Some quilty catch-up...

Whoa...
The past couple of weeks have flown by - some good, some not-so-good.

Back in the middle of the month (it seems like more than two weeks ago), I was invited to do a trunk show at the Ladies of the Lakes Quilters Guild -- what an awesome group!  Here's just a couple of the pictures (apparently I make really strange faces and use my hands/arms way too much when I talk):

So, after this wonderful night, I was supposed to come home and prep for teaching at the East Coast Gammill Statler Conference.  Well... life throws some major curve balls, and we had one.  My dear father-in-law passed away.  So off we go to Jersey.  It was a very rough week, to say the least.  In about an hours time I packed up our stuff and managed to grab as much of my teaching items as I could.  We drove... straight through. 

So after all the funeral happenings, my husband had to drive me down to Virginia for ECGS 2018 - so, of course, I missed my flight from Florida on Thursday (more on this later).  I also missed the welcome reception and was a little out of sorts my first class on Friday, but I managed.  Steve, Lori, Emily (Threads Run Thru It/Gammill Mid-Atlantic) and all of my Gammill family are amazing people -- everyone had plenty of hugs for me.

So here are just a few class pics from the conference:

And what a beautiful resort!

And some fun:

And a picture of part of my Gammill family:

photo credit: Jen Smith/Gammill Quilting

I can't wait for next year - always one of my favorite teaching events!

Oh... about missing my flight from Florida to Virginia.  Well, it turns out, if you ever miss the first leg of your travel itinerary, they automatically cancel your return trip.  Yep, the ticket in my hand to come home was no good.  I've since learned when you know you're going to miss part of your flight, call the airline immediately.  Anyhow, Delta found me a seat and didn't charge me anything extra, even though my return ticket had been canceled.   See, you learn something every day!

Ribbons, Interviews, and Bling... oh my!

So, my quilts have been getting some ribbon action lately... 2018 is starting off awful blingy over here.

Let's rewind to February -

Quilting in Paradise - which is run by my local guild, the PSL Crazy Quilters.
Dance in the Rain won Best of Show.  This is a really big deal to me.  In all my years with this guild, I have never, nope, not once, won Best of Show on my own quilt.  Yes, I've won it on client quilts, but not my own.  Yep, check that one off my bucket list!

The Bridges challenge with my art group, Journeys Thru Art, won 1st Place -- and to top that off, Trenton Makes won Best Use of Color.  Apparently, all that work on the neon lights and reflection really paid off!

Remember my vintage Alfred Shaheen panel, Moth Parade?  Well, it also won 2nd Place.

Also in February was the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Virginia.  Yep, those quilts were taken down from one show and shipped out the next day.  Well, there, Dance in the Rain won an Honorable Mention, while Glacier 01 won Best Use of Negative Space.  Woohoo!

And thanks to my friend Emily for this awesome pic!  The best part is Glacier 01 was pieced while I was up in Virginia teaching/vacationing so Emily is kinda partial to it as she watched it being born.

Last week, at the American Quilters Society Quiltweek Daytona, God's Eye won 3rd Place in the Wall Movable Machine category.

And while I was there visiting, I did a little interview with Bonnie Browning of AQS!

 

Well, that's if for now... here's where everything will be for the next few months - 

God's Eye will be at AQS Lancaster - March 21-24, 2018.

Dance in the Rain will be at MQX East - April 11-14, 2018.

And then... God's Eye AND Glacier 01 will be at AQS Paducah -- me too, as I'm teaching!

If you're anywhere near those shows go check them out!

Some Quilty Catch-up...

Okay peeps, it feels like its been forever since I've posted on here.  There is so much going on in my little world -

I be doing a trunk show next week on the 15th at Ladies of the Lakes Guild in Lakeland, FL - that should be loads of fun -- who doesn't like looking at and talking about quilts?

The following week (March 22-25)  I'll be teaching at the East Coast Gammill/Statler Conference in Williamsburg, VA (yes, a new location), hosted by  --  Gammill Mid-Atlantic Longarm / Threads Run Thru It.  if you've followed me for a while, you'll know this is one of my favorite events!  And, although it is a Gammill event, you can still sign-up, even if you're only thinking about purchasing a Gammill.  So, I'll have a few new classes this year --

Build-A-Stitch 3 (of course) - and no, the class sample isn't finished yet...  sorry!  Didn't you know us longarmers do everything last minute.

Make Those Feathers Move!  - haha, two class samples for this one:

Functional Fills:

Doodle Quilting:

As well as a few others!

And then in April, I'll be teaching at AQS Spring Paducah - click here for a link to my classes there - three classes are already sold out (yay!).  If you were/are thinking about signing up, you'd better get busy!  I have two design/draw classes as well as my hands-on classes -- go check them out!  Can't wait to see you all!

I've started on another competition piece...  this is all I can share here.  If you're already a subscriber on my Patreon page (patreon.com/quiltyk), you've seen oodles more.  Not a subscriber?  Go check it out, there are a few free videos available to all, if you like what you see, feel free to subscribe for a small monthly fee. 

So, this quilt is yet un-named... hoping one comes to me soon.  I've got a client quilt this week, but I'll be working on this full-force next week!

I can't wait... this one is going to be awesome!

Oh, and the Build-A-Stitch 3 books should be here by 3/15, hopefully!  I've love to have some with me at the trunk show.

Thanks it for now peeps -- happy quilting

BUILD-A-STITCH 3

Build-A-Stitch 3 is finally finished and available for PRE-ORDER.  Copies are expected in my hands by mid-March and then the signing begins -- all pre-orders will be signed!  They'll begin shipping immediately after - or until I have to leave for the East Coast Gammill-Statler Conference, then any remaining will be shipped as soon as I get back.

And yes, I must say, this is the best Build-A-Stitch yet -- it is pretty awesome -- 85 pages full of inspiration and ideas on how to use the stitches in Build-A-Stitch 1 and Build-A-Stitch 2.  I haven't been able to look up from my computer for almost two weeks -- I wanted this book finished so I could share it with all of you!  And yes, the two cover images are included in their appropriate sections.

Get your copy - available on the website store: http://www.creativelongarmquilting.com/store.html

On the Cloud!

That's right, I'm on the cloud... Pattern Cloud, that is.  Since getting the Elevate I've been busy designing/digitizing a few patterns (mostly E2E designs).  It's a lot of work, but so fun to see the results.  You can find my patterns on Gammill's Pattern Cloud - patterncloud.com

Here's a peek at my Designer Page, and an overview of my patterns so far, yes, there are more coming (as soon as I find time).

Here's a peek at what they would look like stitched out (not to scale, just for reference):

My current favorite is Marquise_b - just love how the thread looks!

So go check out Gammill's Pattern Cloud - so many patterns available!

Block Breakdown #6 - Friendship Star

Another episode of the Block Breakdown series is available!  In this episode, I share several ideas for a Friendship Star.

To get your printable for practicing, click here.

As always, you can access ALL of the episodes by clicking above on the Block Breakdown tab, or by visiting the Gammill YouTube channel (there is a ton of information available there on everything Gammill).

Let me know how you like the series, and what blocks you'd like to see in the future.

Dance in the Rain

Dance in the Rain is finished!  Well, almost.  I had purchased a gazillion beads to embellish this beauty but, unfortunately, they aren't on there, yet...  Hand stitching beads takes a while and this had to be finished before judging day.

This quilt, which started as a kaleidoscope quilt back in 2012, sat around for awhile before being deconstructed (and reconstructed) into what it is now.

You can read and watch all about the making of this quilt on my Patreon page - the making of it is Part 1 (12 minute video), the quilting is Part 2 - grab a cup of coffee and even a bowl of popcorn as it is a 40-minute video.  I included just about every section of quilting in the video, as well as a few tips on why I did certain things, and also a section on how I keep my feather spines exactly the same.  The videos are part of the Quilty Watch tier.  There is also a 12-minute slideshow of still photos in the Quilty Peek tier (this is automatically included as part of the upper Quilty Watch tier).  If you're interested, here is the link for subscribing to my Patreon page - patreon.com/quiltyk

I need to mention the fabrics used in this were a 9-level gradation hand-dyed by my bestie, Natalie.  The light background is a purchased cotton (Red Rooster Sprinkles in Light Grey).  The backing fabric, which you'll see the backside photo in a minute, is a commissioned hand-dye by Debra Linker.  Isn't it gorgeous?!!

The sunlight really brought out the blues in the grey outer ring -- like I said, gorgeous!  My centering of the top was off by just a wee bit but still turned out awesome!  Go ahead, click on the photo for a full-size view.

So, what did I learn while making this quilt... don't wait five years to finish anything!  It has several issues, and no, I'm not going to point them out - if you see it in person maybe you can look for them... they aren't too hard to spot.  Honestly, I am happy to be *done* and looking forward to starting my next project.

Dance in the Rain makes its debut at my local guild's biennial show February 1-3, 2018.  Here's the link in case you're local or are in need of a SoFlo vacation!  Hope to see you there -- you can find me in the Woolee Bullee booth (#13).

Block Breakdown - Pinwheel

Oops, I almost forgot to share the latest episode of Block Breakdown!  Here I share different ideas for the pinwheel block.

To see past episodes of the Block Breakdown series, click here:  https://karenmarchetti.blogspot.com/p/block-breakdown.html

Glacier 01

Well, I've gone and done it.
I made a modern quilt...
it was awful, for a while, but now I like it!  Although, I'm not sure I'll be making any more modern quilts.  It was very out of my comfort zone.  Anyway, here is Glacier 01 -

And a detail pic -

You'll be able to see it at the Quilting in Paradise Show in February 2018, we'll have to wait and see where else it might be after that. 

If you'd like to see how I made this quilt, you can subscribe to my brand new Patreon account - patreon.com/quiltyk

Patreon is a membership platform that provides business tools for creators to run a subscription content service, as well as ways for artists to build relationships and provide exclusive experiences to their subscribers, or "patrons."

East Coast Gammill Statler Conference

This is absolutely one of my favorite events of the year. And I'm even more excited for 2018 as the venue has changed to Williamsburg, VA - click HERE for all the details.   Join me and many other super talented teachers!  I wouldn't wait too long to sign up - there are only a limited number of spots available - once it's full you'll have to wait until next time!

Here are the classes I'll be teaching:

A few brand new classes - watch in coming weeks as I share pictures of the samples!  And yes, that's right, Build-A-Stitch 3 will be ready (the book too) - where I'll share many other ways to utilize those stitches you've been learning!

Block Breakdown #4 - Economy Patch

Here is Block Breakdown # 4 - Economy Patch



Every month on the Gammill YouTube channel I'll be sharing a different block showing several quilting variations. I'll make sure to share the link here as well. You can always click on the Block Breakdown links (located in the sidebar) to check if you've missed any.