Hi there! Welcome to The Fold. Grab yourself an iced tea and pull up a chair.

In my neck of the woods, we just had the first truly hot day of the season. And boy howdy my body did not like that. I’m consoling myself with the two things I actually love about summer: flowers and fruit.

Local Art & Chit-Chat

Please join me for an evening of art and conversation in Oklahoma City.

When: Thursday June 11 2026, 5:30 - 7:00 pm

Where: In the lobby at 5600 N. May Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73112 (Google Maps link)

What: A showcase of works by Greg Erway, Sheryl McLain, Liessa Lieppman, and Sarah Atlee.

Hosted by Eternal Wealth Management, this casual come-and-go event is a chance to meet with Oklahoma artists and talk about their work. I’m looking forward to giving folks an up close and personal view of several of my quilts. I will also have a selection of brand new potholders.

I love having the opportunity to answer questions, talk about what moves me to create, and meet new people! No RSVP necessary, all guests are welcome.

I Went To Minnesota

And it was delightful. My companion and I spent a few days in Minneapolis and a few more visiting friends in Duluth. (You’re going to ask, was it cold? Yes, it was blissfully cold. Except the day we arrived, which was 85 degrees with a tornado warning. So much for getting away from Oklahoma.)

Walking around the city, I noticed what I always noticed about urban environments: the regional quirks, and the ways that cities subtly decay. 

I loved the different manhole covers.

I’m Working On Stuff

Having multiple quilts in progress is normal for me. There are two I want to tell you about because they are making me so happy.

The first is Arabesque. I’m only showing you a little bit because it’s for an exhibition this coming fall. I’ll share more in due course.

The second is a round robin quilt I made with my colleagues at the Journey Quilt Company, where I worked from 2017-2023. 

This photo is of the basting process (where the layers are pinned together for quilting). Shout-out to my friend Linda for the hospital blanket that serves as the batting. Right now I’m in the quilting process, and I’ll share more photos when it’s done.

If you’re not familiar, a round robin is where one person makes the center of a quilt, then passes it on. Each subsequent person adds one or more borders, until it circulates back to the original maker. This is an exercise in taking your hands off the wheel and letting other people collaborate with your vision. After mine came back to me, I added a final round of borders. It’s wild, weird, wonderful, and I love it.

I’ve Been Bingeing

Podcasts: The Curiosity Shop with Brene Brown and Adam Grant and WorkLife with Adam Grant*.

(*The WorkLife pod has since changed hosts, but I’m going through the Adam Grant episodes.) I deeply respect smart people who are willing to learn from each other. These conversations feature pauses, actual pauses, while people think about what they’re going to say. I know, right?

Books: Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman.

Honestly I’m not sad that I didn’t pick them up until now, because there are EIGHT BOOKS out there for me to plow through. I just started book 5.

Shows: The Righteous Gemstones on HBO.

I’ve been a GemStan from the start, and they just ended the show with season four. Frankly I think they should have stopped at three seasons, but they didn’t consult me. I’m okay with mediocre episodes of one of my favorite shows.

I hope to see you on June 11th!

A GIF For Those Who Read This Far

Happy watermelon season!

xoxo Sarah