Breast Cancer Awareness Month

It's October- and that means more than just beautiful leaves and crips fall air! It's breast cancer awareness month and there are activities happening all around. The local hair salon where I get my hair cut (and that is all I will admit to!)sponsors a raffle every year to raise money for breast cancer.

For their raffle this at Flair for Hair in North Haven, CT, I donated a quilt. It is lovely. It was made from a pink and white jelly roll using my pattern, Jelly Roll Jumble. It is actually on the cover of the pattern. I never got around to quilting the quilt so I asked Deb D'Angelo of Quilted Basket to quilt it for me. What a beautiful job she did! It made my pretty quilt top look spectacular!


Don't you agree? Here's a close up of the quilting.


So if you get a chance, contact or visit Flair for Hair, buy some raffle tickets and support breast cancer awareness month.

Happy quilting
Kate

Fall

I love fall. How can you not? The weather is gorgeous- the days are warm, the nights are cool. The apples are crisp and it just seems to put a spring in my step.
And the colors- changing daily; it just is spectacular.

This weekend I spent most of it sewing- again!- trying to get ready for Quilt Market. 18 days and counting! I did get to take a drive though, to one of my favorite quilt shops- Yankee Quilter. I love the drive there this time of year- I pass lovely wooded areas full of colorful trees; a lake with hills behind it turning every shade of yellow, orange and red. I was so upset that I forgot my camera!

Fall also is a great time for quilting. You can use such rich, deep colors in your quilts. And who doesn't love a quilt with pumpkins on it? or witches? or a scary black cat? I may not be a Halloween lover, but I do love the colors and the decorations for the season!

One of our favorite quilts is Stack O'Jacks. It was featured in McCalls Quilting last year and is a lot of fun to make. The pattern is available and my friends at Yankee Quilter even have kits to make it easy for you to whip one up! It's just what you need to decorate for the season!


Another one of my favorite quilts is Blustery Day. We keep meaning to put this pattern out, but we haven't yet. maybe we will get it ready for next year with some updated fabrics. If anyone knows of a good fabric line for this, let me know.

Back to work- I really got so much done today. So keep watching for a post about our new patterns!

Happy quilting- enjoy my favorite season!
Kate

Everything Old is New Again!

26 days to Quilt Market! Not only are we working on new patterns, but we are also working on updating some of our oldies but goodies! And that is what I worked on today.

First Alyssa and I went to a quilt store to get a few necessities. We decided to go to a new store. Well, not really a new store. Lisa's Clover Hill Quilts moved this past week- not far from their old store, just across the street actually. But what a great new space! Big, bright and full of lots of fun fabrics, tools, patterns... just wonderful. With a big kitchen, an even bigger classroom, I could see how easy it would be to just stay for a while. And we did!

We picked up fabric to finish a redo of one of our patterns, Gifts Galore. The other day I went into my stash to see if I had some fun fabrics to update the birthday version of Gifts. I found this great fabric, but I only had a scrap left- not quite enough to use in the quilt. So it became the jumping off point for my palate. Have you ever done that? Use a fabric for the color scheme but never actually use it in the quilt?

Here's the fabric that inspired the fabric choices in the quilt:

So fun! I wanted bright, happy colors, but not too crazy. So I was able to come up with this version from my stash.


Then I realized that I had enough of most of the fabrics to make another one for Sample Spree at Market. So we shopped for a few fabrics to finish off the second gifts. And then we saw the cutest fabrics - a holiday line from Studio e. So cute! We just had to have it! We added a pretty white tone on tone and a lavender Marble dot. We got enough to make a Christmas version of Gifts- and an extra one for Sample Spree.


Then we got some fabric for one of the new patterns (more on that next time!). Then I came home and cut and sewed, and cut some more... and sewed some more. And I made all 4 tops for Gifts today! Wow! And I put the border on another table runner. I feel good!


And soon, our old pattern Gifts Galore, will have a new cover. What's old is new again! And congrats to Lisa at Clover Hill on a great new space for her shop. I know we will be back!

Happy quilting
Kate

Another Giveaway

Pop on over to Millie's Quilting- she is having a giveaway- for an AccuQuilt Go! cutter! How fun is that! I hear great things about them and I often think it would be so much fun to have another tool (toy???) in my sewing room.

Quilt Market-
Elizabeth and I have been working like crazy to get ready. Add to that, Elizabeth is moving in a couple of weeks from Syracuse NY to Annapolis MD. What timing!
So it's been a busy weekend: piecing, quilting, printing... This weekend I have quilted 3 small banners and a table runner. Now I am getting the bindings on. They are so cute!
I'll post a picture next time.

Happy quilting
Kate

Happy Days

I have two giveaways to tell you about! What fun! First is on Wendy's blog Why Knot?. She is giving away some really cute fall fabric so hop on over before next Thursday, Sept 23.

The other fun giveaway is happening on It Seams to be Sew- what a cute name by the way- and Lana is giving away a very sweet Honey Bun from Moda. The fabric is from Blackbird designs called Beach House. Head over that way soon- her giveaway is until Sept 26 and she will draw a winner Sept 27th.

Wow. What's next??

Well, I have been working on a lot of new designs. Elizabeth and I are going to the Fall Quilt Market in Houston in October so there is a lot to do! We are very excited-we are doing a schoolhouse about some of our new designs. So I guess another sneak peek is in order. Hmmmm... what to post?

After all, we are working on at least 6 patterns all at once! Silliness!

So here is peek number one: a test block from a new pattern called Lighter than Air.


What I like about it is that the little green triangles are floppy!

And peek number two: a new bag pattern called Girls Day Out. Really cute!


The countdown begins: 41 days to Market
Happy quilting
Kate

New things

New kittens. New fabric to play with. New patterns. Don't you just love new stuff?


The kittens invaded the sewing room the other day. Huey was looking for attention. This little guy is an attention hog! He just wants to be cuddled. And maybe nibble a little on your arm. or face. He is quite the talker!





And Daisy is just looking for trouble. She is a little more cautious around people, but she is the explorer. She climbs onto shelves, into cabinets, on top of tables. I am waiting for her to scale walls next! She climbed into a fabric basket on a sehlf in my sewing room. She seemed quite content to hang out but I knew that wouldn't last long!





She soon dicovered the hanging tags and thought they were so much fun!



The big girl, Lily, was not to be left out. She won't get near the kittens yet- except to hiss at them, but she found a way to be involved in the sewing as well! Funny how the two girls look for their little cozy spot- they both like boxes, baskets, etc to curl up in. Huey just wants a lap!



And while the kittens were exploring, I was trying to sew! I just finsihed up part of a new pattern- I posted a little peak a few weeks ago of one piece... here are the little mini quilts in the pattern. Aren't they cute?



The pattern should be out in the next couple of weeks. These little quilts are 6" x 12" and designed to hang on a small hanger from Akfeld. I am just waiting to get the hanger so I can take a picture with it for the pattern cover. I just love them!

Happy quilting
Kate

Go!

Jackie over at Canton Village Quiltworks is having a great giveaway- a GO! cutter! Wouldn't it be great to win that? Head on over to her blog and check it out.

On a fun note...
We have new babies at our house- 2 little kittens we adopted. Huey and Daisy. They are so much fun- and now they are passed on on the couch after a very busy afternoon!

Huey is the black one- a little boy who is just a bundle of energy! Daisy is his sister and she is a little more reserved, but feisty! They are 14 weeks old and just so cute.

Let's see if I still think they are cute later tonite!

Happy quilting!
Kate
p.s. I have been very busy in the design studio lately... many projects started but none ready for posting yet. soon!