Karen Kay Buckley

I just returned from a wonderful trip to Davison, Michigan.  I was in and out pretty quickly and never took one photograph.  However, I must mention this  guild in my blog because everyone was so nice and treated me so wonderfully.  Lisa Burmann was my guild contact and had everything very well organized.  Lisa showed me one of the quilts she recently completed on her longarm and it was really nice.  You can find out more about Lisa’s longarm business at www.burmanstudios.com  And my other guild contact was Sharon Muston who picked me up at the airport and took me back to the airport.  Sharon and I really got to know each other because we spent about 5 hours in the car together all total.  I am always so grateful for the guild members who so willingly give their time for their guild.  So, thanks to Sharon and Lisa for giving so much of your time.  It is greatly appreciated by me and I know your guild members appreciate you also.  To find out more about the Evening Star Quilters in Davison, Michigan visit their site at http://eveningstarquilters.blogspot.com/

___________________________________________________________________________

BOOK REVIEW

I honestly do not remember where this book suggestion came from but it was another good one, “The Art of Mending” by Elizabeth Berg.  And guess what?  The main character is a quilter!  Well, that made the book far more interesting.  The story focuses on a family who finds some secrets that have shaped the personalities of the three siblings and could now tear the family apart.  The story starts as the family is ready to get together for a family reunion.  You’ll enjoy reading about the tribulations the family faces.

_____________________________________________________________________________

My quilt guild, The Letort Quilters from Carlisle, PA, had its show this weekend.  I thought you might enjoy seeing a couple of my guild members’ quilts.

Jackie Callis made this nice monochromatic quilt called “Valentine Pinwheels”.

“Italian Tiles” was made by Lorna Beacher and quilted by Laurel Cook.

This stunning quilt below was made by my assistant, Beth Stoneberger.  It comes from the pattern “Elegance by Quilt Moments” and it was quilted by Laurel Cook.

This soft pastel quilt, “Sun Room Sampler” was pieced by Kathy Irwin and quilted by Laurel Cook.  (Notice a theme going on here?  I think our guild members like Laurel’s quilting!)  The pattern is by Lori Smith.

“Dozens of Roses” was pieced by Dessie Kough and quilted by non other than…you guessed it…Laurel Cook.

Lee Adkins made “Ewe-Niquely Baltimore” using wool.

My friend Lytle Markham made “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” using paper piecing and machine applique.  Lytle completed this after taking a class from me…..well, lets just say it was a while ago.  Love your finished quilt Lytle.  The quilting was done by Laurel Cook.

“Emma Jean’s Quilt” was pieced by Sue Rynex and quilted by Debbie Allen.

Laurel Cook made “Marry-Go-Round” using 1930’s reproduction prints.

Cathy Irwin pieced and Laural Cook quilted “Star Medallion”.  Kathy worked from the pattern “Reminisce: A Medallion Sampler Quilt” by Lori Smith.

Jazmyne Markham, our youngest member, put these blocks together after working on a project our guild calls the “pizza box challenge”. Jazmyne pieced this at age 14.  Guild members make the same block and place them inside the pizza box which is passed around to different members.  It was quilted by Laurel Cook.  Nice job Jazmyne.  The name of the quilt is “My Very Own Quilt”.

This cute little quilt called “Witchy Poo” was made by Tammy Long.  Tammy worked from a pattern from Crazy Old Ladies called “Which Witch”.

“Chubby Chicks” was pieced by Janet Nelson and quilted by Lois Hatleberg.  The blocks came from a pattern by Black Mountain Quilts.  Janet quilts with a group of ladies and several different quilters in her group made blocks and then Janet assembled the quilt.

“Stripes” was made by Agnes Tillery and was inspired by a Kaffe Fasset pattern.

“Papercut Applique in Batiks” was very impressive.  Jackie Callis worked on this over the course of ten years.  Each block and the border were hand appliqued using reverse applique.  The pattern came from one of Elly Sienkiewicz’s books called “Papercuts and Plenty”.

Sue Rynex put this top together and it was quilted by Aby Dolinger.  The name of the quilt is “Home Sweet Home”.  It is a pattern from Blackbird Designs.

Rhoda Collins designed and appliqued “Butterflies Delight”.  I really liked this small wall quilt.  It was quilted by Diana Phillips.

I hope you enjoyed just a small portion of the Letort Quilters show.  You can find out more about the guild at http://www.letortquilters.com/

This week I am off to San Antonio, Texas.  Talk to you later.

My recent trip was to the Colorado Quilting Council.  They have over 1,100 members and they are a very well organized and active guild.  Cyndi was my guild contact.  I’ve said it before but it bears repeating…having a well organized guild contact person makes my job that much easier.  Upon my arrival Cyndi had some menus for me to peruse.  Several sounded like they would be good but I picked the Boulder Dushanbe Tearoom and boy was that a great choice.  The food was excellent and so were the surroundings.  The exterior of the restaurant was amazingly beautiful.

I took this photo of the designs along the roof line.

I took the next couple of photos of the ceiling inside the restaurant.

When I first looked up at the ceiling I was speechless.  It took my breath away.  The designs are incredible.  We were lucky to have great weather and were able to sit outside to eat.  The gardens were impressive.

If you are ever lucky enough to be in Boulder, Colorado you need to make plans to visit the fabulous shops on Pearl Street and the Boulder Dushanbe Tearoom.

There were close to 200 attendees for the lecture on Saturday.  One of the best things for me about the meeting was the show-and-tell at the end.  A student of mine, Judy, brought some of the quilts she had made as a result of classes she took from me.  Judy used to live in Mechanicsburg, PA but now lives in Breckenridge, Colorado.  Judy started by taking the Beginners Quilting classes  in the mid 1990’s. (Photo by Pat Larson)

Then went on to take the Intermediate classes and made this quilt top. (Photo by Pat Larson)

Next Judy took the Beyond Basics classes.  In this series of classes the students had to draft their own blocks and then put them together.  It was one of my favorite classes to teach.  I think you can appreciate the incredible job Judy did drafting and piecing her quilt.   (Photo by guild photographer, Dawn Mills)

In addition to a great job on the drafting she heavily hand quilted it.  Great job. (Photo by guild photographer, Dawn Mills.)

Then Judy took my Baltimore Album classes where we met once a month for a year.  Judy had a portion of her top to share.  She’s still working on her borders.  I am so glad to see the top this far because I remembered seeing Judy’s individual blocks and it would have been a shame for them to never be placed into a quilt.  If my coming to town is what it took for her to finally get her blocks together then I am really glad I came to town.

Seeing all of Judy’s quilts was a wonderful trip down memory lane.  I have not taught any of those classes for awhile.  I am so thrilled that Judy shared her quilts.  It gives me goose bumps.

After the Saturday lecture we were going to do some outside activities but the weather did not cooperate.  So, we were forced to visit some quilt shops in the area!  It was a small sacrifice, believe me.  The first shop we visited was “The Quilter’s Studio” in Longmont.  They have a great website http://www.thequiltersstudio.com/  The shop has a really nice charm about it and the owners and employees where eager to help and answer questions.  The atmosphere in the store was wonderful.

The displays in the shop were inviting.

This quilt is an original design by the shop owners.  If you are interested in the pattern contact the shop.

Then we traveled to “The Quilt Store” in Broomfield, CO.  And here we found another fantastic quilt shop.  www.thequiltstore.net

And there were more quilt shops but we ran out of time.  The moral of this story….if you are in the Denver area plan a lot of time to see all the great quilt shops.  It will be worth it.  And the shops on Pearl Street in Boulder are very much worth the stop.

On Sunday my workshop was held at another nice shop called the Presser Foot in Longmont.  http://www.thepresserfoot.com/  Someone at the store had gone to a lot of trouble to do this sign.  How nice is that?

This is ….. I think…….. my 4th trip to Colorado and I still feel the same as I did the first time.  I could easily live in Colorado.  It is exercise and dog friendly, and there is so much to see and do.  While I was there we also went to two exhibits but no photos were allowed.  There was so much to do and so little time.  My husband did remind me however……it is pretty far from the beach!  (He knows how much I love the beach.)

My next journey will take me to Michigan.  Talk to you later.

I was looking for a gift for someone who is a sewer.  I started checking on Google and came across this awesome wreath.  I did in fact order one for my friend as a thank you gift.  I just love these wreaths.  And Holly was very helpful when I asked if she could ship directly to my friend since the site did not offer that option during the ordering process.  If you like the wreath below check out this site http://www.etsy.com/shop/BlessedBurlap 

______________________________________________________________________________________________

My Great Uncle Dick (Richard Sheesley) will be turning 96, that’s right 96, in a few weeks. He was the youngest of eight children.

Here is a photo from 1918 of the family making hay on their farm outside of Halifax, PA. Uncle Dick is on the far left.

Here is a photo of Uncle Dick at age three  in 1919.  What a great photo.

Joe decided to take Uncle Dick to an afternoon baseball game in Washington to see the Nationals and the San Diego Padres. Uncle Dick loves baseball, (especially the Nationals and the Phillies), but had never been to a professional baseball game.  Joe got seats behind home plate.

But Joe had a big surprise for Uncle Dick. Uncle Dick would be honored and was taken onto the playing field.  The Washington Nationals honor veterans at each game.  Uncle Dick is a WWII veteran of D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge.  He was a prisoner of  war from 1944 to 1945.  The photo below is Uncle Dick with the United States Navy men and women of the year 2012.

As the announcer began reading a biography of Uncle Dick, he walked out on the field to the pitcher’s mound, tipped his hat and the crowd gave him a standing ovation.

This photo and the next photo were taken by Brad Mills Photography and you can check out his fantastic photos at www.dbradmills.com

Then Stephen Strasburg, one the greatest pitchers today, walked out shook hands with him and they had a little chat.

Joe and Uncle Dick were asked to come into the stadium building because there was someone who wanted to meet them, along with other veterans.   They were introduced to the Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts.

Uncle Dick was interviewed by a Washington television station and the last question was, “Who is the greatest person you have known?”  He answered, “My wife, Mary Ellen, who took care of me for 69 years and now she is not doing so well.  I have to stay strong so I’ll take care of her the rest of my life.”  Uncle Dick and Aunt Mary Ellen will celebrate their 70th anniversary in June.

Uncle Dick told us that Tuesday May 15, 2012 was a perfect day……. probably the best day of his life.

I’ve listened to and read several good books recently and thought I’d share them with you.  The first one I listened to was “Stay Close” by Harlan Coben. If you read my blog you know that Harlan Coben is one of my favorite authors.  This is another one of his mystery/thriller books which I like the best.  The three main characters, Meg, a suburban mom with 2 children, great husband and the white picket fence house; Ray, her high school boyfriend who has had some difficult years and even though he was a talented photographer he is now working for a fake paparazzo company and Jack, the detective who cannot let go of a cold case.  Each person has secrets and as the book evolves the secrets creep out.  There were some good twists in this book.  I liked it a lot.

___________________________________________________________________________

A friend of mine, Laura, recommended a book to me, “Whistin’ Dixie in a Nor’Easter” by Lisa Patton.  Thank you Laura.  I really liked this book.  It was light reading.  This would be a great beach read.  The main character, Leelee Satterfield has two young daughters, is happily married and living in the south where Leelee has lived her entire life.  Her husband has this wild idea that he would like to own and operate a B&B.  He finds a B&B in Vermont and Leelee agrees to move.  After living in the south her entire life this is a very big adjustment.  Leelee leaves behind her 3 best friends and finds herself working long and hard to make a go of the B&B.  I liked this book so much and was so invested in the characters that I purchased her next book.

__________________________________________________________________________

This past week I was lucky enough to be invited as the guest artist/speaker for the annual show held at Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio.  My entire experience there, from beginning to end, was wonderful.  Jeffery and Rebecca picked me up at the airport.  Two nicer people you will never meet.  The drive from Fort Wayne to Archbold was one large, beautiful farm after another.  The fields are all plowed and the surrounding area is so green.

My first evening Linda, who owns the quilt shop in Sauder Village, came to pick me up and take me to see the quilts.  There were 400 quilts on display.  The show had a great variety..from traditional to contemporary.  And there were a lot of large quilts.  Here are just a couple of my favorites.

Diana Trost made this fabulous quilt.  The applique and quilting were phenomenal.

This cute quilt was made by Kathy Vermillion.  The name of the quilt is “Happy Hauntings”.

This very nice traditional quilt was made by Dorothy Jones.  The name of the quilt is “Churn Dash”.

Another quilt made by Diana Trost called “Sue in Pink” was really well made and just a sweet quilt.

This eye-catching bargello style quilt called “Diamonds Jubilee” was made by Rita Trumball.  Love the black and white combination.

Talk about an eye-catching quilt.  “Grandmother’s Flower Garden” was made by Joan Reber.  This is a very impressive quilt.

I loved the border treatment.

Ruth Royer made this wonderful scrap quilt called “With A Little Help From My Friends”.  I understand Ruth’s friends gave her some fabrics to offer more variety in her quilt.

Sue Gruber made “Sunset Reflections”.  This was a very nice pictorial quilt.

Every winner at this show receives a commemorative plate.  This year the plate had one of my block designs from the “Japanese Garden” pattern on it.  How cool is that?  The story behind the plate is that in Sauder Village they have a potter and each year he makes plates to be given to each winner. Each year the plates have a different design.  Great idea.

So, what is Sauder Village?  In 1976 Erie Sauder opened Sauder Village.  His vision was to educate children and families about the hard work and determination of their pioneer ancestors.  On the grounds there are around 35 different buildings.  Many of the building have a person inside, dressed in pioneer attire, talking about what is in their building.  For example, I stopped in the glass works building and the herb shop.  I also stopped in the basket shop to see how they made their baskets and the potters shop.

There is also a working farm on the location which was one of my favorite stops.  Check out the baby pigs.  So cute.  (In case you wonder about the bright light in the background.  It is a space heater.)

I loved the chickens.  They are beautiful.

And the sheep.

Here are some photos of the ladies hard at work in one of my four workshops.

And here are my students from the Ocean Sunrise workshop with all of their blocks on the wall behind them.  This group had the most finished blocks of any previous Ocean Sunrise workshop.  There were some real overachievers in this workshop.  My kind of people. This was a very talented group of ladies.

One day in class I had a student who had taken the Garden Medley workshop with me a while ago.  She brought her finished quilt to share.  I think her name is Betty.  I hope I got that right.

And then two ladies from the Maple Leaf Quilters Guild from Goshen, Ohio brought their raffle quilt top to share.  They used my “Japanese Garden Quilt” pattern.  It took my breath away.  I love it.

I not only loved the quilt but was so excited when I saw what they used for their stems.  I used soutache trim which is becoming difficult to find.  These ladies used rick-rack and hand couched it on for their stems.  Great idea.  I loved it.

I think from all the photos in this blog you can tell that I had a fabulous time in Archbold.  I owe a great big thank you to Linda Rufenacht from the quilt shop at Sauder Village, Threads of Tradition Quilt Shop.  To find out more about the shop and see photos of the shop go to http://www.saudervillage.org/Shopping/quiltshop.asp  The shop is really, really nice.  If you are ever in the area plan to spend a good part of the day going to the shop and then going through the village.  You won’t regret it.

I’m off to Maryland tomorrow.  Talk to you when I return.

Before the seminar started I had a free morning.  Many years ago Joe and I had been to the Monterey Aquarium and I remembered how incredible it was so I decided to spend my free time at the aquarium.  It was better than I remembered.  If you are ever in the Monterey area this is a stop you don’t want to miss.

Joe said my photos were just like what he sees when diving in the kelp beds off the Monterey Coast.  But, I did not have to get wet to see mine!

This leopard shark does not look too big, but I still would not want to pet him.

The prawns made me hungry for lunch!

This is the first time I have seen live sand dollars.  I’ve found their shells on the beach at the Outer Banks many times.  But never before had I seen them live.

Tube annemonies and red star fish

Hard coral, blue tangs, anthias, and pennant butterfly fish.

Brittle Star below.

Oh, these penguins were so darn cute.

The jelly fish exhibit was one of my favorite exhibits.

And the sea horse exhibit was another phenomenal exhibit.  The large object in the center of the photo below is not seaweed.  It is a sea horse.  Boy does he have good camouflage.

What a great time at the aquarium.  I loved every minute of it.

This week I am off to Ohio.  I’ll fill you in when I get back.

Suzanne Cox, one of the seminar organizers for the Empty Spools seminar, offers a wonderful tour on 17 mile drive to some of the newbies in the group, of which I was one.  So, I took advantage of Suzanne’s generous offer.  It’s much better to view it as a passenger and Suzanne had the scoop on the good stuff like ……where Brad Pitt’s house is located in Carmel, (bummer that he was not home) and where Clint Eastwood lived, etc.  We were lucky to have a sunny afternoon for our drive along the coast.  In the photo below, I know they are hard to see, but there are seals all over the lower portion of the rocks.  I could hear them talking as I took the photo.

The next two shots are on the Pebble Beach golf course.  Nice place to golf if you can afford it.  I was told it costs about $500 to stay at the hotel per night and maybe $1,000 for a round of golf. I don’t know that for a fact…just rumor.

I understand this Frank Lloyd Wright design house is for sale.  I’m pretty sure I could not afford it.  I think I’d be short many millions of dollars.

As is clear from the photos, the drive was one fabulous view after another.  I am so thankful Suzanne offered to drive and that we had such great weather.

We completed classes on Friday at lunch time.  Since I had all afternoon to play it seemed like a good time to visit the local quilt shop in Pacific Grove, Back Porch Fabrics.  I know different people judge a quilt shop on many things but my main things are service and appearance.  From the moment I walked into the shop I was welcomed and the shop had a glow and energy about it that was captivating.  And on top of that the owner, Gail Abeloe, was just an absolutely wonderful and bubbly person.  You can find out more about the shop at www.backporchfabrics.com.  Below are photos from the shop.  I loved the high ceilings and the displays were very eye-catching.

Next week I have some photos to share from the Monterey Aquarium.  Now that place is just full of inspiration.

On my way to the Empty Spools seminar I had to change planes in San Francisco.  Going from one terminal to the next I found this wonderful exhibit of antique sewing machines and old tools used for sewing. Check out this beauty.

Check out this exhibit of old scissors, threads and holders.  I loved the holders.  Birds seem to be a popular choice.

I loved seeing all of the old sewing machines.

And look at this amazing antique chatelaine.

OK, the planes were all on time and an exhibit of sewing items at the airport……..I’m off to a good start.

The Empty Spools Seminar in Asilomar, California was an incredibly wonderful experience. During my travels over the past many years other quilting teachers have told me this is one of the very best venues.  Every single thing I was told was true but it was even better in person.  The location along the coast is breathtaking.  The organizers were fabulous.  My students were kind and appreciative.  The food was very tasty. I had a truly amazing week.

Asilomar State Beach and Conference Center covers 107 acres along California’s Monterey Peninsula.  The buildings have a rustic feel.  Here is the front of the dinning hall.

But inside you’ll find all of the modern amenities.

And even though the exterior of our lodging buildings were rustic in appearance we had very clean rooms and very comfortable beds.  The rooms were very similar to those at a hotel except for one major electronic device was missing.  There were no televisions!  Glad I have TVo at home!

I walked around the conference grounds early every morning.  Here are just a couple of things I saw in the morning.  It really was worth getting up for my morning walks.  The views were far different from what I see when I walk at home in Pennsylvania.

Nice start to my days, don’t you think?  I only forgot my camera one day.  And of course that is the day I saw a herd of deer.  As I was walking and the sun was just below the horizon I heard a loud noise/movement very, very close to me.  After I peed my pants I saw a herd of deer.  They were inches away from me.  Oh, I wished I’d had my camera that morning.  After we each startled each other was just stood still and looked at each other for awhile.  Ahhhh.

I’ll be blogging about more of my adventures in California in my next blog.  Stay tuned.

I just returned from teaching for the quilt guild in Annapolis. If you live anywhere near the Annapolis area you’ll want to check out this guild http://www.annapolisquiltguild.org/index.html.  What a great group of ladies.  And the program chair, Carla, was such a wonderful and well organized person which always makes my job easier.  Carla and I celebrate the same wedding anniversary, right down to the year.  It’s a small world.

One of the things I love is being asked back to a guild.  That is always a good sign.  Here are a couple of photos from our second day of workshops.

We took several of the blocks and taped them on the wall, even if they did not all look great together, to show what each person made during class.

Thank you ladies for making it another memorable trip to Annapolis.

___________________________________________________________________________

The middle of the week I was at Everybody’s Quilt Guild in Westminster, MD. Another fabulous guild which I have previously visited.  It was really, really nice to see some familiar faces in the crowd.  One member had her quilt finished from a previous workshop “Folk Art Fantasy” and shared it at show and tell.  If you read my blog you know how much I love showing finished projects.

_________________________________________________________________________

Book Review

On the ride to Annapolis I finished listening to “Cross Fire” by James Patterson.  A very good James Patterson book.   I like the reoccurring character, Detective Alex Cross.  Alex is plagued by his old nemesis, Kyle Craig.  Kyle is a very bad person.  How Kyle comes back into Alex’s life is very interesting.  The other main story line has Alex trying to find some assassins.  Your attention will be held with all the action and suspense in this book.

____________________________________________________________________________

This week I am off to Asilomar, CA to teach for the Empty Spools seminar.  This seminar has been on my so called bucket list for many years.  I was so excited when they invited me to teach.  I have heard nothing but good things about this seminar.  I am certain it is all true and it is on the BEACH.  Until next week…..

On Saturday I taught for the Friendship Quilters in Hagerstown, MD.  This is another guild that if I lived just a little closer to Hagerstown I would want to be part of this guild.  Over the years,  I have lectured and presented workshops to this guild on several occasions and their members work so well together.  The person in charge of programs has been dealing with a family illness and the other ladies from the guild jumped right in and took care of everything.  That’s what I love about being part of this community…we care about each other and always seem to find time to lend a helping hand.  It warms my heart.  Thanks ladies for making my trip to your guild a very enjoyable experience.  And I hope to share some photos of the ladies finished projects in a future blog because several of them were very close to finishing their tops by the end of the day.  For for information about the Friendship Quilters Guild in Hagerstown visit their website at http://www.fqgmd.org/

______________________________________________________________________________________________

I have just a couple more photos to share with you of some quilts I saw while at the AQS show in Lancaster.

This quilt was made by Susan J. Cane of Connecticut. She won second place in the Wall Quilts sewn on a home sewing machine category.  Susan made this quilt after taking a class with Katie Paquini and based it on a photograph taken by her husband.

Christine Wickert from New York made “Monticello Baskets”.  It won second place in the Wall Quilts-Hand Quilted category. Hand quilted!  It’s been a while since I have seen a quilt this size hand quilted.  And it was very nicely done.

And it was heavily quilted along with trapunto.

“Fusion” was made by Patricia Lamfer from Colorado. I like the unique shape of the quilt and the fabric choices were wonderful.  It had great contrast.

And the rest of the quilts I wanted to share are just a few from Karen K. Stone’s special exhibit at the show.  I have been a fan of Karen’s quilts for a very long time.  Seeing so many of her quilts in one exhibit was inspiring and breathtaking.  You can find out more about Karen at http://www.karenkstone.com/

This first quilt of Karen’s is called ‘Summer Nights” and was made in 1992.  What a fabulous layout for a Log Cabin block.

“Ranella’s Surprise” was made in 2011.  Fabulous border treatment.  Karen carried the use of many elements from the center to the border which created a beautifully balanced quilt.

“Prickle Fish” is a play on the block called Pickle Dish.  Karen made this in 1996.

A nice close-up shot.

Karen has a real knack for using a very large variety of fabrics and creating wonder quilts.  Thanks for sharing your quilts Karen.  I loved the exhibit.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

My friend loaned me her audio book, “Private” by James Patterson.  If I was giving this book stars, from one to five, I’d give it a three.  This is one of James Patterns books that he co-authored with Maxine-Paetro.  It is certainly not the normal James Patterson style so if you read many of his books, as I do, you might be a little disappointed.  If you go in with the attitude that it’s not a James Patterson book I think you will like the book more.

Former Marine helicopter pilot Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company.  Jack gets involved in several different investigations including the death of a friend.  Another case involves a gambling scandal in the NFL.  On another story line Jack has some issues with his brother.

This week I am off to Annapolis, Maryland and then Winchester, MD.  Should be a fun week.