Guard Cat on Duty

I was leaving for work, and had my camera in the car. Rodger is on duty LOL!!

He made me smile as I headed out for the Interstate.

Have a great day.

-Karen

Friends in the Tree

Last night, I spent time with the animals :). Now the owls are starting to get a personality and they're not just paper anymore! The birds have their wings and the flowers have their centers. I'm still moving things around to suit me. That honestly is one of the most favorite parts for me. The kitty is already in here if you want to search :).
I guess it's having that creative control in the finished product that I like so much. Plus, if I'm not happy I just pull the pin out and move it!! Since I'm making this up as I go along, there are no rules to break!! I've decided I need a few more leaves.

The birds still need eyes, I'm thinking little buttons. I also think the bird at the bottom needs legs. I'm not going to worry about the ones sitting in the tree. Suggestions??

I'm still trying to come up with the perfect name. I'll be adding one more flower so there will be six friends in the tree and six flowers in honor of the new six year old!
Until next time, make something beautiful.

-Karen

Latest Project

Recently, my granddaughter tried to cuddle up under her I Spy quilt that I'd made for her when she was two. She'll soon be six! She told my DD that she needed a bigger quilt - such a nice problem for a grandmother to have LOL!! So since her birthday theme this year is owls and birds, here is the rough outline of her new quilt.
Here's the next stage with a few leaves added. I'm not really sure what I'm doing... but I've fused the tree trunk down, and at this point I think I'm going to hand applique everything else. My machine applique skills are not very good. It's the next thing I want to learn, just think now is not the time.

I'll keep you posted as it progresses. It's really going to be cute - I hope!!!
Until next time,

-Karen

Bowtie Fun

Hope you are all having a great weekend so far. I'd like to invite you to stop in over at Stash ManicureRae Ann invited me back as a guest author. I'm sharing one of my favorite blocks and one the BEST ways to manicure your stash. This is a small quilt I made this week to demonstrate the block. Things have been very busy down here in Pensacola, and we are so thankful the hurricanes are staying out of the Gulf. Hope you enjoy your visit to Stash Manicure and you'll be inspired to try something new. But watch out, this block is truly addicting and so much fun.
Until next time, make something beautiful.
-Karen

I Need Help

Does anyone know how to do a binding where you fold the binding to the back so it doesn't show?? I just put a binding on and I've evidently done it wrong. I need to know how to handle the corners. I don't want anything to show from the front.

Thanks for your help!! I'm so close to the end of this major project and now I've messed up on the binding. Hoping I won't have to rip too much. :(

Update: Thanks for the link to Bluemoonriver - facing a quilt is exactly what I was looking for. That's the good news, the bad news is, I'll be spending time with the frogs - ripit, ripit :(.

Thanks,
Karen

I've joined the parade.......

but is it too late??? Have I missed it?? I hope not. I have been so inspired to see these wonderful quilts pop up all over Blogland! And I now own my very own copy. I'm finishing up a labor of love (reveal soon-yea) and then I want to do one of the little ones just for fun.
So thanks Carrie for all the inspiration.
Until next time, make something beautiful.
Karen

Home From the Mountains

I've been out of the loop since I got home from the retreat. I'll post all about the soon. But today I want to tell you about our trip last weekend. This is the view from our dock at our house in the mountains of western North Carolina. Or it was until today, when the sale became final.

We have been going up to this part of NC since 1987 and we built this house in 2000 with our co-owners. We named it Kataluma, which in Greek means place of rest or place to let down your heavy load. Mary and Joseph stayed in the barn of a kataluma the night Jesus was born.

And so this has been our Kataluma - our place of rest. In some ways it doesn't seem real yet that it belongs to someone else. Our families have spent many happy times there over the last 10 years. And I truly hope this new family will be as happy there as we were. There is a season for everything, and our season here has ended.

There are stone steps and a nice gentle walk down to the lake. Here I am with my grandchildren, feeding the ducks on a calm, peaceful morning.

One of the things I liked the best about Kataluma was that I filled the house with quilts!! Now that they are all back here in Pensacola, I will be sharing them in the near future. Here is our bedroom and a wall hanging of earth toned plaids. This was really my favorite and one I made specifically for Kataluma.

So of course, guess what went up in my office first thing this morning (we just got back yesterday)?? Yep, my favorite quilt from the lakehouse.

It looks different in a business setting instead of facing out into the forest. But it brings lots of happy memories.

There are lots of scrappy pieces and I anchored the whole thing with black centers and a black border.

I used black thread and since this was done 10 years ago, it was hand quilted. It's pretty primitive feeling, but that's the feel I wanted to go up in the mountains.

And here's the kitty block. Until I started taking pictures of all my kitty blocks, I didn't realize how often I used the same fabric LOL! I really will have to go hunting for some new pieces.

So until next time, make something beautiful.

Karen