Carli The Quilter

This happy little quilt is finally reaching a point where I can call it a quilt top, almost! For those of you just popping in to my blog, I've been working on the Scrappy Dresden Blocks for several years cleaning up scraps from my numerous boxes of scraps! Yes, its true, if you are frugal quilter, you acquire scraps from other projects and thousands of us are using the scraps in new projects or by donating the scraps to a local thrift shop. I am still working on 365 Circles Quilt top. Making bright and cheerful Scrappy Dresden Plate Blocks are not a new obsession to me, I've made a few quilts before. The quilt below is my "Canadian Birds Quilt" for my husband back in 2011 I think. Yeah, I was stumped for awhile over the early summer months of 2017 with what to do on the corners! I really like the striped scrappy approach used in Quilty Folks blog mentioned below. But was wondering about a crazy quilt corners and still thinking about th...

Crazy Heart CQ started some time ago. Truth be told I had begun the inner 'heart' while I was mulling over getting started on the Smithers Centennial Quilt which was the early days of 2012. How time flies! I decided again this spring of 2017 it was time that 'Crazy Heart' found a home and direction. I had originally used some fringy braid that was hand sewn around the outside edge of the heart. But when I reviewed this peice, the fringy braid had to go. It was this initial start to remove the fringy braid that I realised underneath the braid, the heart was simply hand sewn with a light hand. The new trim I chose to use was brown and black varigated wool. I did a quick and rustic whip stitch twice over to couch it down to the center of the quilt. I have been working on this quilt in hopes of getting it done for my sister's birthday, but missed that deadline and so it goes. But only time will tell me when its done! In the meantime, here...

Hello to all my quilty friends! Super excited that I'm finally able to get into some new fabric and some new quilts. More on that later. But just received some fun project supplies from www.fabricspark.com. A few years ago I was inspired and fell in love with Jen Kingswell designs! My work on her pattern "Midnight in the Oasis" gave me pause for a whole bunch of reasons. I have done so many quilts that pausing has been good for me and my aspirations. I lingered on modern versions of crazy quilting using machine stitches and machine embroidery. But I love hand stitching, so..... I journeyed deep into the cool pool of water. We all come forth via water. I paddled upstream and downstream and got caught in a tidal pool or two. I find now that I am fearless! I know I can't help it, I go around sharing my inner thoughts as if we were having a tea on the deck. I hope you are not bored? Since moving, I have been overwhelm...

Hello quilters!  We are finally into a real springtime here in Victoria! Therefore, I was feeling springy on this past weekend and began working on these basket blocks again. I intend to have these Baskets for Sisters done by Mother's Day. I have so much more energy since loosing 20 lbs using the Military Diet and Power Water Walking at the pool. What do you think? What would you do with these, keep them as a sparce more modern style of quilt or use sashing between the blocks, maybe embellishment?  Tell me what you would do? And last weekend, while at a retreat, I did  some free-play to recreate my influence of Freddy Moran. I have started a new crazy quilt that I can share here because its not part of my ongoing book Artisan Crazy Quilts. I really am drawn to sunset colors! The bee print fabric is one yard I bought from Fabric Spark from Toronto. This new print from Jane Sassaman, Leaf Dance-Busy Bee-Golden is lovely. Thank...

We had such a great time at the Makehouse on Fort St in Victoria on March 11! Victoria's downtown core was alive with raindrops and bustling feet. I even found a parking spot not far away! I have been in love with the ambiance at Jenny's Shop since the first time I saw the photo of her window display online. Jenny Ambrose is so sweet and is passionate about reusing. The new fabric classes for lingerie shows in the various items hung around her shop.!  Her classes are full of interesting fashion and home decor that would suit most learners with new stuff being added all the time. Also, what is coming are more quilting classes and for a video view of her shop, this video is a great promo of herself and her concept once you are at her site. In the meantime, quilty folks! I watched a beginner make her first t-shirt quilt from bar towels. Yes, who knew that bar towels like these from different pubs from across the world even existed? Kerry's undertaking...

Hello to all of my faithful readers! Thank you for continuing to read my blog. This is Chapter Thirteen-Remake Handmade. I'm counting backwards because my little bloggy spot is approaching 500 blog posts. WOW! The photo below describes some of what I love to do, which is river fishing with my hubby of 32 years. He took this photo of me when doing the 2nd thing I love to do, hand stitching! These chapters are a way for me to search out my own roots in the crafting I do and asking myself is this what I thought it would be like, some ten years down the way? Back in 2007 when I started this blog, I knew nothing about blogging. I did it in secret. My friends and others thought me a little 'weird'.  Eventually, most of them began to realize that blogging didn't mean me sharing everything we discussed or worked on in the privacy of our  homes, as just girlfriends! You know, right, who would do such a thing without consent! Its been this blog, Good ...

This is the first of twenty four posts in this anniversary year of writing Good Earth Quilting. This special year of 2017 is Canada's 150th Birthday! That makes this a wonderful year to celebrate why I started writing a blog in the first place. Its been ten years since I started sharing online by writing my thoughts, my processes and methods even, to an open door of further creativity.  We, who do share blog posts are "passing along our culture" our way of doing things. If we were back in the Cave Dweller Days, we'd be hulking around the edges of a fire, seeing new angles and uses of the new discovery with wary eyes.  Much like Boo Boo in this photo below. Geese are strongly committed to their flock and its not just for other fowl, for Boo Boo this includes people he loves too. This process started me thinking about it in a searching kind of way. I wanted to promote reuse and recycling of textiles into quilts in an effort to educate about the to...