Carli The Quilter

I did a major project last winter and these little snippets and actual small chunks are the cuts from that project.  I was using these fabrics for a quilt where I used Cultural Fusion Quilts book for instructions for the blocks. I'll post more about last winter's project at another time. These little chunks were my start! I think that maybe they will become mini-quilts or table runners or you know, something fun anyway! As you know I've had the last three weeks without stable Internet. For any blogger, this will cause stress, but to have to resign myself to finishing up my book in the new year is a real bummer! I have lots of fun to do with baking and preparing for Christmas and my upcoming retreat in January. I'm really looking forward to that! This is the snippets I started with. This is where I'm going, what do you think, is the black too black? I'm linking up with Fret Not Yourself and Sew Slowly and its C. -14 tonight and get

Hello and welcome to this very popular series! This week, I have a Canadian fiber artist who hales from Saskatchewan. I've been following her blog and enjoying her growth and success with admiration.  Let me introduce Monika Kinner-Whalen! I started hand embroidery at the age of 40.  That's not very long ago.  My mom was a landscape artist who did not sew or hand stitch.  I just never grew up with fibre art!  Sometimes I resent that.  For the most part,  it still feels new and terribly exciting!  I bask in it. 2.  teaching I don't even remember how I learned my first French Knot.  I guess it was either a youtube video or an embroidery instruction book.  For the most part, I am self taught.  I began with free machine threadpainting, and added my own 'freestyle' hand stitches for the parts that needed to be hand stitched.  I quickly discovered how handwork - even just a little bit - made my fibre art so much better

My whole studio comprises of 7 by 10 small room. When I googled "Tiny quilt studios" I found a gazillion of Pinterest sites that deal with all the latest trends of small studio apartments all the way to some pretty large 'tiny studios' and it got me thinking. I share this tiny space with a washer & dryer, hot water heater, pressure tank, ultraviolet and filter water filtration system and a laundry sink.n This is totally efficient and frugal in space use. In fact this home is only 1200 in total, all one layer, with few steps, its a perfect retirement or first home buyer property, you know? In the summer time, I spend hours sitting in the shade down by the river stitching, its only a few short steps from my tiny home and its a perfect socializing place for our neighbourhood parties! Plus, its on the Bulkley River, now if you are a fisherperson, then you'll know how special it is to live on one of the best wild steelhead rivers in the world .

Hello everyone, thanks to those who emailed me inquiring about my whereabouts! That is so cool, that people are paying attention and wondered about me, so sweet! I am back and have this fun little quilt that is coming out in a new pattern next week!   This little crazy love started out as a fun crazy project and suddenly it became a table runner. I've put my book aside until the new year. This frees me up to concentrate on gift making and finishing up a few other projects too! I have only one small area to finish up with the hand quilting, then I'll move onto the outer border with free motion machine quilting. This has been really fun to do and so many ideas popped into my head doing this one. The cream fabric is 100% organic cotton from my shop long ago and the darker fabrics are from Daisy Janie line. And this little quilt top became a table runner because as a baby quilt, it just didn't do anything for me! Even though many of you thought the c

Hello quilty friends! I've found another awesome embroiderer and this one is a crazy quilter too! I introduce Pam Kellogg. What age were you when you began hand embroidery stitching? According to my mom, I started stitching at about 7 years old.  Mom would give me a piece of netting and yarn in a big plastic needle.  That would keep me busy if she was on the phone.  By the time I was 8 years old, my maternal grandmother was teaching me how to embroider on a pre-stamped kitchen towel.  Grandma spent hours showing me over and over how to make French Knots.  She had the patience of a saint! What teaching did you have when you started?   Once I got the hang of basic embroidery stitches from my mom and my grandma, I pretty much taught myself how to do needlepoint, hooked rugs and counted cross stitch.  I loved counted cross stitch and after doing that for awhile, I decided to try my hand at charting my own designs.  I submitted my work to several cross

I have fallen in love with this technique again. Three Hour Block Magic.   I decided not to crop my photos of these because I wanted you to see the potential folks! This block is so simple but wild and crazy, my two favorite combinations in quilts.  The colors chosen by the new Mom were cream and brown. I pulled a bunch of brownish and cream fabrics.  I'm not sure this works for me as a Baby quilt? What do you think?   Now, just to be clear, this post is using the instructions from my wee tutorial of my Three Hour Table Runner  from back in 2011. This has been a real fast check up on the instructions from the Three Hour Table Runner tutorial, so please refer back to this post for these reminders. Stay tuned for these changes and the results. Today I'm linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and A Quilted Passion. Its chilly -6 C. today, I'd say some sort of a winter is yet to come! Happy Quilting

Hello my quilty friends! Wow, the technology we use sometimes comes back to haunt us! This whole loss of photos on several of my recent posts I believe were my home computer and my phone just not talking to each other.  I'm sure you've all been there in some way or another? I know all of you, who are all over the latest technology upgrades etc and etc. You are younger than I and I just want to use the darn technology, not have to have a degree in technology otherwise, its all for not! Have you all noticed that those of us over 50 actually do have a vote. Hopefully, you'll continue to follow my blog even though I'm done with changing between photos taken with my phone and those taken by my own camera. It's really quite exhausting to try and keep up with all the changes required for cell phones. So simply said, I'm not taking photos anymore with my phone unless its an emergency! I'm going back to my perfectly good digital camera. As you ca

This Modern Table Runner has been so much fun to make and to machine quilt. Yes, this little quilt has been happening over several days of little bits here and there. For more on this pop over to the first post on this table runner! About the only organizing that I did was to seek out pink from my fat quarters. I just love Free Spirit Fabrics. I do hope that Micaela will love this and use it often. When I looked at this, I knew it needed more solid colors around the outside. Anyone can make a lovely Modern Table Runner like this, you know! Its just deciding to go ahead and be brave and take a few risks.  I fell in love with this Dupont Silk , it washed like a dream. And it looks lovely against my new flooring in the studio and bathroom. Machine quilting it was no big deal compared to other fabrics I use. It was a good fit. Free Motion Quilted on my home sewing machine Quilter's Companion made by Janome!! Another f

Last night it was a little crazy weather time. High winds, blowing snow and then we lost power. We had no Internet last night or today either. So please enjoy my little wee post. And I've had such lovely comments from soo many people, it's a humbling feeling to read what others think of my work. It is work to me. With getting used the various back issues that have suddenly arrived in my life, I do more sitting. I know that sitting is all the biggest threat to health, but what is a person to do? I work hard on making myself feel valued and cared about and this blog does serve that feedback loop of friends and sisters from far away who enjoy what I do. Thank you to all the various sisters I have around the world, thank you!! Happy slow quilting has become my new mantra!