On Point Quilter Booth at Market
I just got back from my first ever Houston Quilt Market. Quilt Market is the international trade show for the quilting industry and is held twice a year. The fall one is always in Houston and the spring one rotates around the country.
 Elizabeth and Kari ready for Shop Owners
I was nervous going into the show -- but I really didn't need to be. I picked up my friend Elizabeth in Dallas who helped me vend during the show and when I got to Houston I was able to meet up with members of my Creative Arts Business Group. This group is incredibly supportive and made me feel like I was among friends while navigating this new venture for me. If you are thinking about a career in quilting, I would definitely recommend Morna and this group. Here are a few links to check out to get started.
Impressions
I didn't have much time to see the larger market, but I thought I would at least share my impressions of the show.
The Row by Row experience continues to be popular. The theme for 2016 will be "Home Sweet Home". I am already thinking about a number of new designs using Electric Quilt.
Dorothy (Joanne's mother), Rose Hall, Joanne Harrison Hillestad and me in Fat Quarter Gypsy's booth.
Are you interested in the free supplemental pattern which shows how to combine my blocks into a unit that may be pieced into JoAnn's pop-up. Click here.
Weather
On Point Quilter Booth Close-Ups
On Point Quilter Mystery Program
You may have noticed some detectives on a few of my quilts. That means the quilt pattern would also make a good mystery for either a shop or a guild. Here is how my mystery program works.
If you are interested in using one of my mystery quilt patterns in your shop or for a mystery event at your guild, please drop me a note at [email protected] Love your Electric Quilt Private Coaching ProgramI know that you may be ready to make the commitment to expand your knowledge and use of Electric Quilt. I have openings in my schedule starting in January and will be taking on a limited number of private coaching clients to work with in expanding your Electric Quilt technical skills. Opening are still available. Early bird discounts have been extended to November 10th as life has been a bit hectic on my end and I've been slow at responding to e-mails. Read more about the program here. (PS -- This could be tailored to Art and Stitch as well.) Happy quilting. Kari
 Come Said the Wind by Kari Schell I received a note on someone asking me for other suggestions for transferring my Come Said the Wind poem to fabric. In the pattern I provide three suggestions:
I've been thinking the last month about putting on the poem during the quilting process. I finally found a little time to play in Art and Stitch and on my longarm and am really pleased with this option. This weeks video tutorial will be about creating a "handwritten" design for your quilt in Art and Stitch. There were a number of tips I came up with in the process that I would love to share with you.  I was pleased with the final stitch out -- but not so much the photograph. It probably wasn't the best idea to use a batik background. I am also thinking that this could work for adding names to baby quilts. Where would you like to add "word art" to your quilt? Love your Electric Quilt Private Coaching ProgramI know that you may be ready to make the commitment to expand your knowledge and use of Electric Quilt. I have openings in my schedule starting in January and will be taking on a limited number of private coaching clients to work with in expanding your Electric Quilt technical skills. The program will be formally released next week at Fall Quilt Market -- but I wanted to give my loyal blog readers and newsletter subscribers first shot at obtaining one of these limited number of spaces, including some Early Bird discounts if you sign up by October 31st. Read more about the program here. (PS -- This could be tailored to Art and Stitch as well.) Featured Product: Come Said the Wind
Happy quilting. Kari
Wow. Not sure how everything that I have been working on the past six months seems to come together all at once. There is a lot to report on this week:
New Class with Electric Quilt University
This is a 2-week course complete with illustrated, printable lessons and videos covering every step. The videos are posted throughout the lessons so you can read first, then watch the video, or vice versa. You can stream them right away, or download each video to your computer to watch later. Octagon Table Toppers is one course in the Small Quilts with a Twist series. I will help you create master templates for unique quilt styles to use over and over again. While this class is only 2 weeks long, the lessons are jam-packed with amazing content. Here are a few of the quilts covered in the class.  Introduction to Applique - An Electric Quilt Video TutorialWhen I went through the comments from a couple of weeks ago, it appears there was a tie for the block chosen for this weeks video. The two winning blocks are highlighted in the photo below. I decided to go ahead with the 2nd block on row 3 as it allows me to cover some of the basics of drafting applique blocks in Electric Quilt. I will save the other block (which covers a couple of different tools) for a future video.  Electric Quilt Applique Tutorial Final Choices In this weeks Electric Quilt video tutorial, I start by sharing how to take a screen shot of the block using the Windows Snipping Tool (for the Window Users out there). On the MAC, you select Command+Shift+4 for the equivalent of this. I then discuss using the Bezier curve to draft the shapes. (For those of you that use Art and Stitch, the Bezier curve works quite a bit differently between the programs.) I then review editing the shapes. HINT: The goal in drafting applique is to minimize the number of nodes. My finished (i.e. drafted) block.  Applique Block from Electric Quilt Introduction to Applique Video Tutorial Love your Electric Quilt Private Coaching ProgramI know that you may be ready to make the commitment to expand your knowledge and use of Electric Quilt. I have openings in my schedule starting in January and will be taking on a limited number of private coaching clients to work with in expanding your Electric Quilt technical skills. The program will be formally released next week at Fall Quilt Market -- but I wanted to give my loyal blog readers and newsletter subscribers first shot at obtaining one of these limited number of spaces, including some Early Bird discounts if you sign up by October 31st. Read more about the program here. Let's Go Fly a KiteJust released -- my Let's Go Fly a Kite pattern. This pattern has 20 pages -- so it chocked full of illustrations. You can choose to use the Studio 180 Design tools (which I love) or not. Either way the pattern will provide lots of information on how to piece this quilt.  Purchase a physical copy of the pattern (mailed to you) here. Purchase a digital copy of the pattern here. Let's Go Fly a Kite Stacking Pop-UpI've also partnered with my friend and fellow designer Joanne Harrision Hillestad of Fat Quarter Gypsy to offer a free supplemental sheet that will provide instructions on using my kites with her medium size pop-up. Her Pop-Up pattern is incredibly popular. And they are so fun to make. I'll share more with you (and maybe a video demo of the pop-up in action) on a future blog post. Click on a copy of the photo below to get the free supplemental instruction sheet.  Let's Go Fly a Kite Supplemental Pop-Up Pattern 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.
It has been a crazy week. I'm trying to get three new patterns released for fall quilt market -- which is only two weeks away. I have also been working on a couple of presentations.
So this is my excuse for failing to get my planned Electric Quilt video completed-- but I definitely have the video on the to do list for next week. So for this week, I thought I would focus on my latest released pattern. This is one of those patterns that can be done quickly -- think a day or a weekend for the project. It is also incredibly versatile. Fabric selection is super easy. Just select a theme fabric, sashing and six coordinating fat quarters. 
2+ 6 = Easy Pattern Cover
Zoo Babies 2 + 6 = Easy Quilt
Safari 2 + 6 = Easy Quilt
I really like the idea of row quilts. They are easy to chunk into small manageable sections to work on. They also make great group projects.
Here is another row quilt made my quilt group at church. This quilt will be going to a member of the congregation that is needed to move to Assisted Living. Her family was cleaning her condominium and found a lot of "clown" fabric. This lovely lady performed as a clown for many years and obviously collected some fabric along the way. We decided to make a quilt top (and finished it in a day). Each of us took a row to work on. All the fabric for the quilt came from her collection. It was really fun to make do with what she had and we hope she will enjoy the final quilt. 
Featured Pattern - Two Plus Six Equals Easy
This “go to” baby/toddler quilt is easy to select fabrics for and it’s easy to modify so everyone on your list doesn’t end up with the same quilt. And, more importantly, it’s quick and easy to sew.
Why the title? This quilt uses two main fabrics and six fat quarters, making fabric selection a breeze. At 36" wide, the quilt length can vary from 45"-60" depending on the number of rows you use. Make it your way! 
Purchase physical copy here (mailed to you).
Purchase digital copy here (immediate download available). 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.
While my friend Carol was doing some closet cleaning with her mother in law, they came across a dozen 15" applique blocks. Eleanor no longer sews and Carol enlisted my assistance in figuring out what to do with the blocks, since she is not a quilter. I went to Electric Quilt and gave them a couple of simple setting options. I didn't worry about photographing the blocks, but just took some simple applique blocks from the library. Easy Peasy!
They chose Option 2. I took a half day at a retreat and cut and pieced the setting. To quilt it, I wanted something fairly traditional, but simple. The Baptist fan pattern always works in those situations.  Here is my question for you. What era do you think this quilt is from? I was guessing 50s. However, I learned more in the "reveal" with Eleanor. I thought I would share the "reveal" with you, as it warmed my heart to see her reaction to her finished project. It really reaffirms why I am a quilter. Do you have some "old" blocks sitting around? Pull them out and create a quilt that can be enjoyed today. I am also thinking about doing a future video tutorial on tracing at least one of these blocks using Electric Quilt. Any suggestions on the block to feature? Note the block in the comments section (just note Row Number and whether it is the first second or third block in the row). Featured Pattern - Sun RaysI took some new pictures of my Sun Rays quilt this week. I don't think the original photo really did this quilt justice. Here is the new photo.  I thought I would make this my featured pattern of the week. I also loaded the digital version online, so digital copies are available for purchase as well. The Sun Rays quilt is based on a favorite antique block. The quilt may be completed with seven fabrics or may be scrapped. I suggest using just one background fabric for continuity. On the cover quilt, I used a controlled scrap technique. For this technique, I used the same fabric in each of the main blocks, but used different fabrics for each of these blocks. (For example, I had 12 different Medium Tans – one for each block) Size options include:
Recommended (optional) Tools: Two options:
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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Kari SchellElectric Quilt Expert and Educator and Pattern Designer. Categories
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