One, two, three, four!

I am back from Retreat and had a fabulous time :).  I remembered absolutely everything except the camera :(.  So I'm waiting on some pictures to share.  In the meantime, drumroll please.......  all 4 borders of the Jubilee quilt have the scallops and red petals!!

I was so excited to see each one grow.

It was wonderful to have a hand project to work on as my DH and I watched the Olympics almost every night.

As each one was finished I began to try and viusalize what I need to put in between each scallop.

The one thing I know for sure is that I need to make more red petals!!   I thought 9 would be enough, but once they were all done, I realized that each scallop needed an extra petal on the ends so I need 11.  So it was back to cutting and prepping the little petals.  But in the end, I know it will be worth the extra effort.  Aren't they pretty??

Until next time,

-Karen

Getting Ready for Retreat!!

I only have 2 more days until I leave for Retreat - yay!!!!  The most interesting and different thing about this retreat is that I'm the teacher!  Yikes! How did that happen?  Well, here's what happened..........

To some of you, this will look familiar.  This is the 9 Patch Pineapple quilt I made last year to present as a program for our guild.

I presented it as a mystery quilt, starting with a 6" strip and showing how all the units were made until you ended up with this block.

Here's the finished quilt (before borders).  It is absolutely beautiful in person - so rich with the rusts, browns, reds and greens.  After I presented this I was approached by the Azeala City Quilters' Guild in Mobile, AL to do a program for them, and I decided on doing my One of a Kind Quilts.  I was then asked if I would be interested in being the Retreat leader and did I have a project in mind.  I immedeiately thought of the 9 Patch Pineapple.  Done deal!

We all agreed and I decided to make a smaller version in another colorway to help the girls get inspired :).

I ended up with this Christmas quilt using only 9 blocks mostly from the Grace fabric line.

It's going to look so pretty on my table this year.  It's been over in Mobile visiting for several months, so I'll have to get busy when I get back.

There are 42 girls signed up - two are even coming from New Orleans!!  I've started doing the instructions and my design wall and I will admit there are a few little butterflies forming.  But it's a great bunch of girls and I hope they all have fun.  I'll let you know how it all turns out.....  I'm REALLY excited!!!!!

Until next time,

Karen

Jubilee Update

I'm pretty sure I've shared my Jubilee quilt when I got it to this stage - which was several months ago.

I spent about 6 weeks making flowers, leaves, berries and vines and many happy hours hand appliquing them down.

I was so happy with what had happened so far.  And then I got to the border.  Nothing..... and I mean nothing!!  I knew what I wanted to do, but I just couldn't get it from my head to the fabric. 

After almost 2 months of staring at the borders, I finally figured out what was wrong.  I made these petals smaller and added more of them. And suddenly it looked right to me.

I still had a huge problem of what was going in between these motifs, but that's for another post.  And it's a great story. But for now, I've been busy with 24 of these scallops and almost 200 little petals!  It's a good thing the Olympics have been on - I'm over halfway done!

And here's the little punkin.  She's doing so well. She learned to crawl up the scratching post and seemed so proud of herself.  My friend and I are still looking for a good home.

Have a great Saturday.

Karen

She's So Little

My friend called me yesterday - they had found a kitten at the lawfirm where I worked.  Could I keep her for a few days until she can find a home.  Yes - of course!!

When she showed up at my house and took her out of the box, I couldn't believe it.  This little punkin only weighs 3/4 of a pound - 12 ounces!!  I got her fixed up and she spent all evening wrapped in her little blanket, sitting in the chair with me while I appliqued and watched the Olympics.  I had to keep checking to see if she was breathing.  Poor thing is nothing but skin and bones and she was exhausted.

It's hard to realize how tiny she is but as you can see, she's the same size as a Beanie Baby!!  I'll have her for another day or two. Hope she finds a good home, she is a sweetie.

I am making progress on my Jubilee quilt, I'll post soon.

Karen

Two Sweet Gifts

When my daughter was here several weeks ago, she brought me a belated birthday gift.  She made me this sign out of her personal favorite (at this moment) fabric - Ruby!!  How convenient that it also perfectly matches my studio :)!  She left me the scraps (I think she's hoping for a red and turquoise quilt **wink**).

It sits above my window and is a perfect reminder of her and of this wonderful journey that Nana Girl has brought me on.

This personalized piece was also a birthday gift -  made to match my studio also and written by my DDIL to remind me of why I spend so much time there.  So I have reminders of my daughter and daughter-in-law as I sit and stitch.  Makes me smile.

And a shout out to anyone in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area.  My son is starting a new assignment at the Chick-fil-A there.  If you're supporting CFA and you're at the mall, stop by and say hi to John -  be sure to tell him Nana Girl sent you:).

Have a great day,

Karen