busy, busy, busy

Hello everyone! It's nice to see you again! I know I have been absent. It is so hard for me to blog these days. I wanted to let you know what is going on in my life that is exciting but sometimes overwhelming too.

First of all, I made a couple of patterns, one for free and one payable. The first one is a set of foundations for a 2-Inch and 3-Inch Pineapple Block on Etsy. It includes two pages of templates. Assemble the blocks in the order given on the foundations or add more fabric on opposite sides of the block. These foundations are a great way to use up your scraps, especially HSTs from all of your favorite projects.

Preview of Pineapple FPP Pattern on Etsy

I decided to make this pattern available after after Sandra @hohenbrunnerquilterin asked us, her bee mates, to sew the larger Pineapple block in the Background. I received a lot of requests to make the pattern available after they saw the blocks on IG and a friend of mine, Katrin made the block and posted on her blog. I had forgotten how much fun these were to make. I had so many "scraps" lefter over, I could make both the three inch and the two inch blocks. 

I have only made one quilt with the Pineapple block, a very special one for my mom's 60th birthday. I wanted to make her something really special, because she inspired me to start Quilting. I think she liked it, but couldn't really appreciate it the was I did. Although she quilted for a couple of year and even taught classes, she was really a traditional quilter. She wasn't impressed with the beautiful Long Arm Quilting by Brigitte Heitland.

Two things that are really special about the is quilt are 1)the Andover fabrics that my mom and I bought together in Phoenix, AZ when she lived there for a couple of years and 2)the inset corner blocks set-in on all four sides. I will never ever do that again! Brigitte took extra Special care NOT TO quilt them but to let them stand out. The quilt was kindly given back to me in 2016 when my mother died.

Another freebie is the pinwheels block I first made a couple of years ago for a pincushion. I wrote a very quick example of how it was made and posted in my Instagram feed. Allie and Me Design wrote a really awesome tutorial in GERMAN for the pincushion.

I still never wrote an official tutorial in ENGLISH, but I did write a step-by-step instruction sheet in GERMAN recently just for the pinwheels. You can download it here on the Instant Downloads page of my website. The photographs are clear and measurements are in centimeters. Enjoy.

http://www.easypatchwork.de/instant-downloads/

The are good things and the bad things about writing patterns and tutorials. I enjoy sharing my knowledge with other quilters and sewist to help make the entire process simpler and more enjoyable with awesome results. I still get tickled when I see someone make a pattern of mine! What I don't like is the amount of time it takes to write a thoroughly well-written pattern that goes unappreciated. I really don't expect a lot of appreciation in return, not even a thank you, but the rude tones and comments can be left aside. Everyone wants a Rolls Royce for free and there'd better be a big ribbon on it too! Sorry, this still irritates me. Coming down off my soap box now.

I have an upcoming and exciting teaching schedule including the Long Island New York Beauty in Hildesheim, Germany in just one week. If you are interested, please contact me. There are a couple of places left.

I will also be teaching at Karlsruhe two different classes in May: "Sew Smaller" and "Bindings." I generally limit the amount of participants in my classes to 12 students, but there was such an overhwhelming interest in the bindings class, we the increased the amount of participants to 20. I am really looking Forward to both of these classes!

In June, I will be teaching a "Cathedral Windows" class again in Munich at Quilt ét Textilkunst. Participants are also limited to 12. Reserve your seat, because they are going fast. Quilt ét Textilkunst is celebrating 20 years of business with a year filled of exciting courses with sewing celebs, giveaways, sew-alongs and more!

I am still designing for magazines and hope new blocks will be published for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks. I love designing my own, original blocks. 

Thanks for dropping by! 

summer giveaway

Hi Everyone! Summer is here and the kids are almost out of school. They have just one week and then we will be missing for a while, trying to soak up the sun and lazy days poolside. Before I log out, I want to share my experiences teaching the Long Island Beauty Class in Munich on Saturday.

I was very fortunate enough to share this pattern with 12 participants who were willing to sit through a hot summer day for several hours working dilgently and accurately to complete the first block. I believe the ladies could say, that they definitely left the class with some gained knowledge on paper piecing, sewing curves and the difficulties of bias edges in New York Beauties. I also truly believe, they are proud of their accomplishements and so should they be! It was a challenging class but these ladies outperformed and didn't complain working almost right through lunch.

As a quilt designer and instructor, nothing warms my heart more than to see others who want to sew one of my designs and learn from my experience. I really love easy patchwork and want to make it as easy for others as it "appears" to be. Thanks ladies for putting up with me! Can't wait until we see each other again!

As a little sumertime reward, I would like to give something back to all of my loyal friends, readers and followers. I will be giving away a suprise package (a min. 40€ value) to one lucky person who makes at least one Long Island New York Beauty blocks from my newest hardcopy pattern. A random winner will be picked on August 7, 2017.

Here are all of the rules:

1. Use original Long Island New York Beauty Pattern. The colors and fabrics are your choice. Slight design alternations are accepted.
2. Finish at least ONE BLOCK that measures 14 1/2" x 14 1/2". It does not have to be a finished top. (I changed this requirement, because it really is a complicated block to sew. I don't want anyone to rush through this.)
3. Post before August 7, 2017 on Instagram or here if I manage to set up a linky party. 
4. Use the hashtag #linybeasypatchworkgiveaway.

One lucky person will receive a special quilty suprise consisting of but not limited to fabric, notions, magazines, something handmade by me and other goodies. Are you ready? Then let's get those sewing machines going. Good luck to everyone!

This giveaway is in no way associated with Instagram, Google, Blogger, or any other group. This is solely endorsed by easypatchwork (aka me). Void where prohibited.

Here's a little inspiration for you to think about as far as a color scheme:

Click here to see more ideas. I would show you more, but my space for photos is very limited at the moment on Blogger.

If you are interested in joining the fun and don't have a pattern yet, you can purchase one at your local German patchwork store such as Quilt ét Textilkunst in Munich or click on the pattern to the right sidebar to go to my Etsy Shop - easypatchworkshop. Patterns are available in German and in English with all templates and foundation paper patterns in included. If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a note - info@easypatchwork.de.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your summer and again, GOOD LUCK!

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An InLinkz Link-up

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Giveaway closed. The winner was chosen on Monday, 8.8.2017.

The winner is Monica at all.about.crafts via Intsagram! Congratulations!!

bitten by the ungrateful fairy

Today I logged onto to Craftsy to see what patterns I had sold. I quickly noticed I had one negative review of my "pattern" New York Beauty Alternate Cutting Instructions. I was reviewd with one out of five stars with the anonymous person stating it wasn't a pattern and wasn't worth the download. Hmmpf. Yes, I know this is not a free pattern but cutting instructions. I stated this on the instruction sheet as well as in the description. I even stated you needed to have the pattern, where to get it, and how much it cost.

I opted to upload this sheet to Craftsy, so I could see who is actually downloading it. Craftsy allows you to see everyone who downloads your patterns which is a security measurement for me to know if someone has infringed upon the copyright. Most people ignore the fact that everything you create, every image, every photo is unofficially copyrighted. You do not need this © sign on anything you create to state it is copyrighted. It is automatic. Even if it is shown on a pattern, © 2017 Karen Ackva, this doesn't mean they are just the author. You are not allowed to copy it nor distribute the content without written consent from that person. I write this on all my patterns, but legally, it is understood. I put it on my patterns just to remind others. Legally, no one is allowed to even repost one of your photos on Instagram without permission. Did you know that too?

I was so disturbed by the negative feedback from this one ungrateful fairy, that I deleted the free cutting instructions for this as well as other "free"patterns. If you are looking for this sheet, you can still find it here.

I would like to remind all of you out there who download free patterns of anything - a lot of work and thought goes into writing patterns, tutorials, and blog posts. I think a simple thank you or appreciation is reward enough. Sometimes, that is just too expensive, though. I apologize Ungrateful Fairy! If you had left your name, I would have sent you the entire pattern free of charge including all full size templates.

**EDITED** I reuploaded the form to Craftsy. I decided I shouldn't let one bad apple get in the way of a nice thing, especially for those who really appreciate it. If you are looking for the original pattern, you can purchase on my website page or on Etsy in my easypatchworkSHOP. Thank you.

-Happy Butterfly

blogging is dead

Wow! It is hard to believe that I have not blogged in ages, actually a couple of months really. Why haven't I been blogging? Well, after I blogged a couple of months ago and received almost no comments, I became discouraged. With the ease and instant gratification of Instagram, I learned I no longer had to write long, informative blog posts to get people's attention. I only had to make a bit of eye candy, and I received a few comments without the hassle of writing long text.

Not that I mind typing. I actually enjoy typing on the computer, since I know how to type with all ten fingers, even on the German keyboard. I get frustrated with that little keyboard on my tiny mobile or smartphone. I really hate the auto correction on it too. I am not a thumb-typer, either and think it is totally funny when I see the younger generations typing this way. My son is 12 and learning how to type in school. I wonder how he will type in the future when he starts using his smartphone for messaging.

Okay, now that I have gotten that out of my system, do I really have anything to blog about? Yes! I've actually been quite busy. I've been so busy that I would overload you if I put everything into this one blog post! So, let's start out slow.

I started my own business. Yes, I decided to take that big leap. I've been designing my own patchwork and writing my own patterns and tutorials since 2010, I think. I've designed so much, I can't keep it all straight anymore. I've overloaded the computer with designs and have about 200 files in EQ7 not to mention the different quilts in each file. Have I made all of them or published them? No. I can't get to all of them. My daughter saw an old file on our tablet where I used to put sketches of quilts. She told me I never made the quilts she saw. Yep, sometimes I just can't get to them all. Sometimes, I even outsource the quilts. I don't really like to do that, because if I am the designer of a quilt, I want it to be written precisely and accurately. How will I know if it is written correctly if I don't follow my own directions? It would destroy me if I knew someone would say, "that Karen, she knows nothing about quilting. She just designs something without thinking."

Okay, I am rambling today, but that is good. I am getting it all out of my system just like in a diary. I assure you, there will be a little bit of eye candy today. Back to my own business. I published my very first printed pattern. Yes, it is very scary, because they are printed. I spent my own money and went to a publisher and had my pattern printed! If they don't sell, well, then, I am out of the costs, not to mention the cost of everything else!! And believe me, after I take out all of the money for expenses, there isn't a lot of money left. I know why quilt shops go bankrupt. I really feel for them too.

I've been publishing downloadable patterns for years now and not asking for a lot of money, just a few dollars or euros. In today's world, everything is quicker, faster, more redily available. No one wants to pay for anything anymore. I am very sad about that and fed up too. I give a lot of information, patterns, and tutorials away to really help others. There isn't a lot of thanks nor is there appreciation. That really hurts, but I am the type of person that likes to see the good in others. So I decided to start writing patterns and having them published for those who really want a great pattern. My patterns are well thought out, well written and concise too. Don't you get a little discouraged when you print out a PDF pattern and you have to tape ten thousand pieces together or enlarge?? I do! A lot of times when I download patterns I think to myself, "why did I buy this?" This person was not thinking when they wrote the pattern. I can make this myself without the pattern! If you know me in person, you've probably heard me say this too. There are very few people with patterns that I truly admire, but here are a few Gundrun Erla of GE Designs and Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. These ladies really rock. They've been doing their stuff for years and are still loving it (I hope.) They may not be at the top of the peak like Tula Pink but they are doing their thing. Thanks ladies!

So, back to that pattern company and business. I designed a New York Beauty with some really awesome Geogram fabrics from Samarra Kjaha for Lecien Fabrics.

The quilt was presented in Karlsruhe at Nadelwelt by Quilt ét Textilkunst in their booth. Nadelwelt is one of the larges quilt and crafting fairs in Southern Germany. Ms. Christine Köhne and her lovely staff sold my patterns, and kits and sign-ups for a class in their shop in July in Munich. Can you believe that?? I am so tickled!!

I wrote patterns in English as well in German, because I feel there aren't enough modern, patchwork patterns here in Germany. Most of our patterns are English imports. My German friends want patterns in German! Go figure. (laughing)

So, if you are looking for an advanced foundation paper pieced pattern with instructions, all full-size templates and all foundation papers to make this lovely 32 x 32 inch wall hanging, just shoot me an email. The complete pattern costs €14,95 not including shipping. Or check it out on my website. www.easypatchwork.de. Yes, I have a website! I even updated it a couple of weeks ago. I hope you like the improvements. There is free stuff there too!

Oh, and if you are looking for a more floral wall hanging, check out this lovely eye candy! This Long Island New York Beauty was made with a 10" Layer Cake of Acreage by Shannon Gillman Orr for Moda instead of yardage from Lecien. It looks just as lovely as the first too, if I may say so.

I even wrote free instructions on how to cut up the layer cake and uploaded them to Craftsy FREE, FREE, FREE! Did I mentions this was free??

**EDITED** Because some people still have to complain - there was one negative feedback on Craftsy that this was not a pattern but cutting instructions and was not worth the effort of downloading, I removed the FREE cutting instruction sheet from Craftsy. I think I remeber writing that on the FREE SHEET as well as in the information area? I must have been mistaken. Please accept my apologies! This is why I don't like to post for free anymore.

You can find this Alternate Cutting Instruction Sheet on my website for free download. Please remember, this is not the pattern, but an alternate cutting instructions sheet from a 10" stack of fabric. Thank you for your support.

I promise, I am going to write a few more posts in the next couple of weeks with a giveaway too. Please stay tuned. Oh, and please support your local patchwork store. Buy printed patterns so we can keep on doing our thing! Thank you!