Tuesday, April 30, 2013

quilting bee project


Good morning everyone. I would like to be in a better mood today, but the weather this year is unbelievable. I never remember a winter being so long here in Germany. Okay, sometimes it seems to be really cold with even snow into the month of April, but the constant cloudiness and overcast is depressing. Oh how I miss the Carolina Blue Sky!! I once lived in Florida, and I was thinking about it the other day - how nice it would be to retire there where the weather is warm and the sun shines (on a regular basis)! Does the weather influence your mood as well?

Back to the topic. Quilting bees are great!! I found a lovely little quilting group in Nersingen led by Sabine Feldman of Quilt Oase which is fantastic. It is always great to get together with other quilting and sewing ladies and see what they are up too. It doesn't matter if you have been sewing for two years or for twenty. Just go and talk to the others. It is the greatest way to share ideas and experiences.

The quilting group is currently working together on a collaborative quilt of mosaic tiles with several blocks, each in a different colorway. We all brought in scraps, sorted them by color, picked a colorway for ourselves, cut and arranged the fabric pieces on white fabric, and appliquéd them down with coordinating thread. I can't wait to see all of the blocks united!! Even though I wanted to work on a purple colorway block, I noticed that no one had picked pink. So, even though pink is usually last on my list, this one is for my daughter who simply adores pink.


Last year, I looked around for quite a long time on flickr for a quilting bee but got discouraged every time when I saw that the size of the group was usually limited to twelve - one participant per month or one person per block in a quilt. I would like to see a quilting bee of just four by six inch blocks but maybe a-10 x 15 layout or so. Now that could be cool, 150 blocks from quilters from around the world. If you have some ideas about this, drop me a note. I look forward to hearing from you!

Wow....I see a ray of light beaming through the clouds. ;-)

Friday, April 26, 2013

my Moda Bake Shop experience

prairie Traditions by Karen Ackva for easypatchwork

Happy Friday everyone! The weather was great this week. I think the sun shined a total of three days which is a record for the year!

If you don't already know, I had a pattern accepted and posted on the Moda Bake Shop blog back in January. Here is a little follow-up post about my experience for prairie Traditions.

I submitted my pattern to Moda using a pre-cut layer cake in September of 2012. I was elated to receive an email a few weeks later telling me that my pattern was accepted. I would have to make the quilt again using a newer fabric line, but that was okay. (I could request three Moda fabric lines, one of which would be sent.)

A month later I received my package. Remember, the package had to be sent from Texas, USA to Ulm, Germany. And it had to pass through Customs that loves to put an extra high import tax on the fabric, because it is produced in Asia. I just love the Zollamt!  I was shocked to find out that the Sample Department was nice enough to fulfill my wish from the fabric line "HONEY HONEY" from Kate Spain. It is such a great springtime fabric!

Sewing the quilt and writing the pattern went like a piece of "cake" -pun intended. I took many photos along the way and wrote instructions using computer diagrams for better understanding. I like photographs, but sometimes diagrams tell me more.

I simplified the quilting to make it easier for everyone to accomplish. I used 100% cotton batting-my personal choice for most quilts.

After the quilt was finished, I waited for more than one week on that perfect day in winter where the sun shined for all of two hours. I rushed out with the quilt and my camera. I already had the location picked out, so the rest was quite easy.  Snap, snap, snap...finished.

I wrote to Moda that my pattern was finished and my photographs were uploaded. Lisa informed me of when my post would be scheduled. On January 7, 2012. I was so excited to see my quilt on their blog. I emailed everyone I knew and stuck to the computer like glue for an entire week reading posts. Thank you for your support!!

Kate Spain also contacted me and posted the quilt in a newsletter for her Flickr-Group - All Things Kate Spain. Wow! I was so moved that she even noticed me.Thank you for your support as well, Kate!

I look forward to making more patterns for Moda Bake Shop as well as other platforms.

I wish you a great weekend!

Monday, April 22, 2013

Back in the Sattle Again

Oh my goodness, how time has flown. I took a short break (almost three months) to get my life and household back in order again. To make the short of it, we bought a house, and it has taken a bit longer than I anticipated to get things organized and get our lives back on track - to get adjusted to the schools and the way things operate here in Bavaria. We used to live in Baden-Württemberg where it seemed things were just a bit simpler.

I have been working on the layout of my new sewing room. Yes, I have a sewing room now. Before I used to work at the kitchen table just like everyone else I suppose. I enjoyed my big working space there, but found it a bit tedius to pack everything away when I wanted to cook. What I always enjoyed was that the kids were right there with me either coloring, sewing, crafting or playing games while I sewed.

So, in the next couple of weeks, I will be showing you the evolution of my new sewing room and maybe even some plans that you can use yourself!!

I look forward to spending more time sewing again!

Yours truly
Karen