Quilty Travel - A Special Visitor - and a WINNER!

Greetings Quilty Friends...  Happy October!  

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It's hard to let September go, but with the leaves and the calendar turning, I guess we're officially moving into fall. 

 I snapped this picture from a hillside on the East side of Keuka lake a few weeks ago...
You've gotta love a Finger Lakes sunset...
More about this view in the future post ;)

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Before we move on to my special visitor and the Winner of the National Sewing month Giveaway, I want to share with you some of the fun things I've done this month... 

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Early in September I was hosted by Creekside Fabrics, Quilts and Yarns in Arcade, NY.

We shared 3 days of Free Motion Quilting on domestic machines.

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Ruler Work - featuring the awesome QP Curve Templates,

a Full Day of Feathers

and an Open Sew Workshop

 Many thanks to Sandy and her talented team for having me in.
Also, many thanks to the ladies that have frequented my Workshops for what is now my 3rd visit to Creekside Fabrics -- WOW!!
We've come a long way Baby!!
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Be sure to jump over to Instagram to see more fun images of my travels!

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Mid-September I was invited to teach and lecture with the York County Quilters Guild near Rock Hill, South Carolina !

Another fun trip...

Along the way I stopped in Harrisburg, PA and Colonial Williamsburg, VA to spend much needed time with family... 

Love you all! 

Once I arrived in SC, I stayed with another beautiful family!! 

Many thanks to Sherri and the Applique Society Sisters for their welcome and hospitality.

I had a rewarding time with the Guild. 

We worked on the Really Mini Redbird and Berries in Wool - complete with a kit of beautiful hand dyed wool, Aurifil 12Wt thread, my favorite Bohin Crewel needles. 

Later in the evening we shuffled off for a Moda Bake Shop Lecture & Trunk Show at the Guild General Meeting.  Oh it's always fun to share with Quilty Friends...  A great turnout and fantastic trip.

I'm getting a little lax in taking pictures during Workshops -- I'm sorry to have missed a few ladies in the shot (upper right)...

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Thank you York County Quilters -- what a great group!  

OK - now we're nearing the end of September... I was honored to spend time with the Endless Mountains Quilt Guild in Sayre/Athens, PA at their 2016 Show.

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Below is a recap and you can see many more images online here.

The QP Curve Template Demo

 My thanks to all of you that stopped by to say hello, watch a demo or just check-out the quilts on exhibit.  It was a fabulous show with oodles of beautiful quilts and beautiful people.

A faux Ruched Flower Demo

Because the show was in my hometown, I was greeted by many who knew and loved my mom.  Oh it was very heartwarming.  My sisters, Aunts and friends visited too!  

The crew from the Endless Mountains Guild were spectacular to work with -- my thanks go out to Cassandra, Linda, Judy, Kim, and Sharon -- not to mention all the hands working in the background.

Thank you so much ladies (and men)... 

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I must say -- I was a bit partial to the special display of "Redbird and Berries" right outside my exhibit area.  

Each day I could sit and stare at this collection of Redbirds.  Enough to make anyone smile. 

Be sure to click over to this album to see the ladies next to their creations!

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The show also included a fine exhibit of Youth entries -- they always make my heart sing.

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Our granddaughter Angelina entered her quilt into this show and, as did all Youth entries, the quilt received a "Youth Participation Award" from the Guild. 

What a fine way to honor those young folks that are beginning their quilting journey.

I had the honor of meeting an upcoming young quilter -- age 7!!  

Her name is Claire and she's fortunate to be able to work on her Grandma's Longarm machine.
Claire just captured my heart with her excitement about quilting and she too had a quilt in the show.  

I'm sorry I didn't get an image of Claire or her quilt, but let me tell you - it was perfect.

She used her own drawings, scanned them, printed them on fabric, and integrated them into a quilt that she pieced and quilted herself !!  It was so sweet.

Way to go Claire!  

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The sweet ladies from the Guild presented me with a couple of awesome Gift Certificates from local shops including The Friendship Star Quilt Shop in Sayre and Shores Quilt Shop in Towanda, PA.

I can't wait to get to those shops!

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Here are just a couple of the quilts I LOVED!

 Cathedral Windows is on my Bucket List !!
Isn't this beautiful ?

And how about this beauty by Gail Arnold... 

Oh I love it but I'm not sure I would ever be able to piece it... 

You can see more EMQG Exhibit Images here.

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Now a special shout-out to the two ladies that helped me have a successful show.

My 2 Vana's... 

 This is my friend Terri Butler - Quilter Extraordinaire and Creative Goddess!

And this is my friend Cindy -- owner of the famed Sew It Is Quilt Shop -- and Creative Goddess Two!

Checkout the sweet aprons that Cindy made for me!

Where would I be without you two?
Thank you both so very much - Love you!

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Wow -- what a rewarding and inspiring month - thanks for sharing it with me.

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Now -- On To the Special Visitor

Ya'll know I've been following this lady, Doreen Auger, and her fabulous blog, Treadle Music, for YEARs!

Last week my husband and I had the chance to visit with Doreen and her dear husband Tom at the cottage...  

It was a very special time.

Many thanks to both Doreen and Tom for including us on their traveling "meet and greet".

A few adult beverages, burgers at the Switz, and great conversation rounded out the visit...
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And now I present the Winner of the National Sewing Month Giveaway.
Read more about the Giveaway here.
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The fabulous Linda Hrcka of The Quilted Pineapple provided a 3 piece set of QP Edge Rulers to one lucky entrant.

I used Mr. Random Generator to select a Winner

And the corresponding entry is:

Bonnie -- Congratulations!

You Are The Winner of 

The QP Edge Templates.

Oh you will LOVE these -- I just know it!

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Many thanks to Linda Hrcka for providing this set of tools.

You can follow Linda on Facebook here.

For those of you that missed it, I shared a few Free Motion Quilting Tips and Tricks

On the Moda Bake Shop a few weeks ago .

That post is what spurred the Giveaway.

Do jump over and check out the details.

If you enjoyed the information on the Bake Shop, stay tuned as I'll be quilting a simple table topper over there soon!

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Time to run... a have a little sewing to do.

Have a blessed weekend all and many thanks for your continued support!

YOU Make my World a Happy Place!

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My other Moda Bake Shop Recipes

Welcome Redbird Quilt Co. Lets Celebrate with a MONTH of Giveaways!!

Hi everyone -- thanks for visiting today!

I'm so excited to announce and celebrate the creation of my new design, pattern, and quilting company "Redbird Quilt Co." 

Yep, this little business is getting off the ground and for the next month we're going to celebrate this and some other fun milestones with weekly giveaways!!   Woohoo! 

I have some awesome and generous giveaway sponsors lined up including Aurifil, Sew It Is Quilt Shop and Bear Creek Quilting Company just to name a few!! 

This week lets talk about milestones and the creation of Redbird Quilt Co!!

I've been sewing since I was in high school but only began the quilting journey a few years ago when my sister Janet invited me to join her in a LQS block of the month.  Well -- the completion of that BOM, along with many hours of guidance and love from my sister Janet -- and I was hooked on quilting!!

Now, 6+ years later, I've learned the joys of free motion quilting, needle turn and wool applique, lots and lots of fun quilting skills, and I've started designing my own patterns!!  

About 2 years ago I started blogging and what a world of adventure and opportunity that has opened up -- learning from the most talented and giving quilting community on earth!!   I'm so very thankful for blogging -- it's allowed me to get exposed to and write Recipes for the Moda Bake Shop AND to just share my love of quilting with others -- not to mention the bazillions of things I've learned from all the talented quilting bloggers out there -- Thank you all for embracing me and encouraging me to move forward...

 Here are some blogging milestones to celebrate!! 

• Published more than 100 posts
• Exceeded more than 650 followers (and I appreciate each and every one of you!!  Thank you! Thank you!)
• Have had nearly 70,000 views on my blog -- how exciting!!

So, hey -- what do you say we get around to this week's giveaway. 

Aurifil has generously provided a set of Aurifil Botanics threads for me to give to one lucky reader!!

The Thread pack contains 10 - 220 yard spools of 50wt 100% cotton thread in some bright and cheery colors.  You can read more about the talented Carolyn Friedlander and her Botanics line on Aurifil's blog by clicking here.    

If you've never tried Aurifil thread it's really a MUST DO step in your quilting journey.  As many of you know, I quilt very densely on most of my projects and I just LOVE Aurifil Mako Cotton 50Wt thread!!

For quilting I use it in the top and bobbin thread.  It glides on like silk, doesn't break, shred, or leave piles of lint behind.... and you can do very dense quilting without unsightly thread buildup.  It is my GO TO thread for quilting!!

For piecing, the fine cotton fibers allow for nearly invisible and totally flat seams.  It's just a joy to work with.

Ok onto the fun part - - here's the scoop.

You have several ways to gain chances to win this Thead Pack of Aurifil Botanics -- choose as many or as few as you like!!

1. One chance if you're a follower (old or new) of my blog -- leave a comment letting me know.
2. One chance if you are an AURIbuzz blog follower (old or new)  - leave a comment on this post letting me know.
3. One chance if you "Like" Redbird Quilt Co. on Facebook - be sure to come back to this post and let me know!
4. One chance if you "Like" Aurifil on Facebook -- oh what scrumptious projects they post each day -- be sure to come back to this post and let me know...
5. One chance for "Following" Redbird Quilt Co. on Twitter  "@RedbirdQuiltCo" be sure to come back to this post and let me know.
6. One chance for "Following" Redbird Quilt Co. on Pinterest!!  Woohoo!!  
7. Oh -- and if you give a shout-out about the giveaway on your blog or any other social media avenue -- take another chance for that !   

Be sure to leave individual comments below for each chance you decide to use!!

This giveaway will be open for one week -- so sometime on Monday, April 7th I'll use Mr. Random Generator and announce a winner!!

One more thing -- check back each Monday for the next several weeks as we celebrate some other new and exciting milestones -- new giveaways will be announced each Monday through the end of April!!

Many thanks to my husband, both of my sisters, and a couple of dear close friends (you know who you are!!)  for always encouraging me to follow my dreams - love you all!

Lets party!
Have a wonderful week.
Karen

Where has the time gone ? Sharing....

How the challenges of November and December have caught up with me! I've been delinquent in posting -- and in sewing -- but I have had a blast preparing for the Holidays.

Each year we gather for a Photo Shoot of our grand children in our home.

My sister Michele graciously endures MANY hours of shooting a variety of holiday photos with 8 little munchkins ranging from 2 to 14 years old.

This year was especially fun (and challenging).  Thankfully, we gain hundreds of wonderful photo's each year.  Here are a few of my favorites...

Brother and sister -- Lucas and Angelina - Aren't they special ?

 Cousins -- three months apart, Zachary and Ethan -- Ethan will turn 2 this week !!

Say "hello" to Caleb -- he was tired today - spent alot of time in Grampa's lap and just taking everything in.

 Beautiful Miss Jenna with her cousin Zachary....

Two of my favorites of "the girls"...

Sisters Emily (left) and Jenna (right) with cousin Angelina (center). 

Angelina has 4 brothers so she really enjoys getting dolled up with her cousins!

Last but not least is Emily with her little cousin --the other twin, Benjamin.

We feel very fortunate to have such special grandchildren and to live close to all of them (3 families).

Bless you all this holiday season...  May you enjoy your time with you family and friends.

Leaving you with my "Bird Tree" - a gift from my sister Michele a few years ago -- it stays up 365 days a year to celebrate my love of Song Birds.

Thanks again sister... for another year of wonderful photos!

Merry Christmas,
Hugs,
Karen