So I haven't really alluded to it in a while - but I also dabble (OK more than dabble) in machine embroidery. I've got several projects working, although only one is on my active rotation.
One of my favorite embroidery companies is Hoop Sisters. Every year they offer an embroider-block-of the month. These quilts are quite fantastic. I should write a post about these quilts later.
This post is about their Mystery Embroidery Quilt. It's a 6 week weekly download. You can sign up here between now and the end of June. Mea Bernina and Babylock is offering a sweet deal - if you bring in your Mystery Quilt Receipt, they will treat it like a Mea class and will give you 20% off your fabrics and threads for the quilt. Call the shop at 785-842-1595 for exact details (effective dates, excluded products, etc).
So I have completed one set of blocks - it was fun, and a bit of a challenge to assemble. You'll get plenty of practice on inset seams (grin). You know I love EPP and Grandmother's Flower Garden, so you'll bet I love this quilt with its embroidered hexagons. I'm using a really cool pastel variegated thread for the background of the white block. You cant see it in this photo, but the variegated thread gives it a nice look.
I can't wait to work on the other blocks. I wonder what they'll be! I'll just have to wait and see. It is a mystery after all.
Curious about Embroidered quilts? Check out Hoop Sisters for the Mystery Quilt and Mea Bernina for the next Embroidered BOM - Sisterhood, which starts soon.
Every designer brings something new and different to my toolbox. I've been highlighting my favorites in no particular order of wonderfulness, but rather, as I encounter them. Last month Karen K. Stone visited the Kaw Valley Quilters Guild. Wow, what a program!
My introduction to Karen came many (10?) years ago when I took a class at Quilter's Haven in Olathe. The class was Karen's Cinco de Mayo - a fantastic, somewhat chaotic New York Beauty. This class fueled my search and collection of wild, colorful fabrics. These fabrics are part of my daily round now, but back then they were way outside of my comfort zone.
Cinco de Mayo is made of a series of blocks using the New York Beauty block - all of them varied in terms of the number of points and bands. This is not mine - I only have the first two rows done (yeah, I know I started it 10 years ago). But isn't it beautiful! I love the variation in the size and number of points.
My next close encounter with the force of nature that is Karen, was a class at the first Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival. I am an EPP fan and she was teaching EPP by machine. It was a challenging technique for me because I balk at a lot of prep work - and this technique took a lot of prep. It's a good tool to have in my kit, but I haven't used it yet.
This brings us to the present - well, last month, when Karen came to our guild. She is a dynamo of a speaker - I've love to get a little of her energy. The story of her quilts was mostly about color and value. It made me think about not being so matchy-matchy with my color schemes.
For the workshop after the talk and trunk show, Karen choose "Wild Women Don't Get the Blues" as the pattern. I choose Tula Pink's Raccoons for my focus fabric. I thought those little guys would be so cute surrounded by the colorful star points. After I took this pic, I added a black and white striped flange between the raccoon and the star points. I really liked it but i was a lot of work. So now I'm looking for something similar but easier. Or maybe I'll just leave it as is. Hmmmm Dilemma!
Curious about Karen? Look for her workshops and programs. She is a bundle of positive, quilting energy.
So I have completed one set of blocks - it was fun, and a bit of a challenge to assemble. You'll get plenty of practice on inset seams (grin). You know I love EPP and Grandmother's Flower Garden, so you'll bet I love this quilt with its embroidered hexagons. I'm using a really cool pastel variegated thread for the background of the white block. You cant see it in this photo, but the variegated thread gives it a nice look. 
