Carli The Quilter

Everyone has to take a  break now and then, don't you think? After all, the Centennial Quilt won't fall apart if I do something else a wee bit, right!  So we gobbled down our breakfast and we went into Houston, BC to pick up a new kitchen range. City Furniture in Houston . Great price, simple without all sorts of gizmo's that require passwords kind of kitchen stove. You know what I mean? Every quilter has to take a break! I insisted that we stop at Houston, B.C.'s mall on Highway 16. Its the only one in town and has an interior walking area  between stores.It a great place for crafters of all kinds to set up a table and sell their wares.  My friend Cindy is off to Africa soon, working on a mission and  helping with many good deeds while there. Cindy and I have a strong bond around recycling, the beaded necklaces are handmade from a women's collective in Africa. She works with A Rocha , an International organization for environmental conse...

Last year I was invited to a "Ladies Luncheon" and of course, I went. Well it was truly the most fun I've had in years! We laughed so much some of us had to run to the bathroom! It was definately not a luncheon, but rather a sleep over party till you drop. The silly antics that happened still make me giggle, but it was all good clean fun "girls style."   This shop is located in Prince George, B.C. This year, the luncheon included a road trip and we had to stop at some thrift stores, right? I was looking for some awesome fabric and I found some awesome clothes. But the manager wasn't around and I couldn't take any photos. I've since cleared this up with the Manager who was very sweet and totally understood how wonderful thrift stores are for the variety of fabric in clothing.  Sometimes in thrift stores, you'll find a quilt top, made perhaps in BC goldrush years and is fine shape, It was found and purchased for $5 in the tren...

 Its Valentines Day and I made an awesome little ditty for my sweetheart and then I discovered my digital camera card was full, so off to my hubby's office it went. In the meantime, I have begun working on my totally reused wool project from some time back.  This piece is bold, soft and whimsical all in one. More when its done!  Hope you are having an awesome day on this love knot filled time of the year! Cheers, Carli

This fun bag was made with reuse in mind. I had a bunch of medium sized chunks of various fabrics from a quilt I'd made reusing clothing and this bag wanted to take the stage just as well! I made the hexagon flower for the center, the broken petals around the hexagon are vintage hand pieced parts of a Wedding Ring pieces. The yellow bottom is a small piece from a jacket, quite tough and sturdy. Its about realizing the value of recycled clothing in quilts.  This little quilt is almost entirely reused cotton from dresses and shirts. I donated this to a good cause for an auction. It sold! This quilt is an wool/fortrel table runner. Hand quilted. I called it Poppy Lane. This quilt has become my car quilt, for when its cold outside like today, I'll put it over my knees while the car gets warm as we travel into town. Its made from recycled blue jeans and corduroy, the biege is denim also and the butterflies are recycled cotton from shirts. ...

I blog on a sister site called the Modern Quilters of the Bulkley Valley. I invite you to visit and check it out. I just started it and so if you live in the Bulkley Valley and want to join, email me and we'll hook you up. These are some of my ideas on my movement toward more modern quilting styles. Enjoy!   My newest pattern published this month in Quilters Connection Magazine, its on the cover. This modern version is the tester pattern I did to confirm that my measurements were correct.  Go to www.quiltersconnection.ca for subscription details. I came across some very interesting news the other day. I heard about a showcase of modern quilts call for entry! So get busy, pull out your funkiest, fun fabric and create something awesome for this showcase. You can find it here, http://themodernquiltguild.com/2011/09/15/the-modern-quilt-guild-showcase-at-fall-market-2012/ Cheers!

When I walk by a thrift store or see a garage sale sign on the side of the road, I have to stop! I pick up all sorts of discard pottery and make new things with it. Yep, that's it, no real plan of it, just to reuse a reclaimed item into a new life. These little pincushions are just that, hand picked finds of pottery that I've remade into a pincushion. I encourage anyone to do the same, they make ideal gifts and are a great seller at a craft table. Plus, there is just no end to what is out there to reuse. Let your imagination go!  I'm sure that these pottery finds are in your area and what an original gift for a quilter or sewer? I came across some of these cute little egg cups that the potter wasn't too happy with and I bought them all from her. What do you think?  This tea cup and saucer sets were discards at the Reuse Shed. Not cracked, chipped or wrong in any way, so they found a new life!  All of the fabrics used are reclaimed from ...

As many of you, who know me personally, know of my love of crazy quilting! This one started as an exercise to see how many little snippets and big chunks of purple I could use in a crazy quilt. I've used cotton, silk, upholstry fabric, satin, slippery lingerie fabric mostly from recycled clothing in my own closet.  I went through a purple faze in my life, thank goodness it just one color I love now. I don't always start in the middle or the side or have a five sided block start as done by others. I just start with something that grabs my attention, like this African print fabric in the center.  I had a birthday that year and still working on the hand embroidery over a couple of years this quilt was made. Here, our neighbor Dave Gillespie sends off my birthday candle float on the river and we sing to till the wee hours. This quilt was sold to Leslie Crane last year.

 I used new fabric for the rectangle backgrounds and then recycled for the hearts. Fuse a stabilizer to the back of your hearts and carry on. Simple and you've just done your first project reusing cloth from clothing.