Karen Kay Buckley

The other day I received this amazing email from Teresa Wong.

“I’ve attached a photo of my friend and I (Amy Gurghigian-pictured on the left) with 2 quilt tops we recently finished.  I thought you’d like to know that we NEVER would have attempted such a complicated applique as this had we not taken your class.  We started these tops in December-just a few weeks after taking your October Houston class and we both had so much fun doing this.  A whole new world of quilts are now open to us since we know how to applique.  Thank you!”

I wrote to Amy and asked her if I could include this great photo of  “Quilt Buddies” in my blog.  Aren’t quilting friends just the best?  Teresa told me that Amy had been quilting for some time before she taught Amy to quilt about 15 years ago.  They had done a little applique but were not happy with their results.  They have been attending the International Quilt Festival, www.quilts.com, for about ten years but had never taken any classes.  Last year they decided to take an applique class with me and as Teresa says “we both loved it.”  Shortly after the class the girls found a Kaffe Fasset book and were amazed by this quilt.  They bought the book and “a ton of Kaffe Fasset fabrics–and went to work“.  The pattern is called “Hearts and Flowers”.

Teresa said “We would never have attempted an applique pattern this intricate if we hadn’t taken your class.  Your methods produce great edges and it is so doable.  Plus we both have a set of your Perfect Circles too, which are great, because you can see there are tons of circles on this pattern!  We’re hooked.”

Amy and Teresa,  thanks so much for sharing.

This is why I love to teach.

This is the third time I have taught for the Vermont Quilt Festival www.vqf.org The show organizers have changed over the years but, no matter, they are always good.  They seem to listen to the feedback from the teachers and students and keep making the show better and better.  I think the quilts this year were beyond incredible.  If you entered this show and won a ribbon you were lucky.  The competition was fierce. The quilt below was the Best of Show quilt.  It was made by Judith Thompson from Wenonah, NJ.  Excellent fabric choices and very well done.

This amazing quilt won a first place ribbon.  It was made by Kathryn Tennyson from Chestertown, NY.  Fantastic workmanship.  Loved the edge finish.  This border took my breath away.

“Liberty Sisters” won two awards.  It won 2nd place and a Judge’s Choice award.  It was made by Carolyn Hudson from Nova Scotia.  As I walked around the quilt show I did take notice that Canada was well represented.  Good job neighbors to the north.  I loved this combination of piecing and applique.  If you’ve read previous blogs you know this pieced block is one I teach and the combination with the applique works very, very well.

“To Everything There Is A Season” was made by Pat Delany of Abington, MA.  The border on this quilt works really well.  It adds a wonderful balance to the center part of the quilt by pulling the colors onto the border.  Funny, but as I walk through a show I tend to look at the quilts but not what prizes they won.  This quilt won two ribbons….1st place and it won an award for the Best Border!  Nice to know I think the same as the judges.  At least this time!

Here are some of my students hard at work.  My first two days at VQF were a two day workshop on my wall quilt called “Around the Garden”.  Even after working them to death at the end of the second day they were still smiling.

If you are looking for a really nice, intimate, loads of great vendors show to attend in the summer.  This is the show for you.  It is close to Burlington, Vermont.  I really like Burlington.  I think I could live there…but, I’ve never been there in the winter so I might need to rethink this!  Beautiful surrounding and a great show.  If you’ve not been there you should add this to your bucket list.

When I travel to teach my husband rarely travels with me.  You see….. he has kind of a normal job.  So, he cannot just pick-up and hit the road with his traveling wife.  But, there are times when he does hit the road with me.  And the Vermont Quilt Festival is one of those trips.  Joe loves to fish.  He has fished in Vermont many times over the years and thinks it is one of the best places to trout fish.  Vermont is full of fish filled streams.  We saw loads of wildlife: deer, a mink, a bear cub and a moose! Too bad we didn’t have our camera up in the front seat, but here are some of the sites we were able to photograph on our way to the show.

Vermont has over 50 covered bridges.  Some are still in use, some are not and some are privately owned.

As we were driving on Route 7 we came upon this visually beautiful sight.  This very large pond of blooming water lilies was right before our eyes.

These would be great colors for a quilt, don’t you think?

As I have traveled over the years I have never seen as many water falls as in Vermont.  One falls is just a beautiful as the next.

This weekend is our 29th wedding anniversary.  I’ve learned a lot of good things from Joe during our 32 years together but probably one of the most valuable lessons is to enjoy the ride.  It’s not just about getting there.  But, how you get there that matters.

In my next blog I’ll share some photos from the Vermont Quilt Festival.

I’ve been a little remiss in my book recommendations.  Sometimes I have too many other things to blog about and forget to tell you about the books I’ve been reading.  And there have been some very good ones.

A friend of mine, Laura, recommended a book called Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan.  It is the author’s first novel.  As good as this book is, I’m certain we’ll be hearing more from her.  Each chapter is a character in the book telling their part of the story.  The book is about a school teacher who marries and moves to a farm.  She envisioned her life in a town, not on a farm.  It is about the struggles  in the early 1900’s for both the blacks and the whites living in the south.  Hillary made the characters very interesting so you want to keep reading to find out more.  There were parts of this book that were difficult to read because of the extreme racial issues encountered during this time.  But, I enjoyed Hillary’s style of writing. I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened to each character.

Right after finishing this book another friend of mine loaned me an audio book written by James Patterson and Richard Dilallo.  Odd, that this book was based in the same time period and many similar issues as Mudbound.  Alex Cross’s Trial revisits the time of the Klu Klux Klan.  As a lawyer in turn-of-the-century Washington, D.C., Ben Corbett represents the toughest cases.  Fighting against oppression and racism, he risks his family and his life in the process.  This book is a gripping story of murder, love and bravery.

While teaching classes I’ll often ask if anyone has read any good books lately.  Well, this past year I think at least ten people said,  “You have to read “The Help”.  If that many people highly recommend a book I know it is going to be good.  The book was so uplifting.  You might think that statement is hard to believe based on the subject matter.  It is set during the civil rights movement in Jackson, MI.  “The Help” are the black women who raised their employers white children, cleaned and cooked for their white employers but were not allowed to use the toilet in the house.  This  is Katheryn Stockett’s first book and if we are lucky she’ll write many more.  This book shows both sides of the racial divide.  I loved the way the story is told.  I did not want to put this book down.  I just wanted to keep reading and reading…..

And my final book recommendation is one of my favorite authors, Jodi Picoult.  The name of the book is “House Rules”.  This was another book that was hard to stop reading.  Just a little history on reading Jodi Picoult.  About six or seven years ago when I was teaching a 3 day seminar we talked about books while the students where sewing.  One student asked if I had ever read any of Jodi Picoult’s books and at that time I had never heard of her.  This student decided to make a trip to the local book store prior to the end of our three days together and presented me with a copy of one of Jodi’s books at the conclusion of our class.  Over the past several years I have read everything she has written.  As I stated when I started this paragraph…one of my favorite authors.

Her newest book is about three main characters….the mother, one son with Asperger’s syndrome and a second son.  I read this comment in an Amazon review and thought it summed things up very well.  “Emotionally powerful from beginning to end, “House Rules” looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way–and fails those who don’t.”

I’m currently reading a Pat Conroy book and will report back when I finish.  I love a good book whether audio or hands on reading.  There is nothing like a good book.

This week my journeys will take me to the Vermont Quilt Show.  I’ll tell you all about it in my next blog.

When I am visiting certain parts of the United States on my travels I am not sure the people in the area really appreciate where they live.  But, in the case of the ladies from the Little Traverse Bay Quilters Guild they truly do appreciate their beautiful surroundings.  I have to tell you Northern Michigan is one of the most beautiful parts of the United States.  This was my second trip to the area.  After arriving in Traverse City, Judy, my wonderful hostess, drove me north to Charlevoix.  We made a very quick stop at the hotel before heading to the lecture.  On the way back from the lecture this was the view along Lake Michigan.

The hotel was right on the water and this is what I saw from my balcony the next morning.  Thank you Little Traverse Bay Quilters for putting me at one of the best hotels ever.

And then on my morning walk I saw this.

And this.

And this.

If you visit or live in this area I think your quilts would be strongly influenced by the water and the sunsets.  And of course the lush green surroundings. These are some of the blocks the students made in our “Ocean Sunrise” class on Friday.  I can hardly wait for them to send me photos of their finished quilts.

One of the most interesting things in Charlevoix are the Mushroom houses.  The builder/architect of these houses was Earl A. Young 1889-1975.  Each stone house is very unique and was designed to fit the site it occupies.  They have unusual stone fireplaces, unique chimneys and cedar shake roofs.  If you would like more information about these houses there is a fabulous book, which my hostess Judy bought for me, called “Mushroom Houses of Charlevoix”.  It was published by Boulder Press in 2009.  I liked this statement from the book.  “Young designed and built 21 unique stone houses that look like they came from fairy tales”

Oh, I almost forgot.  Unbeknownst to me this part of the world is one of the largest cherry producers.  Judy and I stopped and got some dried cherries that were sweetened with apple juice.  Awesome.

I really felt a bond with the ladies from this guild.  They made me feel very welcome and appreciated.  I told them my dad had just had a stroke but was doing pretty good.  It was like they pulled me under their wing and really cared for me.  Thank you ladies for everything! If you want to know more about the Little Traverse Bay Quilters Guild go to http://www.quiltguilds.com/michigan.htm and look under Petosky.  The guild meetings are held in Petosky, just north of Charlevoix.  If I lived in this area I would definitely be part of this guild.

My guild, the LeTort Quilter’s, has been in existence since 1983 and I have been a member ever since it’s inception.  I have been the guild’s president and in spite of my busy teaching schedule, I continue to be active in some way.  I think it is important to give back to something that has given me so much.  Over the years I have attended hundreds of lectures and many workshops with my guild.  I have learned many new things by being part of this guild.  I have many life long friends as a result of being active in this guild.   I have always felt part of this group and no matter my skill level, from when I first started until my current advanced level, my guild has always been there supporting and encouraging me along the way.  For this I am very grateful.

Every two years my guild hosts its show along with a local juried artist show called Foundry Day.  It is always the first weekend in June.  At this Saturday’s “Quilt Festival” I was amazed at the quality of the quilts and the abundance of different designs.  The skill level in my guild is phenomenal.  The quilts that I wanted to share with you in this blog mean the most to me because they were started in my classes.  (I’m not going to tell you what year they started!)

I am so proud of Donna and Debra Lohman.  Both of them have shown a skill level that makes me proud to know them and to have been a small part of their growth as quilters.  Donna started this quilt during the year long Baltimore Album classes.  These classes met once a month for one year.  The students objective was to complete one of these hand appliqued blocks each month.  Donna’s finished quilt is a thing of beauty.  I love the border treatment and the overall balance of this quilt.

In this close-up shot you can see how beautifully hand quilted it is.

Not to be out done,  Donna’s daughter Debra is just as talented.  Not fair that so much talent ended up in one family!!  Debra also had her quilt from the Baltimore Album classes finished and displayed in our show. Great colors and a very complimentary border design.

And again, fantastic hand quilting.

And yet another student had her finished quilt on display at the show.   Jackie Kreitzer made this quilt after taking my Beginners and Intermediate quilting classes.  This is Jackie’s first quilt.   It was made in a quilt-as-you-go method.  Jackie made her quilt completely by hand.  This is impressive workmanship for a first quilt. 

The Lohman’s also had two pieces from a class I taught for my guild in January.  This is one of the blocks taken from my larger quilt pattern “Japanese Garden Quilt”. It is machine appliqued and machine quilted.  Great workmanship and great color choices.

I am so proud to be part of the LeTort Quilter’s and to have shared in a small way in promoting quilting in my area.  Thanks to my students for finishing and for sharing.  You make me proud.

I received an email from Kathie with a question on how to remove lines that she marked using a Bohin maker.  I thought this might be something worth sharing with more than just Kathie.

It is hard for me to know where to start this blog.  And I mean that in a good way.  I guess the best place to start is in the beginning.  This trip was actually organized quicker than most.  Shelly Nielsen contacted me in December to see when I was available to teach and we found I had some open time in May.  Seemed to me to be a good time to be in the “great white north”.  And it was.  Shelly was helping a local shop owner, Linda Freund, owner of Rumpled Quilt Skins, organize a special quilting event weekend.  Linda’s shop is more heavily focused on machine related projects but she wanted to venture into another area….hand applique (scary for some).  Linda is without a doubt the most organized shop owner I have ever met.  Prior to my arrival Linda had emailed me several times and made sure that all the items that I use and recommend for my applique would be available for her students.

Shelly picked me up at the Calgary airport and we had a nice time chatting during our drive to Okotoks.  The area truly is beautiful.  As we made our way to Okotoks we could see the Rocky Mountains in the background.  Okotoks has a nice downtown area with lots of little shops and on the edge of town sits this wonderful old building that Linda and her husband have restored.

The front of the shop is filled with all the items you would expect to find in a quilt shop.  But, I have to say they were displayed beautifully.   Linda has a good eye for design. The initial impact when you walk into the shop is warm and welcoming.

After passing through the shop’s store front we came to the classroom.  This is one of the nicest quilt shop classrooms I have worked in.  Each student had her own table with plenty of space to work.  Here are some of them at work.

In the above photo I want  you to notice the brick box that sits mid way near the top of the back wall, at the edge of the ceiling, next to the exit sign.  See it?  Well, when the shop was being renovated they found a little surprise in this open brick area and decided to keep it.  Some of you might think this is strange or creepy, but I found it to be fascinating.

Yes, it’s a bat.  But, it’s a dead bat.  Apparently he’s been hanging around for a long time (sorry I could not let that one pass) and brings good luck to the shop.  It seems to be working.

And I forgot to mention, but as you can see in the pictures, the classroom walls were filled with quilts to give great inspiration.  Here is a picture of me and Shelly getting ready for class.  Shelly had read some of my previous blogs and knew how much I liked my chai tea latte so she took me for my chai fix after class every day. Love you Shelly.

The last day of classes I taught my Oriental Flower workshop which is a machine applique workshop.  This is a newer workshop for me.  It is based on my quilt, Oriental Gardens, or as the pattern is named, Japanese Garden Quilt.  I packed a lot into this workshop and to date no one had ever finished this project during the 6 hour class time.  Finishing in 6 hours was never an objective for this workshop.  I honestly thought I had put so much in this block that no one could ever finish the applique during class.  But, now I can say two people finished by the end of class.  I was amazed.  Here is a picture of the whole class.

The only bad thing about this trip is that I got very sick.  Who knows from what?  Flu? Bad food? I’ll never know. But I would have loved to take more photos of the surrounding area.  Instead I ended up every day and night after classes in my hotel room, in bed.  You’ll just have to trust me.  The quilt shop and the surrounding area are very worth the stop. I know I would love to return to more fully enjoy the area.  The students, which included many of the shop’s teachers, were outstanding.  One of the teachers made a very special Thank You card using one of my applique designs and all of students signed the card.  Each student wrote a note.  I shall cherish it always.  I have a little box where I store such treasures.  If I am having a bad day, which fortunately does not happen often, I open the box and read some of the cards I have received.  It makes me feel better very quickly.

Linda, Shelly and all of the students treated me like a queen.  They took great care of me during my visit to Rumpled Quilt Skins.  I appreciated everything very, very much.

You can find more information about Rumpled Quilt Skins at http://www.rumpledquiltskins.ca/

Everyone needs a little R&R.  It’s good for the mind and body.  My husband, Joe, and our two girls (that would be our dogs) Sasha and Tillie take one week each year and drive to the Outer Banks in North Carolina.  We rent a house along the beach and basically don’t do much of anything.  We wake up every morning to views like this.

Really.  What’s not to like about these views?

In order to get to the house that we rent you must have a 4 wheel drive vehicle.  Getting to the house requires driving up the beach.  And some times as you drive along the beach you see the wild horses.

Each day we take long walks on the beach.  My oldest, Sasha, and I have a lot in common.  We just like to get our feet wet.

And then there is Tillie.

She enjoys laying in the water so the waves wash over her.

I read several good books this past week and will talk about those in another blog.

Just in case you are wondering…..I did take my sewing machine along and got just a little machine quilting done on a new quilt.

My next teaching adventure will take me to Canada.  I’ll be teaching at a shop outside of Calgary in a town called Okotoks.    The name of the shop is Rumpled Quilt Skins.  I’ve been corresponding with the shop owner for many months getting things organized.  I have worked with a lot of shop owners over the years but never have I worked with one this well organized.  I just know it’s going to be a great trip with all that Linda has done to prepare for the classes and my arrival.  I’ll fill you in when I return.

A couple of years ago Betty Register from the Tall Pines Quilt Guild in Huntsville, Texas contacted me and asked me to teach and lecture for a special event that her guild holds once a year in May.  The name of the event is called “Airing of the Quilts”.  I arrived on Thursday and Betty’s sister, Linda, picked me up at the airport and I must say we bonded quickly.  Both Betty and her sister are two of the nicest and most organized people I have  ever met.  They are a true asset to their guild which has about 100 members.  Huntsville, by the way, is about 1 hour north of Houston, Texas.

On Friday I taught a 6 hour workshop for a full class of very nice ladies.    They worked hard all day learning new hand applique techniques and talking about the next day’s festivities.  There was lots and lots of talk about the weather since this is an outdoor event and the weather man kept mentioning a dirty, four letter word ……. RAIN.

Betty and Linda had arraigned for door prizes from many sponsors so during the course of the day many goodies were disbursed and there were many cries of delight.  

I have to add just one little note about Linda.  She is the first program person who has ever gone on a Starbucks run in the afternoon for me and the students.  Any other program chairs who are reading this, please take note!  You have some big shoes to fill.  When Linda was driving me from the airport in Houston to Huntsville I mentioned that if we got close to a Starbucks I would love to stop for a Chai tea latte.  I love my Chai tea latte in the afternoon (Venti, skim milk, no water and a shot of sugar-free vanilla. At my local Starbucks they call it “the Karen Special”).  And Linda being the kind soul that she is remembered this.  So on Friday and Monday during class she went on a Starbucks run not just for me, but for any student who wanted something.   I love you Linda!  I have to say that Linda’s efforts went way above and beyond the call of duty for the program chair person.  It was greatly appreciated by all.

I was almost afraid to open my curtains at the hotel on Saturday morning as this was the day of the outdoor “Airing of the Quilts”.  I was so afraid there would be ….RAIN.  But the prayers of the guild members were answered.  The weather was clear all day long.  Linda picked me up at 8:30 and we drove the short distance from the hotel to the downtown area.  As we rounded the corner, I was in awe. Quilts were hanging  along the streets , they were draped over the Courthouse second floor balcony, on quilt stands in the streets, in the local shop windows….it took my breath away.  What an amazing site.  About 300 quilts were hung in about 2 hours!

Truly an amazing site.  Since I was the featured teacher they had an exhibit of two of my large quilts and about 6 wall quilts inside the local theater on the stage.  On the day of the event they had a booth area for me to talk with people, answer questions and sell some of my books, patterns, etc.  I met so many nice people.  I had a wonderful day. This is me and Betty in the booth.  Linda and Betty brought all kinds of things from home to decorate the booth.  I’m telling you again….two very organized ladies.

In addition to the quilts being “aired” there were several vendors with outdoor booths along with items for sale from guild members.  Inside the theater was an exhibit of small quilts for sale.  These were donated by guild members to be sold for guild projects.  What a great idea for a fund raiser for the guild.  Here are a couple of those quilts.  I think the guild raised around $1200 from the sale of these little minis.

There was also entertainment during the day.  Several different bands played in the gazabo.  Then shortly after lunch a group of young ladies came into the square in beautiful dresses and preformed some traditional Mexican dances.  These young ladies changed their outfits about 4 times during their show.

When they were making their clothing changes this group of really young ladies preformed some dances.  They were so darn cute.

I finished this trip with another 6 hour workshop on Monday and a lecture for the guild that evening.  I felt so welcomed by this guild.  If you live close to this area you certainly will want to join the Tall Pines Quilt Guild and if you don’t live in the immediate area mark your calendar for next years “Airing of the Quilts” held the first Saturday in May.  You won’t be sorry if you spend the day at this event.  You can find out more about this guild at www.tallpinesquiltguild.com

A special thanks to Betty and Linda for making my trip one of the best ever and to all the guild members who helped make the “Airing of the Quilts” a day I shall long remember.