New Designer, New Pattern, and a Give Away!

It absolutely thrills me to introduce

a new pattern designer,

blogger,
and pattern.

What's great is that it's just in time for crafting
for Christmas gift giving.

Without further adieu,

meet Karen!

In her own words:

Sugar Free Quilts

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

My 5 W's WHO: Besides being a wife, mother and grandma, quilting brings me to my happy place. I'm a flight attendant by day, which gives me the means to play with my creative quilty side. WHAT: Manipulating fabric to create different fonts makes me giddy. In college, studying graphic design, I always said I'd specialize in lettering. Little did I know it would be with fabric and not the printed page. WHEN: I started sewing when I was ten years old, almost half a century ago. I saved up all my money and bought my first sewing machine before my eleventh birthday. I guess I've been creating ever since. WHERE: We raised our family in Nova Scotia. Although our childrens' jobs have taken them all over Canada, my husband and I remain in this beautiful province on the east coast of Canada. WHY: I can't imagine being passionate about another craft and the women I've met during this journey makes it all worth while!

Her Etsy store: Sugar Free Quilts

Her Blog:  Sugar Free Quilts
Her FB page:  Sugar Free Quilted Designs

Karen has designed this adorable pin cushion.

The first time I saw it at Lesley's (The Cuddle Quilter),

I fell in love with it.  It's filled with crushed walnut shells

and made such a nice statement in Lesley's sewing space.

Almost a year later, I saw one at Linda's (Scrapmaster),

and thought, "I NEED one of these!).

Little did I know that I was soon to not only meet the designer,

but she'd ask ME, a TOTAL stranger, to be her pattern tester.

Sew, I made one and sent her my impressions.

We emailed back and forth for a few weeks

while she tweaked and we tested

and she tweaked some more.

Now I have three!

And I plan on making many more.

It's a lot like eating potato chips,

you can't make just one!

They were so quick and easy!

The best part of the process is the Piece Map 

that Karen included in her pattern.

It fits right on my white board,

so once my pieces are all cut and placed,

I can easily carry it over to my sewing machine

and get to work.

Ingenious!

I didn't time how long it took to cut the pieces

for the pincushion,

but I did pay attention while sewing it together.

In only 45 minutes, I had a wonderful pincushion!

I filled two with crushed walnut shells,

available from Karen's Etsy Shop,

and one with poly stuffing.

I love them all, but the walnut shells trump the stuffing.

I also altered the cutting directions for the backing

to use the stuffing, which I will share if you ask nicely.

The best part?

We have not see the last of Karen's beautiful creations.

Not only did she design and quilt the above avatar

for her shop,

but she designed and made this gorgeous

and unique wall hanging,

hopefully, soon to be a pattern.

Both were on display at the quilt show in Amherst last week.

Karen has very graciously offered

to give away her pattern to one of my lucky readers.

It's in PDF format,

so it's an international give away!!

Yay!

Just leave a comment by Nov. 3rd 

to be entered in the give away.

That's one week!

(You know what?  If you share about this 

pincushion pattern give away

on your own blog and come back to let me know,

you can have a second entry.)

Thanks sew much for stopping by today!

XO, 

Karen

What? Sit Still?

Time to do a post.

It requires sitting still, 

something I don't do well.

But last Thursday,
I did sit still long enough 

to travel the three hours

with Lesley (The Cuddle Quilter) 

to the sweet little town of Amherst, NS

for the 8th Annual Fibre Arts Festival.
I did, however, crochet the whole way!

I joined Linda (Scrapmaster), her sweet daughter, and the other

dear ladies from the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild

for three fun days at their show! 

Be sure to click on their link to read all about it!

And, you can read about it on Adrienne's blog  HERE,

on Linda's blog HERE,

Jen wrote about it HERE , Lesley, HERE.

And the other Karen shared HERE!

There are lots of fun pictures, so I hope you'll check them out!

Even though I was there all that time,
I had to leave around noon on Saturday,

and I can't believe how much I missed out on!
Those MMQG ladies have it so together!

I finally met Karen Neary of Sew Karen-ly Created.

She's as sweet as the day is long!

She had a booth at The Zonta Bazaar on Saturday.

One of her beautiful creations

hangs in Mrs. Pugsley's Emporium,

a wonderful quilt store on the main street.

I walked down there to shop four times.

(Shhhh, I swiped this pic from Adrienne's post!)

There was more going on than quilting.

There was a lot of rug hooking,

but I only took one picture

This is Polly.  She's making little sheep Christmas pins.

Her family has a big history of rug hooking

and crafting in the community.

Here we have Faith and her niece, Claire,

spinning their little hearts out.

This was absolutely fascinating, and I kept gravitating

over to their area to chat with them.

Plus, there were luncheons, suppers, chocolate night out,
trunk shows, classes, a weaver....and two more quilt shows.
The list goes on and on and on.
Now that I know what it's all about, I'll be better prepared next year!

When you attend something like this, it's so electrifying!
I came home utterly exhausted,
but so charged up,
I haven't stopped sewing since!

Stay sweet!
~karen

Dances With Butterflies

I love it when people "get me".

The Ranger says that if I was an Indian Princess,

my name would be Dances With Butterflies.

He claims that I am childish like a child.

Me:  "I really need to focus and get this done.

Oh, look, a butterfly!"

And off I go, task forgotten.

That said, NO, I didn't meet my September goal for

Sew Bitter Sweet Design's "A Lovely Year of Finishes".

There were just too many distractions.

But you can click HERE to see who did!

Speaking of dancing with butterflies,

I had the opportunity to see

Leah Day's Dancing Butterfly quilt up close and personal.

Well, it wasn't HERS, but it was made during her quilt along

by a very talented Maritimes Modern Quilt Guild member.

I wish I had a better picture to show you,

as it was absolutely stunning.

Now I want to make one, too!
Leah does an incredible job walking you through FMQing each block.

Add it to the list!!
No wonder I'm so overwhelmed!

I am a Virgo.
And true to my sign, I am a perfectionist.
I like a clean, professional finish to my projects.
Whenever I am making something that needs to be
turned right side out and topstitched or handstitched closed,
I always add an extra 1/4" to that seam allowance
to give me something to work neatly with
with no fuss.

Today I am linking up to

Podunk Pickin's

Have a great day.
Take a moment to seek your inner child.


XO, Karen

You Otter Been There

Last week, I had the distinct pleasure

of attending the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild (MMQG) meeting

in Halifax, NS with Linda from Scrapmaster.

(I spent the most wonderful three days with

Linda and her family.)

I'd like to thank all the 'girls' for making me feel so welcomed.

It was just delightful to be able to meet and put a face to

some of the members of that guild who are also bloggers -

Anja, of Anja Quilts

Miss Valerie, of Purple Boots and Pigtails

Jenn, blogging over at A Quarter Inch from the Edge

Adrienne, the pres, of Chezzetcook Modern Quilts

Aimee, from Candy Coated Quilts

Dominique, of The Running Thimble

and Karen, at Sugarfree Quilts, who needs a little 

encouragement to write some posts.
We'll be hearing more from Karen, and I can't wait to share!

During the evening, there was a fun swap.

Linda and her swapmate, Miss Valerie, went first.

Do you think they were excited?

It was pretty funny.  Miss Valerie hadn't even opened hers yet!

She was jumping all around because Linda was.

I couldn't get a clear picture for all the tea in China.

Wish I had thought to video it all.

Valerie made a very special and meaningful wallhanging for our Linda.

You can read about it here.

All the swap wallhangings were amazing.

You otter been there.

*

Speaking of otters...

we went for a little local paddle in our kayaks the other day

and were visited by a new friend.

(Click on pics to enlarge them.)

Isn't he/she just the cutest thing?

They don't appear to be at all afraid, just curious!
I floated up to 15 feet of him/her.
Once I was paddling during the wee hours of the morning
(morning being my favorite time of day)
and  had three swim right by me,
not an arms length away,
and they all three lifted their bodies way up high out of the water
and looked at me as they passed by.
I can't imagine what they might have been thinking!)

This one chatted with me for a few minutes before disappearing.

They grow to about 4.5 feet long and weigh in at 30 pounds.
Experiencing nature like this really makes my heart sing.

I hope something happened during your week
that made your heart sing!!
~karen

Summer's End

There is no denying that hummingbirds are

 one of Mother Nature's greatest gifts.

http://starsandsunshine.com/2012/04/paper-pieced-hummingbird/#comment-22698

They hold appeal to a great many atisans.

http://embroidery.freezer3.net/free-humming-bird-embroidery-designs/

As I say good-bye to my hummers

(there was still one out there this morning)

I'm impelled to share this website with you.

Bottom line, it explains that a hummingbird's migration

is a stop and go journey.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/178259591/easy-hummingbird-2-quilt-applique?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

They travel just so far, then they need to stop, rest, and refuel.
So this is just a reminder that if you think your hummingbirds have moved on,
keep your feeders up,
so mine will have a place to recharge their energies!

Thanks!
Have a happy and relaxing Labor Day!
~karen

Wild Thing, You Make My Heart Sing

Establishing a goal and linking up to 

 ALYOF last month

worked very well for me,

so I believe I will give it another go!
(If and when the internet allows me to.)

I finally have a herd of zebras.

16, to be exact.

All sewn into rows and ready for the border.

My goal will be 

to construct the border units 

and have this quilt finished and bound

by month's end.

I don't think Lorna from Sew Fresh Quilts believes

I'll ever finish this quilt, her amazing design.

The hold up for me was the eyes and nostrils.

I was a little intimidated.

I had to wait until I woke up one morning

with this thought, 

"Today's the day I'm going to do eyes and nostrils!"

It was a while before that happened.

Breezed through the eyes..they probably could have been better.

The nostrils?  Well, I ended up making a template

so that each one was the same.

Worked out pretty good.

Although it has taken me forever to make this quilt,

it has been an enjoyable process.

*

I love wild things, large and small.  Make believe and real.

While I was out picking blueberries late yesterday afternoon,

I stood to stretch my back (our wild blueberries are close to the ground, ugh!)

And what did I see?

A beautiful Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)!

My heart was singing as I ran down from the meadow for my camera.

It has been a few years since I have observed one on my property.

Hope she finds the Swamp Milkweed I planted!

Here are some interesting facts about Monarch Butterflies:

~Caterpillars eat milkweed, which makes them poisonous to birds.

~Thousands of individuals roost in the exact same trees every year

along their migration routes.

~No other known insect undergoes an annual, two-way, long distance,

large-scale migration.

~It is still a mystery how Monarchs correctly navigate to their

overwintering grounds, since no migrants 

have made the journey before.

Monarch Butterflies like nectar-rich plants such as Joe-Pye-Weed,

Goldenrods, Asters, Boneset, Coneflower, Butterfly Bush,

as well as the invasive and aggressive Angelica, as pictured above.

By planting milkweed as a host plant on my property,

my goal is to help provide a safe, chemical free habitat.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~karen

It's Phenomenal

On August 4th, I linked up to
Sew Bitter Sweet Designs,
committing to finish my Wish Upon a Star quilt
by the end of the month.
Well, I did it with one day to spare!

If I hadn't linked up,
I probably would still be working on it!
So, today I'm linking back up with a finish!
Just click on the button below to see
who else achieved their goal!

*
Last weekend, I was lucky enough to witness 

A Phenomenon of Nature...

...A murmuration of Least Sandpipers

in Grand Pre, NS.

These migrating wonders are feeding

on little mudshrimps.

Each bird will spend 10 to 15 days foraging on the exposed mudflats

during low tide.

A bird can double its weight over that time, building up the 

fat stores to fuel its non-stop transoceanic flight south.

As the tide comes in,

it forces the shorebirds closer and closer to the shoreline

Click on this picture for a better, clearer view!

where they rest on the ground in tight nervous flocks,

vulnerable to predators and most susceptible to human disturbance.

On another shore not too far from here, 

we obsrved ten plus times this amount... of 

Semi-palmated Plovers.

It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

I believe that next year, if we travel to Grand Pre

a week earlier, we'll see even larger numbers.