Dolls, Giraffes, and Stars... oh my!

Once again I am playing catch-up. No, not in real life, here in blogland. Last week I let you all know about the status of my door challenge, but I neglected to fill you in on my work, the real stuff, you know, money making customer quilts, the ones that help pay the bills. So, here goes:

Jan made another super-adorable paper doll quilt. You might remember her other one was in pinks, if not, click here for the original post. This one is done all in blues and is yet another cutie!

Before she left to go back up north, she left her Giraffe wall hanging triology with me... it is made up with some more of the fabrics she got while in Africa. I love this little three-piece hanging. Jan said she plans on embellishing it and then adding some beaded fringe at the bottom of each piece. I can't wait to see what she does with it!

Hopefully by now Jan has received her quilts and is just thrilled with them! She had already informed me that there are two more quilts coming my way over the summer -- can't wait!

On to the stars... Star Light, Star Bright that is, a pattern by Bits n' Pieces. Let me rephrase, an awesome pattern. I have basted one of these for a home-quilter, and now had the opportunity to quilt one for Margy. This is an awesome quilt... I might have to add this pattern to my arsenal of go-to patterns. The blocks are made up in three different sizes along with some applique fillers and makes up a lovely large quilt! I love the scattered blocks in the border, and Margy made it even bigger by adding an additional outside border - love it!

Door Challenge Update

My door has officially taken to fabric... woohoo! I started with the floor, knowing there was a possibility I wouldn't like the perspective at all once in paint on the fabric... boy, was I wrong. I love how it turned out.

So then I started on the block wall...

Did you even have one of those moments when you sit back and say, no, that's not quite right, I can make this better. And you don't hesitate to think it through, you just run with it... yep, I thought the blocks looked a little *blotchy*, so I grabbed a sponge and some white fabric paint and started sponging thinking this will create just the texture it needs... oh no, what the heck did I just do? The best part, my husband says, "why did you do that?"... I don't know, serious brain fart, self-sabotage, lack of brain cells -- the entire time he's standing there shaking his head I'm thinking oh, no, I'm really going to have to start a new wall?!!

Yes, my block wall now looked as if it was encrusted in sparkly snow... which would've been great if that was the intended look. Ahhh.... a good nights rest far away from the wall is exactly what I need.... and, perhaps a margarita or two!

13 hours later: I wake up, realizing that it looks like snow because I didn't add any depth with darker paints... hallelujah the brain cells were singing. I began correcting my stupidity, and voila, the block wall was born.

So then I pieced the floor to the wall and a quilt is in the process of being born. I think I need to dirty the grout lines a bit more on the left side -- but not too much, we know the right side of this door is used way more than the left!

Just like in real life, no doors yet... kinda like they're on backorder from Lowes! That's it on my door until I get another minute to myself!

PSLCQ 2012 Raffle Quilt

"Bed of Roses" our remake of the Moss Rose Quilt (1853 Susan Black Stayman). Hand applique by Marian M., Pat N., and Muriel K., trapunto and machine quilting by me, Karen Marchetti. The original quilt is part of the Spencer Collection at the Spencer Museum of Art (University of Kansas). There is also a wonderful write up on Barbara Brackman's blog. If you get a chance, check out these sites, both full of wonderful information!

Originally I had planned on quilting it very similar to the original... until, yep, you guessed, a 3 am wake up to an awesome idea. Apparently I was quilt dreaming - happens way more than I'd like to admit. But sometimes a great idea and a great quilt come together and voilà... beauty is born.

After two weeks of marking, snipping away trapunto batt, quilting, unmarking, aka *working*, this beauty, the PSLCQ Raffle Quilt is quilted! And, let me tell you, it is a beauty! The bad part, tickets are not yet available... I know, I know! As I've mentioned on facebook, I will let everyone know when tickets are available, and will provide all the information on how to go about purchasing them. Until then, here is a picture of the awesome quilt:

Here are some detail photos:

The raffle isn't until our next show, which is February 2012, for more information on PSLCQ and also information about the show, check out their website: http://www.pslcrazyquilters.com/

An update on Family and Life... NQR

I've been busy preparing for my son's graduation... yes, finally! The trials and tribulations of grades and GPA's, missed credits from almost forgetten classes, FCAT testing replaced by ACT testing (don't even ask my opinion of the FCAT), along with all the "etc" (my nice word for bs) are all done. My son has graduated. It was an amazing, happy, sad, tearful, and joyful event. He kept telling me, "it's no big deal Mom", I begged to argue with him... as I sat watching him during the ceremony I knew he finally realized, yes, IT IS A BIG DEAL! I am more than proud of him, and love him more than any words can say...

Over Challenged--Under Idea'd

Wow, it is a season of challenges. I am currently involved in three, participation-wise that is. So far I have only started working on two, of which, only one is actually fabric at this point. Anyway, my three challenges are: (1) the Door Challenge for a small local art group (width 30"-60" x 30"+), (2) MCQG Challenge (40x40 max) - Stars, Stars, Stars, and (3) PSLCQ Member Challenge (24x24 max) - What's in Your Garden.

Now, I've never been very good at doing things in the correct order, because here are the respective due dates: (1) September 2011, (2) October, 2011, and (3) November 2011.

(1) I have drawn out my Door Challenge and am still not ready to commit my idea to fabric. I have made two attempts at this so far, but something is telling my brain to wait. My experience with my brain tells me to listen! So my door remains a drawing, waiting for a few more tweeks and the a-okay from the brain, then, and only then will I enlarge my drawing and turn it into a beautiful painted fabric masterpiece. In other words, the last week of August I will be a mad-woman thread painting and quilting wood and stone!

I'm jumping to (3) because I have done nothing on this challenge, not even a thought. I know, it is awful, but it is true. All my creative juices have gone in total other directions... good thing is I have until November!

Okay, now on to (2) My Star Challenge. This one is just about done. Well, no, not really, but close - at least it is fabric!

Here are the fabric choices, at least one of these must be used in the challenge - and yes, they are lame'.

Here is my original design. Yes, I am so old-school -- paper, pencil, scissors, photocopies, tape, and to think I am somewhat of a computer genius and have a background with graphic arts. I don't know why but, I am my most creative doing it the old-fashioned way!

So, the design resulted in the following fabric choices: the lame's and a beautiful silk for the main elements and black sateen for the background. I chose the black sateen for the background because the quilting shows up amazingly beautiful on this fabric; well, that and the sheen factor to match the silk and lame'.

Here is the progress since the design conception (beginning of April) until now. Soon I'll begin the invisible applique and then start designing the quilting layout. (If you peek at the left side of this photo you can see a tiny little piece of the door challenge.)

So that is my Challenge delirium in a nutshell. Hoping to keep you all informed as each challenge progresses -- I've been told that I share too much, don't worry, I'm sure a post on sharing is bound to follow!!!

Another MQS ribbon...

Yeah!!! I will never, ever, ever, get sick of hearing those words, nope, not ever!

"Clouds in My Latte" has received a Judge's Choice Award at MQS 2011 (click here for a link to ALL the winners). The Judge that chose my quilt was none other than Linda McCuean... totally awesome!!! Totally! I am on cloud nine once again, I know, it doesn't take much! Really, any ribbon is fantastic, but Judge's Choice is my favorite!!! Here goes my second Thank You to Linda, this means so much!!

Here is "Clouds in My Latte" hanging at MQS with her ribbon. She does look fantastic!

For those of you that don't know, MQS is the Machine Quilters Showcase which is an annual convention/show by the International Machine Quilters Association (http://www.imqa.org/). A super big, super loud shout-out to ALL the winners, the quilts are amazing!!!

I must also formally congratulate Lisa Sipes, her awesome quilt "BeDazzleder!" took 2nd Place in the Machine Embroidery category... YEAH!!! And she was also the first to notify my of my ribbon. Here is a peek at her award-winning beauty:


Best of Show went to the totally awesome Claudia Pfeil with her "Magical Mermaids Castle". I have watched little pieces of this quilt as Claudia shared them on facebook, and can't wait to see it in person one day, but until then, I will be amazed by photos.

Thanks again to Lisa for notifying me, and for the pictures too! And yet one more thank you to Linda McCuean... for my awesome ribbon!

Catch up...

I have once again fallen behind on my posts, not far behind, but I forgot to post a few things, so this is going to be a super-quick show and tell (unless you read really slow)....

Mary's "Don't Look Now" (pattern by Lilly Pilly):

Donna's antique quilt -- it was her husbands grandmothers and she thinks it is from the 1920's:

Billy's "Home Tweet Home" (McKenna Ryan pattern), along with some extra blocks:

That sums it up, I think! Anyway, tomorrow is Mother's Day -- wishing you all a wonderful day!

UPDATE on last to know...

I received an email this morning from Susan about her Third Place win on Bamboo...

Dear Karen,
Thought you want to know that the Red Bamboo received a 3rd place award in the group category at the Empire Guild 2011 show in New York City. It was the first quilt hanging when you entered the show. You did a beautiful job quilting it. Will also send a shot of the other quilt entered in the show. I can't wait to hang it in my house. The quilting was exactly the look I wanted. Thanks again. Susan

Congratulations again to Susan! And also to all of the winners of that show - click here for a link to see ALL the winners.

It seems that some people were extrememly disturbed by my post of April 7 (click here to reread). I am not apologizing if it bothered you - I am telling it like it is... there is a big problem with not informing longarmers of shows and/or wins. There is an ever bigger problem with not even naming longarmers, this is NOT the case with the post in discussion. It is a team effort, no doubt about it. The quilting should ALWAYS emphasize the piecing and help to tell a story or create a motif/theme, not just tack the quilt together. From my own experience and reading many critiques the quilting of the quilt top is as important as fabric choices, piecing styles, etc. So YES, all longarmers (machine quilters) should be given the opportunity to know about the shows and even read the critiques if they mention anything about the quilting. My post was NEVER intended to bash anyone, nor did I think it read that way. It was more of an informative post on this ever-growing problem.

My son thinks I'm amazing...

really, those were his exact words -- "Mom, you are amazing!" No, not because of my awesome parenting skills, not because I handed him money or car keys, but because he finally watched me quilt. No, he didn't stand next to me while at the Gammill, he sat at the computer and watched me quilt on my newly uploaded video. I thought it was grainy so I asked him to watch -- he told me I was amazing and he could not believe how accurate and precise I was. The entire time I'm laughing because he is in the house alot when I'm quilting, he has stood at the end of the machine and watched from afar. It wasn't until he saw the birds-eye-view that he realized I'm a really good machine quilter. Just had to share this!

Anyway, here is the video, it is on my YouTube channel KarMarchetti

MQX East 2011

how I wish I were there!! For those that don't know -- MQX is Machine Quilters Expo. A fantastic show for quilters, one I am hoping to attend soon, possibly next year. MQX East is one of the largest machine quilting shows and is currently held in Providence, RI. Here is a link to the Winners. A super BIG congratulations to all of the winners -- I've seen pictures of some of these quilts and they are truly awesome! Very well-deserved ribbons! Oliver somehow managed to attend (without me). He was part of a Special Exhibit entitled Pretty as a Picture, Quilts Inspired by Photographs. You may remember me talking about that in a previous post, if not, click here. I must thank Linda Thielfoldt (the Quited Goose) for snapping a picture of Oliver for me. To my surprise, there is a ribbon on him. I do not know what the ribbons is for, so I'm patiently (not) waiting for his return home so I can see! Here is the picture:

Always the last to know...

Technically if it weren't for facebook I wouldn't know, not sure which is worse? So on that note I would like to thank John Kubiniec (Big Rig Quilting) one of my facebook friends for posting this link. Remember a while back, I had two quilts brought to me by Michele, but they were actually for Susan up in New York (if you don't remember, you can read the original post here).

Her red quilt, "Bamboo" (pictured to the left) took Third Place in the Group Quilts category at the Empire Quilt Show in New York. Congratulations to her, and me too. Also congratulations to John -- he took First Place in Group Quilts category!

So... no, I didn't hear from the customer, not a call, not a letter, not even a facebook or blog comment, nothing. This is one of the bad points of being a longarmer -- you don't always hear of the glory of a quilt that you quilted, the compliments, praises, and judging critiques. But, even worse than all of that, is not to be listed as the quilter at all... that is the worst! That was not the case with Susan, she did list me as the quilter.

So to sum this one up, if you use a longarmer and the quilt is in a show, let the longarmer know, whether it takes a ribbon or not-- it's just nice to know!

the Cowboy Quilt

I do believe this is one of those quilts that has been forever in the making!

Jan has been one of my customers for many years. Every year she tells me she's found more cowboy fabrics and she's "working" on the quilt. I'm sure she has been collecting for at least all of those years, if not more because I've been hearing about this famous cowboy quilt since the day I met her. She finally finished it, and I had a great time quilting it.

Jan is just so talented and she never ceases to amaze me with her layouts, here are some pictures:

The quilt turned out super cute, and guess what?... Jan had enough fabric that she made a second cowboy quilt! It's amazing what you can make when you stop collecting fabric long enough to sew some of it together! LOL

Cold, Comfort, Dolls, and African Women ???

What a week (um, or more like week-and-a-half)-- still trying to conquer this lingering cold which won't give up - my voice is stuck in scratchy-crackle world, but I'm managing and shouldn't be complaining. On top of the never-ending cold, I finished a quick but super special appliqued quilt. My sister called me and told me that her best friend was just diagnosed with breast cancer and would need chemo. I immediately thought she would need a comfort quilt and got busy...

Needless to say, Linda was thrilled, crying, wordless, but full of heartfelt thanks. Here is Linda opening her quilt...

Okay, now back to work (the customer/bill-paying kind). I managed to finish up two quilts for Jan -- first her super-adorable paper dolls quilt:

And also, her African women quilt:

National Quilting Day!

Saturday was National Quilting Day and what a blast we had at the JaM Patch celebrating "Stars in Our Backyard"! Pam Post (another of our local stars) gave a great lecture on how to prepare your quilt for a longarmer and was a wealth of fantastic information. She was way organized and very informative! Then, the disorganized chaos known as me... with a trunk show in no particular order. And I am so bad at talking in front of groups, but I think I did okay. As long as everyone is talking and its more question and answers I do much better. And everyone did tell me I did a great job -- I don't think they would lie?? Anyway, here's just a few of the quilts:

And, of course, a big thanks to Joey and Margy, owners of the JaM Patch!!!