Karen Kay Buckley

On Saturday, I had a nice short drive to Hanover, Pennsylvania to teach for Danner’s BERNINA Shop.  They built a new store which opened this spring.  This was the first time I saw the store finished.  (I had a tour when they were still painting.)  You will judge for yourself when you see all of the photos below but I am sure you will agree…..wonderful shop.

The first several pictures are from the store front area.  Great lighting and great displays.  When I was in the shop, some of the family were vending at the quilt show in York so some of the quilts had been taken from the walls in the shop to display in their booth at the show.

This is the nicest sewing machine display I have ever seen.  Delmar told me it was shipped especially for them from the home office in Switzerland.  How beautiful.

The classroom is a dream.  Lots of light.  Lots of outlets.  Lots of table space.  Lots of room to work……..

If you live in the area or are passing through, you really ought to stop and check it out.

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BOOK REVIEW

The Last Child by John Hart was a good read.  Johnny Merrimon had a great life with his parents and twin sister, Alyssa.  Until the one day  his sister went missing.  And, then his father left.  His mother could not handle the loss and sinks into depression and alcohol.  A year after Alyssa’s disappearance, Johnny begins searching for his sister.  He is not alone.  Detective Hunt has never stopped trying to find her either.  Detective Hunt is doing his best to watch over Johnny.  Then another child goes missing.  There were some interesting turns in this book.  I did not see it coming.

Hey, guess what?? I am no longer “Faceless”! Like me on Facebook at Karen Kay Buckley’s Perfect Quilting Products!

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I had more photos from Tahiti I wanted to share with you.

There were some fabric shops in Papeetea.  Not the style that I often use but there was an abundance of tropical prints available to purchase.

Also in Papeete was a fantastic open air market with fresh produce and fresh fish.

We visited a botanical garden and there were some incredibly beautiful flowers.

I wish I could tell you why I like chickens/roosters so much. I don’t know why….I just do.  Isn’t this rooster beautiful?  It was as if he was posing for the photo.

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I just got back from teaching/lecturing for the Brandywine Quilt Guild http://www.brandywinevlyquilters.org and the Calico Cutters Quilt Guild http://calicocutters.com both located in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  The first day I taught my Kansas Rose workshop.

One of the students has already emailed me a photo of her finished block.  Kathy Barton sent this photo.  Kathy said she liked the techniques so much she is planning on making 3 more blocks for a wall quilt.

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BOOK REVIEW

I recently read “The Secret of Magic” by Deborah Johnson.  The main character, Regina Robicard, has recently been employed by Thurgood Marshall.  Marshall receives a letter asking him to investigate the murder of a missing black war hero.  The letter is signed by M.P. Chalhoun who is a reclusive author.  Regina has fond memories of reading Chalhoun’s book when she was younger.  Chalhoun’s book tells of black and white children playing together in the south in a magical land.  When Regina goes to Mississippii to investigate she has a lot to learn.

I have been a member of the LeTort Quilters, http://www.letortquilters.com/index.html, since they formed almost 30 years ago.  In the early years I was able to be more active then I am now.  But, I still try to make our guild meetings when I am home, to help with the biannual show and occasionally the raffle quilt design.  Our guild is lucky to hold their show in conjunction with an annual one day event called Foundry Day held in Boiling Springs, PA.  Here is a photograph taken at Foundry Day.  As you can see the weather was great and lots of people came to walk through the juried artisans exhibits.

The committee for Foundry Day allows us to have a booth at the event and to sell tickets for our raffle quilt.  Here is my friend Donna Lohman working in the downtown booth.

I thought I would share some of the quilts from the show.  This quilt was made by Peggy Myers and quilted by Heidi Johnson.  Peggy calls this quilt “Gram’s Backyard Birds”.

“Tropical Breeze” was pieced by Carol Richardson and quilted by Jennifer Jenkins.

“Sour Ball Pinwheels” was made by Laura Dries and quilted by Sarah Hanner.  The pattern is called “Jelly Roll Dream” and was designed by Pam and Nicky Lintott.

Cathy Irwin pieced and Laurel Cook quilted “French Garden”.  The pattern was designed by Swirly Girls Design.

“Flowers for My Wedding” was pieced and quilted by Adele Rall.  The quilt was created from a Judy Niemeyer kit.

“Houston Blooms” was made by Donna and Debra Lohman.  It is from a Melinda Bula kit.

“Baltimore Album” was appliqued by Shirley Walker and quilted by Laurel Cook.  I am so proud of Shirley.  This quilt was started a long time ago in one of my year long Baltimore album classes.  I am so happy to see it finished.

My friend Lytle Markham made “Dresdan Plates”.  It was quilted by Laural Cook.  Lytle inherited some old pieced Dresdan Plates.  Great use of the large rick rack.

“Cheap Talk” was made by Donna and Debra Lohman.  The pattern and kit came from Connecting Threads.

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My assistant, Lynn Stine, came to me many months ago and said she really wanted to make a quilt for her parents 50th anniversary.  Lynn is very, very new to quilting.  We agreed on a project and I told Lynn I would teach her but that she had to do all of the sewing.  I am very impressed with Lynn’s project.  Lynn sent me this photo from the weekend festivities the family held at her parents’ home.

What makes this project really special is that  Lynn’s daughter, MacKenzie, transferred every family members face onto fabric.  Lynn placed the face fabric in the door and windows.  Then, on each leaf Lynn wrote all of her family members names.  What a great gift.  Lynn, I am so very proud of you for making such a beautiful project for such a special occasion.  And Lynn did all of the free motion machine quilting by herself.  Way to go Lynn!!!

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BOOK REVIEW

I recently read “Stella Bain” by Anita Shreve.  The story is set during World War I.  An American woman had been working in the trenches as a nurse’s aide, helping with the care of wounded soldiers.  She is found wondering the streets of London after suffering shell shock and loss of memory.  Doctor August Bridge and his wife take her in with no second thoughts but to help her.  She cannot remember her name but feels sure there are answers at the Admiralty in London.  She becomes obsessed with getting there.  This book has gotten mixed reviews but I like Anita Shreve as a writer and this book was no exception for me.

I was invited to teach for the West Des Moines Area Quilters Guild.  Joe came with me on this trip.  We had to fly in Monday prior to the Tuesday lectures.  So, we had some time to do some sight-seeing Monday afternoon.  We took a tour of Madison County and checked out some of its famed covered bridges.

This is the Hogback bridge.

This is the Holliwell bridge.

This is the Cutler-Donahue bridge.

This is the Roseman bridge which was used in the movie “Bridges of Madison County” based on the book by Robert James Waller.

Another shot of the Roseman bridge.

I was lucky to have another very well organized quilt program chair, Nan.  And Nan’s co-chair, Ann, was also great to work with.  Nan owns a bakery called “Nan’s Nummies”.  Nan had some of her famous almond cookies in the hotel room when we arrived. Let me tell you the box was emptied rather quickly.  OMG.  They were to die for.  To find out more about Nan’s shop and to order some cookies go to http://nansnummies.com/

As we were driving around Madison and Polk County here are some of the things we saw.

Red-winged black bird.

the most magnificent Civil War memorial.

To find out more about the West Des Moines Area Quilters Guild go do http://www.dmaqg.org/

Great sign in the church parking lot.

A few of the guild members shared some of their projects made in former classes from my Magical Medallions pattern.  I forgot to write down the names of the makers on the two photos below.  If anyone reads this and knows their names please email me so I can add them.  Both blocks are stunning and I would love to give the makers credit.

Nan, on the left, had her Fiesta Mexico top finished.  Bravo!  I love it.

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Every year I give an update on the groundhogs living under our porch.  Look how cute the little ones are.

They are adorable.

Until next week…….

One of the events held during the Tahiti quilt cruise is called the “book signing”. For those of us who have not published a book in ages, it’s called socializing.  Normally, we are in a nice little room. However, this time it was held on the upper deck.  What a nice time.  Grab a drink and socialize.  I forgot to mention that all the drinks on the cruise ship were free.  Yes, I said free.  We had to purchase our own drinks on all of my previous cruises.  Now, this cruise was a little more expensive……

Here is Karen Combs, one of the other teachers, with Gloria and Sandy.  Karen is on the left.  You can find out more about Karen at http://www.karencombs.com

The other teacher on this cruise was Cindy Walter.  To find out more about Cindy go to her website http://cindywalter.com

Cindy is on the left in this photo.  Standing in the back with the first officer is our fearless leader Kim Hedges.

I am enjoying myself with several other quilters on the top deck as we chat, enjoy a drink and some canapes .  I am in the pink.  I did not get the message about the black and white dress code!!

One stop during the cruise was a private island owned by the cruise line.  It was a nice day on the beach to read, relax or snorkel.  Here are a couple of photos from the beach.

Drinks were served in coconuts.  Very cool.  I did not drink all three of these! Only two.

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BOOK REVIEW

The “Book Thief” by Markus Zusak.

Over the past year, many people recommended this book.  I am so glad I finally found time to read it.  It was an interesting concept.  The book is narrated by death.  And death is pretty busy during this time.  It takes place in Nazi Germany in 1939.  Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read.  Liesel shares her books with her neighbors during bombing raids.  She also shares her books with the Jewish man they are hiding in their basement.  I highly recommend this book.

As I said last week, I would continue with photos from Tahiti and the Society Islands.   I loved the leaves on this plant.  Very interesting colors.  They would look great in one of my quilts.

This was in the turtle pond.

As soon as we arrived in Tahiti each of us were given a Gardenia.  Gardenias grow like wild flowers all over the island.  I can smell the fragrance as I write the words…..ahhhhh.

This was our first view as we arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel.

Then along the path to our rooms

the tropical, warm water was so blue and clear I could see lots and lots of fish.

One of the reasons Kim and Amy scheduled the group to arrive a couple of days before the cruise was because there was a quilt show in Papeeta. Papeeta (population 55,000) is the largest city in the islands  The style of quilts they make are called Tifaifai, which means applique. They do not use batting.  This makes sense considering their warm weather year round.  Tifaifai are part of the Polynesian family life.  The designs have meaning and are often signs of love, affection, respect and consideration.  Each quilt consists of a background fabric and a large cut-work applique design on the surface.  The hand stitching was impressive.  Here are some photos from the Tifaifai show.

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I just got back from teaching in Union City, PA, close to Erie, PA.  The name of the guild is Happy Scrappers.  It is a small guild with great members.  Here are some of the members waiting for the lecture to start.

One of the members brought in her finished Garden Medley project to share.  I am sorry I did not get the makers name.  If anyone reads this and has the makers name please let me know so I can add it to the blog.  I like giving the makers credit for such nice work.

Before we checked into the hotel in Erie we decided to go through the Starbucks drive-thru.  As we rounded the back of Starbucks this is what we saw, Eeeeerie. At first glance I thought there were people in the dumpster.  I know my eyes opened a little wider.  And then I realized someone had a great sense of humor and had placed mannequin heads in the dumpster.  I am still laughing.  Oh, to be young and crazy……

Right after my trip to Union City I went to Spring City, PA the opposite side of our state, to teach for the Loose Threads Quilters.  Here is the website for the guild in case you live in the area and are looking for a guild http://www.theloosethreadsquilters.org/ The ladies told me this was my third trip to their guild.  I always so ….it’s nice to be asked back.  I took this photo while some of the ladies were coming in for the lecture.

I’ll have some more photos to share from the cruise next week.  Until then…..

During this adventure, I was working with Kim and Amy from Quilt Seminars at Sea.  You can find out more about the quilting cruises they offer by going to their website www.quiltcruises.com
Prior to the cruise, we stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel in Tahiti for two nights.  The hotel was fabulous.  So, before sharing photos from the cruise, I’m going to share photos from the hotel.

I have seen photos of hotel rooms that sit out over the water.  Never in a million years did I think I’d get to stay in one.  But, Joe surprised me and booked us a room over the water.  Here is our little cabana.

As I sat outside on the little deck, on the opposite side of the above photo, this is what I saw.  Peaceful.  Serene.  These are words that come to mind.

One morning as I sat outside and read, I saw about a hundred rowers.  I later heard they were having some kind of competition.  They were really moving as they came by.  It kind of scared me because it was so peaceful and then out of no where comes all these rowers.  They were actually very quiet as they moved across the water.

A lot of them were young men with their shirts off and very nice upper bodies due to their strenuous workouts.  So, I was not scared for long!

I saw all kinds of interesting things as I walked around the hotel property.  One morning, I saw this very large snail slowly making his way across the lawn.

And then down from the snail was a small pond with four turtles.  Joe is always laughing at my fascination with turtles.  I love them.  One is on the rock and one is getting on the rock.

I named them Cuff and Link!!!  Anybody see Rocky?

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BOOK REVIEW

I read “Gravy, Grits and Graves” by Vicki Blair.  The story takes place in McWhorter, Kentucky.  In this little town lies a secret club that meets Tuesday mornings over breakfast.  The town mayor, Jock, controls the meetings. And, of course, the town.  A Baptist housewife decides to challenge the current mayor in the upcoming primary and things really get out of control.  One of the other characters is Trooper Daniel Brooks who has previously lived in this town. He’s returned because he was assigned to investigate the deaths of many of the mayor’s buddies from the Tuesday Club.  Daniel crosses paths with FBI agent Tillie Grant and he’s also in a relationship with the mayor’s daughter, Caroline.  Interesting story and plots.  The style of writing reminded me in some ways of Janet Evanovich.

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QUILT SHARING

Peggy Smith shared the following photos with me of the quilt she made using blocks from my book called “Applique Basics: Flower Wreaths”.  And Peggy got a ribbon!!!  Nice job Peggy.

Thanks for sharing Peggy.  Your quilt looks great.

Next week I’ll have more photos from the trip to Tahiti……

During my visit to Sarasota, Cheryl took me to The Ringling.  It is an impressive compound.  There are museums, a theater, library and beautiful gardens.  It is the legacy of circus owner, John Ringling (1866-1936) and his wife Mable (1875-1929).

I did not get any great photos of the outside of the home of John and Mabel Ringling. However, I did get a few nice photos of some interesting designs along with some of the rooms in the house.  The home is called Ca’D’Zan, “House of John”.  The home was built between 1924-26.  It’s design is Venetian Gothic and reflects the Ringlings’ love of Italy.

Great design on the outside post.

Check out this ceiling panel.

Here is another ceiling design.

Some of the rooms inside the home.

I was very impressed with the 100 year old Banyan trees.

And, of course, there were all sorts of items on display from the circus – like the lion cages.

This railroad car was built in 1905 for John and Mable.  They certainly traveled in style.  The car is 79 feet long and 10 feet wide.

All in all, a great afternoon at the Ringling.

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Monica Troy used some blocks from my “Japanese Garden Quilt”.  She shared her photos with me.

Check out Monica’s fabulous quilting.  Thanks for sharing Monica.

Until next week…….

My trip started with the Ladies of the Lakes guild in Lakeland, Florida, http://www.ladiesofthelakes.org

It was a fun group of ladies and Jacqui, the program chairperson, had things nicely organized.  I’m sorry I did not take pictures of the lake.  They have black swans which I do not believe I had ever seen before.  They were nesting around the lake but it was raining and not great for photos.  But, it was beautiful.

From there I moved to the Friendship Knot Quilters Guild in Sarasota, Florida, http://www.friendshipknotquiltersguild.com/about_us.html

Elva, the program chair, had everything ready.  This guild has many of their members help with the visiting teacher so one person does not have to do all the work.  Each morning a different person would pick me up and take me to the workshop and then someone else would take me out to eat.  It allowed me to meet several of the members and to share some personal time with them.  Since Easter was in the middle of my trip in Sarasota the guild did not want to hold a workshop, which I certainly understood.  Elva asked if anyone from the guild was interested in showing me around the area and lucky for me Cheryl Szynkowski volunteered.  We had a fabulous day.  Otherwise I would have been staring at the walls in the hotel and never seen some beautiful and interesting things. Thank you so much Cheryl!!!

The first place Cheryl took me to see was Anna Marie Island.  OMG.  Beautiful, beautiful and beautiful.  I love the Ocean.  Love it.

Love these leaves.  I think I’ll use this type of leaves in one of my quilts.  Great colors.

And the water fowl!!

On my first day of classes Donna brought her finished Magical Medallions quilt to show me.  Impressive, don’t you think?  I am very, very proud of you Donna.  Thanks for sharing.

Here are some photos of the ladies working hard in class.

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I liked Jo Jo Moyes’ last book so much I thought I’d try another one.  The first part of this book is based on the time period around 1916 when Sophie’s husband, Edouard, who was an artist, leaves to fight on the front.  Sophie goes to stay with her sister.  Their town is taken over by the Germans.  Edouard’s portrait of Sophie causes her to risk everything to see her true love one last time.

The second part of the book is about Liv.  Her husband bought her this portrait of Sophie when they were on their honeymoon.  Liv’s husband passed away suddenly.  Liv ends up in court trying to keep the portrait.  Family members are trying to get the portrait back saying it was taken during the war and belonged to the family.  Good read.

Next week I’ll have more photos to share of Cheryl’s and my Easter Day out in Florida.

Finally, we are seeing some of those spring flowers that we normally see in March.  Spring has been a long time coming to our area. We are so happy it has finally arrived.

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Molly has another one of the blocks finished from Fiesta Mexico.  I can hardly wait to see it all finished.

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This past week found me teaching in Plano, Texas for the Quilters Guild of Plano, http://www.quiltersguildofplano.org/

Here are some of the ladies hard at work in our hand applique workshop.

The ladies decided to try something different. Sherry made two different soups and broccoli cheese bread for everyone for lunch.  I vote for them to do it all the time!  Sherry is an excellent cook.

One of the things this guild announced was that someone would be crowned the Queen of UFO’s. Obviously, I asked the person beside me if this was a good thing??  Not a title I would want.  But, as it was explained, they are asking everyone to finish some of their UFO’s and bring them to the meeting.  The guild is having a lot of fun with it and a lot of UFO’s will now be finished.  And, that is a good thing.  There are always creative thinkers at each guild which makes each one so much fun.

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BOOK REVIEW

I believe this is the author’s first book.  If that is correct, I can hardly wait to see where she goes from here.

The book weaves through past and present.  Victoria Jones grew up in the foster care system.  One of the foster mothers she lives with, teaches her the Victorian meaning for each flower.  Victoria ends up homeless for awhile.  She eventually finds some friends and is able to make a connection through her knowledge of flowers.  Her friends share in her journey and struggles.  Good read.

This week I am off to what I hope is sunny Florida.  Until next week……

Happy Easter!  Hope the bunny is good to you……..