savoy060

Does life fly by at the speed of light for you? It does for me!!  I've been running in circles trying to keep up with life lately -- some good things and some very sad things -- but this evening I sat down and outlined all of the things that are going on in the near future and thought: "How did I get here?" and "Why haven't I told anyone?" Well,  now I'm sharing with you my excitement about being an instructor at Quilters Corner in Ithaca, NY, for my 2nd semester.  In the fall semester I'm going to be teaching three fun Projects and hosting one Open Studio (where you can get help on any of my projects).   The first class is "Redbird and Berries", created for the Moda Bake Shop.  I know I've talked about this Mini Quilt 1000 times before, but I'm really excited to be teaching it locally and had to share the image "one more time".   Since this recipe was posted on the Moda Bake Shop , (Jan 24th, 2014), there have been nearl...

Yippee!!  Your stop today:   Finger Lakes Region, USA. Hi - I'm Karen Miller, chief blogger at Karen's Quilts, Crows and Cardinals, and Owner of Redbird Quilt Co.   I'm thrilled that you stopped by to join me in the "Around the World Blog Hop".    I would love to be able to tell you where the Blog Hop started... but I'm not really sure.  If you know, please leave me a comment and let me know - I would love to give credit where credit it due -- such fun!! I want to give special thanks to the wonderfully talented Raewyn from Northland, New Zealand, who tagged me for the hop this week.    Raewyn has a sweet blog " LoveToStitch " and shares all things creative there.    You can use this link to read Raewyn's Blog Post for the Around the World Blog Hop.   Raewyn's projects and creativity are quite inspiring!     Look at this darling quilt she designed to be used as a Free Motion Quilting BOM at her Local Qu...

Greetings quilting family -- last week I promised to share images from our local quilt show "Quilts, Vines & Finger Lakes Wines" hosted by O'Susannah's Quilts and Gifts in Watkins Glen NY. There were so many beautiful quilts that I couldn't possibly photograph all of them -- but I did gather a few of the most awesome applique and/or free motion quilted entries at the show.  I've included a few of my favorite entries below and all of the images can be seen by clicking here .  First up: "Roses in the Vineyard" by Lynn Ink - Lynn hand stitched appx 700 grapes on this 16" mini and she also hand quilted it.  What wonderful talent. See more images here .  "Roses in the Vineyard" by Lynn Ink Next, "Belva's Fat Quarters Appliqued" was done by a friend and local guild member, Joan Thorpe - - and was inspired by two Kim Diehl patterns.   Joan created, stitched, and machine quilted (on her domestic) this little number -- you...

I sure do!  If you're traveling to or live in or around the Finger Lakes Region of New York -- be sure to carve out a couple of hours this weekend to visit the "Quilts, Vines & Finger Lakes Wines QUILT SHOW" being presented by O'Susannah's Quilts & Gifts. O'Susannah's is a lovely quilt shop located in Watkins Glen, NY, at the base of Seneca Lake (the largest of the Finger Lakes).  O'Susannah's is not only an award winning, full service quilt shop, it is also home to the most fantastic retreat location in this area, "The Upstairs Inn".   Wonderfully decorated, large enough to sleep 8 quilters, and setup with all the right features for the perfect quilt retreat, the Upstairs Inn is a great place to escape (especially in the fall when the local grapes are being harvested - ohh the aroma)...   The image below is the living room at the Upstairs Inn - Isn't it beautiful ?   You can see and read more about "The Upstairs Inn...

Many thanks to all that participated in the Book Review and Giveaway of Karen McTavish's "Mastering the Art of McTavishing - 2nd Edition - Expanded and Revised" book ! Your feedback and excitement about learning to "McTavish" was amazingly uplifting and encouraging. Machine quilting is one of my favorite things to do -- and this stitch is so very forgiving -- even if you "think" you can't do it I would love for you to give it a try. The best tip I would share would be to use a thread that matches your background color, and that is  very fine, so that your backtracking and mistakes are nearly invisible. Next, use the same color thread in the top and bobbin so that slight variations in tension do not show. I always turn to Aurifil Mako Cotton 50wt thread for my top and bobbin.  Quilts like a dream! Use a panel as a practice piece -- if you like it when you're done -- turn it into a wall hanging or Envelope Pillow (as shown below -- see the tutor...