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

Looking to Edyta and Phebe for Inspiration

It seems most of July has been speeding by with grandchildren, trips to the beach and a week in the North Carolina mountains.  But I'm back now and looking to start on my next project. My biggest news to share is that I have agreed to be the next show chairman for the 2014 Pensacola Quilt Show.  I know, I'm not sure what possessed me, but I did say yes.  In addition to that, I have agreed to design our Opportunity Quilt (raffle quilt)!!  Yikes!!! I'm not sure I'm equipped to do that, but I'm just taking one step at a time!

The first place I started was with Edyta Sitar.  I only have one of Edyta's books (so far) - these other 2 I borrowed from a friend.  I love the way Edyta combines prints and batiks - she is one of the best.  By the way, her newest book "Scrappy Firewooks" is a must have - it's fabulous!

I've been seeing this quilt pop up around blogland and I was completely smitten.  It's been designed by Di Ford of Australia.  It's based on a quilt made in 1802. While I'm pretty sure I will never make this quilt, it became the inspiration for me as I started designing our Opportunity Quilt.  We have decided on a name for our next show, "In Full Bloom". So until our quilt is done (or at least further along),  that's what I'm calling the quilt.  I have designed it in EQ7.  It's still a work in progress, but I'll show pictures when I can.

What I can show is the fabric I've collected so far.  I have decided on Edyta's line of fabric "Love Letter" as my starting point.  I visited a quilt shop in Franklin, NC (A Stitch in Time) while we were up there.  As I walked in the door, there was a huge display of this fabric line!!!  I took it as a sign and bought about 10 pieces to get me started.  My friend found the charm packs at Kudzu Quilt Shop in Montgomery, AL.  I found a few more pieces at the Atlanta Sewing shop as we were on our way home.

These are some "maybe" fabrics I've pulled from my stash.  I'm meeting some of my committee members tomorrow to hopefully find a few "must have" elements for the quilt.

I've NEVER done anything like this before, it's really way out of my comfort zone.  But in the end, I'm just going to make a quilt that I would love to own, and trust myself.  I've got talented ladies around me and we are about to begin a great adventure.

Stay tuned - my goal is to have this quilt finished by the end of the year!!

Until next time,

Karen

Another New Quilter!!!

It started with learning the quarter inch seam and practicing on some scraps. He found the black strip and wanted to be a Ninja :).

Then he dumped out a bunch of fabric from my scrap basket.  So many choices!!  Notice the design wall  he's standing next to. There is such fun in designing!

He finally decided on some fish fabric and we started to make the piece - just letting it grow as he sewed pieces.  We called it an aquarium. My granddaughter didn't really want him sewing on "her" machine, so I pulled out my Elna Carina.  Almost 30 years old and still purring along. It was perfect for him.

Notice the intense concentration!!!  Operating the foot pedal for the first time took some practice.

He really tried to hold the fabric straight and keep things lined up.

Here's his finished piece.  He decided not to baste and quilt it at this point. So I just used the pinking shears around the edges.

We did have another project picked out, but that will be for another time.  I am so proud of both kids - it has been a special time.  Today is their last day in Pensacola and we are headed out to the beach to see the Blue Angels perform - a Pensacola tradition!! :)

Have a great day,

Karen

The Next Generation - a new quilter

I have had my 2 grandchildren from North Carolina here for the past week.  My 7 year old granddaughter had insisted on bringing her sewing machine (we gave it to her last year for Christmas).  She wanted to make a quilt for her American Girl doll.  We talked for quite a while about which pattern to make.  She was a little undecided until she saw the current quilt I've been working on "Come to the Party". She immediately said that's it!!

She selected every single color combination - in fact, she was very insistent on what she liked together and what she didn't like.

We learned about the quarter inch seam and chain piecing - and before she knew it - she had all 16 blocks done.

As you can see, she's in her bathing suit (we were headed to the beach and had a few minutes while waiting for everyone - so of course she wanted to sew at least one more block!)

She sewed all the blocks together and then sewed the blocks into rows.  She helped me pin baste it and then it was time for me to quilt it.

Here's the proud quilter holding her first quilt! I am so proud of her :).

I think her smile tells you how she feels :).

Here we are holding our quilts - now all I have to do is baste and quilt mine!

In addition to the quilt, she made the pillowcase dress for her doll (she learned how to zig zag) and the pillow for her doll (she learned how to turn and stuff).

Here we are together. The big quilt behind her is Tree Party that I made for her last year.  Now my 5 year old grandson has decided he wants to learn to sew. We're choosing a pattern for him and then it's back to the sewing machine :).  I am one happy Nana Girl!

Until next time,

Karen