Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Craft U Tutorials

CraftU Tutorials

I'm so glad you are enjoying our new KT Videos. Being on camera has been quite educational (and sometimes traumatic!), figuring out what it takes to put together a good quilting video/tutorial. I learned so much after spending several days in Golden, CO at Quiltmaker headquarters to tape my Layered Patchwork method. Through their Quilt University, I'll be teaching 3 different ways to utilize this technique. After checking out my new KT Videos, how about joining me for a tutorial at Craft U to make all three of the following projects?
Mini Barn Raising 68"sq. lap quilt - features charm and mini charm packs
 
Kansas Sunflower Runner 19" x 44" - simple Jelly Roll pieced background with raw edge applique
Window Garden 28" sq. mini quilt - our Wedge Template creates the illusion of curved piecing over easy 9-patch blocks

Beginning January 18, 2016, we'll explore my technique for simplifying traditional pieced blocks by using layered patchwork and raw edge applique in six tutorials. I'll also share more quilts featuring these techniques and my quilting story. After watching each tutorial, we can chat about any questions you may have. I look forward to seeing you all there! What a fun way to start the New Year! 

For more information and to sign up, go to CraftU







Monday, December 21, 2015

New! KT Videos!

KT Winner

Congratulations to  scottylover.
"Oh my, those blocks are adorable! Love this pattern and it sounds so easy with your method."
You're the winner of a Bees 'n Blooms charm pack and pattern (as soon as it's finished next year). Send an email to our super office manager, Jamie, at lynne@ktquilts.com with mailing info and she'll put on the wait list board. You'll be one of the first to receive the new precut and pattern.

KT Videos

I'm so excited to invite you to my very own YouTube channel! Jake Doan (yes, Jenny Doan's very talented photographer/videographer son) came to KTQ a couple months ago and shot about 10 videos for us featuring some our favorite projects, rulers, templates and books. We even filmed a KT studio tour so you can see where I work/play/quilt at the building in town.  Jake and his wife, Missy, did a wonderful job of putting them all together for us. Click on the links below to go directly to the videos or check them out thru our website ktquilts.com under the KT Videos link. We're planning to do a short video for each new fabric collection/book in the future. Please help us reach 100 views in the first 30 days to earn a dedicated KTQ channel. Tell all your friends! I'd love to know what you think.
 


Cozy Cottage Flannels Giveaway

While tidying up my studio, I found a big pile of Cozy Cottage Flannels chunks and scraps from our 3 projects - Huggable, Cuddle Up and Snuggle Me. Interested? Comment here about your favorite video for a chance to win one of 3 scrap bundles!

KT Quilt Shop Closed for Holidays

KT Quilt Shop will be closed December 24 thru January 4th for family fun, grankid games and inventory (not all at the same time). I'm also taking the week after Christmas off from blogging to pack for my first cruise with Jenny Doan. We're so excited!

 A Great Big THANK YOU!

Thanks to all of you for following my blog. I feel like I have dozens of quilting friends out there that are the best supporters and encouragers ever! It makes my day to read all of your comments and see so many come back again and again. I spend most days alone in my studio designing or sewing, so sharing my quilts with you is like visiting with a fellow quilter over a cup of tea. Hope to see many of you next year at the store, at a guild or on a cruise. 


Merry, Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year to you all!

Lynne, Robert, Jamie and KT staff

Monday, December 14, 2015

Buzzz Charm Quilt

KT Winner

 Congratulations to this week's winner of Bees 'n Blooms scrap bundle -Victoria M. We'll send your box of scraps as soon as we hear from you. Thanks again to everyone who comments. I enjoy reading them all.

Bees 'n Blooms Charm Quilt

The final project to share in our Bees 'n Blooms collection is the charm pack quilt, Buzzz. Easy layered patchwork makes the wings and body of the bee a breeze to piece, even with little pieces. Simply layer, stitch and piece together traditional 4-patches. Joy quilted it with adorable details like butterfly wings and antennae. Too cute!


Leave a comment to win a Bees 'n Blooms charm pack & pattern. You'll have to be patient on this prize as the pattern won't be ready for a couple of months. :)

KT Stitch With Me

Are you ready for our first ever KT Stitch With Me? Stay tuned in January for 4 weeks of fun, stitching up a little quilt featuring my layered patchwork method. It's not too late to order a kit. Tell your friends!

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Introducing KT Stitch With Me


KT Stitch With Me

So many quilters out there have asked about my Layered Patchwork technique featuring Moda's precuts. The basic method is layering a precut, like a mini charm, on top of a charm square and topstitching it in place for the look of piecing without all the cutting and seams. Your blocks are more perfect and square, so your quilt sews together more easily. Plus there's the added bonus of the exposed pinked edges creating a cool primitive frayed effect. Totally lovin' it!

Would you like to check out my unique perspective on simplifying traditional pieced blocks? Join me in January/February 2016 for a 4 week series of tutorials, right here on this blog. We'll make a different block each week using mini charms and a few fabrics so you can try your hand at Layered Patchwork. By the end of the 4 weeks, you'll be a pro, ready to try the projects in our new booklet, Crazy for Minis. See where we're going with this? Hee Hee

If you're interested in a kit to make the KT Stitch With Me project, call KTQ at 785-488-2120 to order by December 18th. Kits include 2 KT mini charms and fabrics for quilt top & binding - $30 including shipping. Add backing for an additional $10.

Here are a couple of the projects that are included in the Crazy for Minis booklet. It's a good bet a layered patchwork star and flying geese will be taught during Stitch With Me.


Cozy Cottage Flannels/Huggable Quilts

The Flannels are here! Oh my, I could just fall into these precuts and bolts of fabric, they're sooooo soft and comfy. We used the precuts to make some easy layered patchwork type throws that don't even require batting or quilting. Come on in to check them out. It's not too late to whip up one of these for Christmas!


Snuggle Me

Huggable
Watch for giveaways of flannels soon!

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Makin' Honey from Bees 'n Blooms

KT Winner

Congrats to Carol Feye, you're the winner of a Bees 'n Blooms booklet. Please email your mailing address to Jamie at lynne@ktquilts.com. She'll send it out as soon as they're done in late Feb/early March. I'd love to see a picture of your hanging ornaments! Sounds very cool.

Vintage Hexs Made Easy

My love affair with quilts began many years ago when I slept under my Gramma's quilts. She only made three, as was the custom (and her Mother's requirement) for her hope chest. Her real love was rug hooking. I was lucky enough to receive one of the quilts she made as a young woman when I married. I loved that quilt - a double wedding ring with cheddar yellow background and scrappy 30's prints. We used it on our bed, washed it and loved it practically to death over the years. I took my first quilting class to reproduce the vintage quilts I was drawn to, but couldn't afford to purchase as a new wife/mom/student. My mission was to make new quilts that looked and felt like Gramma's. I was fortunate to take quilting classes from a shop owner that collected vintage quilts and totally got it. The traditional patterns and earthy fabrics she chose recreated the look I adored. Over the years, I've adapted and simplified those traditional blocks with my Layered Patchwork technique so I can make more vintage inspired quilts for everyone in my family. One of the latest challenges was this elongated hexagon quilt that I found at an antique show a couple years ago. It's been hanging in my studio ever since, whispering to me that there has to be a way....


After many unsuccessful attempts, the light bulb finally went on and I saw this design in it's simplest form - rectangles and triangles. The revelation was this isn't made as a single block, but in parts laid out in horizontal rows. By layering/topstitching triangles over the corners of large rectangles for one row and sewing matching skinny rectangles together in the alternating row, it creates the elongated hex I was craving. No inset seams and no raveling since the triangles are cut with the bias edge exposed. Hallelujah!


 The finished quilt made with a Layer CakeTM is modeled below by my grandaughter, Aleece. I'm totally in love with BOTH of them!

The mini version featuring a charm pack...
The pattern is called Makin' Honey because that's what bees do in their honeycomb. Both of these sizes plus a runner are included in the Bees 'n Blooms booklet (retail $15.95, available March 2016). My next project is to cut pieces from over 400 different KT fabrics to have a true charm hex quilt.

To receive a Bees 'n Blooms scrap bundle, comment here. Would you like to try this layered patchwork technique?



Tuesday, December 1, 2015

More Bees 'n Blooms

I'm stuffed full of turkey and pecan pie and ready to get back to some serious stitching. Want to join me in my KT Stitch with Me 4-week series in January/February 2016? We'll be making a sampler quilt with the different blocks used in projects featured in my new book, Crazy for Minis. Watch for more details on kits, etc in the coming weeks. 

KT Winner

First of all, Congratulations to Paula! You're the winner of the Bees 'n Blooms bag of scraps. I realized the girls have brought back all the parts and pieces from the quilts they've made for this collection but some are at the store, some in my studio and some at the cabin. Please be patient while I fill up your goodie box.

For everyone else, watch for specials on Bees 'n Blooms later in March 2016 when it arrives. So fun!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas....

Robert and I spent a quiet Thanksgiving Day cooking turkey and decorating the cabin for Christmas. With limited floor space, we opted for a non-traditional "tree" this year. We spend alot of time in the evenings watching TV or listening to music in our living room with our electric fireplace glowing. So it only seemed logical to have our Christmas decorations where we spend the most time. Here's a look at one of my favorite windows. The snowy backdrop certainly helps with the mood!


Green garland, pine cones, tiny lights, tin stars and red berries are the base for (L to R) a crescent moon windmill weight, a pair of wooden deer and a handmade burl bowl full of pinecones. I try to use as many everyday objects as possible so there's less seasonal decor to store from year to year. I think I like my vertical tree!

More Bees 'n Blooms

The second project in the Bees 'n Blooms booklet is our Queen Bee lap quilt and pillow. The KT Melon Template is featured for the fusible applique making this traditional Honey Bee block even easier. Next week I'll share the secret to making the Honeycomb quilt on the glider with just 2 elements!

This week's giveaway is the Bees 'n Blooms booklet ($15.95 retail). You'll have to be patient as it won't be ready until late February, but you'll be first on the list to receive one.