Loose Change Winners

Congratulations to Shannon Wallace of SD, and Deborah from Valparaiso - you've each won a new Loose Change book! I'd love it if you'd share something you make from this book someday. Thanks for commenting, ladies.

And thanks to all of you that follow my blog. I enjoy reading all the comments and take to heart any suggestions you make. Please use this space to let me know what you'd love to see from KT in fabric or patterns in the future. Your feedback is priceless!

 One of the things I enjoy most is pictures of KT projects from quilters around the country. Here's one from Brenda who leads the KT Stash Society at Country Fabrics in Brainerd, MN. Her ladies always have fun creating variations on the Stash project using a multitude of fabrics from batiks to brights to KT darks. Here's three of their A Wave to Old Glory projects from June:

Terri Jones attended the KT Quilt Addicts retreat in Danville, IL a couple weeks ago and shared with me that she'd made an armful of stockings from an older Stash pattern. She stitched them up for friends and family to hang on their front doors - how cool is that?

If you're interest in checking out our monthly projects and newsletter, go to ktquilts.com and click on KT Stash Society. You'll find a list of new and previous Stash projects, then scroll down and click on the red box that says Current Newsletter for all the latest KT happenings. Past newsletters are also available. Under that, we list the quilt shops that participate in the KT Stash Society. These shops are the best! They have a good selection of KT fabric/patterns. It's a great way to find a kit for the Stash projects or any KT fabric.

The KT Stash Society project for October is Starry Moon. I love the featured fabric in the Harvest Moon group, so we enlarged the moon and acorns and appliqued them on a trio of stars with a band of flying geese on each end for good measure. It would make a great Thanksgiving runner for your holiday table.

Personally, I'd leave the center star plain for a neutral background for my centerpiece, whatever it may be - a pile of mini pumpkins, a vintage coffee tin full of wildflowers or a wooden bowl of nuts in the shell with grungy gourds.Anything that says fall to you. But don't stop there! This would also make a wonderful runner for the 4th of July with a navy background and scrappy red geese. Substitute the applique of your choosing for the moon/acorns - how about firecrackers? The possibilities are endless with a simple idea to start.

Comment this week on how you'd change the Starry Moon fall runner for another season and you could walk away with some Harvest Moon fabrics and the Starry Moon pattern. We'll see you next week, unless something really exciting happens around here - like the UPS guy brings new Pheasant Hill fabric!

P.S. I still haven't heard from 2 winners from the Moda Designer Blog Hop - Michelle from Atlanta, GA and Carla (with comment #10). I was unable to email you, so please contact me. Any prizes left unclaimed by Oct. 31 will be redrawn from the Blog Hop comments.

Need Loose Change?

I'm pleased as punch to finally announce the arrival of 80 pages and 18 projects in KT's new book, Loose Change. We've featured precuts - Layer Cake 10" squares (dimes), Charm 5" squares (nickels) and NEW Mini Charm 2 1/2" squares (pennies) - in our layered patchwork technique to create fast, fun quilts with loads of dimension and personality.

Inspired by our popular Five & Dime quilt, many of the projects utilize the Five & Dime or Spare Change mini ruler for centering and cutting the blocks. This is how our layered patchwork technique makes your life (and making quilts) easier - simply center a charm square on a Layer Cake square, stitch close to the pinked edges, cut into fourths, and sew 4 different squares together. It's that easy!

Loose Change shows you how to layer, slice & stitch precuts more than a dozen different ways for Christmas, fall, everyday, 4th of July, kids and more!

Loose Change is available now at your local quilt shop or at ktquilts.com. This week, comment by Sunday night on your favorite precut for a chance to win one of 2 signed copies of Loose Change. I'd love to see what you choose to make!

Moda Blog Hop Winners!

Congratulations to our Blog Hop Winners:
Carla (#10 comment) - Harvest Moon charm & mini charm
 Susie Johnson from California - Harvest Moon Layer Cake
Michelle from Atlanta, GA - Harvest Moon Strip Bundle

Ladies, please send your mailing address to me at: ktquilts2@twinvalley.net to claim your prizes. Just FYI- when commenting on a blog for a giveaway, add your email address to your profile for easier notification. I hope you all come back to check to see if you've won!

Thanks to the more than 500 of you that commented - what fun to read all about your hometowns! I was in another small town this past weekend for a program at Threads of Time in Danville, IL. Lois and I stayed to hang out with the KT Quilt Addicts Yahoo Group for a retreat there, as well. What a lovely shop and retreat facility. Definitely worth the drive for a weekend of quilting and shopping.

It's almost that time of year again, fall quilt market in Houston. I've been playing with the new collection to premiere at market, Pheasant Hill. Here's a sneak peek at a couple of the prints.

Lots of feathery, grassy prints in our classic KT reds, greens, plum, black & navy just right for spring. I've been working with a new precut - Dessert Roll - with (21) 5" x 45" strips. Half of the prints in a full width strip for larger blocks and a scrappy look. Very fun!

My post next Monday will be all about the new Loose Change book. We'll be picking it up from the printer this week. There just might be a free book in your future - don't miss it!

                                                        

We're blogging, we're hopping, we're Moda!

Welcome to the Moda Designer Blog Hop. Many of you have been following the path of the very talented Moda designers over the past week. Today is my turn to share my hometown news - believe me, it's a short story. I was born and raised in Bennington, Kansas. My parents still live in the same house on the other end of town from the KT studio -  5 blocks away. We don't have a McDonald's or Starbucks, there's no pizza delivery or movie theater. But I can walk across the street to get the mail and not lock my door, grab a sandwich at Westside Ventures (they also have the best broasted chicken strips on Wed. and Sat. nights) and bring back the extra change the next day, go to the bank and not need any I.D., and the UPS guy can leave a box anywhere in town and we'll get it the next day. Pretty good trade.

What we do have is a quaint little soda fountain on the other end of the block, the Linger Longer. Jay & Sharilyn Wagner have renovated the original counter and fountain to it's former glory. My Mom and I were both soda jerks there in high school, making dozens of malts each night for the football players, scooping cones for seniors and kids alike, and mixing Green Rivers for everyone.

Standing in front of the Linger Longer, across the street is the Post Office, Sparks Kennels (the grankids love to go play with the adorable puppies), motorcycle shop, The Dog House (bar & grill) and Romm Chiropractic (people come from hours away to see Dr. Romm and his magic fingers). 

The KT Studio is right across the street from the chiropractor. We're the tallest building in town! Here's my grandaughter, Delainey, on her first pony ride during the downtown festivities the day of the Bennington Rodeo. 

Although Bennington is small (600 citizens), the 3-day Rodeo is a very big deal here and in the cowboy world. For 3 days each June, our population doubles as the competition heats up. Some of the best bulls and bucking horses provide lots of entertainment in the PRCA Rodeo events. The goat roping and mutton busting for the kids is an added bonus. Main street is roped off for a street dance on Sat. night with live music and lots of good old-fashioned dancing in the street. 

After having the KT Studio in downtown Bennington for over 10 years, most people finally know we're not a retail store. I had alot of lookers the first year or so and finally mentioned it to the chiropractor's Mom (his receptionist). She proudly exclaimed she'd been sending them over to shop while they were waiting for their appointment! We got that straightened out right away. When we had quilting retreats for 7 years, it was the talk of the town on the Monday morning after at coffee down at Westside where all the quilters were from. Most folks were amazed that ladies from all over the country would come to little ole Bennington, Kansas to see Charlie Boster's daughter. Funny, at over 50 years old, I'm still my parents child here. I guess it keeps me young. That's small towns for ya. 

Robert and I actually live 2 1/2 miles out of town. On Mondays and/or Wednesdays, my piecer & kit cutter, Lois Sprecker, and I meet at the KT Studio to work on the latest projects. She takes her homework and  brings back a finished quilt. Too cool! I work from my little studio at the cabin (see above) in the country 2 days a week, designing fabric & quilts, writing patterns, and juggling my calendar. Robert stops by the building each afternoon to fill orders and keep the paperwork under control. As much as I love to travel all over the country meeting quilters and visiting quilt shops, there's nothing like coming home to our little slice of heaven.

Comment here by Sunday night to win a Harvest Moon Layer Cake, scrap bundle of strips or a charm/mini charm pack combo. I'd love to hear what you love about your hometown. Winners announced on Monday, Sept. 17th.

I am so grateful and blessed to work with the great minds at Moda and am constantly inspired by all the Moda designers. Each one brings a unique perspective to the quilting world. Check out two more of Moda's designers today, Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts and Malka Dubrawsky of Stitch in Dye.

Moda Designer Blog Hop, Coming Soon!

I'm headed out the door to film an episode of Quilting with the Stars for Fons & Porter this week in Des Moines, IA. I'm so thrilled to be part of their broadcast! So many fellow Moda designers have been featured on their show, it's an honor to be included. Watch for air date later.

Speaking of Moda designers, this week is the beginning of a 10-day long Moda Blog Hop, and you know what that means? Lots of fun, facts and giveaways from every Moda designer. This year's theme is Our Hometown so you'll get a glimpse into the everyday lives of each designer. I can't wait to see where each of these creative minds lives and breaths and is inspired each day. My day is Sept. 12 along with Malka Dubrawsky of stitchindye.blogspot.com and Edyta Sitar of laundrybasketquilts.com/blog. Three designers will post each day, so don't miss out on all the great insight and surprises you'll find on every page.

Start Sept. 6 with Barbara Brackman, Aneela Hooey, and Me & My Sister and follow the Moda links for each day of the hop. I'll see you back here on the 12th!

Before I go, just want to share a picture of my grandaughter, Aleece, with her new cat condo. She acquired "The Marker Brothers", Smudge (black & white) and Sharpie (all black) on her birthday last month. When we went shopping for cat supplies at Petco, she was dazzled by the extravagant cat climbing posts. We sent a couple pictures to my Dad for inspiration, and here's what he came up with. He definitely lived up to his motto: Bigger is better. I'm delivering it in pieces to Aleece's home since it wouldn't fit in her Mom's car. Can't wait to see the cats' reaction, too!