2018 in Review, Part #1
I enjoy reading other designers' blogs this month, listing all the wonderful things they made last year. Day to day, it doesn't seem I finish as much as I actually do. After looking back over the past year, I feel pretty good about what the KTQ team accomplished.
I spend more time on the computer - designing, scheduling events, social media and paperwork - than I do sewing. One of my resolutions this year (like last year) is to spend more time playing with fabric. I'm so thankful for my piecers/quilters (especially Kathy Limpic), our knowledgeable employee, Joy Johnson, at the store and, my husband Robert, who wears several hats for the business, including bookkeeper, shipping, managing the store and coordinating retreats. It wouldn't all get done without teamwork.
January is pretty quiet at the store so it gives us the opportunity to do inventory and maintenance (mostly Robert). While I was putting the finishing touches on the project & instructions for two quilting cruises, Robert and Joy were cutting & packaging 200+ kits and goodie bags.
January also brought boxes of my new book, Cozy Quilts & Comforts. I had been working on the 18+ projects for this book most of 2016-17, so it was a pleasure to have it officially premiere at market late last year. Thanks so much to Jennifer Keltner and everyone at Martingale for putting together a collection of projects I love in such a beautiful way.
February & March found us at sea for 2 weeks of quilting classes with 100 quilters each week. I shared my simplified Layered Patchwork technique for
this updated Through the Year Again wall quilt. It features four
button-on quilted squares to change up for the seasons. So fun and easy
with our precut fusible appliques, KT Kut-ups. We sailed the Eastern Caribbean on water as smooth as glass, then the Western Caribbean with bumpy waters and missed ports. But did we care? Nope, we're below deck sewing!
FYI: Jenny and I have a few spaces left on our quilting cruise this year. We don't have another cruise planned next year, so get on board now. For
March 16-23, 2019 Quilting Cruise, contact Lenore Deck at cruiselady@tampabay.rr.com or call 352-270-8658 for more information.
By the time we arrived back at home, my
Fresh Cut Flowers fabric collection was already at the store, piled in dozens of Moda boxes. We offered a 6-month Block-of-the-Month program to piece and embellish our delightful Fresh Cut Flowers quilt in lap or king sizes. All of the flowers are KT Kut-ups precut fusible appliques for instant satisfaction.
The charm quilt for Fresh Cut Flowers is a favorite of mine,
U-Pick Flowers. So quick to piece.
Love the mason jar of freshly picked wildflowers with button accents!
If you need a quick Jelly Roll project perfect for the guy in your life, choose one of the settings from
Windmills & Fence Posts. The men in my family love and appreciate my quilts, but when asked what quilts they like best, I get alot of "fairly neutral", "graphic vs. flowers" and "flannel".
April brought a trip to Dayton, Ohio to the One Stop Shop Hop. Such a great concept - dozens of quilt shops all come to one location for the weekend, instead of quilters running from store to store. I taught a couple classes and shared my story & quilts in a trunk show. I met some lovely ladies in Ohio and hope to return to visit again.
May brings Mother's Day, Graduations and Spring International Quilt Market. This year, Portland, OR was our host. I was not able to attend market, so I enjoyed staying home to work on the next fabric collection, Country Road Flannels.
June brought those soft, yummy
Country Road Flannels to the store. As a bonus, we also have Country Road Flannel 108" wide backing to coordinate with this collection, which just happens to be our
KT Special this month. Here are a couple projects from that line.
Tune in for my review the rest of 2018 in a couple days. In the meantime, yet another box of scraps is waiting for a new owner. Comment on your quilting year for a chance to win.
