Karen Kay Buckley

I get to travel to some wonderful places. I just returned from one of the coolest: Edmonds, Washington and the Quilters’ Anonymous Guild. Coolest in temperature, sites, shops, galleries, coffee, flowers and quilters. To learn more about this guild visit their website http://www.quiltersanonymous.org/

Here are a few photos of quilters attending my evening and morning lecture and my machine applique workshop.

First is the evening group.

This is the morning group.

And, here are some of the ladies hard at work in the machine applique workshop.

Edmonds is a port town a few minutes north of Seattle built on a hill overlooking the water. It is known for its flowers, shops and salmon fishing. We walked every morning and here are some of the amazing things we saw.

The Ferry which runs every 30 minutes.

A great salmon sculpture at the fishing dock.

Another sculpture entitled “Whale Watching”.

Check out those snow covered peaks in the distance. Ahh!!!

We could not get over the flowers. They were everywhere and so lush.

Joe visited the Ballard Locks while I was teaching. He wanted to see the salmon ladder on the side of the lock.

He spotted a fisherman standing in front of the ladder.  This guy is truly one of the best fisherman.

Success.

Look, a female and male king fisher.

We did get to spend some time in downtown Seattle and the surrounding area which I will share in future blogs.

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STUDENTS’ WORK

On my recent trip to Edmonds, Washington, Cathy Baughmann brought her finished Folk Art Fantasy project.  Cathy had taken this class from me awhile ago and, since I was in the area, she was kind enough to bring it in and share it with me.

Sandra Olsen, also a Quilters Anonymous member, shared her completed Garden Medley Project. Great job ladies.

BOOK REVIEW

I had not read a Lisa Gardner book for awhile.  I really like her books and realized how much I missed reading her.  I believe this is the 7th in a series she calls the “Quincy and Rainie” series….the names of the two main characters.  Quincy, retired FBI profiler, and his wife, Rainie, are getting ready to adopt Sharlah May Nash.  Sharlah and her brother Telly have not seen each other in many years.  They were separated when Telly killed their father defending he and Sharlah’s life.  There were great twists and turns in this book.  I would have never guessed “who done it”…….Great read.

Joe wanted to spend his birthday weekend in Cleveland and I said “What?? Cleveland, Ohio??” I am so very glad we went. What a wonderful city with a great downtown full of refurbished historical buildings, theaters, sports complexes, restaurants, parks, museums and Lake Erie.

We arrived at our hotel and walked to the Cleveland Brown’s stadium for a concert featuring OneRepublic and U2.

We had a wonderful view of the stage and sang along with Bono and the Edge.

A grand time was had by all 60,000 attendees.

In the morning, we walked to the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame and around town. Here is what we saw…..

We had to get a shot of us.

The world’s largest rubber stamp made for John D. Rockerfeller’s Standard Oil Company and donated to the city.

The Veteran’s Memorial with the names of all residents who have given their lives for our nation.

I loved that the city has taken many of its older buildings and re-purposed them into hotels, offices, residences, shops, etc. Here is the former Cleveland Merchant Trust Building which was across the street from our hotel.

Here  is the dome from inside the building. The murals tell the history of Cleveland.

Check out the amazing stained glass.

And what is it now? A phenomenal grocery store with bakery, deli, coffee shop, and sushi bar. Great use for this space.

In the afternoon, we visited the Hall of Fame. Wow!

A few of the hundred of musical groups, duets and individuals honored at the Hall. Of course: the King.

I loved Jimmy Hendrix’s outfits: my style and colors.

Of course, Steven Tyler’s outfit from Aerosmith was equally amazing.

Whether you call him Jonnie Cougar, John Cougar, John Cougar Mellancamp, John Mellancamp, or just John, this hometown boy from Bloomington, Indiana and his music will live forever because he’s “” R” ” O” “C” “K” in the USA”

The school boy’s uniform of crushed velvet and guitar of AC/DC’s Angus Young.

And, of course, a tribute to Ireland’s finest: U2!

The featured exhibit was for Rolling Stone Magazine’s 50th anniversary and all it’s covers were displayed. Some of the ones from the 70s

and some recent ones.

We ended our trip to Cleveland with a stop at the home featured in the movie, A Christmas Story . “You’ll shoot your eye out.”

I think I spy a major award in the window.

This may have been our first visit to Cleveland, but it will not be our last! If you have never been to Cleveland put it on your list. You will thank me later.

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Student’s Work

Joan recently finished her version of my “Bluebird of Happiness” pattern.  Good job, Joan!

Until next week …     .

The town of Carlisle has so many great restaurants. Here are some of my favorites. If you like Thai food, and we love it, Carlisle Thai Cuisine is the place to go.

If you want authentic Mexican, try Taqueria Laurita’s.

The Back Door Cafe has wonderful subs and salads.

And, Carlisle Bakery is a must stop for the finest baked treats.

Can’t go wrong with a cup of Joe and a sandwich at Denim Coffee. Thursday night is Open Mic Night.

The soups at Lili’s place are made each morning by Lili.

And, Ross Morris’s Northern Italian Cuisine is heavenly at Trattoria Piatto. Ask for a seat on the patio or porch.

Our favorite, Mark Bricker’s: Brick Kitchen & Bar, serves the best fish tacos in the world!! Think I’ll call now for a table.

In addition to the excellent restaurants, Carlisle has some fabulous shops…..

a little sweetness

and my favorite, non-quilting shop: Camellia’s.

The outside is welcoming

and the front entry way delightful.

I love her teas and her displays are so bright and cheery.

Of course, we have a quaint quilt shop: “The Fabric Center” . To find out about them, visit their Facebook page!

When I need a new green, and I love green, I know right where to find it.

The Fabric Center has a great staff of knowledgeable quilters,  a nice selection of fabric….

wonderful patterns and displays

and a large classroom (when class is in session more tables are set up) with some great instructors.

Took a few shots in our garden today.

The Cabbage White Butterflies and the bumble bees love the lavender.

Velma, the vulture, was at the door a few days ago, again, looking for Joe (he feeds all the birds).

He followed her out and she flew into the abandoned barn next door. Joe followed her in and  here is what she showed him. Her new baby which is quite large.

Think we will name him Val.

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Marsha Bohling from Idaho shared this picture of her version of my Fiesta Mexico pattern.  Doesn’t it look great?  She won second place in the applique category at the “Fiesta Arizona” show in Northern Idaho.  Congratulations, Marsha and thanks so much for sharing.

Peggy Keirstead finished her Kansas Rose block from the class I taught in Garland, Texas last month.

Good Job, Peggy!

I love to see the finished project!

Until next week…….

I have never written about my wonderful home town of Carlisle, PA. I thought you might enjoy seeing this quaint little town.  It is a wonderful place to live.

In colonial times, Carlisle was the gateway to the west.

It is a very historical area…..

and its public square is grand with churches and courthouses.

We have a very nice public library.

One of the oldest fire houses in the United States dating back to the late 1700s can be found in Carlisle.

Check out its weather vane. Very cool.

We have Joe’s alma mater, The Dickinson School of Law, now a part of Penn State.

A fantastic college and campus.

The campus really is beautiful.  Every building has limestone on the exterior and I am told it all comes from the same quarry….even the newer buildings.

Carlisle is also home to the Carlisle Barracks and United States Army War College, where Colonels learn how to become Generals.  This military base has been in continuous operation since the 1750s.

Next week we will visit a few of the 25 restaurants and some of my favorite shops.

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BOOK REVIEW

I just finished reading my second book by Heather Gudenkauf.  That means I liked the first book and guess what?……..  I liked the second book just as much if not more.  This book had me pulled in right from the beginning.  Good characters and good character development.  During a spring snow storm, a gunman walks into the local elementary school.   Officer Meg Barrett has a daughter who attends the school and knows many of the children and parents.  Another story line has Wil Thwaite waiting outside the school as his two grandchildren are inside.  He’s responsible for his grandchildren because his daughter is in the hospital after being severely burned.  And then there is Evelyn Oliver, the teacher who is trying to protect her students.  Good read.

We just returned home from visiting two guilds in Texas. I love Texas, but this past week was hot, hot, hot. How wonderful to see some friends from past classes, cruises and shows. And, it was nice to make some new friends.  The magnolia trees still had their fragrant flowers.

First, I lectured and taught for the Quilt Guild of Arlington. Learn more about this great guild by visiting http://qgoa.org/

Here are some of the members waiting for the lecture.

And, some of the ladies at the machine applique workshop.

Arlington is home to the Texas Rangers baseball team and a visit to their ball park is a must, even if they were on the road.

Next, I was the guest of the Garland Quilt Guild and taught machine and hand applique classes. To learn more about the guild visit their site: http://garlandquiltguild.com

My photographer and roadie, Joe, forgot to capture photos of the ladies in the class as he was out and about in the historic part of town. First, he stopped at a museum housed in the old railway station.

He learned the history of the area and how it grew from a one horse town in the late 1800s…..

To a small town by the turn of the 20th century.

It became a thriving small town of 10,000 in the 1950’s where the Plaza Theater was in full swing.

Garland Texas was a town of about 20,000 people in the 70s and 80s but now has a population of over 250,000. Wow.

Joe also loves Texas BBQ, the best in the world, and Garland has one of the best in all of Texas: Intrinsic Smokehouse & Brewery.

It has a beautiful tap room.

Mountains of meat and sauce (Texas Heat or Texas Sweet). Joe had to sample some. He says he skipped the chicken.

And, of course, Joe had to discuss and help Brew Master Chris taste and test the latest batch of IPA. It must be a science if you drink it out of a lab beaker.

I think I know why he forgot to take photos of the quilt class!

I am home for a couple of weeks. More sewing, yippee.  My new project is really taking shape. Until next week  …   .

This past week, I lectured for a group that was about an hour and a half from my home.  They are located in Fawn Grove, PA which is a community on the Pennsylvania/Maryland border (The Mason/Dixon Line). To learn more about this wonderful group, visit their website  http://quiltingontheline.com/

I have taught for this group before and it is always fun to be asked back. Susan was my contact and she was a treat to work with. Here are some of the ladies at the lecture.

I will be home most of the summer sewing and designing. Yippie. One of my favorite things to do is to watch the birds in our back yard. Right now, all the parents are bringing their chicks into the yard to feed. My favorites are the blue birds. We feed them meal worms. Daddy blue bird gathers the worms up….

as a little one watches from up above.

Dad might feed only one at a time…..thanks Pops.

Or, he may have several worms.

O.K. kids line up, it’s lunch-time.

We have counted over 30 different types of birds that come to our yard for food, water or both. Here are a few from this week:

A Blue Jay

A Tufted Titmouse

A male Cardinal

a female Cardinal

A red bellied woodpecker

a Catbird

And, of course, our pet vultures: Victor and Velma. Can’t wait for their babies later this summer.

Until next week …    .

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BOOK REVIEW

I just finished reading “The Whistler” by John Grisham.  Another very good read.

Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board of Judicial Conduct.  Lacy has been working on the board for nine years.  The board investigates complaints against judges.   Greg Myers (assumed name) is a disbarred attorney who is afraid for his life and wants his identity kept secret.  He comes to Lacy with some information on a judge and wants the board to investigate.  The story line takes some good turns and kept my interest throughout.

Just returned from a relaxing and fun few days at Lake Arrowhead in California.   The temperature at 6,000 feet was a perfect 45 at night and 68 during the day. The mountains are so relaxing. Our friends have a great lake house and from their deck each morning, here is what we saw.

Our friends feed the birds and we would watch them as we had our morning tea and coffee. The Jays…….nice hairdo.

The hummingbirds (I think she is ready to lay some eggs).

And, the woodpeckers!

Think they needed a drink after all those peanuts.

We were driving down the road and spotted where the woodpeckers stored all their peanuts. Amazing.

On our morning walks, we saw some beautiful flowers…..

We drove into the canyon and hiked a few trails. Great rock formations.

On the drive back to the lake, we saw this golden eagle leading the way.

We returned home yesterday and most things were normal. Kitty Carlisle was her old self, “Oh, you’re back,” she yawned.

And Tillie made a new friend, yikes!

Until next week …     .

I was lucky to combine teaching for two guilds around the Syracuse area in New York this past week.  First, I taught for the Towpath Quilt Guild in Fayetteville http://www.towpathquiltguild.org/  Then, for Plank Road Quilt guild in Cicero http://www.plankroadquiltguild.org.

It is spring time and the mornings were cold, crisp with colors bursting everywhere.

We met this family while walking each morning. Momma was never real happy to see us.

Her babies are so precious.

I had an afternoon off and asked guild members where we should go and what we should see. They said, “You know Skaneateles is only a few miles south.” Lake Skaneateles (pronounced “Skinny Atlas” from the Iroquois word meaning either Long Lake or Future home of shops, restaurants and galleries) is the furthest east of New York’s Finger lakes. The town, boasting the same name at it’s northern tip, is wonderful. They have great shops, galleries, restaurants and there is a quilt shop a few miles to the west. So, off Joe and I went. Here is what we saw:

Downtown

Town Square

Beautiful churches on the lake

Grand lake homes

And, the best lake view dining (great menu, great food and great service).

Judi West began with a small shop in downtown Skaneateles in 1986. She kept expanding and to meet the needs of the area quilters several years ago, she built a great shop outside of town. I have been in her shops every time I visit the area and I wish it were more often than every five or six years.

We met Judi West and her staff at the Patchwork Plus and they are fantastic. What a wonderful shop.

High ceiling for displays, thousands of bolts of fabric, threads, notions and a great selection of machines and classes.

Go visit the area and stop in to see the ladies or visit her website at http://patchworkplus.com/

I did leave with a little addition to my stash.

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STUDENT”S WORK

Susan Garrett took my Kansas Rose class while in Panama City, Florida. She took an Honorable Mention in her guild’s show in the Hand Applique-Hand Quilted Category! Way to go, Susan!

Susan renamed this block (original name: Fiesta Mexico-Block Three) “Gracie’s Galaxy” because her granddaughter helped her place the circles on the outer border.  Good job Gracie.   And, it won a second place ribbon.  I think this is a good partnership.

BOOK REVIEW

When I was in Mount Dora, Florida teaching, Peggy Conklin, my guild contact, recommended Audible.com for listening to audio books.  As a member, Peggy was able to send one free book to a friend and I was fortunate enough that Peggy picked me.  She sent me a really good book, “Summit” by Harry Farthing.

There are two story lines about 70 years apart of two different climbers and their climbs to Mount Everest.  The current day Neal Quinn is taking a young man on his first climb to Mount Everest and there are some problems as they near the summit.  Josef Becker, a Nazi climber, took this climb about 70 years prior…..right before the second World War.  This book was well written, kept my interest and merged the two story lines in an interesting way.

I am home sewing for a couple of weeks, Yippie!!!! Until next week  …   .

I just returned from the most relaxing place on earth for me: Corolla, North Carolina. This is what I saw from my window every day. Ahhhh!

I got to sit and sew all week. No phones, no deliveries, no make-up, no worries.

Here’s what I saw out the window as I appliqued……

Not just one dolphin.

But many, a dad and mom with her baby –

a close up.

O.K. junior, time to swim on your own. Here’s a little push.

We walked every morning up and down the beach,

even when the weather got gloomy.

We saw so many birds

and Tillie chilled a lot in the shade.

As always, we saw spectacular sun-rises (that little spec was a sail boat)

and sun-sets.

I love the Outer Banks but always glad to return home after a week in paradise.

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BOOK REVIEW

On our drive to and from the beach, we listened to The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrants. For those of you who did not read Stieg Larssson’s three novels: The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Stieg, a Swedish writer, introduced us to Lisbeth Salander, a thin, tatooed, bad-ass computer genius who hates the establishment and almost everyone. And to Mikael Bloomvist, an investigative reporter for a well known Swedish magazine. They team up to solve mysteries and also keep government officials and corporate giants in check. Unfortunately for the world, Stieg Larssons died unexpectedly. He had begun his fourth novel in the series and David Lagercrantz continued Steig’s legacy.

The night he is give an interview with Mikael Bloomvist, a well known scientist who was working on computers that can think for themselves is murdered. The only witness is his nine year old autistic son. The NSA, the Swedish national police and the Swedish intelligence community is investigating. Each has their own agenda, but Mikael knows who to ask for help, Lisbeth Salander. The book started out a bit slow as many characters were developed, but picked up and was non-stop. Love Lisbeth, she is my kind of woman.

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Headed to Syracuse, NY.  Keep quilting and until next week  …    .

More from the fabulous WOW show.

I am still amazed with the exhibition, “World of Wearable Art”, in Salem. I had posted a few of the pieces and have to share some more of these AMAZING works of art.

Gillian Saunders of Richmond, New Zealand created “Inkling”. A celebration of traditional tattoos, this piece is really thirteen individual pieces. Can you say WOW!!

Rebecca Maxwell, who works in New Zealand, envisioned a Moroccan lantern and brought it to life in this wonderful piece “Noor Reverie.”

“Totally Sheepish” was created by Sarah Peacock.

“Chica Under Glass” by Peter Wakeman of Motueka, New Zealand  is made of fiberglass and won the Avant Garde Award in the 2013 show.

Mengyue Wu and Yura Ma of China created “Delight of Light”. This layered plastic piece reminds me of some futuristic wedding dress.

“American Dream” by Sarah Thomas of New Zealand was her vision of America’s love for 50s convertibles meets fashion.

Hayley May and Fiona Christie, both from New Zealand, collaborated to design and create an outstanding piece called “Second Skin”

Lynn Christiansen, who now works in the U.S., was inspired by the Australian Thorny Devil Lizard (molloch horridus) to design “Horridus”.   She made this piece in 2010 and it has 465 pieces made from acid etched copper, silver and gold plate.

In 2014, Lynn designed and built “Gothic Habit” from thin wood covered with felt. UNBELIEVABLE!!!

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On Saturday afternoon, we went to Lancaster to see Julianne and Derek Hough Live on Tour in “Move Beyond”.  What a fantastic show! Their dancing is just mind boggling and their singing is equally great. What fun. If they are coming to your area, their show is a must.

Before the show, Joe and I were fortunate to spend some quality time with Derek and Julianne. They treated us just like an aunt and uncle. They are as nice, if not nicer, than you would imagine.

A good time was had by all!

Until next week  …    .