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Monday, November 16, 2015

Online Trunk Show


Soma of Whims and Fancies is having a virtual trunk show and it is called Trunk Full of Quilts. Many of the blogs I follow are participating so I thought what the heck........why not join in the fun! Trunk Full of Quilts is open to everyone. All you have to do is write a blog post, publish pictures of finished quilts, bags, pillows, wall hangings et cetera so that readers can drool over what you've made. There will be draws for prizes (no judging or voting is involved). But honestly, I think the best part of this event is sharing what we do with others. It is a great way to learn and get inspired.

I have been quilting for more than 35 years. I am know primarily for my English paper piecing but I love all sorts of quilt making. I've designed several patterns and they are available on Craftsy. I've also designed and published two free quilt alongs and plan to launch my third in early 2016. So with all that being said here is my little trunk show!

This wall hanging is called Flora and Fauna, Parts of the Garden. It is full of all sorts of plants and critters. You can see close-ups of the piece here.


Here are a couple of close-ups. The first one has a grasshopper, a bee and a small worm.


I love these mushrooms. The grasshopper is a personal favourite and who doesn't like little red lady bugs?

Can you see the praying mantis hiding on the branch? He is after that orange Japanese beetle!


What most people don't notice until I point it out is that the brown fabric has ant tunnels quilted and then there are little red ants embroidered.


This is one of my hexagon quilts and I call it Stars in the Loft. It was inspired by an antique quilt in the Met Museum although at the time I made it I had no information about the original quilt at all. All I had was a small black and white picture. I developed my own techniques to make new and interesting designs with hexagons. This quilt is hand pieced and hand quilted.


This quilt is called 81 The Giant Monstrosity. It was also inspired by an antique quilt. I knew it would be big when I was making it but had not idea just how big it would be. I wrote up a pattern for this quilt if you are interested.


As of later I am known for my English paper piecing but I also like other designs. The humble nine patch is such a simple beginner block but there are so many design opportunities, especially if the blocks are small. I call this quilt Cherry Blossom because of the colours. This quilt was pieced and quilted on my domestic sewing machine.


Another of my nine patch quilts was inspired by an antique quilt. This one is called Baskets and Nine Patches. I use my scraps as leaders and enders and I make nine patches. There is always a big box of patches ready and waiting to be turned into a quilt! This quilt was pieced and quilted on my domestic sewing machine.

Good Golly Miss Mollie is based on a quilt made by the women at the Denham College WI. It is hand pieced and entirely machine quilted on my domestic sewing machine.


This is a traditional block recently popularized by Jen Kingwell. Her version is pieced but I just wasn't interested in that tricky piecing so mine is appliqued. All of the pieces were prepared quickly with glue and then they were all glue basted to the background. I call my quilt Lazy Punk. What you can't see in the picture is that the side setting triangles are made with a lovely toile print. The thing that makes it unique is that the figures are skeletons! This quilt was hand appliqued, then the blocks were stitched together by machine and I quilted it on my domestic sewing machine.


This is one of my earliest quilts. I was a beginner with no access to other quilters, books or lessons. I wanted to make this quilt and figured the easiest way would be to English paper piece it. I had bought a pound of fabric scraps by mail order and used many of them to make this quilt so I call it A Pound of Stars. The quilt is made entirely by hand.


The quilt is called Mom's Flower Bed. All of the stars, except for the dark green stars, are made with a single fabric. It is pieced by hand and is both hand quilted and machine quilted (the feathers in the border).


I reminds me of my Mom's garden. She is an avid gardener and loves her bees so I added some to the centre of my quilt. You can see then in the blue/green batik hexagons.


The last quilt is called Loopers in the Sky with Diamonds. This quilt is English paper pieced and hand quilted.

The second last piece is a wall hanging called A Challenging Year. The focus is a year in the life of a cherry tree. This was a challenge that I participated in. There were three or four challenge fabrics and I was able to add another five. I extended the colours by bleaching some of the fabrics and by added embroidered details.


The last piece is Quilting Bees. I made this one for my Mom because of her love of bees. This little quilt measures 12 1/2" square. She hangs it in her sewing room.


I hope you enjoyed my trunk show. If you have a blog why not head on over to Soma's and link up your own trunk show? It is a great way to meet new people and get inspired!

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

53 comments:

  1. Hi Karen
    Oh I so enjoyed looking at your trunk show full of beautiful quilts over a cup of coffee. Thanks for starting my day off with such wonderful eye candy. Have a lovely day.

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  2. Oh, my some amazing quilts and such beautiful workmanship!! I loved looking at your trunk show and wish I was able to look at them in person! Love your patterns, thank you for making them available on Craftsy.

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    1. Thank you Melody! I wanted to send you a personal note but you are a no reply blogger so I have no way to contact you.

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  3. How do I go about inserting myself into your will?
    lol

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  4. Beautiful and interesting quilts.

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  5. Thank you for this post, I've loved looking at your quilts and reading about the stories behind them.

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  6. I love your quilts, so nice to see you collect them in one place so we can all enjoy them again! Wow!

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  7. You have so many really beautiful hexie quilts. Stars in the loft is my favorite here. But I also love your bee quilt. That first one with all the small details is amazing. I have to come back to study the details again and again. Thanks for showing us all.

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  8. Beautiful quilts Karen, all so different and some very large, what a lot of talent you have and not to mention patience with all those thousands of hexies. I think my favourites are Loopers in the Sky with Diamonds and the Cherry tree quilt, such lovely colours.

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  9. Wow, most of your quilts I saw before. Beautiful. But the flora and fauna, georgious. The close up let me see many animals and nice details. Painting with fabrics. Groetjes, Dientje

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  10. Gorgeous intricate quilting! I can't choose a favorite, I love them all. Thank you for sharing your quilty trunk with all of us.

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  11. Your quilts are all so beautiful! I love the whimsy of the bugs and flowers and all the patient piecing! Brava!

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  12. Oh my! Your trunk show is truly awe inspiring - so nice to be reminded of these beauties. The colours, the hand quilting and the fussy cutting - such attention to detail!
    ...must go back and look again :)

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  13. Lovely as always! I have never seen your Loopers In The Sky With Diamonds before. It's very pretty!! Thanks for sharing!

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  14. I hardly know where to begin! Your quilts are gorgeous. I love all the details in the flora and fauna quilt, and your many EPP quilts are amazing! Thanks for sharing :)

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  15. Goodness, I do love to look at your work Karen. It's all just so inspiring.

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  16. Great show Karen!! So interesting to see them all and hear the stories about them.

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  17. I loved looking and reading about your quilts! Great job!

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    1. Thank you! Sorry I couldn't send you a personal note of thanks but you are a no reply blogger!

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  18. What beautiful quilts! Thanks so much for sharing.

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  19. Oh wow Karen,
    will neve forget the aunt streets with little aunts stitched on them, wow, what wonderful quilts. Good to see the grashopper, bee and worm friends again too.
    Looking forward to your "early 2016 starting quilt along", can't wait, no matter how much other stitching will be going on, I am hooked already.
    Greetings,
    Sylvia

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  20. So glad you opened your trunk! What a lovely show! I love the details you put into your quilts just gorgeous!

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  21. A stunning Trunk Show--love seeing the little details of Flora and Fauna!

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  22. So nice to see a wonderful truck show on line! Pretty quilts!

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  23. Your quilts are stunning and you have an amazing variety! Thank you for your inspiration :)

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  24. Karen, if I was at a quilt show, where your quilts were mixed in with the others, I would make a beeline to yours every time. And then I'd spend most of the show studying all the truly incredible, amazing details!!! I'm in total awe. You are a very talented woman! Those little ant tunnels really thrilled me. that's just one example of how much care and thought you put in to your designs!

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  25. Beautiful array of your wonderful work. I joined the trunk show too.
    Bunny

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  26. I feast for the eyes. I'm glad you didn't challenge us to chose a favourite! There is a particular favourite of mine, which was missing, that fabulous red quilt that you gave to a friend.

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  27. Beautiful and amazing! It's always an inspiration to see your quilts.:)

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  28. Be still my beating heart!! Your trunk is filled with the most delicious and amazing quilts. Love, love, love all those gorgeous hexies!! Sublime quilts!!

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  29. Thank you so much for showing us what lies in your trunk! Every one of these are gorgeous ... love that first quilt with such tiny details! I'm not up on all the quilting techniques, but is it appliqued work? A real quilty heaven on earth :)
    Wendy

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  30. zowie! Another hexie lover! LeeAnna

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  31. I am familiar with some of your quilts, but not all. Your work is so amazing. I bust out laughing when I got to your ant tunnels! Loved that :)

    All of the large quilts are absolute masterpieces but I love your mom's little bee piece just as much. Thank you for such a wonderful show!

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  32. Terrific group of quilts -- I don't recall seeing the Loopers in the Sky piece -- great setting!

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  33. Thank you for sharing all of these wonderful quilts. Awesome and amazing!

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  34. Thank you for sharing all of these wonderful quilts. Awesome and amazing!

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  35. That was quite the trunk show! I enjoyed seeing your quilts. You've tried just about everything!

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  36. Holy quilts Karen! There are some amazing pieces of art you've shown here and I loves so many of them. The ones with the details are my favs, especially the first one with all the whimsical and fun touches. I mean, ladybugs and mushrooms! Thanks for sharing!

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  37. Such stunning quilts! Your hand stitching and quilting are beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing.

    -Soma

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  38. What amazing quilts! I've loved looking through them. I love you little mushrooms too.

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  39. Wow, you have an amazing set of quilts you have shown us. So beautiful. I like the last one- bees the best. Even the first one you made is incredible, doesn't look like a beginner made it.

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  40. Your trunk show is absolutely amazing. Your work is just exquisite. The seasonal trees is so unusual and sooo pretty.

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  41. Delightful group of quilts. They are so intricate and detailed, beautiful work. Thanks so much for sharing this eye candy!

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  42. Wow! Your are not only a quilter, you are an artist! I particularly love your Flora and Fauna and your Challenging Year quilts. They are amazing! Thanks for sharing.

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  43. You know I am a great admirer of all your fabulous work, Karen. Stars in the Loft and Mom's Flower Bed remain two of my very favorites, but I find all of yours so amazing.
    Thanks for the great trunk show.

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  44. Your quilts have so many amazing details and small pieces...I am in awe! Flora and Fauna is stunning!

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  45. Just getting to comment and enjoy all the posts from the Trunk show...Ilove your Flora and Fauna and the bugs!!! Very cute! Reminds me of my crewel days. but inspires me to do that little bit of "extra" on my next quilt!
    Cheri
    fabricandmemories.blogspot.com

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  46. Such beautiful work! I love the super intricate details on your quilts.

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  47. I really enjoyed your trunk show. Thanks for sharing your lovely quilts.

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  48. A wonderful trunk show! Many thanks, Karen!

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  49. Every time I look at your quilts, I see something new. You eye for detail is incredible.

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  50. Wauw.... I'm very impressed by the amount off quilts you have made!!! Your Cherry Blossem is far my favourite... I like everything on it.

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  51. I loved your trunk show--its is lovely seeing all your quilts together, as it shows your progression through skill and idea categories of quilting. You are such an inspiration!

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