Karen Kay Buckley

It is hard for me to know where to start this blog.  And I mean that in a good way.  I guess the best place to start is in the beginning.  This trip was actually organized quicker than most.  Shelly Nielsen contacted me in December to see when I was available to teach and we found I had some open time in May.  Seemed to me to be a good time to be in the “great white north”.  And it was.  Shelly was helping a local shop owner, Linda Freund, owner of Rumpled Quilt Skins, organize a special quilting event weekend.  Linda’s shop is more heavily focused on machine related projects but she wanted to venture into another area….hand applique (scary for some).  Linda is without a doubt the most organized shop owner I have ever met.  Prior to my arrival Linda had emailed me several times and made sure that all the items that I use and recommend for my applique would be available for her students.

Shelly picked me up at the Calgary airport and we had a nice time chatting during our drive to Okotoks.  The area truly is beautiful.  As we made our way to Okotoks we could see the Rocky Mountains in the background.  Okotoks has a nice downtown area with lots of little shops and on the edge of town sits this wonderful old building that Linda and her husband have restored.

The front of the shop is filled with all the items you would expect to find in a quilt shop.  But, I have to say they were displayed beautifully.   Linda has a good eye for design. The initial impact when you walk into the shop is warm and welcoming.

After passing through the shop’s store front we came to the classroom.  This is one of the nicest quilt shop classrooms I have worked in.  Each student had her own table with plenty of space to work.  Here are some of them at work.

In the above photo I want  you to notice the brick box that sits mid way near the top of the back wall, at the edge of the ceiling, next to the exit sign.  See it?  Well, when the shop was being renovated they found a little surprise in this open brick area and decided to keep it.  Some of you might think this is strange or creepy, but I found it to be fascinating.

Yes, it’s a bat.  But, it’s a dead bat.  Apparently he’s been hanging around for a long time (sorry I could not let that one pass) and brings good luck to the shop.  It seems to be working.

And I forgot to mention, but as you can see in the pictures, the classroom walls were filled with quilts to give great inspiration.  Here is a picture of me and Shelly getting ready for class.  Shelly had read some of my previous blogs and knew how much I liked my chai tea latte so she took me for my chai fix after class every day. Love you Shelly.

The last day of classes I taught my Oriental Flower workshop which is a machine applique workshop.  This is a newer workshop for me.  It is based on my quilt, Oriental Gardens, or as the pattern is named, Japanese Garden Quilt.  I packed a lot into this workshop and to date no one had ever finished this project during the 6 hour class time.  Finishing in 6 hours was never an objective for this workshop.  I honestly thought I had put so much in this block that no one could ever finish the applique during class.  But, now I can say two people finished by the end of class.  I was amazed.  Here is a picture of the whole class.

The only bad thing about this trip is that I got very sick.  Who knows from what?  Flu? Bad food? I’ll never know. But I would have loved to take more photos of the surrounding area.  Instead I ended up every day and night after classes in my hotel room, in bed.  You’ll just have to trust me.  The quilt shop and the surrounding area are very worth the stop. I know I would love to return to more fully enjoy the area.  The students, which included many of the shop’s teachers, were outstanding.  One of the teachers made a very special Thank You card using one of my applique designs and all of students signed the card.  Each student wrote a note.  I shall cherish it always.  I have a little box where I store such treasures.  If I am having a bad day, which fortunately does not happen often, I open the box and read some of the cards I have received.  It makes me feel better very quickly.

Linda, Shelly and all of the students treated me like a queen.  They took great care of me during my visit to Rumpled Quilt Skins.  I appreciated everything very, very much.

You can find more information about Rumpled Quilt Skins at http://www.rumpledquiltskins.ca/

Everyone needs a little R&R.  It’s good for the mind and body.  My husband, Joe, and our two girls (that would be our dogs) Sasha and Tillie take one week each year and drive to the Outer Banks in North Carolina.  We rent a house along the beach and basically don’t do much of anything.  We wake up every morning to views like this.

Really.  What’s not to like about these views?

In order to get to the house that we rent you must have a 4 wheel drive vehicle.  Getting to the house requires driving up the beach.  And some times as you drive along the beach you see the wild horses.

Each day we take long walks on the beach.  My oldest, Sasha, and I have a lot in common.  We just like to get our feet wet.

And then there is Tillie.

She enjoys laying in the water so the waves wash over her.

I read several good books this past week and will talk about those in another blog.

Just in case you are wondering…..I did take my sewing machine along and got just a little machine quilting done on a new quilt.

My next teaching adventure will take me to Canada.  I’ll be teaching at a shop outside of Calgary in a town called Okotoks.    The name of the shop is Rumpled Quilt Skins.  I’ve been corresponding with the shop owner for many months getting things organized.  I have worked with a lot of shop owners over the years but never have I worked with one this well organized.  I just know it’s going to be a great trip with all that Linda has done to prepare for the classes and my arrival.  I’ll fill you in when I return.

A couple of years ago Betty Register from the Tall Pines Quilt Guild in Huntsville, Texas contacted me and asked me to teach and lecture for a special event that her guild holds once a year in May.  The name of the event is called “Airing of the Quilts”.  I arrived on Thursday and Betty’s sister, Linda, picked me up at the airport and I must say we bonded quickly.  Both Betty and her sister are two of the nicest and most organized people I have  ever met.  They are a true asset to their guild which has about 100 members.  Huntsville, by the way, is about 1 hour north of Houston, Texas.

On Friday I taught a 6 hour workshop for a full class of very nice ladies.    They worked hard all day learning new hand applique techniques and talking about the next day’s festivities.  There was lots and lots of talk about the weather since this is an outdoor event and the weather man kept mentioning a dirty, four letter word ……. RAIN.

Betty and Linda had arraigned for door prizes from many sponsors so during the course of the day many goodies were disbursed and there were many cries of delight.  

I have to add just one little note about Linda.  She is the first program person who has ever gone on a Starbucks run in the afternoon for me and the students.  Any other program chairs who are reading this, please take note!  You have some big shoes to fill.  When Linda was driving me from the airport in Houston to Huntsville I mentioned that if we got close to a Starbucks I would love to stop for a Chai tea latte.  I love my Chai tea latte in the afternoon (Venti, skim milk, no water and a shot of sugar-free vanilla. At my local Starbucks they call it “the Karen Special”).  And Linda being the kind soul that she is remembered this.  So on Friday and Monday during class she went on a Starbucks run not just for me, but for any student who wanted something.   I love you Linda!  I have to say that Linda’s efforts went way above and beyond the call of duty for the program chair person.  It was greatly appreciated by all.

I was almost afraid to open my curtains at the hotel on Saturday morning as this was the day of the outdoor “Airing of the Quilts”.  I was so afraid there would be ….RAIN.  But the prayers of the guild members were answered.  The weather was clear all day long.  Linda picked me up at 8:30 and we drove the short distance from the hotel to the downtown area.  As we rounded the corner, I was in awe. Quilts were hanging  along the streets , they were draped over the Courthouse second floor balcony, on quilt stands in the streets, in the local shop windows….it took my breath away.  What an amazing site.  About 300 quilts were hung in about 2 hours!

Truly an amazing site.  Since I was the featured teacher they had an exhibit of two of my large quilts and about 6 wall quilts inside the local theater on the stage.  On the day of the event they had a booth area for me to talk with people, answer questions and sell some of my books, patterns, etc.  I met so many nice people.  I had a wonderful day. This is me and Betty in the booth.  Linda and Betty brought all kinds of things from home to decorate the booth.  I’m telling you again….two very organized ladies.

In addition to the quilts being “aired” there were several vendors with outdoor booths along with items for sale from guild members.  Inside the theater was an exhibit of small quilts for sale.  These were donated by guild members to be sold for guild projects.  What a great idea for a fund raiser for the guild.  Here are a couple of those quilts.  I think the guild raised around $1200 from the sale of these little minis.

There was also entertainment during the day.  Several different bands played in the gazabo.  Then shortly after lunch a group of young ladies came into the square in beautiful dresses and preformed some traditional Mexican dances.  These young ladies changed their outfits about 4 times during their show.

When they were making their clothing changes this group of really young ladies preformed some dances.  They were so darn cute.

I finished this trip with another 6 hour workshop on Monday and a lecture for the guild that evening.  I felt so welcomed by this guild.  If you live close to this area you certainly will want to join the Tall Pines Quilt Guild and if you don’t live in the immediate area mark your calendar for next years “Airing of the Quilts” held the first Saturday in May.  You won’t be sorry if you spend the day at this event.  You can find out more about this guild at www.tallpinesquiltguild.com

A special thanks to Betty and Linda for making my trip one of the best ever and to all the guild members who helped make the “Airing of the Quilts” a day I shall long remember.