Balance and moving forward

Hi friends!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in the Creative Spaces Blog Hop. I hope you got some great ideas for storage, organization and just had fun!

I still have some drawers in my space that I want to go thru, and piles of fabric in another room to sort thru and organize… so in the near future you may see me having a destash sale!

I have a question for you– many people now post “destash” sales on Instagram. If you might be interested in bundles of fabrics, would you prefer to see them here on the blog (and then listed in the shop or on Etsy), listed on Facebook or listed on Instagram? Let me know in the comments so I can make a plan that appeals to the most people.

Balance

Last weekend I went on a quilt retreat. It was a last minute kind of thing; a space opened up and a friend called to see if I might want to go. I had a ton of projects to work on and thought, sure! I can get a lot of sewing done without the distractions of the house, Kira and hubby!

So that is what I did. I sewed and sewed and sewed and managed to piece 3 quilt tops- one queen size top and 2 lap quilts and start a 4th quilt! I stayed up to 2 am and 3am a couple of nights and was pretty happy with my accomplishments. Two quilts went home with the quilter and I went home with the partly finished top with the goal of having it done by today.

 

Yeah, that didn’t happen. Kira got sick. I am not sure what she got into, but she spent Monday night being ill so I was up all night with her- in and out the house, cleaning up the floor in the kitchen after she would be sick, snuggling with her on the kitchen floor in between rounds… 

 

Poor baby. She spent part of yesterday at the vet getting fluids and meds. She came back home last night and seems better but not back to her usual busy self. Hopefully she will be back to playing with her bff Loki very soon!

 

This time reminds me of when the kids were little and I was trying to balance the needs of my job against the needs of my family. I said against the needs because it did feel like it was a battle. Now, I have my business deadlines including quilts I have to make, orders I have to ship, designs that are due…. but Kira needs a little TLC, I need a little sleep (!) and that is just how things go.

Things will get done. Just not as fast as I would like. And that needs to be OK. 

Coming Up next!

What am I going to be blogging about next? While a few of the quilts I am working on I can’t show you yet, I am working on some “new” patterns and will be letting you know when they are ready. A couple of them are ones I had originally designed for Craftsy and they had exclusive rights for awhile. Now I am updating the original patterns and adding sizes and making cover quilts!

 

The first redo is Hopscotch and the second will be Spilt Rail. The names may change; we will see what happens as they get closer to being ready to go!

Also, the Border Quilt Quilt Along will be starting  September 12th.  The pattern is by Jen Shafer of Patterns by Jen. You can find out more information if you want to quilt along as well by clicking here to go to her website.

 

My border quilt will look very different- here is a sneak peek of some of my fabrics that I shared a month or so ago.

In September I will be on a plane heading out to the AQS Quilt Week in Paducah. Wow. I have never been to Paducah and I am very excited to be going.

I am teaching 2 classes and doing a lecture. One class is my Pack it Up bag and it has been very popular!

 

Last time I taught it, it sold out quickly but I have learned there are still a few spots open in Paducah. Click here to check it out and sign up!

My other class at AQS is for another bag called the Martini Bag! A cute fun bag for a night out on the town!

 

Quilter’s Planner

Did you see the pictures on Instagram of my quilt that will be in the Quilter’s Planner 2019??? I am so excited!

 

It is called Drinking in the Sunshine and Kitty Wilkin of @nightquilter is the photographer. She took all the photos for the Quilter’s Planner. I love that she shot pictures of my quilt on the beach up in Maine. A quilt in my happy colors at my happy place!!!!

 

If you want to order a Quilter’s Planner 2019, I have a link here and in my sidebar. Full disclosure: It is an affiliate link which means, while you pay nothing extra, I get a little $ for each sale.

Adventures in Quilting with Kate and Tammy

Next week on the blog I will be posting along with my friend and quilter extraordinaire Tammy Silvers. Our topic?  Holiday Projects. Hopefully you will get some good ideas and I may even put a few patterns on sale to help you out with your holiday gift making!

And we have a really great quilt along planned for next year. I can’t wait to tell you more about it! 

Have a great rest of your week and until next week-

happy quilting!

Kate