Giveaway

I was cruising blogland and saw this great giveaway over on p.s. i quilt. Check out this lovely stack of fabrics Rachel of p.s. i quilt and Judi of Green Fairy Quilts are giving away! Yummy!




Go sign up!
happy quilting
Kate

A-Z about me

Over on Wendy's blog Why Knot?, she posted this A-Z about me!It looked like fun so I thought I would share!

Age: 52
Bed Size: Queen
Chore You Dislike: Emptying the dishwasher
Dogs: None right now- have had 4. Just 3 kitties right now.
Essential Start of Your Day: waking up!- oh, a cup of 'candy' coffee (more french vanilla and suger than coffee)
Favorite Color: Pink and periwinkle blue
Gold or Silver: Silver
Height: 5'4"
Instruments You Play: Now- nothing! Piano and flute in a past life.
Job Title: Wife, Mother, Nurse, Quilt Pattern Designer
Kids: 2 boys, 1girl- all grown up!
Live: Southern Connecticut
Mom's Name: Kathy- actually her name was Mary but everyone called her Kathy or Bitsy!
Nicknames: Kate
Overnight Hospital Stays: Four -- 3 babies and 1 removal of baby-maker
Pet Peeve(s): Lying.Being lazy. Driving so close to my car I can see the color of your eyeshadow!
Quote From a Movie: "I'm not dead yet!"
Right- or Left-Handed: Right, but a little ambidextrous
Siblings: 2 - 1 Sister, 1 Brother
Time You Wake Up:Wake up? 5-6 am. Get up..... now that is another story!
Underwear: yes!
Veggie You Dislike: Brussel sprouts
What Makes You Run Late: Trying to squeeze in one more thing before I get out the door- can't blame the kids anymore!
X-Rays You Have Had: Too many to count!
Yummy Food You Make: I am not the cook here anymore, but I still make cookies! Actually making some chocolate chip right now! yumm!
Zoo Animal You Like Best: Penguins.

Want to play along?

Happy quilting
Kate

Would you like a glass to go with that W(h)ine?

OK- I have been whining a little lately! All work and no play make Kate a cranky girl! So a couple of weekends ago, when I should have been working, I went to NYC on Sunday with my hubbie and daughter. What fun we had!

First we went to the Empire Quilt Guild quilt show- they have it every other year in March and what a great show it always is. Very inspirational. And they have some amazing workshops - today they have Mary Mashuta and Roberta Horton!I wish I was there taking one of those classes! Of course I don't know how I would have chosen which workshop to take!

Then we went to the Red and White quilt exhibit at the American Folk Art Museum. Actually it was at the armory, but sponsored by the Folk Museum.
Did you hear about it? It was amazing.It was a display of 651 red and white quilts that are owned by one woman, Joanna Rose. Her present to herself and the city of NYC was to have them displayed all together. She sounds like a remarkable lady.

Here is a shot I took-

There a lots of posts about it online- Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Company has a great post and Pat Sloan has listed a lot of links on her bloc. Check them out!


I love this quilt- actually how could you not love them all? This one looks like peppermint candies!




So why have I been whining? Well, I am really excited to see the shop hop quilt coming together. But I had one block that had been kicking my butt- could not get the drawing right in the computer. As it turned out, that was a good thing. Once I had all the other blocks done and up on the design wall, I realized my original design would not work. So I re-worked the block, the drawing went pretty well and viola! Block is done!

Of course, I did have a little help. My older son and his girlfriend were down visiting from the Boston area, and Rea was a great help. I would draw a little, she would make a suggestion... Wish I could post a picture but, oh well.

So off to do a little stitching today. I have lots of things I "have" to do, but I think I will start with something fun! I was following the Mug Rug Madness posts the other week and I think I will play with some little 1 1/2" squares of fabric I got in NYC. Don't they look like fun?



and so not my usual choice of fabrics! It's good to try something new!

And I got Scott's quilt back from Connie at Golden Bells Quilting- it looks great! We went with a leaf motif- fits the colors and the fabrics. She did a really nice job. Now on to the binding. I have a great stripe that I will cut on the diagonal.



Love the close up!



I'll leave you with a shot of my helper today: here's Huey!




Happy quilting
Kate

Workin' on the Weekend

I worked on the shop hop pattern this weekend. Can't show you the blocks, or the quilt but I can show you some of the fabrics I have pulled for the quilt.




Yesterday I got to do a little shopping at Quilting by the Yard in Vernon, CT. Spent time with Caroline Berman who will be testing and making her own version of the shop hop quilt and Laura, one of the shop owners who is a sweetie! Played with fabric- how fun is that!

Today I tried to get caught back up with the Civil War blocks. I never made Block 6 (this week is the week for Block 11 so I am behind!). So this is it:



Blocks 7 and 8 are already done- so now I just need to make 9, 10 and 11!


And I made a block for the Block-a -Palooza Quilt Along- haven't made may yet but I finally decided on a color palette- I will use up some of my red, white and blue fabrics.



Ryan Walsh who has a blog called: I'm Just a Guy who Quilts designed this block and called it "Follow the Leader". I really like it. You can check it out here.

Off to plan where all that lovely fabric is going in my shop hop quilt and then to make a few blocks. Fun, fun fun!

Happy quilting
Kate

Contest Winner

Well, that was easy! Deb is the winner as she was the only one who posted!

I am so glad it is Saturday. Lots to do today. I have Civil War blocks to make, the directions to finish for last block of the shop hop quilt and a lecture to get ready for!

I am speaking on Monday night at the Shoreline Quilters Guild in Branford, CT. I am doing a trunk show so I guess I better get all the quilts out and sort thru them!

The other night I was trying to decide which quilts to bring. Someone had asked me recently how many patterns we had and I said around 20. I was wrong! We have published 39 patterns! And have in progress/design/in limbo at least another 10!
(Not to mention the ideas floating around inside our heads!) So, I guess I can't bring them all to the lecture.

One of our earlier patterns is called Rosebud Star. I love this pattern. It never sold well- the cover picture was not very good, but I loved it. And when we would display the quilts in person, everyone loved it! One version was a soft green and pink quilt.



The other version I made was different- I used batiks and stronger colors.



That quilt was designed when I was having fun with blocks and secondary patterns- the small star does not show up until the blocks are put together.

Another one of our earlier patterns was called Seams Like a Star. This quilt is another one with a secondary design that shows up when the blocks are put together.Marianne at Quadrille Quilting in North Haven.CT actually named this quilt. She thought it was a fun name- a play on our business name.




I used this quilt to talk about color in a couple of color classes I did. I would use the 3-in-1 Color Tool by Joen Wolfrom and show how it worked picking the fabrics for the quilt. Love that tool! You can check out the updated version of the tool at C&T Publishing here.

I think these quilts will come with me to the lecture- I really loved them and even though we don't actively promote them anymore, they have a place in my heart and they are a piece of our pattern business story.

Have a great Saturday!
Happy quilting
Kate

The Ides of March

Can you believe it is almost March? I am so glad! Soon the snow will be disappearing. It has been melting these past couple of weeks so it is no longer a death defying act just to attempt to pull out of the driveway!

When my husband and I were in high school, we took a Physics class and every year the teacher required a project. It was due on the Ides of March. March 15th. The first day of the Roman calendar. I will always remember that.

March- in like a lamb and out like a lion? or the other way around? Either way, spring will soon be here!

And in honor of spring, after a very long winter, I am having a little give away. We have 2 patterns that we have developed for March. One is called "Lucky Seven". It is from our "Wall Hanging Wednesday" series of banners.



I love this one- simple yet graphic. It is 16" x 48".


And the other is called "Lighter than Air" from our "It's the BOMB" wall hanging series. The little pinwheels are floppy and will flutter in the breeze!



The banner is 12" wide - just perfect for that little spot in the hall. I even added little kite tails to mine made from woven embroidery threads.
Or you can make a table runner. You can't tell, but the table runner in the picture is not quilted yet! Guess I better get going before I put it out!

Leave me a comment about which one you like better and the winner will receive the pattern they like! Since it is almost March, this giveaway will happen fast! I will draw a name Thursday night March 3rd so I can send the pattern out Friday morning (let's say comments close at 9pm EST). So, tell your friends to stop on by!

Have a great day because... Spring is Coming!

Happy quilting!
Kate

Where has the time gone?

Wow. A month. Actually over a month since I posted. Started to post a few times... but never got around to actually finishing a post!

How are you all?

I have been so busy. The real problem with posting is that I want to show you what I have been working on, but I can't. Why? Well, I am currently working on the shop hop quilt for the CT Shop Hop in Sept. 8-18, 2011. Should be a fun time- 18 shops, 11 days. But if I show you the quilt now, there is nothing to look forward to in September!

I have finished Scott's quilt top. Just need to get some backing fabric and then quilt it. Progress. It looks great.

And my daughter is making a quilt for a friend of hers- and it looks smashing! but, can't show a picture of that either! Not until the recipient sees it!

I am 5 weeks behind in the block a week Civil War blocks. Wow. And it's only Feb! Imagine how far behind I will be in April? or September? That's OK- there is no penalty for being behind or not even finishing- it's all for fun anyway! Here are 2 of the recent blocks I did get done.
Block 3.

Block 4


What I really like to do this time of year is hang some of my quilts. They bring a little bit of sunshine to the house when we are deep in the wintertime blues! And what a winter it has been!
These quilts have been hanging for the last few weeks.


This one is called Heart Strings- so bright and happy! I am teaching a class in March at Quadrille Quilting on this one. Should be fun!



This one is called Little Bits of Love- totally cute! I had a lot of fun making the yo-yos and adding buttons to them. Little Bits is smaller than Heart Strings- just 12" wide. But it fills a little spot in the front hallway perfectly!

They add a little bit of "spring" to the house.

And it almost time to hang the next group. I may wait until the first of March.
But, at least it will give me something to show you next time!

Actually, I think that I will do a little giveaway next post! Something fun for March. So watch out!

Happy quilting!
Kate