I had some elves working at Meg Staley Handmade!!! Kathryn And Duncan Penfold plastered the studio with hand-printed cloth napkins – gifts for unsuspecting family members. I couldn’t resist a shot of all this unapologetic RED!!!
A terrific way to cheer up an otherwise grey winterscape. No snow for Christmas this year. Though Mother Nature has skedaddled to make up for that in the first 2 weeks of 2016. Happy new year!!
My dear friend, Tracy Strong, lost her dad last year and after reclaiming some of his favorite sweaters and shirts, asked me to refashion the garments into scarves and throwpillows for her family’s Christmas reunion in Sun Valley. Here is Tracy, flanked by her sisters, daughter and nieces in the Jack Strong memorial infinity scarves. Cozy, colorful, and grinning from ear to ear, happy to be together.
Thank you, Tracy, for allowing me to help you retain the memory of your father and celebrate your family’s ties.
This summer my nephew, Max Linsky, married his long time sweetheart, Meredith Jacks, in a celebration near my sister, Lynn Staley and bro-in-law, Marty Linsky’s gorgeous home near Rome. The house overlooks a beautiful hilltown, Collevecchio, with olive orchards and pastureland spreading in all directions and that was the backdrop for my big reveal.
Earlier in the spring I asked both families to send me mementos of their kid’s lives that I could sew together into a surprise quilt. Moms Sherry and Lynn obliged by sending an array of tee shirts, dresses, athletic shorts and duffles as well as photos chronicling Max and Meredith’s shining moments which I transferred onto fine white cotton for applique. For more versatility, I made the quilt reversable, with the back side featuring a patchwork of beautiful white ground vintage prints. The result? Lots of hugs AND a forever keepsake!
The bride admires her wedding gift…
The bride and groom wrapped in love.
Our family displays the quilt off Lynn and Marty’s 2nd floor terrace. From left to right:
Sherry, Max, Meredith, Nelle, Lynn, me, Penelope, Violet, Henry, Kate, Lucky, Marty, Jerry.
Sunset over Collevecchio: an end to a happy day
Hiroto Grashow lost his mom, Yatsuko, to brain cancer when he was just a newborn.
Prior to his arrival, during her prolonged illness, I was asked to make his older brother, Shogo and sister, Sakura, their own personal quilts. I heard back from their dad, Alexander, that the quilts became fortresses, tents, territorial boundaries and otherwise safe havens for both kids as the family struggled emotionally with the reality of losing their mother, wife and daughter. This spring, 2 year old Hiro asked for his very own special quilt. 
The Grashow sibs today: Sakura, Hiroto and Shogo. 
I’m so happy and honored to have provided the Grashow family with some talismans of hope and joy during such a tough time and for years to come. Thanks to Lynn Staley and Marty Linsky for that opportunity. And thankyou, Alexander, for being such a wonderful dad.
When it comes to holiday gift-giving, pillows are easy! They’re cozy, huggable, and they don’t have to fit right! Maybe that’s why December has gone down as a record-breaking pillow-making month at Meg Staley Handmade! Below are knitted pillows I designed combining my handprints with crazy handknit panels by Suzanne Armstrong, of Arty Party fame! I think her special customers are going to be soooo delighted to get these as presents!
Another favorite store owner, Gina Trento, from The Better Half, ordered name pillows for her niece and nephew, Sabrina and Nicholas. When they were done I grinned. Wide.
Last, but not least, orders for Meg Staley Handmade patchwork pillow shams ALWAYS keep me busy at this time of year. 
This time I made a few extra and Jerry put a couple in his eBay site. Click on this link SG ATTIC and you can see the standard-size pillow shams up close and personal, as well as a few other Meg Staley Handmade clothing items left from my fall season! 
Even though it’s a little too late to shop for your loved ones, WHAT ABOUT YOU??? I’m one of those sinners who slips a few (several) presents for myself into the holiday equation. I’m sure you’re all much too virtuous to do the same. But, in case you’re not…….
One of the things we LOVE making are personalized gifts for NEW BABIES!!! Welcoming a baby into the world with a happy quilt or little pillow is a gift that lives on well past the onesie or swaddling blanket gives out. And when a name is spelled out in bright, bold letters, it’s often the most immediate opportunity to play with name recognition at bed time.
This baby pillow is going all the way to Tuscany. My sister, Lynn Staley, and bro-in-law, Marty Linsky, are so in love with the pizza at Cafe Paradiso, in Trequanda, Italy that they make the 2 hr drive up from Collevecchio several times a year. Its glamorous owners, Giorgio and Frederica Perinti, are now good friends and also besotted new parents. Welcome Baby Lio!
My brilliant hubby, Jerry Gretzinger, sewed up this fabulous area rug and when the finishing touches were complete today, it went right outside our front door. I love the new welcome mat with our goofy painted entry fence and pots. But if I leave it there, Clarence the lamb will eat it, no doubt, so back inside it goes…..
Shabby Chic??? Jer captured our (ahem, UNUSUAL) decor in the morning light, after I’d been possessed by a rare, but fruitful desire to clean the house. The big window bed couches are covered in our knitted rugs piled high with Staley/Gretzinger patchwork/applique pillows.
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John Wayland and Jen Zwarich, our wonderful neighbors, welcomed a beautiful baby boy to the world last December. Jerry and I couldn’t wait to make him a Staley/Gretzinger quilt to relax on. So here is Lincoln Wayland on his very own magic carpet.
