them all. (Note – most of the “novellas” are more like full-length books.) In Betwixt Two Hearts, Amanda opens the collection with a story about two people establishing an online matchmaking agency. Not a dating site, mind you, but a real matchmaking agency with the goal of setting up marriages. Each of the subsequent books is a contemporary Christian romance about two people who meet through the Betwixt Two Hearts agency. In addition to mine, you’ll find delightful stories by Amanda Tru, Kari Trumbo, Alana Terry, Carol Moncado, Chautona Havig. and ME. Mine is The Swedehearts Glory Quilt, the second book in my Glory Quilts series. It’s lighthearted – mostly – and features some of the same characters from The Christmas Glory Quilt. David Reid is a sincere Christian man, eager to move on in his life. He’s an engineer, so he’s got a Read More
Comfort & Joy
This week, I’m finishing up my Christmas novella, The Christmas Glory Quilt. It will be my contribution to the 2018 Christmas Lights novella collection: Comfort & Joy. This year’s collection is going to be bigger and better than ever before, with contemporary Christian Christmas stories from Alana Terry, April Hayman, Toni Shiloh, Chautona Havig and me. Isn’t it a beautiful cover? Frost Heaves by Alana Terry The Trouble with Christmas Cheer by April Hayman Deck the Shelves by Toni Shiloh The Christmas Glory Quilt by Cathe Swanson The Ghosts of New Cheltenham by Chautona Havig The Christmas Glory Quilt The Christmas Glory Quilt will be the first in a series with a seasonal quilt theme – Autumn Glory Quilt, Easter Glory Quilt, etc. (I still need to work on those titles!) Being an overachiever, I designed a quilt to go with the book and plan to offer the pattern as a bonus for early purchasers of the book. It was a busy summer – and I had to write the book! – so it took a long time just to get it pieced. Yesterday morning, my good friend and book cover designer, the multi-talented Chautona Havig, said, “I Read More
Do what you love – as long as you love doing it
I recently published an article – Quitting Quilting – on my GloryQuilts blog, explaining why I was restructuring my business. It explained the quitting part, but it didn’t really address the “art as career” aspect of the change. Through this experience, I am persuaded that if I am ever forced to support myself financially, I must not do it by making a career from the things I love doing. It sounds good, but it can end up sucking the joy from the creative heart and leaving only resentment. For more than 20 years, I have been teaching quiltmaking as well as sewing and quilting professionally as GloryQuilts. At first, I sold class samples and pattern prototypes as well as some things I made just for fun. I did some juried art shows, and then some that were less selective. I had to make quantities of items for the shows, on a strict deadline, and be ready to set up displays and manage sales. I started selling things on eBay and then Etsy. Instead of selling unique and creative quilts, I began creating quilts specifically to sell, in trendy fabrics and styles. As my reputation grew, I was offered and accepted Read More