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Saturday, February 26, 2011

My Little Red is not a UFO

I am so proud that my Schnibbles project from last October, "My Little Red" is no longer in the UFO pile. This is such a sweet little quilt. I think I'll take it to the office on Monday and hang it. This looks a little wintery and I need to make a pretty spring quilt to hang, hmmmm..... I do have another project in the UFO pile that might just work. Stay tuned. :)
I am really happy with the center of this quilt. I free handed circles which worked really well. I did a feather in the border that I'm not terribly happy with. Oh well, we learn something from each project - right??
Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.
Until next time,
-Karen

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Winter Star #1

Ta-da.... I've finished this and I've named it Winter Star. I've already decided I want to do another one with different fabrics and so I'm calling this is #1.
I quilted wavy lines thru the middle of each strip and a curly design in the red star. What a fun pattern this is and so quick. I must admit when I first looked at Twinkle, I couldn't see past the graphic colors. Now I'm thinking all kinds of color combinations. In fact, recently my DD told me she "needs" an new quilt - LOL!!! She wants aqua, white and red. I thought of Bliss - can't you just see it?? The background in aqua/white with red stars. How cute would that be??
I hope many of you are enjoying Kim's great patterns in Scrap-Basket Sensations.
Until next time,
-Karen

Sunday, February 20, 2011

I have a winner

I had to take this quilt off my machine to unquilt a section that I didn't like. That's not something I like to do, but I've learned that it's better to un-do, than to regret my choice every time I look at the quilt. So, while it's off the machine, I thought I'd give you another peek. This quilt has such a serene beauty to it- very different than a lot of my other quilts. Drumroll please..... the lucky winner of a signed copy of Scrap-Basket Sensations is Pokey who wrote "Oh, it's nice to see these beautiful quilts on display in your home. I'm also glad to hear of your friendship with Kim personally! Thanks for the opportunity".

So Pokey, congratulations!! I know you will love this book and I hope you let us know when you finish your first quilt!!! There were so many wonderful comments, I hope you will all add this book to your library. I've almost finished my green Twinkle - haven't named it yet.
Hope the rest of your weekend is wonderful!
Until next time, make something beautiful.
-Karen

Friday, February 18, 2011

A funny story...

I just have to tell you how much fun I had yesterday reading all your comments. I'm sure many of you came for the first time, I hope you'll come back. Today is Sue's turn so hop on over to her blog and you might win your own copy of this great book. While I was talking to Kim yesterday about the blog tour I told her that I felt a little bad for some of the quilts in the book that were kind of getting overlooked - like Twinkle (see a close -up here). Do you recognize this pattern??? Well, I decided to go home last night and whip up a few blocks :). This is a really fun pattern!! I thought Twinkle would look so good all done in greens and then have little red flowers and that it would look like a garden. Well my basket of 2 1/2" scraps weren't exactly what I had in mind. It ended up looking kind of Christmasy - don't you think? But I think I'm going to love it! Anyway, back to the funny story....
As we were finishing up the quilts last Spring, Kim had finished Twinkle and I brought it home to sew the binding on (which is something I love to do by the way). Now mind you, all 4 of my book quilts were already finished and my DH had been seeing them in progress for months - with basically no comment. When I walked in with Twinkle he said, "Now I like that quilt!" Go figure!! It has a very graphic, modern feel to it when done in the black, white and red. And you can see how different it looks done in the green and red.
That really is the beauty of Kim's books. These quilts are so versatile and fun to make.
Don't forget the last two stops on the tour.
Sue at Quilt Times - February 18th
Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th

You still have a chance to leave a comment on yesterday's post. I'll pick the winner Sat. night.Go cut some strips and get ready to sew!

Until next time,

-Karen

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Scrap-Basket Sensations Blog Tour - Day 8

I am so excited, my day is finally here. I hope you are enjoying the blog book tour as much as I am. Hop on over to Kim's blog and say hi!! I've been thinking about what to say. I don't have any interviews or clever questions so I thought I'd just tell you about my friend. Kim and I have been friends since 1996 when she moved to Pensacola and started working at the law firm where I worked. It didn't take us long to find out we were both quilters, and that we both had a serious fascination - okay obsession - with fabric LOL!! Isn't it so much more fun to go fabric shopping with a friend?? Anyway, I couldn't even begin to count the hours we've spent talking and stitching. I wish all of you could know her the way I do. She is funny, generous , a little shy, loves to cut fabric, is a very accomplished quilter and now she's a two-time best selling author!!! This book, just like the first one, is made to be used - a lot! These patterns are fun, have a fresh originality and if you use your scraps, they really are great stash busters. I thought it would be fun to see how these quilts look in different ways around my house.
This is a picture I took last spring before the quilts got shipped off. I was finishing the binding on "Twinkle" and thought how pretty the quilts looked all spread out in my living room.
It's been fun to see the response to "Flowers for Nana Girl". This is such a sentimental quilt for me. Kim really surprised my when she told me what she had named the quilt. I had been using the working title of "Pretty in Pink". But telling my story of how I came to be called Nana Girl by my granddaughter and then naming the quilt after me (and my blog), has been such an honor! This quilt has not come home yet - after going to Houston last fall, it's still out at Martingale's offices.
These pictures will kind of show you some of the fabrics in the blocks. I started with the border fabric, and then picked scraps to make the flowers.
I mixed all types of fabric, prints, stripes and batiks.
Here's a picture of some of the left over scraps. It's a happy quilt!!
Next is Flower Boxes. I've already said that it was love at first sight when I saw this quilt. Watching this pattern emerge as each block goes up on the design wall is the most amazing thing. This quilt has a charm all its own.
Here is Flower Boxes in my living room in my favorite chair.
It looks pretty good on the couch too!!
I've decided this is going to go on the quilt hanger soon, as my spring quilt!!
Blues crossing is a sweet quilt.
It looks so good folded over a little rocker in the guest room.
It also looks good on the wicker settee. Darlene, see my bunny??
Northern Comfort is a cuddle quilt.
Here it is still hanging in the living room.
Please leave a comment for your chance to win a signed copy of Scrap-Basket Sensations. Tell me which quilt in the book you think you'll make first. Here's the rest of the schedule. You still have a few more days and chances to win your own copy. Be sure to check out yesterday's post about my latest quilt from Scrap-Basket Sensations - a variation of Tipsy Baskets.

Tomorrow's it's Sue's turn and then Carol will end the tour.
Sue at Quilt Times - February 18th
Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th

Good luck - I will pick a winner Saturday night Feb. 19th.

-Karen
This Giveaway has now ended. Thanks for participating. The winner will be announced soon.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Book tour and Baskets

It's almost my turn to share with you about this fabulous book and give you a chance to win a signed copy. So be sure to come back tomorrow!! Today is Darlene's day. Hop on over there right now and read about the quilts she made for the book.

I wanted to give you an update on Winding Baskets. It's pieced, basted and being quilted as we speak. It won't be done by tomorrow, but here it is at this point. It's hard to see the quilting with it laying on the table.
But you can kind of see it from the back. I used some scraps to help piece the backing. I do love back art on a quilt, even a little bit like this!
Here's the rest of the schedule. Some have already drawn winners, but you still have lots of chances.
Darlene at Quilting Daze - February 16th
Karen at Nana Girl Quilts - February 17th
Sue at Quilt Times - February 18th
Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th

See you back here tomorrow. Have a great Wednesday!
-Karen

Monday, February 14, 2011

Making Progress

I hope you all are enjoying the blog book tour for Scrap-Basket Sensations!! Go see Kim and say hi - she's so excited to have you all know about her wonderful book. It's been a busy weekend for me (social obligations), so not a lot of quality time sewing, but..... I do have the top together - WooHoo!!! My Tipsy Baskets are not so tipsy, so I've named this Winding Baskets, as each row of baskets follows from one direction the next. The colors in the Martinique collection are so subtle and beautiful. I'm hoping to be able to have this quilted by the time it's my turn, but remember, I do have a full time job outside my home!!I'm also working on the burning question...... what do you do with all those little triangles??? LOL!! Here I am trimming them up.

I press open the seam and trim them to 1 3/4". Stay tuned, there's more to come on this too.
Don't forget the blog book tour.
Sherri at A Quilting Life - February 10th
Mary at Quilt Hollow - February 11th
Stephanie at Loft Creations - February 12th
Nicole at Sister's Choice Quilts - February 13th

Today is Millie's day!!!! Check out her wonderful blog and leave a comment to win a copy of Kim's great new book!

Millie at Millie's Quilting - February 14th
Sinta at Pink Pincushion - February 15th
Darlene at Quilting Daze - February 16th

Ooohhh, my day is coming soon - yay!!
Karen at Nana Girl Quilts - February 17th
Sue at Quilt Times - February 18th
Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th

Have a Happy Valentine's Day.
-Karen

Friday, February 11, 2011

Sneak Peek...

In case you haven't heard...... there's a blog book tour going on!! Scrap-Basket Sensations is finally here!! Today is Mary's day over at Quilt Hollow. Be sure to check it out. My day is coming up next week, and so in the meantime, I've been working hard on having some new show and tell for you. Here's a sneak peak of my version of the pattern "Tipsy Baskets". I'm using a jelly roll of Martinique by 3 Sisters. I haven't worked with jelly rolls that much in the past, I work mostly with fabric from my stash when doing scrap quilts. So this project has presented some challenges for me. I had trouble getting enough value difference for the basket pattern to show up. I found a few "taupey" fabrics in my stash that seemed to blend in (see the stripe bottom left hand corner). I'm considering a different set from the one in the book.... we'll see :). Not sure if I'll have the whole quilt finished by next week or not- I'm still busy sewing. I hope you all are enjoying the blog book tour so far and are getting to know the author, Kim Brackett, a little better. Here's the schedule:

Sherri at A Quilting Life - February 10th
Mary at Quilt Hollow - February 11th
Stephanie at Loft Creations - February 12th
Nicole at Sister's Choice Quilts - February 13th
Millie at Millie's Quilting - February 14th
Sinta at Pink Pincushion - February 15th
Darlene at Quilting Daze - February 16th
Karen at Nana Girl Quilts - February 17th
Sue at Quilt Times - February 18th
Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th
Hope you're all having a great day!
Until next time,
-Karen

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The Fireplace Collection

It was rainy and cold last weekend, but I took all my quilts outside and took pictures anyway. Here is my whole collection (at this point). I'm thinking it's time to add to the collection, so I'm starting to look for inspiration. I shared the story of my Fireplace Quilts here.
Over the last few years, these quilts have brought me much joy as I change them out when the seasons change. Here's the one that started it all - the winter quilt. It is machine pieced and machine quilted.
Here is spring - nothing says spring like a basket of flowers :). This quilt is hand appliqued and hand quilted.
Next is summer. This quilt was picked by Madame Samm to be a part of her very first banner when she took over Stash Manicure. I was very excited and honored!! This quilt is machine appliqued and machine quilted.
Next is the fall quilt. I still cannot quite capture the colors in this. In person, this quilt is gorgeous (at least to me). It is paper pieced and machine quilted.
Here's a close-up of one of the blocks - love those New York Beauty blocks!!
Last is my Christmas Quilt. This quilt actually doesn't hang on my fireplace during Christmas as that's where I put my wreath. But it hangs in my hallway and can be seen from the living room.
Here's a close-up of the blocks. They finished at 4", were machine pieced and machine quilted.
Hope you enjoyed the tour. Framing quilts is a wonderful way to showcase them.
Until next time, make something beautiful.
-Karen

Friday, February 4, 2011

Angel Quilt Pattern

I wish this quilt was mine, but it's not. I guess it could be if I wanted to make it - I do own the book after all - but this quilt is from ....
"Christmas or Not" by Gerry Kimmel. This book was published in 1991 and has been one of my "go-to" books for many years. So many of the angels in my angel quilt (and others) came from this book.
One of my other "go-to" books is this one (published in 1989), by Gerry Kimmel, Linda Brannock and Jan Patek. (I was pretty much in love with anything Red Wagon back then). This book really changed my quilting life. I'll post about Snowbound soon. But back to the angels.....
If you look closely, you can see many of my angels here.
Here are some pictures of my actual layout. I graph these quilts out completely once I decide on the blocks I want to include. And I do keep these. If I ever wanted to do something similar, I wouldn't have to completely re-invent it all.
My final quilt was very true this this layout. Sometimes I cut out mock blocks the exact size I need and then move them around until I get the layout I want.
This shows one of the flying geese segments I used. What I have learned since I made this quilt in 1997 is that each block should be a multiple of 2". That makes the filler sections so much easier to add. I also date these, you can see the 1997 date in the bottom righthand corner.
Here are some of the stars I used.
Here is my precious Angel Kitty. Love him!!! These are both from "Christmas or Not". I also would love to do this kitty block someday :). Goodness, looking thru these books gives me way too many ideas!! But honestly, how cute are these?? Wouldn't you love a little quilt like this hanging in your studio? Okay, maybe it's just me...
I hope this answers the questions asked regarding my pattern. Patty, I couldn't respond to your email. Several of the angels I actually did draw but my skills are very limited and I relied mostly on the talent of others :).

Until next time, make something beautiful.
-Karen

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

My Angel Quilt

I realized the other day, that I have not posted my Angel quilt or my Snowbound quilt that I showed in my Christmas collection of quilts. So today, it's the angels :). I started this quilt in 1997 when my youngest child left for college and I had lots of empty hours to fill. I convinced my partner in crime (aka Kim Brackett) that she needed to do one also. So we began to find patterns, draft our own and pull fabric from our stashes. This is the largest angel block and really is a focal point for the whole quilt. I used 1/4" quilters tape to quilt the lines. The whole quilt is hand quilted.
Here is the whole quilt draped over the couch (except for the top which I cut off).
The most fun thing about doing a quilt like this is personalizing the blocks. Notice below is a heart angel and a kitty angel (of course). Remember you saw the kitty angel here.
This block represents me and my sister. Remember you saw these angels here.
These are the joy angels. Doing a Christmas banner of these angels is on my to-do list, maybe this year!
These flying angels Kim and I affectionately named the "Secretary Angels" as they were wearing dresses. We would hand applique these blocks during our lunch hour at the big conference table. The attorneys were quite amused (and I'm sure impressed) by our many talents LOL!
I love the variety of angels and the little filler blocks of friendship stars and flying geese.
Thanks for joining me on a trip down memory lane. I love these old quilts! Neither Kim nor I will ever forget the journey we had making our angel quilts.
Until next time, make something beautiful.
-Karen