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To inspire, I thought I would share a short video of my nieces flying a kite. This was taken from my brother and sister-in-law's deck in Bismarck North Dakota at sunset. On Tuesday evening I had the privilege of meeting with the ladies of Lakeshore Quilt Guild in Shoreview, Minnesota. I talked with them about using Specialty Rulers and presented a trunk show of many of my quilts. They even got a sneak peak at the Kite quilt. You will have to wait a bit longer before I do the reveal on my website. For those that are on the east coast, a number of my quilts are on display at The Quilt Patch in Fairfax Virginia. Check out my quilts and patterns in person at the shop. Featured Pattern - It's a Mystery It's A Mystery by Kari Schell I just finished a new rendition of It's a Mystery. This one featured both Jo Morton (Andover) and Kim Diehl (Henry Glass) fabrics. I also utilized both the Tucker Trimmer 1 and V Block Trimmer (both of which were also utlized in the Kite Blocks this week). This quilt was originally designed for a mystery weekend – hence the name. This seemingly complex quilt is easier than it looks. Instructions provide for strip pieced and over-sized units that are cut down with the use of the recommended rulers from Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 Design. Three sizes are available: Lap 57 x 69 (shown), Twin 69 x 93 or Full 93 x 93 Click here to purchase the pattern. Recommended Tools: Happy quilting. Kari Sign up for my newsletter to stay current on what's happening in my studio and learn more quilting tips. As a thank you, I'll send you a FREE pattern for this small maple leaf quilt.
This has been a busy week. I was in Duluth on Friday for the Minnesota Quilt Show, then I had three full days of Art and Stitch classes with Loes and Theo van der Heiden. In my spare time, I have been working on some of the kite blocks as well.
This week I will share with you some of the highlights of the quilt show along with instructions for piecing two of the kite blocks. 
Navajo Code Talkers by Carla Kiklelly of Richfield MN. Also quilted by Carla. I loved the different "pieced" band in each of the blocks and I love plaids.
MN Quilt Show
The quilts were amazing this year. Lot's of eye candy and inspiration. I thought I would share a few photos of some of the quilts that caught my eye.
Dresden Dreams - pieced and quilted by Sandy Cooper. This quilt was in the Twin Cities Quilting Challenge Modern Quilt. Grey is definitely the new neutral.
I thought this helped with defining a modern quilt.
Fenestra Rosa by Mardi Carter (Estes Park, CO). This is a stunning representation of stained glass window. Check out the following close up of some of her quilting.
The following are quilting close-ups from a quilt by Susan Fetter Ward. It was quilted by Lisa Arndt, of Lisa's Creative Quilting. Somehow I missed photographing the whole quilt -- but lots of quilting inspiration. This was a great use of geometric designs.
Love at First Sight by AnnMarie Kraayenbrink of Prior Lake, MN. Quuilted by Mary Alsop. The design was by Edyta Sitar.
There were a series of quilts from Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. These quilts were all made by members of the Cover to Cover book club in Portland Oregon. The quilts were made within a six month time frame. This is one example from the special exhibit.
Alice Slays the Jabberwocky by Pat Busby.
Another of the fun challenges were the collection of "Wicked Quilts". This challenge was inspired by Cherrywood Fabrics.
Featured Pattern - Be My Valentine
Do you need a quick wedding gift? Be my Valentine is sure to be a hit with the bride and groom. Consider making it in their "colors". This pattern also features the Split Rects tool used in the Kite blocks.
Happy quilting.
Kari Sign up for my newsletter to stay current on what's happening in my studio and learn more quilting tips. As a thank you, I'll send you a FREE pattern for this small maple leaf quilt.
We have had a number of windy days -- perfect kite flying weather. I've never been a great kite flyer -- but I was thinking that kites would make a great baby quilt. So for the next month, I will be presenting a kite quilt with both Electric Quilt video tutorials and Art and Stitch video tutorials. This will be a bit of a mystery as I won't reveal the layout until later in the series. The finished quilt will be 38" x 50". This is a great size for either a baby or a toddler quilt. This project is for you ---
Drafting the Kite BlocksFor those that want to play in Electric Quilt this week, I am providing an Electric Quilt video tutorial on drafting a series of kite blocks. I will admit that I was planning to do just one -- but once I got started, I kept coming up with more ideas. This video will take less than 7 minutes to watch. Here are all the blocks.
Featured Pattern - Modern MazeTraditional fabrics can be used to make modern quilts. This quilt features Molly B's fabrics from Marcus Brothers.
Happy quilting. Kari
In an attempt to compress the background around appliqué or quilted motifs, quilters are continually looking for other creative choices besides good old tried-and-true stippling or loops and circles. I have numerous books in my library dedicated to background fills. My favorites include:
8427 172nd Ave. NE Forest Lake, MN 55025 Then there are the online tutorials. Both of these talented women work on a domestic machine and are inspirational:
Over the years I have found the trick to executing many of these fills is practicing on a whiteboard or even just a pad of paper and a good pen. Keep drawing the fill until you feel comfortable with it. Sometimes it may take many sheets of paper to reach that "comfort level". Occasional, I never got there -- my brain just couldn't recreate the shape. My advice based on painful experience ... DO NOT START QUILTING UNTIL YOU HAVE REACHED THAT COMFORT LEVEL. Background Fills with a Computerized MachineI love my APQS Millennium with Intelliquilter. The computer helps a lot with execution of precise designs. It works particularly well for pantographs, borders, block designs and motifs. However it can be a challenge when it comes to fillers around applique or embroidery. However it can be done! This week I decided to design my own creative fill using Art and Stitch. This particular fill was for a Halloween themed quilt made by Pat C. I used Art and Stitch software to draw the fill. I want to do a special shout out and thank you to Carol Best for her advice on how to apply a Creative Fill with two separate applique shapes in a block. Her steps are included in my video. Almost Finished Halloween QuiltCheck out the finished project (minus a few embellishments to be added by Pat. I used the "Man in the Moon" filler around the Hat and Spider. For other fillers, I did some freehand work. This was my first freehand work since the broken wrist -- and I must admit that I was feeling very grateful that I have the computer to assist with most of my quilting.   Man in the Moon Creative Fill  Stars and Circles Background Fill - Freehand  Swirls Background Fill - Freehand. No computerized system -- the Man in the Moon design can also be done freehand.Check out this 50 second video that shows how to stitch out a freehand filler of the design. There is no audio on this one. Try the design on paper and let me know how it goes. True confession -- after finalizing the video above and finishing the stitch out of the design from the video, I wished I had taken a little more time to actually connect up the motifs. The following video also provides you a suggestion on drafting and placement of a continuous line creative Man in the Moon fill.  Man in the Moon Stitch Out by Kari Schell Featured Pattern - Ferris WheelI happened on a carnival last weekend. As usual, my eyes were drawn to the Ferris wheel and I was tempted (just a little) to try it out. Perhaps you will think of this pattern the next time the carnival is in your town.
Happy quilting. Kari Sign up for my newsletter to stay current on what's happening in my studio and learn more quilting tips. As a thank you, I'll send you a FREE pattern for this small maple leaf quilt.
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