Look what Lincoln gave me for Mother’s Day! It’s a “new to me” sewing cabinet that I have been wanting or awhile. We lucked out and found one on Marketplace up in Pennsylvania. I can’t wait to get the insert for the machine and then it will be perfect!
Just take a look at the great paintings and sewing projects we have coming up at The Studio. Soon we will have all of these listed for registration. Paint some amazing things….like these welcoming doors or the red tulips. And you can learn to make some really cute Blackbird quilt blocks or Patriotic Stars. The Memory Quilt is perfect for the old shirts you’ve been saving. The phone/tablet stands are a favorite and we have a wall hanging that helps you learn to use all the decorative stitches on your machine. Let’s create together soon! Click here to see what we have going on now and watch for upcoming classes. If you have questions about any classes contact kwalker@kellywalkerstudios.com.
One of the best things about social media is connecting to people with the same interests. I follow a couple of quilting groups on Facebook and yesterday there was a quilter who was asked to make a quilt for the “Quilts of Valor Foundation” on short notice and she put out a request for help. She was asking for help making red, white and blue quilt blocks (12 1/2″). Often when I read requests they are for pretty big projects and I don’t feel like I have to time to take them on but two blocks I knew I could get done quickly. I made a Flying-x and a Variable Star….so off they go in the mail to her today. If you aren’t familiar with “Quilts of Valor” you can click on the link and read about them. They have a very cool mission.
An unexpected and delightful surprise in Hamilton was the Missouri Quilt Museum located in an old multi-story school house. There were some amazing displays there from quilts to a machine collection and a miniature doll quilt collection. And the best part was the young man who was there to sell the tickets. His family runs the museum and he was a wealth of information. And he was thrilled to show us the quilt he had made. At 12 years old he is already on his way to be a terrific quilter.
We spent the day in Hamilton Missouri better known as Quilt Town USA due to the Missouri Star Quilt Company. Jenny Doan and her family started a small quilting business there 15 years ago that boomed into 12 shops and a very successful online business. Jenny does terrific YouTube instructional videos on quilting and has become a star in the quilting world. On the way to Hamilton we listened to Jenny’s autobiography – How to Stitch an American Dream: A Story of Family, Faith and the Power of Giving. It made the visit to Hamilton even more interesting knowing how it all started. The first thing we did was go on a tour of the warehouse to see how it all worked. So interesting to see, especially the 30 long arm quilting machines they use to quilt all the projects that are sent to them. They do about 500 a week! WOW!!! Even though it rained most of the day we still had a great job shopping the 12 MSQC along the street. There were 5 quilters on the trip and one of our friends couldn’t make it at the last minute so we took her along in spirit and had photo ops with her along the way. You see a photo of her here with Barbara checking out BLOCK magazine – a production of MSQC. Then we loaded up the van to go again.
We traveled from Hannibal to Hamilton Missouri….the destination that got this whole trip started. We stayed at a terrific AirBnB just one block from the Missouri Star Quilt Company in Quilt Town USA. This was the main destination of this crazy trip. Once we got to Hamilton, after stopping at 4 shops along the way that day, we took our purchases in and organized them in our totes. We figured that 5 shoppers and 9 days on the road would lead to many, many bags rolling around in the back in our van so we stored our purchases in totes to help keep it all straight. We were excited to finally be in Quilt Town USA and anxious for the shops to open and to tour the warehouse the next day.
I finished up the Layer Cake Custard Quilt when I got back from the retreat. I found the pattern at The Fat Quarter Shop and used Adventure by Elizabeth Hartman for Robert Kaufman Fabrics, a layer cake that I had in my stash as well as a batik backing I had been holding on to for just the right project. It’s a Quilt as You Go project.
I spent this past weekend with a fabulous group of quilters. Lots of laughing and sharing and showing off their beautiful work. It was so much fun and so inspiring to work along beside these quilters.
Just a few more hours to sew and then I have to pack up and head home. What a wonderful group of quilters who shared ideas and skills freely. Lots and laughing and joy in the room. We will share photos from the Show and Tell soon.
Arrived yesterday afternoon for a quilting retreat in New Freedom PA at Summit Grove. There is a great group of quilters here…. All set up and working on some amazing projects. Can’t wait to see how they turn out! Stay tuned.