A Look Back at 2018, Part #2

KT Winner

 cthoss January 7, 2019 at 6:21 PM

My year of quilting is usually accomplished in clumps. During the school year, I have a lot less time to quilt, but the in the summer, I tend to binge sew. This summer, I completed quite a few WIPs. The start to this school year was most challenging when I switched grade levels after 2 weeks. The craziness continued until Thanksgiving, when I was able to finally sew again. Over the holidays, I was able to complete 2 small projects. I have 2 KT layer cakes and one jellyroll waiting to be quilted; hopefully I can squeeze in some quilting on the weekends. If not, I can aim for Spring Break. Thanks for the chance to win! 

  

Congratulations! Teachers deserve our support and I'm happy to support your habit, cthoss, with a box of KT scraps. Please email me at lynne@ktquilts.com with your shipping information. Robert will send your box right out.

 I enjoyed reading all of your sewing highlights from last year. I can so relate to many of you, trying to find time to sew just for fun while life - jobs, family, health - gets in the way. I'm blessed with good health, a job I love even when it's crazy busy and a family who supports my unconventional schedule. Let's all raise a fat quarter to a new year of finishing the old and starting some exciting new projects, too.  

 

2018 in Review, Part #2

Last week, I shared a bit about how the first half of last year shaped up with travel, fabric collections and quilts.  By the second half of the year, we gained momentum and the year seemed to finish in a flash.

July was cool and rainy, all the way to Maine for the annual state quilt show. My grandaughter, Aleece, accompanied me on a 12 day trek from Kansas to Maine, stopping along the way at some interesting places. We both loved Casey, IL, home of BIG things - the largest rocking chair, tree house, mailbox, wooden shoes, golf tee, pencil, birdcage and knitting needles, to name a few.

Aleece in a giant birdcage.

We stopped in Lancaster County, PA to visit quilt shops, bakeries and all things Amish during a couple days of torrential rain and flooding.

After arriving in Maine, we spent two glorious days in sunshine on the beach in Ogunquit. The beach was a treasure trove of sea shells, unlike the ones we usually gather in Florida. Rows of quaint little shops and eateries captured out attention after we washed off the sand.

On to the Maine Quilt Show. I taught 5 classes in 4 days with some of the nicest KT fans (stalkers?) from more than a dozen states and Canada. Thank you for a lovely weekend.

Our main goal on the way home was to stop at the Elephant's Trunk Flea Market in CT, featured on one of our favorite shows, Flea Market Flip. Aleece loves to find old junk and transform into unique decor for her room. Truly a chip off gramma's block. We didn't find alot, but had a great time hunting for treasure at several stops on the way home.

August was spent quietly at home to unpack, regroup and finish up the projects for my fall collection, Nature's Glory. Pumpkin Seeds is a reboot of an oldie from KT Stash Society, reworked to include instructions for my Layered Patchwork technique.

Pumpkin Seeds booklet with 3 projects.

September was busy traveling again, first to Appleton, WI to visit the Darting Needles Quilt Guild, then to San Diego for an Eternity Quilt Event with Diane Erikson. Jenny Doan and I shared workshops with 130 quilters for 3 days in sunny California. Not a bad place to get away for work. I taught a version of Fresh Cut Flowers called Fresh From My Garden.  I was able to alter the original quilt enough to focus more on piecing techniques with a few less appliques. The ladies loved it!

October was full of preparations for Fall International Quilt Market in Houston. I showed my new fabric collection, On Meadowlark Pond (due in stores next month) and several quilts featuring my classic spring palette of KT fabrics. I'll show each quilt individually soon with lots of giveaways, but here's a look at my booth at market. On Meadowlark Pond (LC) hanging in the background, Bird Watching (JR) quilt on the right in two colorways, Meadowlark Baskets (charm quilt) hanging on the bird cage holder to the left, and projects from my book Cozy Quilts & Comforts on the chair and table.

On Meadowlark Pond at Fall Market

I was thrilled to be included in the American Patchwork & Quilting's 25th Anniversary celebration at market. They had a wonderful display of cover quilts from the past 25 years. My Rustic Stars quilt made the cut. I love that the diamonds for the star points are stitched on top using my Layered Patchwork technique with a Honey Bun and our KT Diamond template. It's a fun quilt to make in any colorway.

KT's Rustic Stars quilt featured in APQ 25th Anniversary display.

The year ended with more remodeling than quilting going on. If you follow my blog, you saw we tore out the walls of what used to be my office at the store to make room for more fabric and displays. Boxes and boxes of stuff are now stored in my sewing room - until my new studio is ready. I dug through a few more boxes looking for a particular item (that is not wanting to be found) and came across these chunks from Nature's Glory. They're more than a Layer Cake, so not really in the scrap catergory, but it all needs to go. Comment to win this Nature's Glory pack before I am swallowed up by boxes, please! Next week, stay tuned for a look at KTQ in 2019.