Wrapped in Paisley Charming Thursday

Welcome to another edition of Charming Thursday. For those of you who are new to the KT Blog, we've been giving away a charm pack a week for the past 30 weeks, in the order my fabric collections were released. This week, Wrapped in Paisley (#31) is up for grabs. We'll continue untill all 38 charms have been won. In December, the giveaway will be for one of each of the 38 charm packs - over 1200 charm squares!!!  You won't want to miss a chance at that one!

A lucky find in an antique store scored the pretty paisley print that inspired the line. Although it was 3 times larger and pretty ugly in pinks and greys, I could see the potential. After returning home, I found a cute stripe with dots in my stash as a companion piece. Laying on the table next to each other, they very much reminded me of cool vintage wrapping paper. Hence, the Wrapped in Paisley name.

For the quilt projects, what better way to use Wrapped in Paisley than to wrap presents? From the charm quilt to table runners to a large lap quilt, all featured various packages wrapped in delightful prints. It's one of my favorite Christmas quilts to date.

                                                          All Wrapped Up Charm Pattern

The lucky winner this week will receive a Wrapped in Paisley booklet, charm pattern and charm pack. Just comment by 10pm. Sunday night and check back Monday morning to see if you're the winner.

There are still a few more days of the Moda Blog Hop. Don't miss it!
Sept. 29 - French General

Sept. 30 - Primitive Gathering
Oct. 1 - Kathy Schmitz Studios
Oct. 2 - Paper Pie

Butterfly Garden Charm Winner

The Winner(s) of this week's charm pack and pattern is (are) P B but no J. Congrats to both of you. Welcome to you and all the newcomers to the KT Blog. FRom several of the comments here, I feel I need to clarify that Butterfly Garden is a couple years old- Cattails is the newest fabric line. We're counting down to the latest KT collection in just a few short weeks, then ending the year with a huge finale of over 1200 charm squares!

Robert and I just spent a lovely weekend in CO checking out the new IKEA, antiquing, and visiting our dear friends, Chuck and Connie Huddleson (The Little Wool Shoppe) in Windsor, CO. I should have taKen a few pictures of somE of the cool stuff we saw and the tasty treats we found, but I promised R this would be a non-KT trip and restrained myself. It made for a very relaxing Weekend.

Still a whole week of the ModaBlogHop to go. Not too late to enter for some cool loot!

Butterfly Garden Charming Thursday

I hope you've all been following the Moda Country Fair Blog Hop. It's so cool to get to know each of the designers a little better and win some great prizes. You can still comment on my entry from Friday, Sept. 16 for a chance to win a Cattails & Clover Layer Cake, Fat 1/4 bundle or Desiger Roll.

Now on to the business of the day - Butterfly Garden. A lovely floral print inspired this line, as well as my 5-yr-old granddaughter, Delainey. She loves 'helping' in the garden, mainly watering with her little ducky watering can that holds about 1 1/2 cups of water. That's a lot of trips to the hose, but it keeps her busy. About a year ago, she was watching as I trimmed some tall, fuzzy purple flowers. She asked what they were called; my response was "tall, fuzzy purple flowers that attract butterflies". Her smart aleck older brother, Cooper, told her that they were really caterpillars that would grow into butterflies someday and fly away. She bought his line hook, line and sinker. We went for a short walk and when we returned there were several butterflies flying around the tall, fuzzy purple flowers. Delainey exclaimed, "Look, Gramma, we growed a butterfly". Hence the name Butterfly Garden for this fabric line.

Delainey also inspired the quilt featuring a Butterfly Garden Jelly Roll.

Comment here by Sunday night to win a Butterfly Garden charm pack & pattern.

My trip to Dansville, NY was memorable - good food, good people. Marty & Teri Wilson (and mom, Ann) were so warm and charming - and fed me way too well. Three days of classes were attended by KT fabric devotees who were surprised and thrilled with our easy raw edge applique technique making a difficult quilt so much easier to make. There were lots of smiles by the end of the day. Here's a look at the ladies (and Rick) in the Skipping Stones class on Friday.

Thanks to Cindy Dunlap for the pictures. The airline crunched my camera so she really saved my hide. Here's a picture of me with Rick, the KT Stalker, who owns more KT fabric than I do. He has a t-shirt that reads "I'm not a lost husband, I'm a quilter." Gotta love it!

Stay tuned for more pics this week. Later, Lynne

At the Fair, continued...

My Moda Country Fair Blog Hop day on Friday recapped our trip to the Kansas State Fair last week. Here are a few more highlights.
It was fun to see what people will do with gourds...

witches and snakes...

and mounted steer horns! They must be so proud!

We enjoyed seeing the bounty of Kansas in a wheat fountain...

a future bolt of fabric...

and a few steps away, the noxious weeds display (keeping this one for future reference)...

One thing we found fascinating and mind-blowing was the human slingshot. The sign read $25, but Robert said I'd have to pay him a whole lot more than that to be shot over 250 ft. into the air in a metal cage suspended by two weeny cables stretched to their limit, flipping over and over again, operated by 2 guys that didn't even have all their teeth. The pictures were at night so they didn't come out real well. Should have had sound so you could hear the 2 men on the ride screaming like little girls!

We hadn't made the trip to the fair in several years. It was a nice break and a really good time. Thanks for coming along on my fair adventure.

Now on to the business of picking a winner for our Charming Thursday giveaway. Congratulations to

, you're the winner of the Vine Creek charm pack and pattern. Stay tuned this week for another charm pack giveaway.

Don't forget to check in with all the Moda designers throughout the month for lots of prizes and surprises! Hop on over today to visit Barbara Brackman's blog. I could listen to her talk about vintage fabrics for hours - she truly does know it all.

 Next up tomorrow is Bonnie of Cotton Way. She and her daughter, Camille, are so much fun to visit with at market and make amazing quilts.

Vine Creek Winner Addendum

I thought I was being very clever setting up today's post before I left for Material Rewards in NY last week. Good in theory, but somehow, my iPad won't allow me to edit this morning and add the Charming Thursday winner's name. So, congratulations to LKDrum! You're the winner of the Vine Creek charm pack and pattern.

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by to comment on the Moda Country Fair Blog Hop, too. Winners will be announced Oct. 2nd.

See you back in Kansas tomorrow with an report on my trip.
Lynne

At the Fair

Welcome to the Kansas Troubles' edition of the Moda Country Fair Blog Hop! With the theme this year, I couldn't resist heading out to the Kansas State Fair that's going on this week in Hutchinson, KS to check out all our country folks have to offer. I wanted to see the quilts, the exhibits and have a funnel cake. Robert was planning a route to snack his way over to the livestock barns. We headed for the Poultry barn and found this....

Gobble, Gobble!

FYI: I'm married to the one on the right :).

Next on the list was the 4-H exhibits of canned goods, fresh vegetables and flowers with some pretty big purple ribbons and gourds...

                                                Yup, that's 366 pounds - on the right, that is.

High on my list was to see this year's butter sculpture - usually a cow or something related to the dairy industry. This year...

a monkey riding a sheep??? Seriously??? You mean the monkeys indiginous to the plains of Kansas???Oh yeah, they must be from Western Kansas cause we don't see that many of them in our backyard. (Good grief!)

A walk thru the Domestics building revealed many beautiful quilts - several nicely done in KT fabrics - all covered in thick plastic to keep butter-covered fingers away. Couldn't get any good pics of the quilts, but did find some interesting offerings in other catergories, like the Duct Tape Division...

best use of selvedges...

and a beautifully done Halloween crazy quilt with fabulous stitchery and a well-deserved Best of Show ribbon...

So many other good things to see at the fair, but I'll save those for another day. Moda has a few questions for each of us...

What's your favorite fair food?  I'm usually all over the funnel cakes, but there were so many other tempting treats this year, my favorite may have changed to fried, chocolate covered ________ (fill in the blank).
Here are a few other options - not that I tried them all or anything...

                                                            Deep fried cookie dough

What's your guilty pleasure? Dark Chocolate Snickers. Each month when I go to Walgreen's to pick up a few of our vitamins/herbs/supplements to keep us healthy, they have Dark Chocolate Snickers by the cash register 2 for $1.00.  Who can pass that up??

What's on your bucket list? Travel - to Alaska, St. Martin, Belize, Italy, France and New England.  I'll be checking Alaska off the list next year when I get to teach with my dear friend, Pam Buda, of Heartspun Quilts on a quilting cruise - too much fun!

What inspires your work? Nature, travel, my life. It's funny how you begin to see quilt blocks in tile floors in old churches in Italy or in a stained glass window in an antique shop or even in a beautiful landscape on an island with the deep blue of the ocean for a background. I keep telling Robert that our vacations are all about inspiration and design.

Who would play you in a made for tv Lifetime movie? I love Kathy Bates in virtually any role she's ever done - Fried Green Tomatoes, Misery and now on tv in Harry's Law. Now that's a woman who knows how to get things done her way!

Do you sing when no one is listening? What song or artist? One of my favorite songs (and my ringtone for Robert) is Smile by Uncle Kracker. I also enjoy just about anything by The Script and OneRepublic. Once I figured out how to do it, I get a kick out of assigning songs to each of my friends/family members for their ringtones. It often surprises and delights them when they hear it!

As you read this, I'll be in Dansville, New York at Material Rewards Quilt Shop hanging out with Marty, Teri and a lovely bunch of quilters for the weekend. More on that next week when I get home.

What would a fair and a blog hop be with out prizes??? Here are a few for your consideration. Just comment here before Oct. 2nd at 10pm. when the blog hop ends to be eligible for a Cattails and Clover Layer Cake, Jelly Roll or fat 1/16 bundle.

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check in with Barb & Alma of Blackbird Designs for tomorrow's edition of the Moda Country Fair Blog Hop.
Lynne

Vine Creek Charming Thursday

Our featured charm pack this week is from Vine Creek. I found a wonderful old border stripe fabric that looked very KT to me and built the group around it with several smaller prints in leaf-y, vine-y patterns.

To utilize the stripe without cutting it up, we used a Jelly Roll to piece vertical strips and alternated them with the border stripe to create a lap quilt. Since we were using a JR, the flying geese units were pieced with a rectangle and 2 squares leaving small triangles on each side to be trimmed. My trusty piecer, Lois (hating to waste any fabric) double-stitched the corner triangles so when she trimmed them off, it resulted in little bias squares - almost 200 of them! My challenge was to make another project using the new-found treasures.

The bonus project in this pattern turned the often times wasted cutoff triangles into a delightful table topper. By enlarging the floral motif from the fabric for an applique, it came together simply and easily.

Comment here by Sunday 10pm to enter for a chance to win a Vine Creek charm pack and the pattern. If the stars align and I get an internet connection while I'm away, I'll post the winner next Monday.

Hop on over to Joanna's blog   for her big day on the Moda Country Fair Blog Hop. She always has something fresh and fun to share. Then click back here on Friday for KT day - Sept. 16th - for a trip to the fair and a pile of goodies you won't want to miss!

Kansas Winter Winner

Kansas Winter Winner - say that 5 times fast! Anyway, the winner is Labbiegirl. Congrats to you and thanks for commenting. Send your mailing address and we'll send your goodies in the mail.

Yesterday was busy so I didn't get around to checking my blog reading list until late last night. If you haven't read Kate Spain's blog post with the haunting and stirring 9/11 poem, it's not too late. The event is one our country will not soon forget, remembered for it's horrors and heroes. Makes you proud to be an American.

Today's Moda Country Fair featured Designers are Laurie Simpson and Polly Minick  of Minick & Simpson. Laurie's blog posts are always entertaining and their patriotic-themed fabric is apropo considering the recent 9/11 10-year anniversay. I collect Moda designers' charm packs as I travel and visit quilt shops across the country, but often splurge and buy a Layer Cake or Jelly Roll of their collections to make myself a quilt for my July 5th birthday.

Check in with Sandy Klop tomorrow to see what's new in her colorful world.

Kansas Winter Charming Thursday

Welcome to another Christmas charm pack, Kansas Winter. A couple of years ago, we featured KT precuts in a couple of fun wintertime quilts. Snow Day starts with a Layer Cake, then easy piecing is embellished with raw edge snowflakes.

 A Chance of Flurries uses a Jelly Roll to create the pieced vertical strips with raw edge swirls of snow and blanket-stitched stars for a touch of Brrrrr. Any Christmas fabric would yield great results and now is the time to look for them at your favorite quilt shop. The winner of this week's charm pack will also receive both patterns. If you'd like them, too, we'll offer them both for $10 (a $16 retail value). Send me an email and we'll ship them out via Santa and Rudolph.

I hope you're all enjoying the Moda Country Fair Blog Hop. Loads of fun today with Barb & Mary of Me & My Sister.  I'm working on my free patterns and gathering loads of goodies for KT day on September 16th, so don't miss it!
Lynne

KT Classic Plaid Winner

Congrats to Shannon - you're the winner of the KT Classic Plaid Charm Pack this week. Send me your address and we'll get it right out to you.

Sorry for the delay - our internet was down most of the weekend. Next on my list of things to do? Check into other carriers. Oh yea, there aren't any others here in the outback.

Today kicks off the Moda Country Fair Blog Hop! Sandy Gervais of Pieces of Heart - the veteran amongst the Moda designers - is up first. Sandy draws and paints all of her fabric prints in several colorways. Her whimsical designs are always fresh and fun. Check it out at Sandy Gervais.

Continuing thru the month -
        Sept. 7 - Bunny Hill
        Sept. 8 - Me & My Sister
        Sept. 9 - Thimbleblossoms
        Sept. 10 - Laundry Basket Quilts
        Sept. 11 - Basic Grey
        Sept. 12 - Minick & Simpson
        Sept. 13 - American Jane
        Sept. 14 - Oliver + s
        Sept. 15 - Fig Tree
        Sept. 16 - Kansas Troubles
        Sept. 17 - Blackbird Designs
        Sept. 18 - Aneela Hoey
        Sept. 19 - Sunflower Pattern Co-op
        Sept. 20 - Cotton Way
        Sept. 21 - Cabbages and Roses US
        Sept. 22 - Deb Strain
        Sept. 23 - Brannock & Patek
        Sept. 24 - Lauren & Jessi Jung
        Sept. 25 - Lily Ashbury Designs
        Sept. 26 - Cosmo Cricket
        Sept. 27 - Kate Spain
        Sept. 28 - Sweetwater
        Sept. 29 - French General
        Sept. 30 - Primitive Gathering
        Oct. 1 - Kathy Schmitz Studios
        Oct. 2 - Paper Pie

There will be lots of giveaways and surprises, so don't miss a day!

See you in a couple days for another Charming Thursday.

Shopping for Inspiration

I enjoy exploring the island's artisans workshops. One of the pottery shops is off the beaten path down a one lane road thru an enchanted forest. Pots, bowls, vases and plates are outside on picnic tables and chairs, leaning against trees and hanging from the side of the building with an old rowboat filled with seconds labeled "sale boat". Robert loves pottery mugs without a handle for coffee and water so I picked up a cool "drippy" one for him. I was in need of a new soap dish for my bathroom, and the bowl (from the sale boat) holds jelly beans perfectly! The silver cuff bracelet is one of my favorite finds - part of a serving bowl from the 1800's fashioned into jewelry. Love it!

I added to my bird collection with 2 more of these resin birds embellished with all kinds of fabulous finds. The robin on the ball was purchased in Portland during market. The other 2 were found in LaConnor at a gallery full of interesting art. I was only going to buy one, but had to get the bird on the "H" for Robert.

I'm always fascinated by pieces made from found objects. "Time Flies" jumped into my hand and wouldn't sit still on the shelf. Just had to bring it home. At an antique store in Snohomish, I found a large old clock face that will be perfect on an old marshmellow tin that's a bit too beat up to display, but wonderful for embellishing. Robert is excited to use some of the old junk we've accumulated over the years. It's also a really good excuse to buy more good old junk - much like buying fat quarters even when you're not sure what you're going to do them right away.

Monday I'll announce the winner of the KT Classic Plaid charm pack. I'm inspired by all your comments to begin offering plaids by the 1/2 yd. on our website. We'll get on it next week.

I love hearing from all of you. Thanks so much. Lynne  

KT Classic Plaids Charming Thursday

What can I say, I'm mad about plaids! I love the way the straight lines and geometry of the plaids add so much interest to prints. Even a bit askew, they create movement and visual texture to a scrappy quilt. For several years, I added 12-16 plaids to each collection of fabric. Since the prints are milled in Korea and the plaids are yarn dyed, woven and brushed in India, the coordination of color and shipping was always tricky. The solution? An assortment of plaids in every KT color available in the Moda warehouse all the time. We'll freshen them up every couple of years to have a continuing assortment. After all, how many ways can you make a plaid??

One of our favorite ways to use plaids is in our throws with no batting - More Frayed Edges. Large squares of plaids are cut on the bias for the front with raw edge applique embellishments of wedges, triangles and squares, layered with squares cut on the bias for the back. Front and back are placed right sides out and stitched together with exposed seams on the back that fray softly without raveling. They're the grankids' favorites, too! They're easy to make any size you want since it's all based on 10" squares - just add more to make your quilt wider or longer. Perfect for kids and college dorms since each washing makes them softer.

From now until Sunday night, buy a fat 1/8 bundle of KT plaids on our website and get our More Frayed Edges pattern FREE!

I can't believe we're over 2/3 of the way through all the KT fabric collections - only 11 weeks left! We'll finish the series with the new collection that's premiering at fall market, Sandhill Plums. Then during the month of December, we'll take your comments for the grand prize of over 1200 KT 5" charm squares. Just think of what you could make with those! But don't worry if you're not the top winner, I'm sure we'll have a couple other surprises, too.

See you Saturday for a look at some of the treasures I found on my trip. The artisans on the island are truly inspiring. Who wouldn't want to bring a piece of that home?