An Evening with Karen K. Stone & UFOs

Karen K. Stone was in town last Wednesday for a trunk show/lecture and 2-day Clamshell Quilt workshop for my guild.  As a beginner quilter, Karen's work peaked my interests, especially her Cinco de Mayo and New York Beauty quilts.  Her trunk show was impressive and her slide presentation was entertaining and fun.  I love her use of color and the randomness of her designs.  I took her New York Beauty class sometime ago and unfortunately I didn't get very far.  It was my first foray into paper piecing, so the finished block leaves a lot to be desired, but I have since made progress with the paper piecing skills.  So I will dig through the UFO pile soon and finish it one day. 

Speaking of UFOs, the pile is steadily growing.  Not necessarily unfinished blocks, but I have a lot of tops  that need to be quilted and/or the binding put on.  I am trying to work through them, but it has become a bit overwhelming.  But I press on.  Below are a few pictures of Karen's clamshell quilt (lots of color and texture) and a reposting of the wonky NY Beauty block from her pattern. It is not listed on my works in progress list because I have vowed not to add another quilt until I complete something and remove it from the list.  Somebody pinch me (virtually) if I fail to keep to this promise!

P.S.  I did not take the Clamshell class because I also vowed absolutely not to take another class for one specific quilt unless there is some awesome technique that I just have to learn...pinch me again!

A Shot in the Arm...

That was what I received from spending 4 glorious days and 3 nights at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, VA this past weekend. My energy for my craft was waning a little because of family and work obligations. Not to mention that the extreme weather conditions just wore me out…but I think I am back.  The quilt festival was wonderful. I saw lots of friends that I do not get to see often, friends that I correspond with online and my girlfriends who are just the best. It amazes me how you can not see someone that lives within a 25 mile radius of you for months and then you travel 150 miles away and there they are. It’s funny. So, I am sending a shout out to Carrie, Wendy, Stacey, Michelle and Robin. Thanks for a wonderful weekend. And Linda, if you are reading this blog entry, it was good to finally meet you.
The quilts at this show are always something to behold. This year did not disappoint. There was a quilt to satisfy everyone’s palette, traditional, contemporary, art, insightful, inspirational, thought-provoking and controversial as well. I am continuously amazed by the level of talent that quilters possess. And every time I think that I have witnessed the best of the best, a fellow quilter achieves a higher level of genius.  The quilt that won Best of Show is below.



And what is a quilt show without vendors…too many to mention. I had been on a no-buy fabric challenge since early last December. However, the challenge ended for me this past weekend. My goal was to buy one of those over-sized ironing boards, but the vendor sold out before I could get to the booth. So….I used my ironing board money plus some for these new additions to my stash. It’s a bit much, but oh well…I’m loving every bit of it.

I am off to complete some works in progress and start on something new.