Carli The Quilter

I've just spent some quiet time this Christmas Eve morning reading posts from all sorts of blogger's that I follow. When I look back on this 2014, I declare that it was a year of hits and misses. I am very excited to have found many interesting and lovely people who crazy quilt.  I am sorry that I simply lost track of my own hosted Crazy Quilt Along 2014, but hope to do another one in the future. And I know many crazy quilters follow my blog and would heartily join up again.  I did intend this one to be finished with scrappy dresden plates happily playing alongside daisies and it still awaits my ability to work on them. I love this photo of carved faces in cottonwood trees I found along the trails of Riverside Park in Terrace, B.C. I enjoy traveling in our truck and camper.  And then the numerous crazy quilted projects await me too. My life has taken a turn of reflection and has slowed down. There is no other alternative when sciatic nerve p...

I invite you to give this tutorial a go. I open my heart to hand stitching in my desire to feel the thread being drawn through the two simple layers of cotton. This is an invitation to slow quilting. I've said it before, its my therapy. The simple act of threading a hand sewing needle and actually sewing two pieces together is rewarding in a sense of self mindfulness. It became my therapy for this reason. You'll want to assemble at least 6 dark scraps and 6 light scraps. Cut these strips into 2 in. width and carry on, replenishing your supplies with scraps of dark and light, you'll get this organic looking quilt that speaks to somewhere soft and cuddly in everyone. So starting is always two squares any size. In my case, I chose to start with 2 inch squares, one 2 in. square the red color I like to start a log cabin block with and an alternate color, light or dark. In the above photo, you can see the simple running stitching I do with a tiny french knot at each ...

A classic sunny day on the shores of Vancouver Island came knocking on our door. The fresh coffee in traveling cup and away we went.   From Victoria (on the map above), to the Port Renfrew, we wove our way along the seaside. It was quite a relaxing time as we drove along checking out new country. My thoughts were of my friend Nola, whose rugged independence as a Northern woman had somehow missed this beautiful part of B.C. and so I dedicate this post to you Nola, my quilty friend! The trail that winds around huge tall cedar trees is a well worn but rugged path. You really must keep your eyes on the path as it changes from step to step. If you visit Jordon River Regional Park, you'll find a lovely west coast trail that took me back 30 years to my youth. Nola, remember hippie's and the Clayquot Sound Protests? I do as I watched and learned about the devastation of forests so precious they are as important as the trees of the Amazon who a...

I participated with the lovely Jess of The Elven Garden who hosted the Jen Kingwell's pattern "Midnight Over the Oasis." I'm going to be completing this beautiful quilt this winter! So I thought it would be fun for you to see my incomplete Midnight Over the Oasis quilt top and to see all the other images on Google just for fun. You  can go here to see the hundreds of other images using this pattern. Its been a great experience for me to use someone else's pattern with only a few minor changes. I will make more of this one pattern as I fell in love with it. Happy Quilting, Carli

Hello everyone, I bet you are wondering what has happened to me right? Well, we decided to take a little trip to Vancouver Island and see if we can establish a winter home in a temporary sense. Its been lovely weather and windy/rainy weather, so hence no photos of the nifty shops, museums and restaurants that we've eaten fabulous food. The balmy, warm days of the south coast of Vancouver Island. Victoria, B.C. is really the Canadian version of the warm seas of more tropical parts of the world.  Without the swimming on warm beaches, we can take long walks on shell strewn cool beaches, where you can watch the placid Strait of Juan de Fuca loll your mind into total relaxation.   Except, we need a place to hang our hat instead of the spare bedroom. Our Rusty girl is down right confused with the all day eating schedule of the dogs here and without exception has gained a few more pounds that will have to come off our aging female Shepard/Labrador cross.  ...

I just love hand work of any kind. When I considered participating with Sew Sisters Blogathon Canada, I wanted to invite anyone who wants to sew, anyone who sews into the joys of quilting. I aspire to become a slow quilter. For me this is where sewing is best empowering to anyone, even those who don't have a sewing machine can sew. Simplicity is where my mind spends time. Using up fabric from clothing, from antique blocks hand sewn by another and miraculously find their way into my hands. Many of you follow this blog and the hand work of embroidery that I do to inspire your own work in whatever form that takes.  This inspires me and around we go. Sew Sisters shop located in beautiful Toronto, Ontario is a shop that is bricks and mortar as well, its an online shop for our pj's shopping experience. For me, living so far from everything, I drool over the kits and fabric supplies offered at their shop.  It takes a bunch of time and effor...

If you remember the awesome tree in crazy quilting from the Piecemaker's 2002 Calendar, you'd have the complete version of this awesome quilt. Its quite an accomplishment really, its a large 12 month  calendar in textiles. Its been an admired piece that I could recall back to  when I was deep in thought trying to imagine where I would go with any block. I have at least 10-15 blocks of different themes and ideas on the go at any one time. This is the February block of the artist of Susan, I don't really know her last name, perhaps if you know, please post a comment and let us all know. What I remember about first seeing this awesome quilt, was that finally, I felt that the art of crazy quilting had finally reached main stream. Other options may have been known about for sure, but for me, it was an epiphany. It might have actually been the major shift in my thinking of crazy quilting as a respected form of quilting. As I  became a quilter, I be...

Sometimes when I see crazy quilting and I must stop and zoom in to see the real hand embroidery of their crazy quilting work. I'm taking an hiatus from hand work due to some restructuring I'm doing behind the scenes and I love to share the gorgeous stuff I find, like this next crazy quilter out of Washington who also has a small Etsy shop and does some awesome work. Her attention to detail is impeccable and its draws your eye into the work, please do visit this blogger and start following her work. I am. Happy Quilting and do pop in to the work of Flora Bee's! http://florasbeecrazyquilter.blogspot.ca/2014/08/garden-and-flowers-rr-danas-block.html Carli