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September block revealed

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Here’s my boy Tootie with the September block of the month for the Charlotte Quilters’ Guild. I’ve already gotten one of the August blocks from a member who will not be able to attend. I’m hoping for record participation again this month.
I have several great prizes for the raffle drawing.
#1: Stitched the movie
#2: August speaker, Peggy Barkle donated her book as a raffle prize
#3: Quilt batting
#4: Fabric kits

So, be sure to stitch up your August block for a chance at one of these prizes.

Lily is almost done……

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I now have to hand stitch the facing down on the back and it will be done.
I had a lot of fun with this piece. I did a minimal paint job on the lily and did a lot of work filling in with stitching. I also really enjoyed doing all the background quilting.


Here is a detail of my favorite background quilting stitches.

Done!

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Magnificent magnolia is finally done. I think I’ve been working on it most of the summer. Especially since I did the small study. To be honest, I’ve never done a study before and I really learned a lot.
I changed the center area a bit, the paint is lighter and the quilting is more pointy, on the petals the quilting follows the shape of each petal and the leaves are more subtle.

I like the center much area better, the detail is more what I was going for.

A few important things I learned.
1. TWO AT THE SAME TIME: Work on another piece at the same time. I worked on my lily doing the intense quilting as a warm up for the large piece.
2. YOU’RE COMMITTED: Always do warm up quilting because when you stitch on a painted area you CAN’T take it out.
3. KEEP GOING: I find that I get half way done and I HATE the piece. I think it’s the perfectionist in me but, you must keep working. Keep going and finish.
4. YUCK: I find that I’m never happy with the final piece and want to fold it up and put it away forever. Take some time off from it, look at it in a couple of days. I find I like my work after I’ve had some time off from it.

Here’s my kitty girl Daphne. She is the princess of the house and knows it.

My first teaching gig….

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I’ve been teaching my niece to sew. I got her a jelly roll several months ago and now that she’s on her summer vacation we’ve had 3 intense sessions. She’s done so well especially since she’s never done any type of sewing before.

We stared by learning the basics of the machine and stitching the jelly roll strips together. The best thing about this machine is that it has special 1/4″ foot that has a metal edge on it. So 1/4″ seams are a snap especially for a beginner.

Our lesson this weekend was a 4 patch. With all the strips together we trimmed the selvedges and cut the pieces to make 4 patch. Here is Meg with her favorite patch.

I spent a lot of time free motion quilting this weekend. Here’s the reason my stitches are a bit off.

It’s tough stitching with an 17lb cat on your quilt :-)

46 Blocks! It’s a record!

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I’m thrill to say that 46 tulip blocks were turned in this past Wednesday evening. I had several ladies tell me how fun the block was and they were looking forward to working on the next block. Keep up the good work ladies!

Here is what I’ve been working on lately. I painted this lily in a very sketchy manner. My goal was to do a lot of thread painting. I’ve also been working on the background quilting. Instead of the same pattern for the background I wanted to change it up and and do different patterns. I tried this technique on a project last year and loved it. It added so much variety and was much more interesting to look at. What do you think?

And, I’ve been working on the super-sized magnolia. I painted it over a two-week period and now I’m working on the quilting.

Finally, a kitty pic to enjoy. Tootie reclining.

August BOM revealed….

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Still Thinking Pink
I heard from Kathy and Carol that this year’s BOM had A LOT of interest. That’s thrilling!
I encourage everyone to make the tulip block and turn it in at the August meeting. Remember, everyone who turns in a block will have their name entered in the drawing for Susan Brubaker Knapp’s new book Point, Click, QUILT. I have it and it’s wonderful.
Above is Daphne with the August BOM – roses. The perfect pink flower.
Keep stitching… Karen

Charlotte Quilters’ Guild: Block of the Month

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Here is my kitty Daphne with this month’s block.

Download the block here. BOM-DirectionsColor-July

Think Pink!

One evening a few weeks ago I was at Barnes and Nobles trying to find the latest issue of Quilting Art‟s magazine. Hurrah, it was there. I then began to look around the rest of the store to see what else I could find. While browsing I kept thinking about this year‟s block of the month. I had so many questions. Will the ladies try something different? Would I have good participation? How can I increase participation? And, the biggest question, would the guild members really help me make quilts to be donated to CMC‟s Breast Cancer unit?

Hmmm…..I hope so.

I then made my way to the check out. I passed the bargain table and I couldn‟t believe what I saw. “QUILT PINK for hope.” Fifty quilt blocks and one-hundred ideas for quilts to make a difference and fight breast cancer. Wow, it was a sign. A sign, that this was the right thing to do for this year‟s block of the month.

All of us have been touched by cancer in some form or another. It is my hope that when we are stitching these blocks we will remember loved ones and friends who have or are suffering with cancer. In some small way, I feel this is my way of giving back so others can fight cancer.

My concept is pretty simple. Create pink lap quilts for breast cancer patients at Carolinas Medical Center‟s Breast Cancer Unit or GYN Unit. Beginning in July and continuing through April we will create the blocks. In April and May we will finish the quilts and show them off before the June meeting and donate the finished quilts in June 2012.

Quilts should be all pink or heavy on the pink side, but of course there‟s always room for your individuality to shine. We also have a nice stash of pink fabrics to help motivate you with participation. The final size will be 35”x35” (three 10″ block plus 5″ border) so this will make a very nice lap quilt!

The blocks will consist of paper-pieced, appliqué and pieced blocks…something for everyone. You can choose any combination of blocks to complete your quilt. If you choose to, make 2 blocks each month, keep one and donate one. For your donation, your name will be entered in a raffle to win a prize. The major difference with this year‟s BOM is that each month I will collect all blocks that will be made into donation quilts. Throughout the year we plan to have a few “sit-n-sew” opportunities. At these “sit-n-sews” we can make blocks, piece blocks into tops and quilt.

I hope you will participate in this year‟s block of the month. Remember, “blankets wrap you in warmth, quilts wrap you in love.” 

So, let‟s spread the love and make it PINK!

———-

PS: I’ve got a great prize for everyone who turns in their block…stay tuned.