Karen Kay Buckley

On Monday I was listening to all the weather reports and they were calling for a rather big snow storm to hit on Tuesday.  I was supposed to fly to Florida on Tuesday afternoon and kept thinking…..I will never make it based on the weather reports.  I checked the USAirways website and saw that there was a very, very early flight on Tuesday and I thought if I can change my flights maybe I can make it.  Well, the stars aligned and I was able to get my flight changed.  There was one seat open on the flight, and I got out just in time, as the storm was arriving.  The ladies from the Seaside Piecemakers Quilt Guild and I were all very happy because I made it!!!!  Via email I had been dealing with Pat and Roz.  They picked me up at the airport.  Pat knew that I was going to arrive around 1pm and would not have had time to  eat lunch so she had packed a nice lunch for me to eat while we drove about 45 minutes to our location.  I liked Pat and Roz as soon as I met them.  On the drive they said “Would you like to stop at a quilt shop?  It’s on the way.”  I think you know what I said.

We stopped at this fabulous quilt shop called The Quilt Place.  http://www.thequiltplace.com

The shop was bright and cheerie and had lots and lots of beautiful quilts displayed.  And lots and lots and lots of fabric.

It was a real pleasure talking with the owner of the shop, Teresa.  She recently started a quilting retreat in her area and it sounded really wonderful.  There is more information about it on her website listed above.  At the next retreat they are making the bargello style quilt in the photo below.

Did I mention…lots and lots and lots of fabric.

Roz picked me up on Wednesday morning for the guild meeting and lecture.  Prior to the meeting an old student, and I don’t mean old in age I mean she took classes from me many, many years ago.  Peggy Kelly brought her project she made in a beginners quilting class she took from me.  Man…did this bring back memories.  Thanks for bringing back lots of good memories for me Peggy.

The Seaside Piecemakers Quilt Guild http://www.seasidepiecemakers.com is very large.  They currently have 300 members and 50+ on a waiting list to join.  (Just so you know, years ago when I heard about waiting lists in guilds I did not understand, there are fire codes that are strictly enforced in some areas and the code only allows so many people in the room at one one.  It is not because they don’t want you in their guild because they really do.)  It was a very lovely guild.  If I lived in the area I would certainly get on the waiting list.  They are very active and very pleasant.  They laughed a lot and brought joy to their members while they handled the business part of the meeting.  Thanks ladies for making feel so welcome.  I hope our paths cross again.

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BOOK REVIEWS

I read this while on R&R at the Outer Banks a couple of weeks ago.  “The School of Essential Ingredients” by Erica Bauermeister was a really nice beach read.  The book follows the lives of eight students who meet once a month at Lillian’s Restaurant for a cooking class.  Tom is a widower who lost his wife to breast cancer and his wife loved to cook.  Claire is a young mother who has the demands of raising her children and taking care of her home.  Antonio is a kitchen designer.  The characters are brought together by food and companionship.  This was a nice, quick, enjoyable read.  Thanks to the student in class who recommended this book.

During our recent trips to Connecticut Joe and I listened to John Grishams new book “Sycamore Row”. I thought the book was excellent.  I have read just about, if not every book, John Grisham has written.  I think he is a fantastic writer.  I have always thought his first book, “A Time To Kill”, was his best book and I was so happy to find “Sycamore Row” is a sequel to his first book so several of the characters have returned.  Since the main character, Jake Brigance, is an attorney I kept thinking Joe would be making some comments on the legal issues and of course he did.  But on this occasion Joe would stop the audio, make a comment, turn it back on and immediately what Joe said was what happened.  It was kind of funny.

Jake gets involved with a very interesting trial pertaining to a hand written will made by Seth Hubbard.  Seth wrote the will right before he hung himself.  I really like how the book developed and how it all came together in the end.  Thank you John Grisham for sharing your gift as a writer.  The book gets two thumbs up from me.

We just returned from a great trip to Connecticut.  I was lucky to work with the Connecticut Piecemaker Quilt Guild for the first part of my trip.  My guild contact, Linda, was wonderful and even made made me homemade soup! She and all the guild members were so nice.  To find out more about this guild visit their website http://ctpiecemakers.org

The meeting was very well attended.

While I was hard at work teaching a workshop on Tuesday the ladies from the guild told Joe he should visit the PEZ Factory/Museum.  So, here are some of the photos Joe took. He said the colors and the thousands of Pez heads was phenomenal.

They ship tens of thousands of PEZ candies every day from their U.S. Headquarters in Orange, CT.

The visitor center has thousands of PEZ dispensers and notes you are not famous until you have your own PEZ Head.

From there we drove to Simsbury, Connecticut and I worked with the Farmington Valley Quilters.  I thought this was the second time I worked with this guild and then I came to find out it was actually the third time I worked with this guild.  Time flies.  The last time I worked with them was eight years ago.  And I was happy to be back.  It is such a beautiful area and has some really nice quilters.  To find out more about this guild visit their site at http://www.fvqi.org

Here are some of the ladies hard at work during the workshop on Thursday.

While I was teaching Joe went on another journey.  He went to the local quilt shop, Sew Inspired.  http://www.sewinspiredquilts.com

I do not believe he went without me…… He met Sandy who with her partner Bev have been at the Simsbury location for eight years.

According to Joe they have an awesome fabric collection, fantastic studio and class room.

If you are near Hartford CT a trip to Sew Inspired in Simsbury is a must.

And of course you’ll need to stop by the oldest tree in Connecticut, called the Pinchot Sycamore named for Gilford Pinchot, a resident of Simsbury, an early conservationist who later became the governor of Pennsylvania. The tree is over 104 feet tall and its is more than 28 feet round!! A trip with Joe is always a history lesson and a journey down the road less traveled.

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While at the Outer Banks I read Lisa Gardner’s new book, “Touch and Go”.  Good book.  Justin and Libby Denbe have the perfect life living in a fabulous home in Boston.  Justin has his own company and is a contractor for very large, million dollar, jobs.  Libby is a stay at home mom and creates jewelry.  The family is kidnapped and taken to a vacant prison that Justin built in New Hampshire.  The local police and FBI cannot figure it out based on their normal investigative process because the kidnappers left all of their jewelry, phones, etc. on the kitchen counter and there is no ransom demand.   But as the investigation mounts there is lots to find out about.  Kept my interest all the way through.

I spent a much needed week of R&R at the Outer Banks with Joe and the girls (that would be my dogs Sasha and Tillie).  Renting a house for a week and reading, sewing, walking on the beach…ahhhh!  My way to relax.  Here are a couple of photos from the Outer Banks in North Carolina.

This is my oldest girl, Sasha.  She will be 15 in February.  Oh, how I wish she could live forever.

And our other girl, Tillie, or as many know her Sillie Tillie.  With the sand on her nose you might see how she got that nickname.  She is 13 1/2 years old.  Just look at those eyes.

If you ever get a chance to visit the Outer Banks just do it.  You will never regret it.

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On the ride down and back we listened to Michael Connelly’s new book “The Gods of Guilt”.

For those of you who are already Michael Connelly fans, as I am, you will not be disappointed.  This is one of the Lincoln Lawyer novels so Mickey Haller is back in the court room.  Of course riding in the car beside a lawyer…there were some criticisms from the peanut gallery on the legal issues and things that happened in the court room but honestly the book was good.  It did keep my interest.  Micky ends up representing someone who is accused of murdering a previous client.  This previous client was a prostitute.  As Mikey and his team investigate they come across some interesting things which lead them to more questions concerning how the investigations where handled by the police and DEA.  Good read.

I think this is the last of the Japanese quilts I photographed.  This one is called “Bless My Sweet Home” and was made by Tomoko Endo.  This quilt won first place in the “Handmade” category.

The attention to detail on the Japanese quilts is always impressive.  Look at all the hand embroidery along the edges of the scallops.

Lisa Calle from Pottstown, Pennsylvania made “Swan’s Song”.  Lisa won first place in the “Merit Quilting, Machine” category.  You can find out more about Lisa at http://lisacalle.wordpress.com

Lisa’s quilting is impressive.  It is no wonder she won first place.

“Escape” was made by Betty Hahn from Sun City, Arizona.  Betty won a Judge’s Choice ribbon.  To find out more about Betty visit http://bettyhahnfiberart.blogspot.com

“Chip on and Old Log” was made by Barbara McKie from Connecticut.  I am a big fan of Barbara’s quilts.  They always make me smile.  To find out more about Barbara visit her site at http://mckieart.com

“Sunlight in the Forest” was made by Pat Durbin from California.  Pat won second place in the “Art-Naturescapes” category.  Visit Pat’s website to find out more about her quilts http://www.patdurbin.com

Terri Stegmiller made “A Bright Sun-Shiny Day”.  Terri is from North Dakota and she won an honorable mention in the “Art-Painted Surface” category.

And the final quilt for this blog was made by Helen Godden from Australia.  The name of her quilt is “Mark’s Magnificent Marlin, Murphy”.  For more information on Helen visit her site http://www.helengodden.com

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BOOK REVIEW

I have enjoyed watching the TV show Castle for the past several years.  Sometimes the difference between a movie/TV show and book are big.  But, this book followed the idea of the TV show and I liked it.  I believe this is the 4th in the series with the characters Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook.  The book starts with Nikki finding a dead body stuffed inside a suitcase in Manhattan.  Nikki finds something on the body that connects to her mothers murder which occurred ten years before.  During the investigation Nikki and Rook find out a lot about Nikki’s mother and her murder.  As with the TV show, Castle/Rook has some good one-liners that will make you smile.

Have a very Happy New Year!

The first three quilts were part of a special exhibit. Unfortunately I did not remember to take a photo of the sign that listed the name of the exhibits.  Sorry.

This first one was made by Melinda Bula from California.  I just love Melinda’s quilts and this is no exception.  The name of the quilt is “Camellia”.  You can find out more about Melinda at http://www.melindabula.com

“Visit to a Coneflower” was made by Susan Jackan from Wisconsin.

“Tiger” was made by Jeannie Moore from California.  You can find out more about Jeannie at http://jeanniemooresblog.blogspot.com

It looks like Jeannie has a DVD on her techniques!  Check it out on her website.

This next quilt was made by one of my student’s, Lisa Patterson. This is from my Fiesta Mexico class and pattern.  It is block three with a souped-up border design.  Looks fabulous.

“Forever In My Heart” was made by Lahala Phelps from Washington.  I read a little about this quilt and I understand she made it in memory of her mother who passed away from heart disease.  Lahala won one of the top prizes….Master Award for Traditional Artistry.

“A Place to Long For” was made by Aiko Yokoyama from Japan.  She won second place in the “Handmade” category.

Ayako Kawakami from Japan made “Four Seasons for Kirara”.  She won third place in the “Handmade” category.

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I got this great email from Joan Dupuis-Neal.  She took some classes from me when I taught in Canada.  She finished the project from the “Around the Garden” pattern.  I LOVE IT.  Great color choices and the workmanship looks amazing.  Thanks so much for allowing me to share your photos Joan.  You should be very pleased with your results.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT………

As I mentioned in the previous blog I really liked the exhibit of Japanese quilts at the International Quilt Association Show in Houston.  Here are some more of my favorites.  I am always intrigued with their fabric choices…quiet but good contrast. Love the use of the plaids and I really like the open designs.  Just a reminder….the black area is the curtain hanging behind the quilts.

This quilt was made by Kazuko Nakasha.  The quilt is called “Walking Road”.

The next two quilts were made by Reiki Kato.  The name of this quilt is “En”.

This quilt is called “Hand In Hand”.

“Flower Basket” was made by Yashiko Sekine.

“Angella” was made by Tashiko Matsuo.

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Two of my best quilting buddies are holding a retreat in Michigan.  My friends, Sue Nickels and Pat Holly (sister’s, for those of you who don’t know them), are holding their first ever retreat in Elk Rapids Michigan.  It is called “Come Quilt With Me”.  The theme this year is “Quilting the Quilt”.  For more information go to Sue’s website www.Sue-Nickels.com 

Sue and Pat together and individually have won many of the most prestigious quilting awards: including Best of Show at the AQS Show in Paducah.  They are best known for their phenomenal machine quilting and exquisite machine applique.  I know you would enjoy their retreat and I base this on their personalities, their teaching ability and on my first hand knowledge.

Check it out.

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BOOK REVIEW

On my recent flight back from Chicago I finished reading “The Husband’s Secret” by Liane Moriarty.

This book definitely kept my interest.   I really did not know where it was going but the author tied everything together in the end.  It follows the lives of a couple of families.  The book is based in Australia.  Cecelia is in the attic trying to find something in some old paperwork and finds a envelope from her husband.  On the outside of the envelope there is a note that it should not be opened until her husband’s death.  Cecelia’s husband travels a lot with his job.  While he is out of town on a business trip Cecelia talks to him on the phone and tells him she has found the letter, making light of it. Her husband asks her to please not read the letter.  It was written a long time ago.  She told him she left it where it was but actually she had it in the study.  She abides by his wishes of not opening the letter until he returns home.  She hears her husband late at night rummaging in the attic for the letter.  She decides to read it while he is in the attic.  Oh, how your live can change in a matter of minutes.

If you’ve been reading the blog you know I’ve been sharing quilts from the International Quilt Festival held in Houston in November.  There were so many quilts that it is impossible to show all of them to you…..but, I’m going to keep sharing until I run out of photos!!!

I have several photographs from a special exhibit of Japanese made quilts.  It was another incredible exhibit.  Here are some of my favorites.

“Blue Tone” was made by Aki Sakai from Tokyo, Japan.  The black area that you see on the quilt is just the black curtain showing through the openings in the quilt.  Very cool.

The next three photos are close-ups from the same quilt.

“Irish Crochet Lace” was made by Chieko Shiraishi.

Checkout this close-up shot.  The attention to detail on all of the Japanese quilts was very impressive.

“Flower Basket” was made by Reiko Kato.

And the last quilt for this blog is ‘Sunbonnet Sue” made by Masae Hara.

I think I might have a couple more quilts from this exhibit to share with you in the next blog.  See you next week…..

I have been attending Quilt Festival in Houston for 30 plus years.  Caryl’s exhibit has to be one of the most incredible exhibits I have ever seen at any show.  Below are some of the 30 quilts Caryl had on display.  The exhibit was called “30 Quilts for 30 Years”.  If you ever get a chance to see this exhibit do so.  If I read the information correctly the exhibit will travel for the next year.  You can find out more about Caryl on her website http://www.bryerpatch.com.

If I had to pick one of the most influential art quilters, Caryl would rate at the top for sure.

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BOOK REVIEW

I recently listened to David Baldacci’s new book called “The Forgotten”.  It brought back one of his reoccurring characters, Puller, a criminal investigator for the U.S. Army.  Puller finds out that his Aunt, of whom he had fond childhood memories, is dead.  Puller’s father, retired General “Fighting” John Puller,  shows him a letter that he received from his sister right before she died.  Puller is on leave from his military job due to some injuries so he heads to Florida to see what he can find out about his Aunt’s death.  As he investigates he finds much more than he bargained for.

See you next week…….

This week my travels took me to Shelby, North Carolina to visit the Foothills Quilters Guild  http://www.foothillsquiltersguild.org/FQG_NC/index.html  

The guild asked me to teach my Ocean Sunrise workshop.  Here are some of the blocks that were finished at the end of the day.  I thought it was a very impressive amount of finished blocks.  Good job ladies.

Here are the sewers.  Sally Norman was my guild contact and she was great to work with.  It was a very fun day.

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Here are some more of my favorite quilts from Quilt Festival in Houston.

Joanne Baeth from Oregon made “Feathers and Farms”.  She won 1st place in the Art-Pictorial category.  http://www.joannebaethquilts.com/

You know there are some quilts that just make you smile.  “Does He Make My Butt Look Big?” was one of those quilts for me.  It was made by Kristen Bryson from Houston, TX.

In the Traditional Pieced category Karen Sievert from North Carolina won a third place ribbon for “A Truly Feathered Star”.

http://www.theniftyneedle.com

“Crimson Radiance” was made by Charlotte Mcranie and Shannon Baker-Couvillion from North Carolina.

“Red Licorice” was made by Linda McGibbon from Michigan.

Georgann Wrinkle made “Little Lily”.  Georgann is from Texas.

Liz Jones from the U.K. made “A Girl’s Best Friend”.

Here is a close-up of some of her beautiful embroidery work.

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I received a wonderful email from Jill Beban from Australia.  She had my Japanese Garden pattern finished.  Great job Jill.

This week I am traveling to Virginia.  Talk to you next week.

As mentioned in the previous blog, I took lots and lots of photos in Houston at Quilt Festival.  Here are some more of my favorites.

Enid Gjelten Weichselbaum from Minnesota won third place in the Art-Abstract category for “Spider Lilies”.

Carol Morrissey from Texas won first place in the Art-Abstract category for “Roses in the Window”.  You know how attracted I am to circles!

http://www.ocaroldesigns.com/home.aspx

Jan Reed won second place in the Art-Pictorial category f0r “Ancient Echoes”.  Jan is from California.

Susan Fletcher King from Texas made “Moon Drunk”.  http://www.susanfletcherking.com/514883/recent-work

Heather Pregger won first place in Large Art-Abstract for “Tuning Fork #11”.   http://www.heatherquiltz.com

Paula Nadelstern from New York had a new quilt in the show called “Kaleidoscopic XXXVII-Pseudo-Symmetry”.   http://www.paulanadelstern.com

David Taylor from Colorado won a Judge’s Choice award for “Did You Wash Your Back?”  I have never seen a David Taylor quilt that I did not love.   http://www.davidtaylorquilts.com

And David Taylor made “Cock of the Walk” and won a third place in the Art-Pictorial category.

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My journeys this week took me to New Martinsville, West Virginia.  I worked with the Bobbins by the River guild.  My contact, Jeanne, was great to work with.  In addition to her being very organized in finding a great classroom location and finding a really nice B&B in town for me to stay, she was great in the kitchen.  She made me some of the best egg salad I have ever had.  And boy can she bake some good cookies?  Another one of the ladies in the guild made the cookies in the picture below.  I am always impressed with how talented quilters are outside of their quilting.  What a beautiful box of cookies.  And they tasted good too!

After my class on Monday, Joe and I drove across the Ohio river and then a little distance along the river in Ohio.  As it was getting dark we started to think….there is not another bridge to cross the river for quite some distance so should we keep driving or turn around.  And like magic, a sign appears for the Sisterville Ferry.  So, we drove the car onto the ferry and took the trip across the river.   This brought back childhood memories.  We used to take the ferry across the river in Millersburg, PA.

All in all,  a good trip to New Martinsville and the surrounding area.

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During the past year, I have had a lot of people recommend the book “Cutting for Stone”.  I finally got to read it. Again, I say THANKS to those of you who gave me another good book recommendation.  It is a family saga.  Twin brothers, Marion and Shiva Stone, are born to an Indian nun and a British doctor at a mission hospital in Africa.  Their mother dies during child birth and their father takes off leaving them at the mission hospital.  The story follows Marion’s journey which was very captivating.

See you next week…….