Karen Kay Buckley

This week my teaching trip took me only 2 hours from home.  Ah!!!  I was excited to have such a short drive.  Coming home was not as nice as I had hoped.  The fog was so dense it was scary to be driving and it lasted for at least 40 minutes.  Yuck!  I talked to my friend Barb, hands free, for most of the drive which honestly was helpful in keeping me calm.  Other than my crazy drive home, I had a very enjoyable trip.  My guild contact, Marie, was very nicely organized, which as I always say is extremely helpful.  Marie used a room at the hotel for classes and it was the same hotel where I stayed.  Really nice and easy for me.  The name of the guild is Pennsylvania Quilter’s Association and they are located in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

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Renae Haddadin, longarm extraordinaire, and I have our second quilt completed.  I am very excited to share it with you.  It is called “Majestic Mosaic”.

Here are some close-up photographs.

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QUILT SHARING

Joan Dupuis-Neal from Canada sent me the three photos below.  She entered all of these quilts in the Winnipeg quilt show. And, got ribbons for every one of them….some got two ribbons!

Joan removed the outer border from my Japanese Garden pattern to complete her version of my quilt design.  She won first place in the category.

In addition to first place in the category, Joan won Best of Show for Magical Medallions.  Joan said she added some piping to the scalloped border.

Way to go Joan! I am so proud of you.

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BOOK REVIEW

Thanks Laura, for recommending this book.

As children, Michael and his brother Julian end up at the Iron Mountain Home for boys.  One of the brothers ends up killing a boy who is tormenting him and the other takes the blame.  As a result, the boys lead very different lives after leaving the home.  In a journey to reconnect with his brother and get out of organized crime, Michael returns to the Iron House.  This book had my attention from start to finish.  There are some good twists in the plot line.

I am off to Texas this week.  Until next week……

I just returned from teaching at the Empty Spools seminar in Pacific Grove, California.  You can find out more about this seminar by going to http://www.emptyspoolsseminars.com.  This is the most beautiful location for a quilting seminar.  Below are photographs of what I saw on my morning walks.  The concept of this seminar is to spend a full five days with your teacher.  They offer a great variety of workshops…from traditional to art quilts.

This is the building where we met for meals.

And, there is a beautiful herd of deer in the area.  Some days my students had to stop sewing, just relax and watch the deer.  Ahhhh!!!!

I was going to take a photo of all of my students on Sunday morning and then some of them had to leave early. So, here are some of my students.  As you can see, there were lots of happy faces.  The room we worked in had windows on three sides making a great room in which to hand applique.

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On one of my trips, someone recommended this book to me, “Me Before You” by Jojo Moyes.  She did not tell me anything about it……just read it.  It’s three days since I finished reading the book and I cannot get it out of my mind.

Lou Clark just lost her job working at the local coffee shop.  She’s looking for another job because her family needs the money.  At age 27, she still lives at home with her parents.  The unemployment people offer her suggestions for jobs but nothing is appealing.  She really needs to work and finally agrees to go on an interview for a caregiver, something she knows nothing about.  The other main character is Will.  He had a great life….good job, beautiful girlfriends, traveled the world.  On his way to work one morning, he is struck and injured.  With the authors style of writing, I really felt like I knew these characters and the battles they were going through.  I definitely shed a few tears at the end.

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Joe and I flew to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the Quilting and Sewing Expo held at Fox Valley Community College.  It was an excellent event.  Show organizer, Marie Thull, did a fabulous job organizing the event.  Marie holds this event through the continuing education program at the college.  To find out more about the show go to http://www.fvtc.edu/public/NewsDetail.aspx?Id=312  

If you live in the area I would say it is definitely worth your time to go and if you don’t live in the area you should plan to attend.

One of the best things about traveling to quilting events with Joe is that we rent a car and see the area.  We asked some locals what they would recommend we see and do and we got lots of recommendations.

Everyone said, “You must go to the EAA Museum”.  We said, “OK”, having no idea what EAA stood for.  It stands for “experimental aircraft association”.  To find out more about the museum go to http://www.airventuremuseum.org

And we all know Wisconsin is known for it’s cheese so while I was teaching one day Joe made a trip to check out some cheese at the Colonial Cheese House located in the historical town of Ormo. He met Jennifer Jordon, the proprietor, and learned about cheese making. You can check out their website at    http://omrocheesehouse.com.

Joe had cheese shipped home since there was no room in our luggage.  Well, all of you cheese heads are right….the cheese is excellent…especially the cheese curds.

There were two places in town that make their own chocolate and both places came highly recommended.  The first place has been making goodies since the late 1800s and was called the Oaks.  Their website is  https://oakscandy.com

And the day before we visited the other chocolate maker, Hughes’.    The store is in the basement of a house.  The basement is rather small, but oh so quaint.  Only about 4 customers could fit in at one time.   The sign in the front had my attention…..OYSTERS.  Why would they have oysters at a chocolate shop?

Unbeknownst to me they make a candy called “oysters”.  Of course we had to buy some.  I must admit they were so very tasty.  It was a vanilla cream or chocolate cream ball dipped in chocolate and covered with crushed peanuts pieces.  Excellent would be more like it.

I understand the line goes down the driveway certain times of year….like Easter.

I love their website name https://www.mailmechocolates.com

I can honestly tell you that I liked the chocolate from both places.

Next on our list was Ardy and Ed’s.  A delightful woman named “Sheila” who we met at a local store told us, “You have to go there.  They make their own root beer”.    So, off we went to Ardy and Ed’s.  And the root beer was really, really good.

As we drove around town looking for some of the recommended places we stopped to look at the crazy people who drove on the ice and fished on lake Winnebago.  Joe wanted to drive out onto the ice in our rental car and I said there was no way I was doing that.  The idea of falling through the ice scared the you know what out of me.

And since we could not get a flight out until the following day after the show at 4:15pm we decided to drive up and see Lambeau Field where for those of you who don’t know is the home of the Green Bay Packers football team.

All in all a fun trip:  teaching, sight seeing, and meeting some of the nicest people on earth, Wisconsinites.

The only bad thing about our visit…I gained a pound of the weight I just lost!!!!

I still have just a few more photos from the AQS Quiltweek Phoenix to share with you.

“Obsession” was made by Mary Bauer from Crestwood, Kentucky.  She won third place in the Traditional Wall Quilt category.

Kathy McNeil made “More Than A Memory”.  She took second place in the Innovative Wall Quilt category.

The more I looked at this quilt, the more interesting things I found….like the young couple kissing (thread work).

And the heart on the tree.

I just had to find the information in the show booklet to see what Kathy said about her quilt because the quilt was very intriguing.  Here is what she wrote, “Kathy dreamed about a tree whose memories spanned several hundred years and had seen lovers and pioneers come and go……”  You can find out more about Kathy at http://www.kathymcneilquilts.com/

“Savoring Twilight in Venice” was made by Patsy Kittredge from Sedona, Arizona.  She won third place in the Innovative Art Wall Quilts category.

“Fissures” was made by Debra Jeske from Lynnwood, Washington.  She won 2nd place in the Modern Wall Quilts category.

“An Unexpected Pleasure” was made by Nancy Arseneault from Tucson, Arizona.

Molly has been hard at work on her Fiesta Mexico pattern and shared another block with me.  I can hardly wait to see more of the blocks and how it all comes together.

Until next week……

I was lucky enough to meet Suzanne Hyland in one of my classes in Phoenix.  She offered to send me a copy of the book her husband wrote, “Help!  I Married a Quilter”.  Many of you who read this blog will be able to relate to this book.  It could be a fun gift for your spouse or significant other.  There are lots of funny parts to the book.  I smiled a lot while I was reading.  One selection I really enjoyed was Mark’s interpretation of the meaning of some block names.  He referenced that many blocks had a significance relating to the Underground Railroad.  For example:  One story I read years ago indicated that if a slave saw a log cabin quilt hanging, with a red square in the center, it was a place to get help.  Mark mentioned some of these meanings but then came up with his own meaning of the “Secret Society of Quilters”.  For example:  “Log Cabin:  This person will keep all of your quilting secrets from your husband”.  I really enjoyed this section of the book.  I also liked where Mark compared golf and quilting.  He said “…when golfers finish a round all they have is a score to either brag or complain about. Quilters who finish a project have a work of art that can be shared and admired for generations”.  The Glossary in the back of the book is also quit funny.  You can purchase this book at http://www.quilterstouch.com/shop/product/help-i-married-a-quilter/.  The book is $9.95.

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I promised more quilts form the AQS Show in Phoenix so here goes.

“Flower Baskets” was made by Betty Nyseth from Surprise, Arizona.  From a distance it looked like a nice, typical Log Cabin quilt.

But, up close this quilt was anything but typical.  It has some wonderful details.

“My Sedona Star” was made by Joyce Triezenberg from Grayling, MI.  It took third place in the Innovative Bed Quilt category.

“Keep It Simple” was made by Jodi Robinson from Enon Valley, PA.  It won Best Modern Quilt.

To find our more about Jodi you can visit her website http://jrdesigns.wordpress.com/

“Wandering ‘Round My World” was made by Beth Schilling from Columbus, OH.  Beth won the Best Innovative Quilt Award.

“Hurricane” was made by Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga from the Netherlands and she won the Best Wall Quilt Award.

If you want to find out more about the many shows presented by AQS visit their website www.americanquilter.com

For this blog I thought I would share some of the photographs we took while we were in Arizona…Sedona to be specific.  Joe and I had been in Sedona many years ago.  And honestly, it was just as beautiful as we remembered it.  Enjoy!

Here are some of my favorite photos Joe took during some of our many snow storms here in Pennsylvania.

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Molly Wiegand is working on my Fiesta Mexico pattern.  She shared two of her blocks with me.  They look fantastic.

Talk to you next week……..

I know I said in my last email that I would have more quilts to share with you from AQS QuiltWeek Phoenix but I decided to share some of my photographs from the botanical garden in this blog instead.

When asking people from the area, “What is the one thing we should do while we are here and have limited time?”  I think everyone gave us the same answer, “You must go to the botanical gardens and see the Chihuly glass exhibit”.  And are we glad we listened.  Below are some of the incredible gardens and also the glass.  It was impressive.

The lime green glass mixed in with the cactus….I loved it.

Love this close-up flower photo.

We saw this bird on the ground. And then in the next second she was

climbing into her nest in a really spiky cactus.   What a great hiding place.

Purple glass spikes mixed in the green cactus.

Lime green/yellow glass amongst the cactus.

I am not sure how long the exhibit is there but if you are close by you should definitely go see it.

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Lindwood Barclay is one of those “thriller” writers that keeps me in such suspense I don’t want to stop reading until I reach the last page.  Just when you think you know what is going on…..you are wrong.  The main character, Cal Weaver, decides to be a good Samaritan, has second thoughts, but does it anyway.  This leads him to search the mayor’s missing daughter.  The person he stopped to help.  If you like a good thriller pick up a Linwood Barclay book.

Until next week…..

In the next couple of blogs I’ll have lots of quilts to share from the show in Phoenix.  You can find out more about the AQS QuiltWeek shows by going to http://www.americanquilter.com

This first quilt was made by Kathi Carter from Vineyard, Utah.  Her design source was my “Japanese Garden” pattern.  She did an exquisite job and was rewarded with Best of Show for her hard work.  To find out more about Kathi go to http://quiltingbykathi.com

The next couple of photos are close-ups of Kathi’s quilt which she named “Isabelle” after her great-granddaughter.

I met Kathi at lunch one day.  She was so excited to win and I was just as excited for her.

The name of this quilt is “Flower Basket Medallion”.  It was made by Renee Caswell from Scottsdale, Arizona.  Her design source is from a pattern by Kim McLean.  Renee won second place in the Bed Quilts-Traditional category.

And the final quilt I want to share with you this week is “Abundance” made by Joyce Stewart and Ann Seely fron Utah.  This comes from a pattern designed by Susan Garman.

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On the flight to Phoenix I finished reading a very good book.

Sue Monk Kidd writes about two girls in Charleston, SC growing up during the early nineteenth century.  One, Sarah Grimke, is the daughter of a wealthy family.  The other, Hetty, is the daughter of a slave who works for the Grimke’s.  The book goes back and forth between the two girls stories, showing how they each lived and dreamed.  Hetty is given to Sarah for her 11th birthday to be her handmade.  Sarah is not in favor of having slaves.   Just as with Sue Monk Kidd’s previous books…..this one kept my attention from beginning to end.

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Chris took my Fiesta Mexico-Block Three workshop when I taught for her guild, Farmington Valley Quilter’s Guild, in Connecticut earlier this year.  Thanks for sharing Chris.  Your pillow looks great.

Talk to you next week after we dig out from all of  the snow!!!

I still have several more photographs that I took in Houston that I wanted to share with you.  So, here we go.

Patt Blair made Winter’s Veil.  She is from California.  She won first place in the Art-Painted Surface category.

Janet Stone from Overland Park, Kansas made “A Letter Bit of Baltimore”.  She won the Founders Award.  It is one of the big prizes.  I always love her quilts and this is no exception.

Susan Garman from Texas made “Twirly Balls and Pinwheels”.  Great quilt.

Jane Sassaman from Illinois made “Illinois Album”.  I have always loved Jane’s quilts.  She has not entered a quilt in a while as she has been designing some beautiful fabric.  I am so glad she took the time to make this quilt.  It was one of my favorites at the show.

Jane’s quilt secured one of the top prizes.  She won the Master Award for Innovative Artistry.

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Don’t Sherida (left) and Hope (right) look happy? They should be.  They did a fabulous job with their versions of my Ocean Sunrise workshop.  I love their results.  Thanks for sharing ladies.

I’m in Phoenix this week at the new AQS show.  I’ll report back when I get home.

I know everyone thinks their pets are the cutest but mine really are!  I could not resist showing this photo of my wonderful Sasha, who turns 15 in February.  I just washed some fabric for some kits that I need for the May Tahiti cruise.  I put the fabric on the floor until I finished some work on the computer.  When I turned around this is what I saw.  So if you are on the cruise and your fabric has a little dog hair on it you can blame Sasha!

She was only mildly irritated with me for disturbing her sleep!

By the way, it’s not too late to sign-up for the cruise to Tahiti and as cold as it’s been here…… warm weather sounds great right now.  To get information on the cruise visit www.quiltcruises.com

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I recently decided that I needed a new sewing machine and my machine of choice is Bernina.  I did some test driving and decided on the 750QE.  I’ve been using it for the past couple of weeks and am in love with it.  First, my dealer, Danner’s Bernina Shop in Hanover, is fabulous.  They are the nicest people.  They are opening a new, larger location right across the street from their old location.  I think the grand opening is in April.

Some of my favorite features….wide bed so I can get my larger quilts under the machine more easily.

I’ve been doing some machine quilting on some small pieces and the machine is so smooth.  Amazing.  I love it when I have something to get done and the machine works so well.  I am really happy with this machine.  The feet that I find I use a lot are my open darning foot for free motion quilting,

open embroidery foot for applique

my #10 edge-stitching foot to make stems, which I do a lot

and my 1/4″ patchwork foot.

The other accessory I found I liked a lot on my previous machine is the multiple spool holder.

So, I got one for my new machine too.  I often change threads when I am doing machine quilting and I like storing them on the holder until the project is complete in case I need them again….because I forgot an area!  It happens to me more than I would like to admit.

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OK, just so we are all on the same page…so to speak.  I am really behind the times on this book, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins.

Most of you have probably already read this or seen the movie, but I just had not gotten around to it.  So, finally, I had the time to read this first book in this series.  And I must tell you I really enjoyed it.  It is very well written and held my attention throughout.  I liked my husband’s description when he recommended it to me.  He said it’s a combination of Project Runway meets Survivor. In a post apocalyptic United States, a real life TV show takes place where the last person alive wins.  One male and one female contestant is selected from each district.  And of course you do not want your name to be drawn as you must fight for your life at the games that are televised throughout the realm.  Katniss, age 16,  has a younger sister, Prim.  Prim’s name is only in the drawing once where Katniss has her name in numerous times.  And Prim’s name is drawn.  Katniss immediately steps up and takes the place of her sister.  Katniss has learned a lot while hunting with her friend Gale to feed their families after her father passed away at a young age so she knows a lot about survival.  Great read.