Exciting News

I cannot believe it's been almost 3 months since my last post and that the summer is over.  In early June we traveled to High Point NC to move my parents to Pensacola. They moved in with us while waiting for their new apartment in a senior living community to be ready. They moved to my sister's house last week as my DH went into the hospital for his 4th total joint replacement- his 2nd shoulder. My plate has been rather full, and my blogging has been neglected. 

It in the midst of all this (plus working) I have been somewhat productive in my sewing room.  My big new concerns a quilt I made in early summer.

This is a pattern from Kim Brackett's latest book called Wildflowers. I found out about a quilt contest to benefit ALS.  You make a quilt and sent it in by July 31st.  So I decided to do that and use some fabrics I had been collecting for several years. Kim's pattern is well written (of course) but it's rather challenging as it has a lot of pieces, hand appliquéd centers and very fussy piecing.  Below are some progress pictures I posted on Instagram over the summer.

What I found out yesterday is that out of over 1100 quilts submitted for the ALS quilt challenge, mine was selected as one of 12 finalists!!  I am so humbled by this.  There will be online voting on their website www.hopesanddreams.quiltersdreambatting.com.  

For any of you that would like to vote for my quilt, I would be grateful.  The quilt will be given to someone who has ALS.  

Thanks for reading this far, and for sharing in my good news.

Happy stitching,

Karen 

PS 

I'll post soon about my other projects.

Student Work

Back in March I taught my version of Pineapple Nine Patch for the Santa Rosa Guild.  What a great time we had and I asked my students to send me pictures when they had finished their quilts.  To date, there are four!  I find this amazing. 

This was the collection of everyone's blocks.  Can you find the match for these quilts?

These are all so different but all so wonderful. I do love this pattern as its so visually interesting. Thanks for sending me pictures, I am so impressed with your skills and talent.  Keep them coming!!

Happy stitching, 

Karen 

A New Thing

My wonderful quilt "Midnight at the Oasis " is done and ready for quilting. Yaaaay!!  I've decided to use Perle cotton 8 like Jen Kingwell did in the original. I've never really done this before, any suggestions??

I'm excited to try something new. 

Happy stitching,

Karen 

A Little of This and That

The weeks are flying by and I've been working on things I can't fully share yet, but I will soon.  This is one that I can show, it the pattern from Kim Brackett's new book, Scrap Basket Strips and Squares.  This has been so much fun to make, but now it's time to sew all these hexies together, one seam at a time.  I played with the blocks on my design wall until I was happy with the layout. I can tell you that sewing all the little seams together hasn't been my favorite part,  but I think I'm a third of the way there.

I've also been working on a new tumbler quilt, imagine that!!  This will make six tumblers! This is the only peek I can show, it will be gifted soon.  The colors requested were gray, neutral with a pop of pink.  It's kind of modern for me, but it's turning out so cute,

I've also finished the very wild and lively strip quilt using the pattern Lime Twist by Diane Knott.  It's for my DD and she wanted gray, Aqua, pink and red.  I'm almost done with this one too and then it will be gifted.

I took a break this afternoon from sewing rows and pulled fabric for a little quilt.  

It's from Kim's first book....

I guarantee that it will look totally when the blocks are done.  It's one of my favorite patterns.

Happy stitching,

Karen 

Helping with a Book Signing

I got to spend a fun morning with Kim Brackett at a book signing for her new book at the wonderful A&E Pharmacy.  As you can see, it's a lot more than a pharmacy.

Since I have a couple of quilts in this latest book, she invited me to come and hang out.  We had a really good turnout and had fun catching up.  Thanks Janie for taking this picture.

If you don't have a copy of Kim's newest book, you need one.  I'm in the process of making one of the quilts from the book.

With a total of 98 blocks to make, I'm coming along.  

Happy stitching today,

Karen 

My Newest Purchase

Besides buying some fabric at the quilt show, my biggest purchase was this ruler foot and ruler from Westalee.  I have been wanting to jump into this new thing for domestic machines, but I wasn't sure of what exactly I wanted.  There are so many options!

Once I saw this starter kit, I knew it would be perfect for me and it was time.  I had to decide which machine to start with as my Viking Megaquilter and my Juki F600 take two different feet.  I decided on the Juki but haven't set it up yet.  Once I finish the blocks on my design wall, I'm going to play.  Speaking of the blocks on my design wall, 

the pile is growing.  This is going to be a fun quilt!

I'm off to work today.

Karen 

Friends at the Quilt Show

Our quilt show is now a memory. I'm tired but still smiling.  I've seen so many friends from various places in Florida and Alabama. But seeing Angie from New Orleans was such a treat.  Angie's blog is Quilting on the Crescent and before she moved to NO, she lived in Pensacola and was a member of our Guild.

Reconnecting with old friends is one of the most fun parts of a quilt show.

Getting to see one of your "babies" wearing special ribbons is certainly another.

Now it's back to reality..... after a good night's sleep.

Karen

It's Blue Times Three

The Pensacola Quilt Show is in full swing, and I can share the results for my quilts.  Organic Pink Pickles has done it again.  It won a blue ribbon AND it was awarded Best of Show!  This is the first year our guild has ever awarded a best of show ribbon. I was completely surprised and I am humbled to be the winner of this award.  

This quilt has had such an incredible journey since it became the grand prize winner of the NYC MQG DWR Challenge, was published in Modern Patchwork and spent a year traveling the country.  It came back home and now has become a winner again.  It really has been a wonderful experience. 

I spent a lot of time on the floor talking to visitors and sharing this special quilt.

I also entered another quilt, the Dresden Star.

This one I called More Flowers for Nana Girl and it's also wearing blue!!  It's been so exciting and there's still one more day. 

This is such a sweet happy quilt.

It's been a great day, happy stitching.

Karen 

Almost ready for the Quilt Show

The show is almost ready - our preview is tomorrow night and then it's open to the public Friday and Saturday. I've got 7 quilts ready for consignment, I'm hoping they'll go to some good homes. 

I can't wait to share more pictures soon.

Happy stitching,

Karen 

Keeping busy

The bi-annual quilt show for our guild in Pensacola is happening this Friday and Saturday.  My friend and I have been in charge of registration and judging.  Whew!  That's a big job.  But that part is done and the hanging begins tomorrow. It's going to be a wonderful show if any of you are close to Pensacola, FL.  In the meantime, I'm starting work on a new quilt (imagine that??!!)

This is the fun color palette I'm using. So far I'm raiding my stash, I'll see how far that will take me. And this is the great pattern I've chosen.

It's one of Diane Knott's patterns, and I think it will be perfect.  So I think some easy cutting and sewing is just what I need after a full day.

Pictures of the show (and maybe some ribbons) will be coming soon.

Happy stitching,

Karen 

Scrap Quilt Secrets Winner

The time has come and I have a lucky winner for Diane's book!

Sewgirl was the lucky one.  She said "I can tell you for sure I have never used red and orange exclusively in a quilt before.........quite shocking!"  She was talking about Razzmatazz - one of my favorites.  I literally giggled when I read her comment.

I absolutely loved reading all the comments about color combinations you have never used before.  Black and white was the clear winner.  Maybe someone will do a quilt-a-long one day - I've never done one either.  Thanks for stopping by, maybe you'll win on one of the other blogs, there's still time.  Diane, thanks for letting me share in the fun!

Happy stitching,

Karen 

Don't Forget the Giveaway

There is one more day left on the giveaway for Scrap Quilt Secrets.  I have found your answers to my question so interesting. The color Orange has come up a lot as one that people either have never used or one that they never WILL use.  I used to think that too.  And while Orange is not my favorite color, there are some shades of Orange that have found their way into my projects. 

This was Bonnie Hunter's 2013 mystery Celtic Solstice. I didn't think I would like this colorway but it grew on me.  It's still not quilted yet, maybe this year.

This was a quilt I did for a guild challenge last year.  We had to use the Pelican pattern provided and could interpret it any way we wanted to.  I actually had fun doing this one too.

So, give Orange a try, you never know.  It might become your new best friend, or not.  Here's the list if you haven't already entered, I'll choose a winner tomorrow. Good luck!

3/21    C&T Blog http://www.ctpub.com/blog/

with Diane www.butterflythreadsquilting.com

3/22    Bonnie Hunter http://quiltville.blogspot.com/

3/23    Lori http://humblequilts.blogspot.com/

3/24    Karen http://nanagirlquilts.blogspot.com/   

3/25    Audrey http://quiltyfolk.blogspot.com/

3/26    Pat Sloan http://blog.patsloan.com/

3/27    Valerie http://myplvl.blogspot.com/

3/28    Kelly http://pinkadotquilts.blogspot.com/

3/29    Victoria Findlay Wolfe http://bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com/

3/30    Rachaeldaisy http://bluemountaindaisy.blogspot.com/

3/31    Angie http://quiltingcrescent.blogspot.com/

4/1       Julie http://quiltjewelry.blogspot.com/

4/2       Barb Www.funwithbarb.com

Happy stitching today,

Karen 

So Many Combinations

I have had so much fun reading your comments in response to the giveaway for Scrap Quilt Secrets by Diane Knott.  Without counting the answers to my question, I think black and white is the winner so far.  But yellow and gray is a close second so I thought I'd share mine.  I made a yellow and gray quilt last fall, along with about 20 yellow and gray mug rugs. 

This was my quilt in the four patch quiltalong by APQ magazine.  I changed it up a little, but I love it!

I did a simple orange peel quilting design and it is perfect.

Here are the mug rugs done with all the leftovers from the quilt. 

 So I can say with confidence, if you want to make a yellow and gray quilt, go for it!  You won't be sorry.

Keep the comments coming, I'll draw on the 2nd.  And remember to visit all the sites to win a copy of Diane's book (see the previous post for the complete list).

Happy stitching,

Karen 

A Blog Hop Giveaway

I am so excited to be a part of the Blog Hop for Diane Knott's new book Scrap Quilt Secrets.  Diane and I have never actually met, but we  have a fun story about how we "almost" met once at a quilt show in Atlanta.  As a result we became blogger friends and found out we have very similar tastes in quilts.  Diane is an incredible quilter, wife, mother, teacher and now author.  I am honored to be a part of her journey.

I have chosen two quilts from her book to talk about today.  I always find it interesting to browse through a new quilt book and see which quilts "speak to me".  I discovered the New York Beauty block years ago and for me it was love at first sight.  Since then I have made many different types of NYB quilts including a Pickle Dish quilt.  Any variation of this block just draws me in.  So when I saw Razzmatazz I was immediately drawn in.  The strong color palette with the red as the constant gives this quilt a graphic nature that really packs a punch. 

The second quilt that spoke to me was Tipsy Tac Toe.  I have been collecting black and white prints for quite a while now.  I haven't actually USED any of them yet in a quilt, but I keep collecting them (that's totally normal, right???).   So I'm always keeping my eyes open for fun patterns using black and white prints.  This quilt is a mix of the two different colors, two different blocks, two value ranges (stronger contrast in the middle, softer contrast in the border) and two different block positions (on point and straight), all in the same quilt.  There is a lot going on here that makes for a visually interesting quilt!!

There are so many more inspiring quilts waiting for you in this book.  Check it out and discover the 6 secrets to making a successful scrap quilt.

 Now for the fun part - you have a chance to win your own copy of Diane's book!!  Just leave a comment telling me what color combination have you never used in a quilt.  I'll bet one of these quilts will speak to you.  Make sure I have a way to contact you if you're the winner. International winners will receive an e-version of the book.  I will pick a winner April 2nd.

Be sure to visit the other sites to see in-depth reviews of all the wonderful quilts and have even more chances to win.

3/21    C&T Blog http://www.ctpub.com/blog/

with Diane (that’s me)www.butterflythreadsquilting.com

3/22    Bonnie Hunter http://quiltville.blogspot.com/

3/23    Lori http://humblequilts.blogspot.com/

3/24    Karen http://nanagirlquilts.blogspot.com/  

3/25    Audrey http://quiltyfolk.blogspot.com/

3/26    Pat Sloan http://blog.patsloan.com/

3/27    Valerie http://myplvl.blogspot.com/

3/28    Kelly http://pinkadotquilts.blogspot.com/

3/29    Victoria Findlay Wolfe http://bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com/

3/30    Rachaeldaisy http://bluemountaindaisy.blogspot.com/

3/31    Angie http://quiltingcrescent.blogspot.com/

4/1       Julie http://quiltjewelry.blogspot.com/

4/2       Barb Www.funwithbarb.co

Before you leave, pop on over to Diane's blog www.butterflythreadsquilting.com and say hi.  You'll be glad you did.

Enjoy some stitching time today,

Karen

I Think I may be Addicted

Last night I started another Tumbler quilt.  I've decided to do one in all neutrals and so far I'm loving it!

I am using this wonderful template by Diane Knott from www.Butterflythreadsquilting.com.  It uses a 5" strip of fabric.  I have been raiding my stash of neutrals and have been finding some really OLD friends.

Over the past few weeks I have made these Tumbler quilts.  

This one is actually being quilted at the moment.

This was my second one, in progress.  It's a slightly different set and was made using men's recycled shirts.

I immediately started another one.

The third one is basted and ready to go.

And then there was this one.

Well my current addiction all started last October with this one, made from 21/2" strips.

I have found this pattern to be the perfect thing when you just want to sit and sew, I really am addicted!!

On second thought, addicted sounds so harsh, maybe I should say I'm doing a series!!!

By the way, Diane has some very exciting things going on at the moment, so be sure to pop on on over and check it out. www.butterflythreadsquilting.com

Happy stitching today,

Karen