Deb Karasik ~ Fiber Artist & Teacher

SF Sensibilities by Deb Karasik

This is my first quilt for the 2011 season.  I call it SF Sensibilities.  I’ll be teaching this for the very first time at a 2-day workshop being held by JJ’s Log Cabin Quilt Shop, in Palo Cedro, CA | (530) 547-2228 (Northern California).  The dates are Saturday and Sunday, April 2 and 3rd, 2011.  Space is limited.  If you’re interested in attending, please contact JJ at jj.quilter@gmail.com for pricing and space availability.

I hope to be able to offer this pattern for sale on my web store by the end of February.

Deb

Well…it’s officially fall now and I know that because the annual South Valley Quilt Association’s 2010 Harvest Quilt & Fiber Arts Show in Morgan Hill, CA, is this upcoming weekend.  I was proud to be invited to be one of the judges for this show.  The quilts are absolutely breathtaking!  They even have youth exhibits, for children ages 5-8 & 9-12!  You HAVE to see the remarkable quilts these kids made!  They will absolutely blow your mind.  It’s fabulous to know that there’s a whole new generation of quilters on the horizon.  More details at:  http://www.artsopolis.com/event/detail/44733/Harvest_Quilt_and_Fiber_Arts_Show.  If you’re in northern California, it’s definitely worth the trip.

Bindings
One of the things I have noticed in my ventures around the country, quilt bindings are the nemesis of many of us.  However, bindings do NOT have to be an adversary.  Trust me.  I, like a vast majority of you quilters out there, fought the perfect binding with my heart and soul. <g>  I figured I would muddle through and, like my other quilting techniques, it would improve with age.  Wrong!

Think about this:  You’ve spent weeks getting it to the point of binding.  You’ve cut, sewn, (ripped some?) quilted, quilted some more and now you’re ready to bind and sleeve your quilt.  Why not give it the same attention you did during the entire creative process?  I was extremely fortunate when Sharon Schamber finally taught me how to do a really fabulous binding and my finished quilts improved dramatically.  I know…I know…I’m stubborn.  I should have sought out a better way to do them much earlier on but as they say, it’s never too late to learn something.

This means so much to me that I’d like to offer a free binding class to any guild I go to.  I’m amazed at how many very experienced quilters out there simply never embraced (or were taught) a good binding technique.  Are we all just so tired of looking at our quilts during the making process that we run out of steam by the time we get to the bindings?  Well…that doesn’t have to be the case.  I’ve posted Sharon’s technique on my website here, and will be making some little improvements to these pix in the very near future, so keep an eye out.

Look through the tutorial and if you have any questions or suggestions for improving it, just drop me a note here in the comments.

Deb

Here’s a quick snapshot of one of my current projects.  Jeff took the pic just after I finished removing the paper piecing paper.  I think that it’s shaping up pretty well.

dlk

work in progress

Hi all!

I know I’ve been quiet…but I’ve been working on several projects (pix posted soon!).  I finally found a border for my ‘Atom’ quilt, and that’s the next one on the quilting list.  I am also working on binding ‘SF Sensibilities’ (pix soon), and this year’s Holiday Tree Skirt or table topper… 

Speaking of bindings, Jeff photographed the steps I used in binding.  We’re working on an illustrated, step-by-step tutorial that you’ll be able to download and print.  We hope to have it finished and posted here ‘real soon now’.

Don’t forget to get your ‘free patterns’ on the website! 

More later…

d

We just got back from the Long Beach Quilt Festival, and there was a fabulous time had by all!  What a beautiful venue, extraordinary quilts, and of course AWESOME vendors!

I taught three workshops, and had absolutely amazing students.  For three days we laughed and learned our way through the workshops!  It’s always so wonderful to have those, well…shall we call them stubborn students, who are SURE they won’t be able to paper piece..and voila!  They can!  I think that’s probably the best part of being a teacher for me.  I love seeing the ‘light bulbs’ go on, as they see how easy paper piecing really is!

I also did a Saturday Sampler program, which meant I sat and demonstrated my technique of paper piecing for two hours in front of a ‘revolving’ audience.  It was a hoot!

I’m home now and gearing up for my upcoming retreat in St. Louis, and trying to catch up on the sleep I didn’t get in Long Beach. <g>

Keep your eye out for my next post…hopefully I’ll have a demo on the binding technique I’m always talking about.  I’m just about to bind ‘SF Sensibilities’ before I get started quilting on ‘Atom’ (and trying a new basting technique which I will also share…I’m pretty excited about it!)

Keep on quilting with attitude!

Deb

Jeff and I will be in Long Beach, CA this weekend for the International Quilt Festival.

I’ll be teaching a few classes, and taking part in a demo.  I’m very excited!  I hope that we’ll be able to add an entry and some photos to the blog while we’re there.  Check back over the weekend.

Deb

Well…here we go.  I am very new to this whole blog thing…so I hope you will bear with me as I muddle through the process. 

I just got back from an awesome trunk show in Modesto, CA, at the Country Crossroads Quilters!  You should have seen the ‘Show & Tell’ portion of their meeting.  There are some incredibly talented quilters there, for sure!  I was really excited to see one of my students from Asilomar (earlier this year), as she held up her top she finished from the workshop (Phat Tuesday).  I’ve asked for pix…so hopefully she’ll come through and send them…(hint, hint Paddy!)

Jeff came with me and as usual, I schlepped him to a quilt shop, Sew Central Quiltworks in Hilmar, CA .  What a great store!   (Editor’s note from Jeff:  They have a very comfortable reclining chair!)  The people were super nice, very knowledgeable and made me feel like I was one of the family.  I can highly recommend this shop for any and all of your quilting needs!  Oh…and I happen to know they’re having a sale on Hobbs batting right now, so it’s a good time to stock up! 

Next week we’re off to the Quilts Inc. Long Beach show!  If any of you are around, I’d love to meet you!

Last but not least, I thought I’d share a couple of pix of my current work in progress.  I call it SF Sensibilities, (unless I come up with a better name…<g>)  Enjoy! 

Deb

SF-Sensibilities Quilt Top

SF Sensibilities - Close-up of quilting in progress

I have no idea what I’m doing yet…so please be patient with me. I promise I’ll learn…