Carli The Quilter

This holiday season has brought thoughts of New Year Resolutions. My bleak stitching time has begun the seedling roots of resolving my wish to stretch my heart in stitches. Stretching my heart in textile expressions of my fears, my hopes and my suggestions on ways to help myself make the changes I can to reduce my use of a car. Every winter I read the Jean Auel series starting with Clan of the Cave Bear. I've begun crocheting an original shrug pattern. I'm just playing around. The great thing about a New Year is the ability to start over, to try new things and to reach out to new groups of community. I want to meet more First Nations women in the art world and starting with a new retreat in January. I want to make at least one Amish Quilt and I love this one made by Mary Marcotte of Fluer de lis Quilts. I love a little box given to me by my friend Nola! This one in the photo above was made by a blogger buddy Rhianon Taylor over a

Hi everyone, I can see that everyone is a busy little elf right now!! Such fun! I decided to do a Year in Review as suggested by my son.  Burkley's Quilt  39 x 54 in. Bat Girl Goes Out 31.5 Square Clever Embroidery Series was a total hit. Wendys Quilts and More does beautiful cross stitch and so much more! I finally completed earrings and necklace in return for a donation of beads in turquoise from Zenia Rene. And I've continued writing my Artisan Crazy Quilts book due out in the New Year. I'll be joining up with Faeries and Fibres for her 2015 EPP Quilt Along.  i urge you to visit Karen's blog to see her mouth watering EPP goodness for any further encouragement to become a follower and join us. As I was constructing this last blog post of 2015, I learned that I've done a lot more quilting this year and that means my quality of life has improved as my doctor put it, less pain equals a happier Caroline.

Hello, folks!  I'm really happy to have this little quilt all finished up and I delivered it yesterday to my friend Myrtle. As you all know by now, that this quilt was an issue of what to do with it from when I decided it just wasn't' working for me.  I'm not wasteful and enjoy the challenge of taking risks in my designs. i believe that if you just hate the finished quilt, it can always become an awesome doggie quilt! I took a risk to cut the small quilt top apart and start fresh like It seemed to take on a new life, one that was guided by another hand. I meditated on this risk and adopted the motto from WW 2 "Stay Calm and Carry On" I was feeling pretty happy the day I took these photos at one of our local United Churches. This lovely little church has so much local history and it resides at the end of St. John the Devine Church on Quick West Rd in Telkwa. When hand quilting began, I was some what overwhelmed for a few days

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 .