Just one more on the Pink Bunny Retreat - Promise

Months ago when we first signed up for the three-day class with Miss Carole we remembered this wonderful pattern designed for her templates. It was one of those patterns you just have to have but put off making...well, we all got busy piecing and embellishing - all of us trying to finish by the deadline.

For those who were somewhat slower than the others we would intimidate them by asking that they please not embarrass us by taking their wonderful templates in a zip-lock bag. All six of us made a valiant effort to finish but only three finished in time.

I would brag by saying I finished first but I won't! The others benefited by my mistakes and their cases are gorgeous. Mine sits a little haphazard but I love it all the same. Mine is done in the brown and rust tones.

The finished case consists of two parts. One holds the templates and stands upright due to plastic inserts. This case folds and is stored in the matching box. The lime green and yellow tones belong to Lynnis.

This last one pieced in burgundy and olive tones was done by Jan. I've included a picture of the end of her template box so you will have a better idea of how the finished project looks.

I will look for my pattern later today and post who designed it. My mind fails me at the moment. It's a fabulous design - both decorative and functional.

Victorian Stitchery Retreat - Part II

I received a letter from Val Bothell with the Pink Bunny regarding next year's retreat in Wichita. It will be November 12, 13, & 14, 2009. Betty Pillsbury and Judith Baker Montano have agreed to return. She said Carole Samples wants to be a student next year but I vote for her teaching once again. She has so much to share with all the crazy quilt enthusiasts

Pictured on the right is Lake Jackson Crazy Quilt Bee member, Linda, along with Judith. We thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to shop and purchase some of the beautiful supplies.

Judith Baker Montano has a new book as well as a new CD on the market. I was excited when she drew my business card at the Houston International Quilt Market and I won a copy. It is a great addition to my stitching library and most of my Lake Jackson Bee bought a copy after seeing mine. The book is entitled: EMBROIDERY & CRAZY QUILT STITCH TOOL.

Jules bought a CD at the Wichita retreat and we decided to watch it one evening after class. It's a 3-hour tape and we sat spellbound during the entire CD. The next morning we went to Judith's class and the remainder of our group bought the CD. I've been crazy quilting for nine years and learned lots of new things. It's great! The CD is entitled JUDITH BAKER MONTANO TEACHES YOU CRAZY QUILTING.

I plan to do a review in CQMagOnline on both the book and the CD. The next issue will be in January. Be sure to check this issue for additional information.

Pictured above is one of Judith's projects she had on display in Wichita. She very kindly allowed me to photograph it.

Pink Bunny Retreat - Part 1

Val Bothell's Victorian Stitchery Retreat was fabulous and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Wichita. It's great to be home but I always miss the fun times with all our wonderful crazy quilt friends.

I want to share a few pictures of our Saturday class with Carole Samples. It was such a pleasure to meet Carole - she is a lovely and gracious lady. She is pictured on the right holding her gorgeous fan quilt.

If you have worked with Carole's templates you know what a brilliant mind she has. We decided she must be an engineer to have worked out such a complex and intricate tool for making these perfect stitches.

On the left is a close-up photo of one of the fan blocks. Isn't the lace effect wonderful on the top of the fan blades? In class I completed the piecing of my fan and I'm ready to start working on the stitches I learned.

On the right is my pieced block. I decided to do it in the same peach fabrics as my quilt blocks. I knew I would want to include it in my final quilt assembly.

If you have thought about precision stitching I would recommend these wonderful templates, Carole's book (A Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches) and the laminated sheets available for doing a number of embroidery stitches. Contact The Pink Bunny to order.

Pink Bunny Victorian Stitchery Retreat

I am currectly posting from the wonderful city of Wichita, Kansas. Six of our Lake Jackson CQ Bee are attending Val Bothell's Victorian Stitchery Retreat. Val has organized a fabulous retreat with Carole Samples, Judith Baker Montano and Betty Pillsbury teaching their individual areas of expertise.

Carole is challenging her class members to use her templates to create perfect stacked stitches. The templates are a great aid in creating the wonderful stitches featured in her book: Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches. We are having such a great time - wish all of you could join us!


Pictured here are six of our infamous Lake Jackson Crazy Quilt Bee. From left to right: Lynnis, Jan, Linda, Karen, myself and Jules. Perhaps you recognize the Piecemaker's Quilt we are holding - it is beyond beautiful!

Houston International Quilt Market & Festival

I always look forward to the month of October and the opportunity to represent CQMagOnline at the Quilt Market and Festival. Julie, who is a fellow staff writer and dear friend, attended as well and we spent four days taking classes and being introduced to all the latest tools and techniques in the quilting world.

When the Quilt Festival ends I always come away thinking it was the best year ever. This year was no exception! I look forward to sharing some of the things I learned through CQMagOnline as well as my blog.

In this post I want to share a product that Clover Needlecraft has. I was fascinated with this little tool and anxious to experiment. The instructions were written in Japanese but that was no deterrent when the end result would be a rose.

This rose maker comes in several sizes and I've used the large and small one. The pink rose is made with Hanah silk satin and the large one is made with a kimono silk I purchased at Festival last year. I'm a tool junkie so I thoroughly enjoyed making both of these roses.

This month is a busy one for me as well as exciting! Tomorrow I'm leaving for Wichita, Kansas with five other friends from my local crazy quilt bee. We will be taking classes from Carole Samples and learning all her wonderful techniques for embroidery. Her book: Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches is one of my favorite books and I look forward to taking this class.

I will share some of the things I learn in upcoming posts to my blog. I always enjoy meeting new friends and renewing old acquaintances so I'm excited about this trip. Being with four of my dearest friends is an added blessing.