Quilt Whimsy

Star Bright Sampler Border Possibilities

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 19:57:00 +0000

The piecing of the Star Bright Sampler center is complete. Now is the time to decide on the appropriate border to finish the quilt. Appropriate will depend on several factors: size, design, and speed to complete. Included are several borders used to complete this quilt. Choose what works for you.

This is my completion of the quilt with the Winter Birds in its center. The quilt finishes at 81" square. The center completion measurement was 60 1/2". All borders added will increase the finished size. There are three borders added to this quilt. The first measures 2 1/2", the second 3 1/2", and the third is 6".

This quilt finishes at 68 1/2". Because there was no dominate print used for this quilt, I created a pieced border to complete it. There are three borders added to the 60 1/2" quilt. The first is a 1 1/2" black border, the second a 2 1/2" pieced border, and it completes with a 1 1/2" black border.

This quilt finishes at 86 1/2" and is included in the queen-sized printed instructions you received. This quilt has four borders added: a 3 1/2" print, 3 1/2" background, 1 1/2" pop color, and 6 1/2" background.

This quilt includes many floral prints. To coordinate with the theme, the quilt was completed with a 6 1/2" floral print that was not included in the quilt center prints. The finished quilt is 66 1/2".

Here is the original quilt I designed. It measures 66 1/2" completed and includes a stripped finishing border of 3 1/2".

There are many options to choose from to fit your personal taste and requirements. I hope you enjoyed our project together. I have greatly enjoyed participating with you.

Star Bright Sampler Half-Triangle Border

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 20:05:00 +0000

Time for our next installment of our Star Bright Sampler. While the border appears to be simple, there will be more photos than have been presented before. Here we go.

Here are the updated written instructions for this border. I found that the original instructions you received in class have a mistake. Please use these instructions for this border.

Beginning with the background fabric, cut 8 - 3 1/2" by WOF strips. Subcut four into 24 1/2" lengths. Subcut the remaining four into 27 1/2" lengths.

From the background scraps, cut 8 - 3 1/2" squares.

Cut 1 - 3 1/2" square from 8 of the print fabrics, for a total of 8 - 3 1/2" squares.

Draw a diagonal line on the backside of the background fabric.

Match background and print square right sides together. Sew on drawn diagonal line.

Trim to 1/4" seam allowance.

Press seam to dark fabric. Make 8 - 3 1/2" half-square triangle blocks.

Match one 3 1/2" x 24 1/2" background strip to one half-square triangle block, right sides together. Pay attention to orientation of triangles as shown above. Sew two in one orientation and two in the opposite orientation. Press seams out. Make 4. Sew two strips together, print sides together. Make two borders, each measuring 54 1/2". Sew to opposite sides of quilt center, nesting seams as appropriate.

Match one 3 1/2" x 27 1/2" background strip to one half-square triangle block, right sides together. Pay attention to orientation of triangles as shown above. Sew two in one orientation and two in the opposite orientation. Press seams out. Make 4. Sew two strips together, print sides together. Make two borders, each measuring 60 1/2", each measuring 60 1/2". Sew to top and bottom of quilt center, nesting seams as appropriate.

Quilt now measures 60 1/2". If satisfied with size as complete, quilt and bind.

Next week, instructions for the next border will be presented. See you then.

Next Installment of Border 3

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 07:00:00 +0000

The half-square triangle blocks are now waiting to be put together into Border 3. In order to do that, there is an additional block to be made that go into this border. That is the Log Cabin block. Five sections are required for this block. Cut 4 each of A (2 1/2"x2 1/2"), B (2 1/2"x2 1/2"), C (2 1/2" x 4 1/2"), D (2 1/2"x4 1/2"), and E (2 1/2"x6 1/2").

Sew together in alphabetical order, A to B, AB to C, ABC to D, ABCD to E. With the four blocks complete, arrange three of the Half-Square Triangle blocks on one side of a Log Cabin block and three on the other side as pictured below. Sew together. Press seams to one side.

Sew two of the borders to each side of the Winter Birds quilt. Press seams out. Cut four - 6 1/2" background squares.

Sew one background square to each end of the remaining two Half-Square Triangle/Log Cabin borders. Sew borders to top and bottom of quilt center. Press seams out.

The quilt now measures 54 1/2" square.

Or skip the Log Cabin block altogether by replacing it with an appliquéd square with one of the winter birds.

Have fun sewing and share your progress on our text group. Next week we will add Borders 4 and 5. We will then have a lap-sized quilt.

Star Bright Sampler Borders 2 & 3

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 07:00:00 +0000

We continue the Star Bright Sampler quilt with Borders 2 and 3.

Border 2 - Border 2 is a striped border of the background fabric. Begin by cutting four 3 1/2" strips from the background fabric.

Layer two of the strips. Place the ruler on the fold at 18 1/4". Rotary cut other end. Strips measure 36 1/2".

Sew one strip to one side of quilt center. Sew other strip to opposite side of quilt. Press seams out.

Layer other two strips together. Place the ruler on the fold at 21 1/4". Rotary cut other end. Strips measure 42 1/2".

Sew one strip to top of quilt center. Sew other strip to bottom of quilt center. Press seams out. Quilt now measures 42 1/2" square.

Border 3 - Border 3 will be split into two weeks. To begin, cut two 7" strips from the background fabric. Layer fabric strips together.

Subcut into 7" squares for a total of 12 squares.

Draw a line diagonally on the wrong side of the 7" background squares.

Cut one 7" square from each of the 12 print fabrics for a total of 12 squares.

Layer together one 7" background square and one print square, right sides together.

Sew 1/4" from diagonal line on background square. Press to control any puckering. Sew 1/4" on other side of diagonal line on background square. Press.

Cut sewn squares in half on diagonal line.

Trim triangle to 6 1/2" with 45 degree line placed on seam line.

Press triangle open towards darker fabric. Make 24 squares in total. Set aside.

Next week we will continue and complete Border 3.

Rail Fence Border

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 09:39:00 +0000

A few weeks ago we began to build our quilt around the Winter Birds center. I have begun a second quilt to demonstrate with. This is to be my "Queen Bee" quilt. I will oscillate between this Queen Bee quilt and my Winter Birds for instructional purposes.

The rail blocks have been sewn together and there should be 20 of them. To create the first two borders, sew four blocks together for each border being aware of the horizontal and vertical placement of each as indicated in your written instructions.

It is important to begin each row with the first block in the same orientation. As shown here, my borders begin with a block with the rails in the horizontal position. Having this first block in the same orientation for each row will ensure that all of the blocks are arranged in a horizontal then vertical position all around the quilt. Notice the close up of the arrangement of the first block below.

When the first two borders are sewn together, sew the first border to one side of the appliquéd center, right sides together, with the horizontal block in the first position where your sewing begins. Press the seam out.

Then sew the second border to the opposite side of the appliqué center, again with the horizontal block in the first position. Press the seam out.

First two borders sewn to appliqué center on opposite sides.

Next, arrange the remaining blocks into two borders of six blocks each, again beginning the row with a block with the rails sitting in the horizontal position.

Sew together. With right sides together, sew to opposite sides of the appliqué center with the horizontal-positioned block at the beginning position of your sewing. Press seams out.

The quilt will now measure 36 1/2" square. Next week, we will work on adding Border 2 and beginning the half-square triangles for Border 3.

Until then, enjoy your sewing and have a beautiful week.

Star Bright Sampler Tutorial Begins

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 07:10:00 +0000

The quilt is built by adding borders to a 24 1/2" square center. The Winter Birds began in class will need to be trimmed to the 24 1/2" required size. The center strips were originally cut to be 24 1/2" long. However, when sewn together, the width will need to be adjusted. Measure the width of the Winter Birds center. It may be off by as much as 1". Divide the amount to be adjusted in half and cut half from both sides. For example, if 1" too wide, cut 1/2" off of both sides. Center will now measure 24 1/2". Set aside and we will begin the first border of rail blocks.

RAIL BLOCK BORDER

12 fat quarters are required for the Rail Block Border.

Cut two strips 2 1/2" by the length of the fat quarter.

Subcut strips at 6 1/2".

Cut 5. Put the scraps aside to use for the Log Cabin block in the next border.

Separate the strips to mix them up.

Randomly sew two strips together 20 times. Do not yet press.

Add one strip to a pair. Press seams in one direction. This is the Rail Block. Make 20.

That is enough for today. In the next post in two weeks, we will put rows together and sew to center.

Star Bright Sampler Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 16:30:00 +0000

Beginning Tuesday, November 11, 2025, I will begin posting instructions on incorporating our Winter Birds project into my Star Bright Sampler quilt.

I will guide you step-by-step through the cutting and sewing of each border. There are eight of them. Feel free to consider the quilt completed as you reach the desired sized quilt. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via text.

Thank you for allowing me to guide you through our winter break. This gives me an opportunity to stay on track and get back into being on the computer.

See you next week.

Completing the Old, Beginning the New...

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 20:01:00 +0000

My tree/sunset quilt is quilted. Interestingly, I have not titled the piece. I usually have it titled before it is finished. Oh well, it will come to me.

The quilting was somewhat minimal which tends to be my style. I prefer all to be balanced. As such, the sunset panels were done with simple straight line border quilting and stitch-in-the-ditch inside the panels and around the suns.

The tree panel has stitching to create motion, both in the tree trunk and in the background.

The gold symbols were inspired and stitched in metallic thread. Because of their abstractness, they are able to reflect the opinion of the viewer.

To bring in more texture, needlework is being added as the "tails" of the kite-shaped leaves. The idea is to brighten up the piece a bit and draw the eye to the leaves without overpowering the piece. These details are time-consuming to stitch and are not yet done.

Once complete, I will have the art quilt stretched on a frame, rather than completing with a binding. Because of the dimensional aspects (that are difficult to see here) incorporated, stretching it will assist in popping those details.

Now I am on to my newest inspiration: a butterfly quilt. Butterflies have been a part of my life in many artistic forms. The first published Quilt Whimsy pattern had a butterfly in it. This will be the first stand alone, detailed butterfly I have done.

This art quilt was inspired in a vision. I began it by drawing a wing on freezer paper. The wing size is 14" x 17".

As I have not done this style of quilt before, I was a bit befuddled as to how to create the intricate black filigree. My solution is to trace this wing, and its mirror image, onto fusible interfacing as shown here. The interfacing pattern will now be fused and stitched onto the black fabric. Once stitched, I will then be able to cut the spaces out.

Wish me luck. I will share when I move to the next step.

Love and blessings,
Karri

Unfinished Art Quilt Project in Completion Stage...

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 19:43:00 +0000

This tree (without the leaves) was constructed in a Ruth McDowell class in 2008. I immediately knew how I wanted to finish it but had not been willing to put the time in, until now.

Luckily, the original fabrics and the majority of the fabrics for completion were kept together all these years. Work was begun by appliqueing the leaves. The applique technique used was turning the edges under and machine stitching with invisible thread.

In the original design, a panel of waning sunsets was part of the vision. As the construction of the individual sunsets was completed, they seemed to call for more detail.

One morning while lying in bed, I envisioned these leaves surrounding this sun. I found the idea interesting and went with it. As the first one was finished, the two other surrounding designs fell into place. All details are embroidered with some light beading.

The art quilt construction is complete. The quilting and some additional needlework details in the works now. I will post again soon, another unfinished project off my shelf.

Love and blessings,
Karri

Single-fold Binding for Art Quilts and Wall Hangings

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 02:39:00 +0000

My quilting journey began making lap quilts, bed quilts, quilts that are everyday usable quilts. As such, I was taught how to make a double-fold binding. It never occurred to me that there was any other style of binding. So as I transitioned into art quilts, I continued using the style I was taught. One day, through another quilt artist, I came upon what is called the single-fold binding.

I now questioned the use of the double-fold binding and became informed that double-fold binding is used for everyday quilts used as coverings because that makes them stronger; they hold up better to the tugging and pulling done to keep the quilt on our bodies. Single-fold bindings on everyday quilts tend to fray when used often.

Art quilts hang on a wall. As the purpose is to finish the quilt and add a design element, there is no need for the double-fold binding, unless it is used as a design element as I do for some quilts. A single-fold binding uses less fabric and is easier to manipulate.

Here is how I make a single-fold binding.

Begin by cutting the binding strips 1 1/2" wide. The inches needed to surround the quilt will remain the same. Sew the strips together in your preferred way. Fold one edge of the stripped binding over 1/4" and steam iron the entire length of the stripped binding.

The binding strip will look like this.

Place the raw edge of the strip onto the front side of the quilt. I begin my binding approximately 1/3 from the bottom edge and leave a tail at the beginning of 8" to 10" to join when the binding comes around the quilt and meets.

When sewn to the front, turn over and hand sew to the back with the needle grabbing the folded over edge. If you would like to machine sew both sides, begin by sewing the raw edge of the back and flipping the binding to the front and then sewing along the folded edge.

And here is the finished piece, all ready for shipping in plenty of time for my sister's birthday (boy, is that unusual :) Thank goodness for this UFO.

Please share if you have another style of binding to use. I would love to increase my reservoir of binding types.

This is my Show & Tell. I look forward to receiving any photos you would like to share for Show & Tell.

Love and blessings,
Karri

Art Quilt Free-Motion Quilting

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 18:23:00 +0000

This is another UFO I began a few years ago. It is a beautiful pattern by Toni Whitney, Poppies. I am generally not one to use fabric kits but her fabric choices are perfect for the quilt is a gift for my sister's birthday. Shhh...it's a surprise (unless she reads this post :) You can find this pattern, and many other beautiful Toni Whitney pattern designs, here.

I had done the hard part of the pattern of cutting out the fusible web pattern pieces. I fused the pieces to the background and here it is ready to quilt. I LOVE to quilt more than I like to piece. Having been an embroiderer, I know it has to do with working with colored threads and the flowing lines. I am sharing my art quilting technique here.

Free-motion quilting can be a bit intimidating to the new quilter. I find that the most intimidating factor is concern that a piece will be flat and square when completed. I have a few preparation steps that help to ensure a beautifully quilted piece. When the preparation is well done, I am only left with concentrating on the fun of stitching. Yay!!!

I begin by cutting my backing fabric and batting approximately 4 inches larger than the quilt top. When centered and basted, that allows for 2 inches larger on all sides of the quilt top. I spray baste. I cannot say enough with how much easier this is than working with safety pins. I have been using Sullivan's Quilt Basting Spray for years and find it to be the best. I have tried several others but none that I have tried compare. Spray basting is easy to do with small wall-sized quilts. I do recommend having cardboard or a plastic tablecloth (what I use) under the quilt to catch the overspray as it is very sticky. I also spray lightly as not much is needed (and I get less overspray).

Now the fun part of selecting threads. When I began quilting (and for many years) I was a thread snob and only used cotton thread. I got over that to vary the colors and sheen that I desired. I tend to match thread to fabric fairly closely. For this quilt, I selected the two green cotton threads for the stems, the purple 60 wt. polyester thread for the stitch-in-the-ditch quilting, and the shiny copper polyester for the poppies. The copper thread is darker than I would normally select but I wanted some drama added to the flowers.

With thread in hand I could now begin quilting. On smaller quilts, I baste the edges of my quilt as shown here. This keeps the quilt from shifting and keeps it square.

I begin the quilting by doing stitch-in-the-ditch in the borders. This anchors the quilt to again keep it from shifting. The purple thread was used for both sides of the purple border as seen here.

The quilt is now well secured and the real fun can now begin.

Quilting order is determined by quilting pieces that are behind others first or back to front. The stems in the back were quilted first and I progressed to the front stems. All of my stitching is fairly close together. Close stitches look more uniform to the eye, whether they actually are or not.

I also do my best to quilt all pieces that require the same thread color so that thread changing is limited. With the stems done, I then quilted the poppies as they are in the forefront.

With the applique quilted, it was now time to decide on what design to quilt in the border. The trick to having a quilt lie flat when quilted is to have the quilting balanced throughout the entire quilt. This small border might have gotten away without some quilting, but I had concern that it would flair. With chalk I drew some stems. I didn't need much quilting and this is just enough.

The quilt is now quilted, trimmed, and ready for binding. Have you heard of single-fold binding? That is the binding style I will use for this quilt. I will demonstrate that next.

As I close, I share this saying on this metal placard in my quilting room. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

Love and blessings,
Karri

Virtual Show &Tell for Quilts

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 17:44:00 +0000

We quilters tend to be a group that shares - shares ideas, creativity, friendship, and open hearts. As we are in this time of social distancing, our ability to share physically is now nonexistent. We can, however, continue to share virtually. Therefore, I am opening this site to Show and Tell. Here is the first Show and Tell.

SHOW AND TELL

This is an English paper piecing quilt by Go Stars! She comments: I'm making a modern flower garden quilt. Here is a picture of the rows I've finished. I just need to add more grey and join them together. My kitties had to check out my progress.

This is inspirational just in the knowledge that it is hand pieced. I'm impressed. I love the kitties, too! If you would like to share your photos, please send them to my email. I will post them using your first name, your state of residence and any comment. If you would like feedback, please give me permission to insert your email address. I will post as photos come in. Like a quilt guild meeting, if I have something to post (the program) that will be at the top of the posting and Show and Tell will come next. My experience is that we are a community of open hearts. Let's share as the HUGE family we've always been to inspire all to smile and feel good during this time of isolation.

Love and blessings,
Karri

How old is our our stash?

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 17:06:00 +0000

I have to admit that I have been quilting for 20 years now and have a HUGE fabric stash with much of it older than five years old. I don't know about you, but I have had a difficult time letting it go. I tend to buy new fabric to make a new quilt rather than using what I have. In my case, I generally remember where every piece of fabric was bought and that holds many memories. So how long should we hold on to our fabric? I am coming to the conclusion that seeing selvages with dates of 2002 and 2006 is a bit ridiculous. It's time to begin using it up. I put that idea into play when needing a backing for Stars All Around.

Generally, laziness, or need for speed, keep me from piecing a back. I would much rather purchase a wide backing fabric. With this quilt back, I decided to get creative. As I prefer for my backings to match in fabric style and colors, my first selection was the remaining fabric used on the quilt top. Whew, one fabric no longer in my stash :) Stripes I love to use for bindings but this stripe is from 2006 and the colors work. Another fabric depleted from my stash. With those two fabrics in hand, I determined the pattern, selected a few more fabrics from my stash, and a backing was created.

Now the quilt is nice to look at whether from the front or back sides.

Previously, I discussed that I now incorporate embroidery into my quilts. That is has become my style. Here are photos of the embroidery done on this quilt. While it doesn't stand out, the needlework adds another dimension that flows with the piecing and allover quilting.

Do you have any interesting ways to use up stash? If so, please share with comments below.

Love and blessings,
Karri

Meadow Breeze Mystery no longer a mystery...

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 19:39:00 +0000

While we’re on the subject of UFOs, this mystery, Meadow Breeze, designed by Pat Sloan in 2010, was completed last year. I chose to make the quilt with a cotton background and wool appliqué. Here is the end result.

While working on this project, I began to appreciate the love I had early in life for the magic of thread. That love of thread and color began in grade school as I discovered and began to embroider. As a young adult, I turned to cross-stitching. Once my quilting began around the age of 40, the laid the needlework aside for the sewing machine. Picking the needle back up and putting it in my hand let me know how much this was a part of my creativity.

Another revelation I had was about slowing down to enjoy that which I loved. As this quilt was a mystery divided into sections, I took each block separately, sat down with it, and allowed it to speak to me. By keeping focused on only the one block and seeing that as the end all for the moment, I relaxed and had fun.

I challenged myself to use as many stitches as possible. Various threads were used including wool, silk, and cotton. I added buttons and beads. Perhaps my most favorite stitch is this beaded coral stitch, seen here using white beads, as taught by Sue Spargo and described in her book "Creative Stitching, Volume 2." The book can be found here.

One other lesson I learned was to get out of my box of right and wrong when it comes to quilting. Because the stitching was done by hand, I felt it necessary to hand quilt it as well. That was not happening and it was sitting staring me in the face going nowhere. I finally decided that if I didn't machine quilt the piece it would never get done. So I went for it. And I love it! I was so surprised. And the quilting took me all of five hours instead to weeks or months.

I am now beginning to incorporate hand stitching into my quilts. This is now "my style." What is your "style"? Please share in the comments below and feel free to share photos to my email for posting if desired.

Love and blessings,
Karri

Spring Cleaning the Quilter’s Way

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 23:53:00 +0000

Happy Spring! In the tradition of spring cleaning, I have pulled out a few unfinished projects from the dark depths of my stash. I am sharing in the hopes of being an inspiration to the many other quilters out there with unfinished projects from long ago.

The quilt “Box of Chocolates” was pieced in 2005. This old fashioned heart fabric was the inspiration for the bar quilt design. I was reminded of receiving chocolate for Valentine’s Day. The diamonds are the boxes, pieced with various fabrics to represent the many types of chocolate candy available in a box. The brown fabric represents the chocolate.

Box of Chocolates 2005

The quilt is now quilted, bound and sent off to a very good friend who helped me in a time of great need. It is never too late to complete a project or show gratitude.

The stars in this quilt were pieced in 2008 as a desire to use only non-floral fabrics. I sewed them together and prepared the top for quilting. As I did so, I felt inspired to embroider words on it so it became the “Stars All Around” quilt.

The quilt asked for more embroidery than I expected (and took longer, too). It is now finally quilted and I am working on the binding. Whew! Another quilt completed.

I challenge you during these challenging times to pull something out from the deep, dark depths of your uncompleted stash of quilts to bring to them fresh life (and light). As you complete them, please share your accomplishments in the comments below or send me a photo via my email and I will share it so we may all continue to be inspired. Alternatively, if you would like a tip or inspiration for completing your piece, send me a photo with permission to share with your email address and it will be posted. Two heads ( or 3 or 4...) can be better than one. Spring is three months long so I look forward to many “spring cleaning” projects,

Love and blessings to all,
Karri

Retreat Inspires Dark Garden Quilt. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 03:18:00 +0000

This past week I went on my annual quilting retreat with my very good friends (great quilters too:). We had four glorious days of quilting, eating, chatting, and sleeping. I admit that I am not generally the most productive quilter in the group. I prefer to do more chatting than sewing. This year, however, was different. And this quilt is the result.

My excitement lies in the fact that I designed, created, and completed this quilt, something I haven't done in over a year. As this quilt began as a kit I admit I did have a head start . The background, flowers, and butterflies were from a published pattern Shimmering Garden in the magazine Quilt Trends, Spring 2014.

Previous to the retreat, the decision to add the the black print side border had been made. Once the background and border were sewn together, I added the applique. With the flowers and butterflies fused in place, the blue and green of the kit were thrown out. The kit had a piece of charcoal batik for the binding. It now became the grass. With the applique fused to the background, I felt the background and border were missing some coherence. I took them apart, added the pink flange between the border and background, and was happy with the results.

The applique pieces were free-motion zigzagged with metallic thread.

To make this a retreat memory quilt, the quilters signed their names to the butterfly trails with a Micron pen. It was now time to put the quilt together. I chose to do the "Escape Hatch" no binding technique I learned from Melody Johnson. To quilt, I outlined some of the applique and then quilted the background using thread to match. I was looking for the quilting to give texture, not color. And I was done in less than two days. It will look perfect in my home and be a reminder of the wonderful time I had and the best of friends I have.

Bringing Meadow Breeze Mystery back to life. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 18:04:00 +0000

Waaay back in May, 2010 I began a Pat Sloan mystery, Meadow Breeze. Although Pat Sloan machine stitched her mystery, I decided to make mine a hand project and to use felted wool and wool felt that I had on hand. Hence its non-completion. I am currently in a residence transition and don't have much time on my sewing machine. Therefore, I thought this would be a great opportunity to bring out this UFO (one of many mind you). Upon pulling it out, I realized that I had stopped progress on it because it needed some background sewn on which to put the applique so I've worked hard to complete the sewing in the limited time on my machine.

I added the border to the center panel of applique. There will be more applique added to the entire border.

There are eight of these sections that each have applique and will be added to the center panel once the applique is complete.

This square is ready to be hand stitched and is one of the four outer cornerstones. I'm not sure how quick I'll be on all of this but any progress is better than no progress :).

Spiderweb Blocks as Background. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Sat, 04 Jan 2014 16:57:00 +0000

A few months ago in one of my quilt groups, I pieced a few spiderweb blocks. I have always been enamored with these blocks and found a tutorial from Jaybird Quilts (I love her stuff!). Once I made two of the blocks I thought to myself, "What are you going to do with these?" The tutorial is for potholders but I wanted to do something more but I certainly wasn't making a WHOLE quilt. So, being an art quilter, I thought, "Make a few more blocks and make a small wallhanging."

And here is where it is to date. But being the quilter that I am, I can't stop here. Oh, noooo. I am going to applique red to it. They are going to be red words and it will become my statement quilt titled "Shades of Red." Keep watching. I'm really enjoying the word part.

Until next time,

Quilting as Therapy. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 12:07:00 +0000

2013 was a year of major life changes due to loves lost. Quilting, it turns out, is a great therapeutic tool! I have found that going to my fabric stash and creating a quilt, letting my emotions run with my imagination, has allowed my emotions to transform from debilitating to joy.

Here is a case in point: During Christmas, I lost my dear companion, Meowi. As he was only five years old and I have had other major losses this year, his loss has been almost unbearable. I was, however, in the process of creating this quilt.

Once he passed, something came to mind. Seven years ago when my husband passed away, I created this quilt to lift my spirits.

Notice anything similar - Laurel Burch fabric, predominant color orange. Mind you, I didn't make the new quilt after Meowi passed, but had begun it prior to him being ill.

The new quilt's title is "In Meowi's Memory." I am going to quilt four different facial portraits from his photos in the blank light orange squares. I received his inked paw print in a sympathy card from the animal hospital where he was put down and I will incorporate that into the quilted worded border and on the label. As my mind creates all of these ideas, I realize that I am working through the loss by thinking of Meowi: how he participated in my life, what his personality characteristics were like, how his loss will affect our family. And I cry at the loss, but I smile at the memories. And this is therapy.

As the quilting happens, I will keep you updated.

Happy 2014. I pray it will be a joyous one for all.

Until next time,

Quilting the Quilt - Simply. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 23:46:00 +0000

My posting has been sporadic, I know. Being a quilt shop owner has become what I've always heard: once you own a shop you no longer quilt. It's proving to be true and I have not been getting any personal creative time. I have, however, begun quilting for customers again. So I thought I would share my longarm machine quilting endeavors.

This is Maureen's table topper. The linear complexity of the quilt lends itself to stitch-in-the-ditch. I did, however, want to create some movement.

So I took a liberal view to following the line with this.

As a quilter, my style is to enhance the quilt top's pattern and fabric. This simple quilting design adds to the quilt yet maintains the quilt's pieced style (and is easier than stitch-in-the-ditch:). The next time you quilt, consider the quilt's piecing design. What, if anything, do you want to call attention to. Then select the simplest stitching design that will enhance it. Quilting does not have to be complicated to produce good results.

Enjoy, don't fret about, your next quilting project. Start simply and with practice, practice, practice you WILL find the ideas and skill will come.

Until next time,

Sewing On Air Art Quilting Technique. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 04:34:00 +0000

On Wednesday, we held our monthly art quilt workshop. This month's technique was "Sewing On Air" by Nancy Green as featured in the October/November 2012 issue of "Quilting Arts Magazine."

Following along with the instructions, this is my quilt base. I fused fabric to fabric using Mistyfuse, and layering front and back right sides together with fusible batting. I then used the no binding technique I described here. Once layered and with the fabric turned inside out, the piece was quilted.

The circles were left unquilted as my sewing on air will be done within one of the circles.

The center of the circle was cut out.

The circle is then heavily zigzag stitched. Heavily means going around the circle four times with a free-motion zigzag stitch (my favorite :).

The fun begins as the needle is placed to the back of the circle and straight-stitched across its diameter at a medium speed. Once across, the fabric was turned 180 degrees and gone across again. I did this three times, always with free-motion stitching. The three lines of sewing were then zigzagged over with my machine set at 2.5 width. And, whalaa, there is a strong cord-like thread line running through my circle.

This was an easy technique, much more so than I realized it would be. If you would like to try this technique, let me give you a few hints that were learned in the workshop. First, the magazine technique does not require a stabilizer for the stitching. However, I used fusible web, fusible batting, lots of quilting, and heavy stitching around the perimeter of the circle which all acted as a stabilizer for the stitching across the diameter of the hole. I also noticed that the smaller size of my hole seemed to matter in being able to keep its shape compared to larger holes done by others.

If you do give this a try, please let me know of any tips or hints you find to be helpful.

Until next time,

Cat Bites are Dangerous!

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 23:08:00 +0000

I know. This is a quilt site. Why am I talking about cat bites? My experience of this weekend makes me want to share and warn others. Here's my story.

This is my cat, Gracie, and this weekend she bit me. Now I've had cats most of my life but have never been bitten (I mean hard) by one. Gracie's form of communication is biting rather than scratching and I'm respectful of what she tells me. But this time, as we were playing, she switched gears and attacked me ferociously. Her teeth went deep into my hand. I was taken by surprise and it hurt more than I can say. I rinsed the punctures with cold water and put antibiotic gel on it and thought that was the end of it. Boy, was I wrong.

By the next day, my hand was swelling, and red. The pain increased as the day went on. I decided to do some internet surfing on the subject and was surprised by what I found. Did you know cat bites are infectious 80% of the time? And that if the infection progresses, it damages the tissue around the bite and you may have to have surgery? Needless to say I was shocked!!!

This is a photo of my hand 24 hours AFTER I began taking antibiotics. The swelling has gone down, the redness has decreased, and the pain is minimal. I didn't take a photo at its worst but you can still see swelling. That little red dot on the lower portion of my hand is the little puncture mark that started this mess. I'm afraid to think of what may have happened if I hadn't done a little research and moved into action right away. So take this post as informative and a warning. If a cat bites you, don't take it lightly. Find out the steps necessary to keep you healthy.

Until next time,

Bringing You Up to Speed. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 05:12:00 +0000

Since last I wrote, I've been busy, busy, busy with many happenings and changes. In my attempt to bring you up to speed, I will begin where I last left off: on my way to Texas.

My trip to Texas began with a speaking and teaching gig in Beaumont at the Golden Triangle Quilt Guild. It was my first opportunity to speak and teach on a national level and I was excited. The guild members were welcoming and friendly. Two classes were taught. Here are student photos of my Henhouse Whimsies Rooster.

The next day I taught my Shapes II abstract quilt and its technique.

The most exciting thing to happen was my seeing this surprising creature on a sightseeing journey.

I then headed to Houston to attend Quilt Market. It was my first market and fun being a buyer for my new quilt shop. The one advantage to attending Market is the opportunity to view the International Quilt Show without the crowds that would be coming in the next week. Many beautiful and inspirational quilts were viewed and photos taken. I include only one quilt here, one that I felt was quite innovative, made with pipe cleaners.

I head home with a full moon in the sky, a perfect ending to a perfect journey.

I will continue to catch you up on happenings in my life in my next blog so stay tuned.

Until next time,

Handmade Gifts are So Special. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 02:15:00 +0000

I know I'm a quilter and this is a quilting blog but I just had to share this non-quilting gift.

My quilting friend (who also paints) gifted me this whimsically adorable wall hanging for my upcoming birthday. Being a quilter, I'm so appreciative of handmade gifts. Knowing that my friend is a painter and that she is sharing this gift of hers with me makes this present all the more special.

The ribbons and hanger make it all the more heartwarming. Thank you, Friend.

Until next time,

Friday Finishes - Tote Begun and Finished. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Karri) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 04:46:00 +0000

Friday is once again upon me. My weeks fly by with all the hats I am currently wearing: quilt shop owner, art quilter, pattern publisher, teacher, pillow maker (my main income source). Additionally, I leave next week for Texas where I am the key speaker and teacher for a guild. It is my first national engagement and I am very excited and a bit apprehensive. Of course, I am no way completely prepared and working hard to get there. I did, however, take time out to make myself a new tote to take along (my old one was shredding :(

The pattern is a diaper bag in a Leisure Arts book that was adjusted somewhat to fit my travel needs. To my credit I began and completed it in one day. Something I'm generally not great at, especially when it's more garment sewing-like rather than quilting.

My goal was to showcase this floral fabric made into pockets that has been in my stash for some time.

Here is the interior with a few pockets. Lots of stripes and plaids for one tote. I love structured fabrics and don't get the chance to use them as often as I might like. It's nice to feel accomplished in my finishing of this tote and to look forward to a new item to take on my travels.

Happy Friday,