Deb Karasik was in the house!

Deb Karasik doing a trunk show for the Desert Quilters

 Have you ever seen something amazing that someone else has created and thought..... "There is NO WAY I could ever do that!" ?? Well, that is how I felt as I sat amongst the 300+ quilters at the Desert Quilters Guild meeting. This was my first time there and I mostly went because Deb Karasik was going to be doing a trunk show and I wanted to see her quilts. I took many on my phone then they kept coming....so I pulled out my point and shoot (sorry for the lower quality photos) because I didn't think of taking my DSLR...big DUH!

As her husband was showing off all these quilts I began to really feel inadequate in my quilting skills. I mean REALLY inadequate. I kept looking around at all the OLD ladies there and thinking.....I just don't fit in here. But I was blown away by every single new quilt that came out. I learned that she paper pieces everyone of her quilts....I can do that! And she designs them on EQ7....I can do that! (I have that program after all) I started to get inspired and the inadequate feelings began to leave me a little bit at a time. 

You see, I love my Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild.....I feel like I fit there. At the Desert Quilters, not so much. But I was so glad I decided to go. I have a few photos of some of her quilts to show you....hope you enjoy them. And, I think it's time to start paper piecing......what do you think?

 

 

Aren't they stunning? This one is the back of the previous photo and I had to take it because I love how you can see her quilting. She said she uses anything that looks pretty! I like that.....I understand some people are a one thread type person, but I have several different kinds and I like using what works best. 

Deb also said she never washes any of her quilts (probably because of showing) and she only uses a specific black color. But, I am inspired.....I want to learn paper piecing.....now!

My special surprise!!

The ladies in my round robin group secretly made me a baby quilt!! They each made a square or two and sent them to one lovely person (Dee) and she put them all together and quilted it for me! Isn't it so awesome?? They did an "I Spy" type theme where there is something different in each square that the baby can search for! I was so surprised that it brought me to tears! It was so unexpected and I know that I am truly blessed to have wonderful people in my life....no matter how close or far they live from me. :)

 

This is the back! It's an "Around the World" theme, since we were all located in different parts of the country and world. This quilt is so special and I know that it will be with me forever! 

 

The label (not shown) is so fabulous because it has each person and where they are in the world! I didn't share because of personal information, but look how cute the corner label is that Dee added....I do believe this quilt was stitched with love! I'm so very moved by their kindness and generosity! Thanks again ladies!!!

Love you all!!

My ARRR8 Quilt top has come home!!!

Can you believe this started out like this:

I made this center for my round robin group thinking that I would need to add a border or two at the end for it to fit our Queen sized bed.....but, as you can see from the first photo, it is so big I don't have space on my floor to display it! I'm super excited and in love with the evolution of this quilt. My only dilemma now....to make the backing. I don't have enough fabric to finish it quite yet. I am going to see, I may be able to use all that I have left over from the front to piece a fabulous scrappy back. That might be the right thing to do. I will update on the progress for sure.

Now, to add to this special mail day, one of the lovely ladies in the group (Susan)  made these burpies for me and sent them with the quilt top....she was the last to add to it. They are so perfect and I can't wait to use them. 

They were wrapped up so cute.....she made me two of them and here is a picture! 

Tomorrow I will show you the other surprise this group made for me! You aren't going to want to miss this one believe me! :)

My Quilt top is home!!

 I don't know if you remember seeing a few posts regarding this quilt top, but it is finally home! This group was a round robin, well more of a "Bee Free Bee's" round robin. We had complete creative liberty to add what we wanted to for each round that came our way. This is what arrived in my mail box today!!! I love it! 

Originally I wanted to make it a baby quilt, cause I was thinking I would get a girl this time, but since I am having my fourth (and last) boy, I am going to quilt it and display in my studio! Isn't it so cheerful and divine? It is just so fresh I love staring at it! Each round has a unique touch to it and it has made this all the more fun.

When the signups came up again, I had to, sadly, turn the next round down because I will be having my baby right when we start, and I didn't think that would be fair to make someone wait right off the bat for their top. I didn't want to delay anything. So, I am going to do round 3 for sure! It's a the Flickr group Around the Bend and Across the Pond !! I highly recommend joining and doing this because you not only get a fabulous quilt, but you will make life long friends too!

I'm going to add a border around this and then quilt it up. Since I've been taking Angela Walters Free Motion quilting class online, I am going to use some of those techniques to fill it in.....can't wait to show you! Stay tuned for this finished project. 

Till then.....create on!

Charity Quilting = Fun Quilting

We started today! Four of us got together today to cut, sew and assemble.....and talk and laugh and eat too! We had so much fun assembling these blocks and quilt tops! There is still so much work to do, but I am so glad it wasn't a one woman show! We made mostly 9 patch blocks because we had so many random fabrics donated, so we thought that scrappy would be fun! And it really turned out great.

I asked Alicia to stand next to it so you could get an idea of how big the quilts need to be. This one measures 70" x 90" and it is so fun! We tried to be random and didn't like it so we made a diamond in the middle...isn't it cool? My favorite part of this picture are the cute little feet behind the quilt top!

Here is it head on.

I didn't include myself in any pictures because .... well, a ponytail and no makeup with sewing all day..... not a pretty site. Anyway, hope you enjoy this first post of where the fabric is going!

are you inspired?

a couple years ago i saw this and couldn't stop listening. i even bought his first cd......sometimes i listen to this to inspire me. we are all special and have wonderful talents and sometimes we hide them. it's time to share your talents!

what inspires you?