Coffee, Quilts & Love, A Mysterious Symbiosis

Have I mentioned lately my deep love for/addiction to coffee?

I am thrilled by all the new medical studies which conclude that coffee drinkers run a reduced risk of dementia, heart disease, diabetes, depression, cancer, and - just announced this past week - ED (formerly known as impotence) - I kid you not.

For me, coffee and quilts have a romantic relationship. Coffee gives me courage to create quilts. And making coffee-related quilts makes me want to drink more coffee.  I've made quite a few coffee-themed items over the years (like 100 Cups on the Wall here).

Today, I'm excited to announce my newest ebook, Quilts for Coffee Lovers. One of the projects is a pieced, dimensional wallhanging, which I call tessellated mugs:

They represent rows of mugs, with 3-D handles pointing in alternate directions in each row (similar to the way my DH loads the dishwasher). The ovals are mostly coffee, but could be tea (I threw in some green ovals, for green tea). 

I made it in a couple of different fabric-ways. Above, it's all solids, with a grey border, for a modern look.

 Below, batiks. The border is a streaky brown that represents the precious flow. 

Closeup: 

In the third version, which you'll see lower down,  I made the central mug area mugs from mostly solids (except the polka dot), while the fluid in the ovals are mostly prints. I call it "Clouds in my Coffee," because the variegated ovals look like something liquid is floating in the cups. 

I tested this center area on many different backgrounds. With "clouds in my coffee," from Carly Simon, playing over and over again in my head, I first checked out how the center looked against clouds. First, a dramatic sunset....

Second, a non-dramatic cumulus sky: 

And a weirdly enthralling vintage paisley:

I didn't pick any of those. Instead, I accidentally came up with this: 

Solids and the cumulus print fabric, plus an Indonesian print down the right. 

It wasn't just my love for coffee that inspired me. I was also influenced by a delightful Coffeehouse Mystery series by author Cleo Coyle, pen name for Alice Alfonsi and her husband Marc Cerasini.

Their fun and addictive little mysteries are full of lush coffee descriptions, factoids, and related recipes. And, oh yes, the plots are good, too. The series helped get me through a miserable illness a few years ago.

Warning: Whatever you do, don't read one of these mysteries in bed late at night, because not only will you be unable to put it down, but you will also climb out of bed, carry it to the kitchen, wake up the whole house by grinding a cup of  fully-leaded (the Coyles are prejudiced against decaf), See the mysteries here (unpaid endorsement).

Here's the cover of my new ebook, and more information is on my pattern page, here,

...and/or come back next week to see more coffee quilts!