Pink Bunny

Crazy Quilt Heart Progress

2012-02-11T14:38:00.003-06:00

I finished up my crazy quilt heart and I made it in a purse! The heart on the front of the purse is also a pocket. My favorite color is pink, but lately I have been choosing to work in purples and lavendars.

I hand dyed the lace to match my purse and I really do like it! In the next few days I'll give you an MCC crazy quilt update.

Talk to you later,

Crazy Quilt Bedspread Update

2012-02-01T19:34:00.003-06:00

My Crazy Quilt Bedspread is DONE and I am really pleased with it! As you can see, I need new a new ruffle on my bed and there are also crazy quilt curtains in the works.

Talk to you later,

MCC Crazy Quilt Update

2012-01-20T13:09:00.003-06:00

I received these blocks in the mail today and this is some serious eye candy! The pictures don't even begin to do just to these blocks. As you can probably tell, this is the November block.

Here is the May block and someone may(ha!) have to arm wrestle this one from me!

And then there is July, I totally love the spider! So creative!

I am so blessed to be able to work with such talented crazy quilter's and am so glad they are willing to do their best work to give to charity....

Talk to you later,

Crazy Quilt Bedspread Update

2012-01-18T12:50:00.003-06:00

I made a little time in the last week or so to work some more on my crazy quilt bedspread. I am really pleased with the results!

Now I only have the border that goes around the bottom edge to do!

Talk to you later,

A Crazy Quilt Heart

2012-01-15T13:18:00.010-06:00

This fall when I hosted the Victorian Stitchery Retreat, I met Allie Aller for the first time. We both admire Carole Sample's and her work and we were inspired by the lecture she gave. We then decided to make a challenge! We would use the same pattern and see the different results we would each get. Our styles are so different!

It was an interesting piecing experience that I really enjoyed!

I have started to do the embellishing and hope to have it done in a couple of days. I would invite you to check out Allie's blog to see what she has done with the same pattern, it is amazing!

Talk to you later,

A Supreme Saturday!

2012-01-04T16:20:00.009-06:00

Currently the Wichita Art Museum is featuring a traveling collection that I didn't want to miss! It is the Mary Wilson Supremes Collection. Not only did I get to see the collection but it is free on Saturday's! This is a collection of to die for dresses that the Supremes wore when they were performing.

No photo's were allowed but I cruised the internet and found pictures of a few of the dresses that we saw. Pictured above was a dress that was beaded everywhere! The picture truly does not do it justice.

These were really awesome and I loved the beaded belts that were made to look like macrame, so 70's!

This was a beautiful dress that each one of them had, but they were all in a different color for each of the singer's.

Of course I would like the pink pant suit! The green dress in the front, Mary Wilson wore when she was pregnant.

The required jumpsuit with bell bottom's for a totally 70's look.

These black dresses were stunning with all of the beading on the sleeves. I believe it was made by Bob Mackie.

These pants were just stunning also! The entire pant was made with bugle beads that were stitched on in a herringbone pattern to simulate a tweed pant. The jackets were reported missing after one of their concert's but wouldn't they have been something to see!

Loved the boa's that were attached to these dresses! In our exhibit the purple one was in the middle and was made a different color so the lead singer would stand out.

These dresses were absolutely beautiful....

and they wore them to meet the Queen Mother.

As a crazy quilter, I can truly appreciate all the hours of beading that went into these dresses. As a fashion girl, I would love to be able to wear them but I imagine they are very heavy! I am still working on my crazy quilt bedspread but I have also missed embroidering and embellishing things, so I am kind of going back and forth on the projects. I will keep you posted on my progress though.

Talk to you later,

Bedspread Update

2011-12-31T20:35:00.002-06:00

I have made quite a bit of progress in the last few days on my crazy quilt bedspread so I thought I would give you a quick shot of what it is looking like. Remember I am piecing it to a micro fleece blanket so the white areas extending from the bedspread still have to have strips attached.

I have three more rounds to do before I am finished! The strips are getting longer to do and I have had to pin so much that my fingers hurt! It will all be worth it when it is done.

Talk to you later,

Project Updates

2011-12-29T20:25:00.000-06:00

I wanted to do this post yesterday but our internet was not working! I think with everyone home this week, they are all on the internet. I wanted to update you on the MCC blocks we are working on and also show you what I have been doing on my crazy quilt bedspread. Pictured above is what I have added to the December block that we are giving to MCC.

This is the September square after Dixie worked on it. Yesterday we traded squares and hope to finish them in the next couple of weeks.

I finished the center section of my crazy quilt bedspread and above is a shot of the 18 squares. Pictured below is what they look like on my bed.

I am going to piece this crazy quilt to a micro fleece blanket like Allie Aller did with her crazy quilt bedspread. I had a hard time finding one that is big enough to make into a bedspread that will hang over the edges as long as I wanted them. I finally found one at TJ Maxx to my surprise. I don't usually shop there but just happened to think of it and was very glad I did!

I decided to start at the center top and work my way down with this quilt. Because I was sewing the squares directly to the micro fleece I felt I should pin a lot. I am so glad I did! I sewed around three of the sides and left the top open for ease.

It is a little tricky to put a 90 by 107 micro fleece blanket through my machine but where there's a will there's a way!

I then pinned the next square on the right and sewed them together. I didn't take a picture but then I sewed the square on the left on. I then pressed them out well.

Since I wasn't able to piece the next row the same way, I sewed three of them together and then pinned them to the bottom of the previous row. I repeated that until I had attached all six rows of squares to the micro fleece.

As you can see, I had a helper the whole time! If the internet is working tomorrow, I'll show you my progress. I am really pleased with what I have so far.

Talk to you later,

My Crazy Quilt Bedspread

2011-12-20T16:14:00.013-06:00

In September I bought all of this fabric to make a new bedspread for our bed. I had been stewing all summer about what kind of bedspread I wanted to make. I finally decided that because I am a crazy quilt teacher, it seemed appropriate that I have a crazy quilt bedspread! The fabric sat in this sack until after the Victorian Stitchery Retreat was over in November. I was just too busy to even look at it, but I was still mulling over how I was going to make this crazy quilt bedspread. There were many variables to think about such as the design and how I was going to hold all the layers together when I was done.

When Allie Aller was here, she reminded me that she had blogged about a bedspread that she made for her bed. If you want to read up on that, here is a link to her bedspread http://alliesinstitches.blogspot.com/search/label/projects%3A%20Bars%20and%20Stripes. She has made several bedspread's over the years but I was totally inspired by the all silk one that she made for her sister-in-law. I just love it! With kids and pets it isn't practical for me to make an all silk bedspread but I decided to use the square design of that quilt.

About two weeks ago, I washed the fabrics so I could begin piecing and then here they sat.

The muslin I was going to use for the piecing of the squares did not wash well at all! I decided that life was too short to deal with all of the wrinkles that appeared when it was washed and it probably wasn't a good candidate for the foundation of my bedspread. I remembered that I had some white sheets that we weren't using anymore and they had been washed many times, so that is what I am using. The thickness of the sheet won't matter because I am not embellishing this quilt at all for the same reason that it won't be made out of silk!

Last night I finished the center section of squares and placed them on my bed. I was not happy at all! The one solid piece of fabric I choose to use just stuck out like a sore thumb and I just couldn't live with it! Sorry for the weird lighting in this picture.

I took the blocks apart today and did them all over and I am much happier! It was worth all of the effort.

Here is a close up of one of the blocks before.......

and one after. The difference to me is just huge! This quilt violates all rules about not piecing pattern against pattern, so it has been a very different experience for me. I also don't use cottons ever when I crazy quilt, so that has also been different but refreshing. I'll keep you posted with progress in the next few days!

Christmas Tree Tutorial

2011-12-15T15:35:00.007-06:00

This is a Christmas tree tutorial but it is also a MCC update. I am working on the final block for the MCC sale which is a block for the month of December. I originally was going to embroider my tree on the gold fabric but liked the contrast of the green on the burgundy fabric better.

First you need to make an outline of your Christmas tree with a marking pen of your choice. Mine is kind of faint but I wanted it to rub off easily when I was done.

Then you will embroider the point of your Christmas tree with a feather stitch like pictured above. I then go along and mark some of the places that I want to put my branches just as a general outline.

Then start doing your feather stitch to the center of your Christmas tree. I usually go down all on one side and start at the top on the other side.

Here is what your tree will look like after the first round.

Now you will want to go back and fill the blank areas. You may even vary the lengths of your branches to make the tree look more realistic.

I then go in and decorate my tree, that is always the fun part! I hope you will enjoy making a Christmas tree on your favorite holiday project.

My Favorite Things

2011-12-12T15:01:00.003-06:00

As a crazy quilter, I love to crazy quilt everything in sight! One of my favorite things to do is make 3-D objects such as stuffed animals. I did this pastel bear many years ago but I just love it and it sits by my front door throughout the year. Several years later, I made a Christmas bear.

During the year he sits on the top shelf in my shop, but at Christmas he gets the place of honor by the door! I have made other animals crazy quilted in years past, but it seems the bears always win out. Who doesn't love a bear?

Talk to you later,

MCC Crazy Quilt Update

2011-12-09T18:07:00.008-06:00

It has been awhile since I have done a MCC Crazy Quilt update. For those of you new to my blog, you may be asking,"What is MCC?" Every year myself and 6 other talented women make a crazy quilt that we donate to the MCC sale. MCC stands for the Mennonite Central Committee and they function much like the Red Cross. They respond to natural disasters and help people to get back on their feet again. I can't even remember how many years I have been donating crazy quilt items to the sale. We do the block in a round robin style, where usually I piece the block and mail it to the next person on our list and they work on 4 seams or open spaces and then they mail it on. We do this throughout the year and usually I pass out blocks for the next year when we are together at the auction. This year we decided to not make a whole crazy quilt but to do 12 individual wall hanging's with each representing something special about each month. The picture above is March where we did a St. Patrick's day theme. It is pretty close to done!

Here is the block representing April with an Easter theme and it is pretty close to done also!

I just pieced this block today for November and you probably guessed it is a Thanksgiving theme.

This block is for October, featuring a pumpkin theme.

Here is our September block with an apple theme. I am a little bit worried about our finishing up in time with a March deadline looming ahead of us, but we usually pull it off just fine!

I have scheduled the date for the 2012 Victorian Stitchery Retreat so if you would like to come next year, the dates are November 7-10. I'll keep you posted as I have more info!

Talk to you later,

One of the Reasons for the Season

2011-12-02T19:43:00.005-06:00

I just finished embroidering this on my Valentine Crazy Quilt, but it is a reason for the season! Have a Happy Pink Saturday and be sure to visit our sponsor by clicking on the Pink Saturday button on the right side bar.

Happy Holidays,

Margaret Phillips Rose

2011-11-29T19:34:00.004-06:00

When Candace Kling came this year, she taught us a new fabric flower called the Margaret Phillips Rose. I am so in love with doing this flower! Every time I see a fabric or a ribbon I wonder what it would look like done into this rose. The large pink one I did in class.

I made this one with some Italian silk tie fabric, and I love it!

I made this one with some 3 inch wide satin ribbon that I have. I like the way it turned out.

I made this out of some more silk tie fabric that I have and I also love this one! I guess I better get back to some more crazy quilting, but every year I get distracted with flowers after Candace comes!

Talk to you later,

A Week to Remember....

2011-11-13T13:08:00.012-06:00

I haven't blogged in awhile because I was busy preparing for the Victorian Stitchery Retreat that I host each year. It was truly a year to remember! We had the best Show and Share night ever! Gerry Krueger is pictured above with one of her beautiful blocks. Can't you just see the joy in her face? She also came to teach a wonderful Miniature Painting class.

Lougene Geary showed off a jacket that she was wearing. We all had a good laugh when she admitted that she didn't make it! It was beautiful either way.

We had a crazy quilt contest and the only rules were that it had to be crazy quilted and something you could wear. Bonnie Hargrove won first prize with her to die for crazy quilted vest. Georgia McVicar won 2nd and 3rd prize with her purse and vest.

Here is a close up of Bonnie's vest, it was just awesome.

We had an ice cream social to celebrate the 12 year anniversary of Carole Sample's book and the fact that she is 69 1/2 years old!

I gave my best friend Dixie her Christmas present early, an out of print copy of Candace Kling's book. When I took the picture, I told her to smile like it was Christmas morning! Candace looks pleased too!

The best part of the retreat for me was reuniting with old friends and the making of new ones.

Talk to you later,

Crazy Quilt for 2012

2011-10-16T20:39:00.005-05:00

In 2010 a challenge was issued to all crazy quilters to finish a crazy quilt by 2012. I don't remember who started it but I do remember I decided to do it! I started on the right bottom square and I remember working on it in Maine when I taught for Carole Samples. I am pleased with how it turned out and very proud of the 6 students who took the class from me at my shop and will also be proud owners of one of these crazy quilts!

I had a comment left by Betty that she would like more info on the Victorian Stitchery Retreat. Betty I am not sure how to contact you, so could you email me at pinkbunny@valeriebothell.com.

Talk to you later,

Pink Crazy Quilt Block #4

2011-09-27T18:49:00.005-05:00

The other day I realized that I had promised to show you all 12 blocks of my Pink Crazy Quilt. I counted and I have only you shown you pictures of 3 of the blocks. Well here is a shot of block #4.

I also wanted to update you on the MCC Calendar blocks that we are working on. For January we are doing a Snowflake block. I just love the way it is turning out!

When Candace Kling was here last year, she taught us how to do these beautiful silk ribbon corsages. I just love making them and every time I get a new color of ribbon in, I make myself one! I thought these colors would be pretty for fall and winter. The one on the left is Terrazzo and the other one is called Hot Flash. They are both available on my website if you want to make yourself one for fall!

Talk to you later,

New Beaded Block Class!

2011-09-05T21:32:00.005-05:00

A little over a year ago, I offered a online beaded block class. It is a class that I had offered here at my shop, and it was so popular that I ended up doing a 4 block series! I am offering the 2nd block of the series as another online class. For more info on the class you may click on the link to my website on the right hand side bar. It is listed in the catalog under Online Beaded Block class.

If you didn't take the 1st beaded block class and are interested in that it is still available also!

Talk to you later,

Val

The Month of August

2011-09-02T20:26:00.009-05:00

Sorry you haven't heard from me during the whole month of August. On August 1st my sweet dog unexpectedly died. She was 5 years old and I took it harder than you would think. It kind of surprised me. I do love dogs, but I just didn't realize how much I cared for my dog. I was advised by several people to get a new dog right away. This is her pictured above. Her name is Daisy and in the Secret Language of Flowers, her name means innocence. Let me tell you, she is sweet but really innocence is not always the case. My daughter in law was laughing at how much this dog is like me. We turned our backs for a moment and yes, she was chewing on a piece of silk ribbon!

We had some lace sitting were she could reach it and yes she did indeed find it! What are the odds of finding a dog that loves silk ribbon and lace as much as I do? Ha!

Here she is outside, and she is ready to go and play!

Okay, now back to crazy quilting which is probably the real reason that you visited my blog! This is a cute pansy mini hussif that I have recently listed on my website. It may be small, but inside it has three pockets, a place for scissors and beading thread.

About a year ago I started an online beaded block class. This was originally a class that I taught here at my shop and it ended up being a four block series. Starting September 6, I will be teaching block #2 in the series. If you are interested in this class, you can click on my website link on the right hand side. It is listed in the catalog under Online Beaded Block Class.

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

2011-07-30T10:42:00.003-05:00

Here is block #3 in my Pink Crazy Quilt. Have a Happy Pink Saturday and be sure to check in with our sponsor, Beverly!

2011-07-23T09:39:00.001-05:00

Happy Pink Saturday! Here is block #2 of the Pink crazy quilt I made a few years ago. Enjoy and visit our sponsor Beverly by clicking on her link on the right side bar.

Talk to you later,

Back Again!

2011-07-21T21:41:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! I am back and I honestly couldn't tell you where the time went. In the summer it is extra tough for me to keep up with everything! With my younger kids home in the summer, it just takes up a lot of my time. They won't be young long, so I spend time with them while I can.

I thought for the next few days, I would show you close ups of the all PINK crazy quilt I made a few years ago. Pink is my favorite color and I was just something I wanted to do.

Talk to you later,

Val

Happy Pink Saturday!

2011-06-17T19:39:00.006-05:00

Here is a basket of flowers that I embroidered on my all PINK crazy quilt! Have a happy Pink Saturday! Remember to check in with Beverly who is the hostess of Pink Saturday, just click on her link located on the right side of my blog.

Talk to you later,

Black on Black Crazy Quilt

2011-06-16T20:01:00.003-05:00

One of the crazy quilt lists I belong to has had a small discussion on black on black crazy quilts. I have been working on one for awhile, I think a couple of years now. It turned into a class for my students and in August we will be done with it! It consists of four 16 inch blocks and is surrounded by a 5 inch crazy quilt border. ( If you click on the picture you can enlarge it to see more of the detail!)

I found this crazy quilt to be a bit of a challenge because I am a perfectionist and like all my stitches to be perfect! Many of you know that I LOVE to use templates of any kind to help me, so marking it was a challenge but I figured it out.

I have really enjoyed doing this quilt and of course, it is no surprise that I did all my stitches in various colors of pink. It would also be no surprise that I did a Pink Bunny on it!

Hope you enjoyed my adventure that I had with black on black!

Talk to you later,

What I worked on this weekend...

2011-06-14T13:12:00.004-05:00

This weekend I worked on my Valentine Crazy Quilt. It is still in progress but I really do like my little Valentine purse with the heart fringe!

Here is a close up of the purse. I just folded some jacquard ribbon into the shape of a purse, added the handle and fringe.

I had my open house a week ago or so and here is a picture of my store! I had ordered some Threadworx thread(which is beautiful!) and I thought it would be pretty to lay it out on the table.

Talk to you later,

I'm Back!

2011-06-03T19:57:00.004-05:00

For the first time ever, I took time off in May and didn't teach any classes. I had a personal list of things that I was going to do. Surprise, I didn't do one thing on the list! I am going to show you all of the things I did and they were all worthwhile and needed doing! First up is pictured above. This is my best friends' daughter Cheyenne. Isn't she beautiful? She had a little fashion emergency that I helped her with! A week or so before her graduation party, she decided that she wanted to wear a Roman toga costume (she is a drama girl!) as her graduation dress. Well, the dress just really needed a little work (Ha!) to be made into a graduation dress. What I ended up doing was overlaying the entire costume with eyelet lace. Most of it had to be done by hand because the dress was already made. It was so worth it, she looked so cute at her party!

Next up, Dixie had signed up to sell her silk flower corsages at a craft fair and they never got back with her as to whether she would be in it or not. Two days before they let her know! I quick made a few flowers to supplement the ones she had on hand!

We opened the pool and summer officially began! Never mind the pool is a bone chilling 65, kids don't care!

Our church hand quilts and you put your name on the list and wait your turn. Well my name had been on the list for 3 years and it came up! Of course the quilt that I wanted quilted wasn't done. It is in the frame and we began quilting it two weeks ago.

We celebrated my two oldest sons birthday's!

I had to report to jury duty! I was not a happy camper about it and one friend who is a lawyer recommended that I bring the book "Runaway Jury" with me to get out of it! Ha!

My oldest son was recently married, so myself and two of my friends started a rag quilt for them.

And then I did something for myself! I wanted to have a few sewing tips on how to put a zipper in garments so I took a skirt class.

But now I am back and I am ready to teach again. I am also ready to finish my CQ for 2012 crazy quilt, pictured above.

I am having an open house tomorrow so if you are interested in enrolling in a class, just stop by!

Talk to you soon,

Poppy Power!

2011-05-22T18:10:00.003-05:00

A year ago or so, a student of mine gave me some wonderful vintage poppy seeds. I planted them in a February snow like she told me to do. The first year they did ok, but this year they are out of this world! They are at least three feet tall and are beautiful!

Look at this one, it has the prettiest ruffles to it all with the same set of seeds!

I just love looking at these poppies and I wish they would bloom even longer than they do. I have a current on going block of the month called the Secret Language of Flowers. A couple of month's ago I choose to do a poppy. The meaning for poppies is consolation. I did a bit of google research to get a little more information on why that was. Consolation just seemed a little random to me.

We'll it is not random at all! There was a poem written during World War I called Flanders Fields. Apparently in the fields were there was a lot of blood shed poppies would grow. How appropriate, a bright red flower! Now all Commonwealth countries(Australia, Canada and United Kingdom) celebrate Remembrance day on November 11. On that day they wear Poppies! After I found all of that information consolation didn't seem all that random for the meaning of a poppy.

(Not I just changed my post! The meaning of poppies is not courage! I just looked at my square, it is consolation! I just changed it throughout my post.)

Talk to you later,

Fabric Flowers!

2011-05-13T12:28:00.006-05:00

This month I decided to take some time off to do some personal projects. One day last week I decided to spend the day making fabric flowers!

I love making them, but I can only wear so many of them!

These three flowers(above and two below) are made with the wonderful Italian silk that you can get from the Robert Talbot tie company.

I made these two(above and below) because I have seen a lot of these colors in the stores for summer.

This one I experimented by hand dying my own silk dupioni. I thought it turned out pretty nice!

If you would like to buy any of these, you can go to my website www.valeriebothell.com and look in the catalog under Fabric Flowers, or you can come to the retreat this year and Candace Kling will show you how!

Talk to you later,

Easter Fun!

2011-05-03T12:57:00.003-05:00

I am finally getting around to posting some fun Easter photo's! Here is my 14 year with the required bunny ears above his head, it's Easter you know!

Here are my two youngest and of course we again see the required bunny ears!

We still love each other even though we fight all day long!(not me but the two little ones! Ha!)

Tomorrow I will get back to crazy quilting, I just had to post a few fun pictures of my family!

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

2011-04-22T20:45:00.004-05:00

It has been quite awhile since I participated in Pink Saturday, but I just decided it would be fun to do today. This is block #4 of the wall hangings that we are doing for MCC. It is for April and of course, the theme is Easter. I am afraid there are two of us who already want to buy it! I have made this block three other times in jewel tone colors and in a larger size and I still don't personally own one! This one is smaller in pastel colors and I just LOVE it!

Have a very Happy Easter and a wonderful Pink Saturday,

MCC Crazy Quilt Update

2011-04-20T12:24:00.002-05:00

It has taken me awhile to get up the courage to give you an update on how the MCC sale in Hutchinson went. The Pansy crazy quilt went for $575.......the range of emotions that went through all of us was varied. We are so used to our quilts going for around $1750 that we were just a bit disappointed and speechless. I can honestly say that every year our skills improve and I have seen a dramatic difference in the first few that we donated to now. It honestly was the BEST one we have ever donated. I was frustrated with the auctioneer(he called it a wall hanging), it measured 50 x 60 inches....hmmm.... and started the bidding at $100. They have always started at $500. Perhaps the economy has finally hit the MCC sale, I don't know. But here is what it boils down to. The MCC sale is not about how much the quilt makes. It is a heart issue. When you give, you give from your heart and not worry about the rest. All of us truly gave from our hearts and that is all that is required of us. Did the small price hurt my pride? Maybe just a bit, but the sale is to raise money for those who have been victim's of natural disaster's. Not to bolster my pride in how much it goes for.

Anyway, for those reason's we will donate again! We had already made some decision's to change the type of crazy quilt we donated and it turned out to be good decision's after the outcome of this year's sale. We are going to do 12 different wall hangings measuring 14 x 14 that feature something significant about each month. I have three of them pieced and I passed them out at the sale. The cream one at the top is for January and it is going to be a Snowflake theme.

This one I am sure you can guess February with a Valentine Theme.

Of course, this one is going to be March with a St. Patrick's day theme.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted as I get other squares posted, 9 more to go!

Talk to you later,

Cold Rainy Day Here...

2011-04-15T10:49:00.001-05:00

Outside may be cold and gray, but the Daisy Girl is here to brighten you day!

Have a good day and I'll talk to you later,

Color Play

2011-04-13T15:21:00.003-05:00

I am working on block #7 of my Secret Language of Flowers series. I made these two squares to see which one would work best.

I let you guess which one I decided to use and what flower I am doing next......

Talk to you later,

Dutch Hyacinths

2011-04-09T20:13:00.004-05:00

I just finished these Dutch Hyacinths for a class I am teaching this week. Nothing like getting them done at the last minute! I don't know if any of you remember a cartoon that Bill Cosby did called "Little Bill", but in one of the episodes all the kid's have a preschool program and they sing, "Spring is here, Spring is here, it's the best time of the year!" I would have to agree with that!

Talk to you later,

What I have been up to...

2011-03-29T16:00:00.005-06:00

I have been busy and time gets away from me, then before you know it I haven't blogged in a week! As many of you know, we finished the MCC Pansy Crazy Quilt. I took some great photographs of the quilt with my new camera. I then used the pictures to make a calendar for 2012. I just love how the calendar turned out! Because we fund the cost of the MCC crazy quilt ourselves, all profits from this calendar will help to fund the next crazy quilt we have decided to do! You can go to this link to order a calendar...http://www.valeriebothell.com/catalog.php?view=productListPage&category=61

Last week was spring break around here and Dixie, her girls and I went to see this exhibit in Kansas City. It was a wonderful exhibit and I had the chance to see the wedding gown that Diana was married in! They had the most fantastic crown with literally hundreds of large diamonds all over it(also a guard standing right there!). I was disappointed that NO photographs were allowed but do understand! This exhibit is going back to England in June, so if you have the chance....I would go!

The Rebus is Solved!

2011-03-20T13:02:00.007-06:00

Many of you who read my blog know that last year our MCC crazy quilt had a Valentine theme. Last year Chris embroidered the answer to my rebus challenge on our MCC crazy quilt! She didn't realize that it was called a rebus, but as you can see the answer to the rebus is "Sweet Heart". The red and white candy was the sweet and of course the charm was the heart. Oh, and Chris did win the challenge after she thought about it! One hundred years from now(if my quilt lasts that long!) someone will wonder, "Why did she embroider that on there and what does it mean?"

Here is what I did yesterday....When Candace Kling came last November, it really changed my life! I just love making Fabric Flowers now! I wear one all the time(when I dress up, not to the gym...Ha!) and get compliments on them. A friend of mine loves making them so much that she sells them and is doing very well!

This one is my all time favorite to wear, it goes with a lot of my clothes!

I made this one out of a silk velvet fat quarter from Hanah silk and wore it today! I noticed in my new Instyle magazine that the hot pink and coral colors of this corsage are really in this year!

This one didn't photograph so well(still learning!), but the white flower is made out of Robert Talbot silk tie scraps. The fabric is stunning as it is a very heavy silk brocade that is to die for! I think I will use what is left of the tie fabric to make one in the opposite, with a white ruffle and a black flower...after all a girl cannot have enough fabric flowers!

Talk to you later,

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T11:43:00.002-06:00

Have a happy St. Patrick's day! I have had a few comment's on the last post about the rebus...I'm going to give you a hint....the top item is a piece of red and white candy!

Talk to you later,

Rebus

2011-03-15T18:13:00.002-06:00

In Marsha Michler's book, Motifs for Crazy Quilting, she has a section entitled Rebus. A rebus is a sentence, phrase, or little poem put into pictures so it becomes a puzzle to the viewer. Pictured above is my first attempt at a rebus. This is my challenge to you.....what am I trying to say in my rebus? I will give you one clue...it is on my Valentine Quilt. Please leave me a comment with your guess and I'll send some hand dyed laces to the first one to get it right! Good Luck!

On a another topic....Japan. What happened in Japan is exactly why we make the MCC crazy quilt every year. MCC currently does not have a staff in Japan but they are taking donation's to give to organizations they work with and trust. If you would like to donate to MCC for the Japanese people, go to www.mcc.org and they have a donation button on their home page. You could also come to the MCC sale in Hutchinson, Kansas and buy our quilt!

Talk to you later,

Full Size Picture of MCC Crazy Quilt

2011-03-06T19:25:00.002-06:00

Here is a full size picture of the MCC Pansy Crazy Quilt, tomorrow it leaves for Newton, KS!

Talk to you later,

What a Relief!

2011-03-05T19:31:00.003-06:00

Wow! What a week...it was such a roller coaster. As many of you know, myself and 6 other ladies make an crazy quilt for the MCC sale every year. About a month ago, we found out that they moved the deadline up by 3 weeks....AHHHHHH.....we have a tight schedule and we usually turn the quilt in the last day on April 1. Off and on again, I had my doubts that we would get it done in time but I kept working towards the goal as did everyone else. On Wednesday of this week, I sent an email to one of the girls telling her I just didn't think we could do it. First reason, the trim I ordered so all the fans would match never came, second reason, the fabric I ordered never came, third and worst reason of all....I only had 13 of the 14 squares that surround the center. I had no idea where it was! We are all very responsible and all the years we have done this, nothing has every been LOST. Then I thought, did I piece all 14 or did I miscount. That night one of the girls called me and became the voice of reason. I scan all of the pictures of the squares before they are embellished and we found that it was square #5 that was missing. I began to think, if someone returned it to me when they came to class where would I have put it. Well I went down to my shop and saw a mailing tube sitting there. Opened it up, and there it was, but it was not done. We figured it had sat in the tube since July....AHHHHH! What in the world happened, life I guess. Anyway the picture above is what the quilt looked like yesterday morning. I spent 12 hours yesterday piecing and sewing on trim. Dixie spend Thursday and Friday finishing the lost square and Chris helped me sew trim and ribbons and shop for fabric yesterday.

A major miracle happened this morning...we actually tied the quilt and bound it! Here is the cat helping out too! And no, we didn't use white on the back! The only fabric we could find for the backing was a beautiful plum color, but it was lined with vinyl for a drapery type project. We thought, well this will be interesting, will our needles go through it? The fabric store didn't even have a needle around to let us try it before we bought the fabric. So we took a risk....

Well here we are, inside tying the quilt. Thank you Vonda, so much for coming to help at the last minute! We couldn't have done it without you!

Here is Chris and Dixie finally binding the quilt! (I told them to smile...Ha!) Actually they were very happy, we were actually going to finish!

This crazy quilt, I have to say is stunning! It is the absolute best one we have every made! Thanks Dixie, Chris, Vonda, Terri, Pat, Barb, Ginger we have a real winner on our hands!

Here it is still on the floor right after we tied and did the binding. Tomorrow I will try to get a picture of it hanging up! I will be very sad to see it leave, it is so beautiful. Off we will go in April to see it auction off!

Talk to you later,

Crazy Quilt for 2012

2011-02-28T19:45:00.003-06:00

A couple of years ago, there was talk of making a Crazy Quilt by 2012. I think the plan was that the quilts would then be displayed in Paducah. Well I am not sure if that is a go, but I am still working on mine! I choose to make a black on black crazy quilt, something I had never done. I then decided to do all of the embroidery in bright pinks and greens. I am almost done and have been really pleased with it. I also offered it as a class at my shop and have had a good response.

I just love to do bullion embroidery much to my student's dismay! They aren't as in love with bullion embroidery but they do admit it forces them to do it.

Since the name of my shop is The Pink Bunny, I felt it was only right to put a pink bunny on the quilt!

Oh, all of the pictures were taken with my new camera, so I hope I am improving...

Talk to you later,

What a difference!

2011-02-26T20:04:00.004-06:00

For those of you that read my blog on a regular basis, you know that I am not really a photographer. Well, I have decided to work on that! Today I bought a new really impressive camera! Pictured above is a picture I showed you of the Pansy MCC Quilt several weeks ago.

Here is a picture I took using my new camera! I know it isn't perfect, but I am new and just learning to use it!

Here are two more shots of the Pansy MCC Quilt. Hopefully I can find a nice beginner photography class to learn more about my camera, but I am really excited.

I have some other plans that led me to buy this camera and I'll keep you posted on those. I am always brimming with ideas.

Talk to you later,

Carole Samples...what a DREAM!

2011-02-24T11:08:00.004-06:00

The final teacher that I am featuring for the Victorian Stitchery Retreat is Carole Samples. She will be teaching a class using her Dream-A-Seam templates. These templates are wonderful! Whenever I list them for sale on my website, they are gone in a flash. This will be a two day class where she will show you wonderful stitch ideas and uses for her templates. Pictured above is a partial picture of the block I worked on when I took this class. Carole is a wealth of crazy quilt information and I feel blessed to call her a friend. This will be her sixth year at the retreat and it just wouldn't be the same if she didn't come. She will also be giving a lecture one of the evenings.

In between taking reservations for the retreat, I will be speaking tomorrow at a Christian Woman's Club. I thought it was so sweet, they put a picture of a Pink Bunny on their invitations! I am excited to share my love for crazy quilting with other woman!

Talk to you later,

Painting with Fabrics -Sea or Land!

2011-02-21T20:12:00.004-06:00

The next teacher I am featuring is Judith Baker Montano. This will be Judith's fourth year to come to the retreat and it just wouldn't be the same without her! She is a wonderful teacher and a very gifted fibre artist. She will be teaching Cottage Garden that is pictured above.

She will also be teaching a 2 day class on Painting with Fabrics. I just this landscape!

Keep checking back, as I will be featuring our final teacher for the retreat!

Talk to you later,

Invitations have gone out!

2011-02-19T18:09:00.002-06:00

Invitations for the retreat went out today! I so love doing the retreat, but really don't like the paper work! Remember, there is no postal service on Monday, so don't panic if you don't get your invitation until later in the week. If you don't get one and wanted one, please let me know! We had so many requests for invitations this year it was really hard to keep up!

Today I will feature Gerry Krueger as the next teacher on our line up. She will be teaching a Miniature Painting workshop on Monday evening. She says no artistic ability required! The class size will be limited to 10 lucky people, so I wouldn't wait too long to register for this class.

I really think her buttons are so cute!

To Barb W., yes I saw your wonderful article in CQMagonline and I recognized the squares! So cute! To Bonnie, I do have your address and Vicki, I so hope you can come!

Talk to you later,

Spring is in the Air!

2011-02-17T10:42:00.002-06:00

Today is just a beautiful spring day here and the perfect day to feature the next teacher that will be coming to the Victorian Stitchery Retreat. Candace Kling came last year and she is returning! She is a fabulous teacher and is just loaded with wonderful information. She also brings with her the most wonderful collection of flowers she has made.

This year she will be teaching Fabric Flowers, Fabric Flowers 2(pictured above),

Ribbon and Fabric Cabochons(pictured above) and Ribbon Buds(pictured below).

Some of you have commented that you would like info on the retreat. We send out invitations, so we'll need your snail mail and we'll be happy to send you more info!

Talk to you later,

Victorian Stitchery Retreat 2011 !

2011-02-15T15:03:00.003-06:00

Plans are underway for the Victorian Stitchery Retreat 2011! It is going to be a wonderful retreat and I am very excited about the new hotel we will be in. For the next few days, I am going to feature each of the teachers that will be teaching at the retreat. I am going to do it in alphabetical order, just to be fair! First up is Allison Aller! Allison has a new book coming out soon and I am very excited she is coming. She will be doing a Home Portraits class(pictured above) and a Contemporary Curved Piecing class(pictured below).

If you would like an invitation to the retreat just let me know, we will be sending them out very soon!

Talk to you later,

Anyone for a Swim?

2011-02-10T16:53:00.003-06:00

This is what our swimming pool looks like today! I so want to go swimming but I guess not yet....

But inside, where it is warm, spring has sprung! I made this pretty little flower and it makes the blah winter weather go away when I look at it. I can hardly believe that next week it is supposed to be 60 degrees here. (Both of the ribbons I used are available on my website.)

Of course, I had to play around with my computer again and....spring has sprung many times over!

Talk to you later,

Poppies!

2011-02-07T19:16:00.002-06:00

Most of you probably know that Judith Baker Montano has her own thread and silk ribbon line. Recently some of the colors are now available in 7mm. One of the colors is named....Poppy. I decided to make some poppies out of the ribbon. It was really fun and I think they really look like poppies!

Talk to you later,

MCC Quilt Update

2011-02-01T18:10:00.007-06:00

I received two amazing pansy squares yesterday. I haven't updated you in awhile so I thought I would post this. I just love the pansy motif on the fan! It is even more amazing to see in person.

Many of you are probably experiencing the snow and minus zero temperatures that we are experiencing. So I began dreaming of the vacation we went on last summer. I am truly a beach girl! We went to the most amazing resort in Florida. Just look at that simming pool with the waterfall coming down! It was just awesome....it was also like 95 degrees out.

Maybe we can all dream about the beach while looking at the snow!

Talk to you later,

Val

New Patterns Available

2011-01-26T12:00:00.002-06:00

I have taught so many projects to my students over the last 13 years and I was recently encouraged by a friend of mine to write them into patterns! I takes a lot of time, but I really enjoyed every moment of it. Pictured above is a cute crazy quilt billfold pattern that I just finished.
Here is a cute crazy quilt Easter Egg pattern. This is one of my favorites, I just love to crazy quilt in pastel colors!
This is a cute collection of monthly embroidery patterns. They would so cute to embroider and put in the center of a crazy quilt block!

All of these patterns are available at my website, www.valeriebothell.com.

Talk to you later,

Playing Around with the Computer!

2011-01-25T16:43:00.002-06:00

I have this new computer program that I was playing around with. I took this old cigarette silk I have and.....
voila, I turned it into this! I thought it was so cool I wanted to share it with you!

That's all for today,

Why I haven't posted in awhile...

2011-01-19T19:28:00.005-06:00

I have been so busy this month and it is supposed to be my month off! I have been busy stitching new projects for my spring classes. My open house to showcase the new spring projects will be February 5, so if you live in my area, you are welcome to come!

Along with stitching new projects, I have been working on other things. The top picture is the result from taking a class from Carole Samples when she was here in November. The class was Build a Better Block. I am happy with the result, but I can tell you, my block is very simple compared to the complex and beautiful blocks that other students were making! I'll keep you posted as I embellish it.
Here is another embroidered snowflake that I have done on one of the projects for the spring classes.

I have also been busy putting together the Victorian Stitchery Retreat for 2011. I have four wonderful teachers lined up and the dates for the retreat will be November 7-10. I have had the retreat at the same venue all the years I have done this, so I decided it was time for a change! The retreat will now be at the Old Town Hotel! You can get more info on the hotel at www.hotelatoldtown.com. There is a lot to do in the area with 15 restaurants within a two block radius of the hotel. The area is also filled with little boutiques, museums and a movie theatre. Invitations for the retreat will go out in mid-February, so if you are interested in coming just let me know!

Talk to you later,

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T11:31:00.002-06:00

This is a little snowflake that I embroidered this week. I love to embroider little motifs like this! It is from a new square that I will be teaching this spring, so I'll keep you posted. ( I just noticed that I forgot one lazy daisy in the snowflake, I'll have to fix that today!)

I wish all of you a very Happy New Year!

Talk to you later,

Christmas Fun...

2010-12-29T18:48:00.004-06:00

I didn't post very much this month because I was so busy with the holiday season! I thought I would show you some pictures of the things that kept me busy. The picture above is a silk corsage that I made to send to Miss Carole. I didn't want to post the picture until I was sure she had opened her gift!

Here is a picture of Noah, my youngest child at his preschool program. I was a little bit happy and some sad. This is my last child in preschool! Last year his teacher would tell him to sing "Loud and Proud" and that is exactly what he did.

Within the space of about 4 days, we went to four music programs, celebrated our anniversary and celebrated a proud 7 year old birthday! He waits all year to get presents since his birthday is so close to Christmas.
We made Christmas cards that were our gifts to Jesus. Here is Noah, he had a great time!

My brother and his family came on Christmas day and we always do Dirty Santa. My nephew is the proud owner of a lovely elf hat! I don't think he reads my blog or even knows I have one! Ha!

Here is Eli with the other half of my nephew's gift. It was a lovely Reindeer tie that Eli stole from him. He thought that was pretty funny!

All in all it was a very nice Christmas and I promise, my next post will be back to crazy quilting!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T00:01:00.001-06:00

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and the line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

May you have a Merry Christmas,

Some more Retreat Pictures!

2010-12-06T19:12:00.003-06:00

I am not much of a picture taker, but this year at the retreat, I really tried to make an effort to take more pictures! I would sneak into the classrooms and take pictures of things people were working on. This is a cute little bumble bee that J. Marsha Michler taught. I can't remember who stitched this (or the following spider) so if you read this, please let me know who you are!

Here is a cute little spider that J. Marsha Michler also taught. He is almost a little too real!

Here is a beautiful paisley from the paisley class that Carole Samples taught. Again, could you leave me a comment if you are the one who stitched this?

Now, I do know who this is! This is Jane and she was very excited to be at the retreat this year! She was always in the first seat next to Carole Samples! I'll post more pictures as I get to it!

Talk to you later,

Victorian Stitchery Retreat Contest Winners!

2010-11-18T21:23:00.003-06:00

For the retreat, I had a contest. The only rules were that it be a six inch square and of course it had to be crazy quilted! The picture above is of Karen Guthrie who won first place. Her little mini crazy quilt square was just to die for! Congratulations Karen!

Here is a close up, it is just too cute and she started and finished it just a few days before the retreat.

Avis Nelson won second place with a crazy quilt teacup. I have to say I was grinning a little on this one because Avis took this as a class from me! Just so you know, I wasn't the judge for the contest! Congratulations Avis!

Here is Nark Royer with her little crazy quilt doll that doubled as a pin. She won third prize and look at that big grin! Congratulations Nark!

I'll post more pictures of the retreat as I have time, so keep checking back. It really was a week to remember.

Talk to you later,

The Victorian Stitchery Retreat is Over!

2010-11-16T11:31:00.003-06:00

The Victorian Stitchery Retreat is over! It was a wonderful week filled with many talented students and some outstanding teachers! Here is a picture of a flower I made in Candace Kling's Fabric Flowers class. This flower is made out of silk fabric and I just love it! I am still cleaning up around here from the retreat, but as I have time, I will post more pictures from the retreat.

Talk to you later,

2010-11-11T22:38:00.002-06:00

This is one of the many flowers that Candace Kling taught today at the Victorian Stitchery Retreat. She is an awesome teacher and I can hardly wait for her class tomorrow on Ribbon Trims! As I get my other flowers done, I'll post them. This one is made totally out of silk fabric.

Talk to you later,

Paisley's and Butterflies!

2010-11-08T17:28:00.003-06:00

I had a busy day, but I was so excited with what was done in the classes today that I had to share! This is the illuminated butterfly that J. Marsha Michler taught today. This paticular butterfly was stitched by Georgia McVicar and I thought she did an outstanding job!

Here is a lovely paisley that was made in Carole Samples class today! Tomorrow Candace Kling will be coming and I will be teaching, so I am positive you won't hear from me!

Talk to you later,

The Start of a Busy Week!

2010-11-06T07:51:00.002-06:00

Here is a picture of another little crazy quilt pin I made recently. I love making these short quick projects! The Victorian Stitchery Retreat starts tomorrow, so you won't be hearing from me all week, but I'll take lots of pictures to show you later on.

Have a great week and be sure to check in with our sponsor of Pink Saturday, Bev. Just click on the icon on the top left.

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

2010-10-29T23:50:00.004-05:00

On my blog, I very rarely venture away from crazy quilting. So read this post at your own risk because it isn't really a post on crazy quilting. I am not a big Halloween person, but I thought maybe it would be fun if a person could dress up as Marie Antoinette. She wore the most beautiful dresses!

Even Barbie has dressed up as Marie Antoinette! Most of the costumes that I found online were not really anything I would wear....so I guess it was just fun to think about. Who know's maybe I will make a crazy quilt Marie Antoinette something or other, that would be more my style!

Have a Happy Pink Saturday and remember to check in with our sponsor Beverly. Just click on the icon at the top right.

Talk to you later,

More MCC Blocks, a much needed Update!

2010-10-26T08:27:00.003-05:00

Here are blocks 8, 9 and 10 for the MCC Pansy Crazy Quilt. I only have 4 more blocks to piece! The other ladies involved in the making of this quilt have been doing an awesome job embellishing and stitching, I'll keep you posted as I recieve more finished squares!

Talk to you later,

2010-10-23T10:01:00.002-05:00

Yesterday it was raining and it felt a little bit like fall. I don't like winter, cold weather etc. I am a summer/beach girl. It was getting me down, but I stitched up some flowers and it felt like spring!

Have a happy Pink Saturday and don't forget to visit our sponsor Beverly. You can click her icon at the top right.

Talk to you later,

Candace Kling is Coming to Wichita!(and Happy Pink Saturday!)

2010-10-15T23:10:00.009-05:00

Candace Kling will be coming to Wichita for the Victorian Stitchery Retreat! Aren't the pictures of her classes amazing? The picture above is some examples for her Vintage Ruching class.

This picture has some examples of flowers you would learn in her fabric flowers class. I think they are beautiful and they look just like the flowers that everyone is wearing this fall!

Here is a picture of her ribbon flower class, and again, they are amazing! If you would be interested in any of these classes and can come to Wichita, you may email me at pinkbunny@valeriebothell.com for more info.

Sorry I didn't post for Pink Saturday last week, my browser wouldn't let me log into my blogger account. Remember to check in with our wonderful sponsor, Beverly. Just click on the Pink Saturday icon on the top right of your screen and she will list other wonderful blogs you can visit.

Talk to you later,

Judith Baker Montano is coming to Wichita!

2010-10-07T16:00:00.005-05:00

Judith Baker Montano will be one of the teacher's for the Victorian Stitchery Retreat in November. She just sent me the most amazing pictures of her classes! Pictured above is her Cottage Garden class. She will be teaching this on Thursday, November 11th.

This is a picture of her Fuchsia Pouch that she will be teaching Friday, November 12th. Pictured below is her cute Chicken Bumble which she will be teaching Saturday, November 13th. If you have a chance to come to Wichita and take a class from Judith it really is a treat!

The entire retreat runs from November 8-13 in Wichita, KS and other teachers are J. Marsha Michler, Carole Samples and Candace Kling. It really is a wonderful variety of teachers and I hope you can make it to the retreat! You may email me at pinkbunny@valeriebothell.com for more information.

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

2010-10-01T20:33:00.008-05:00

Happy Pink Saturday! I have really had a good week, but it has kept me so busy that I didn't blog all week. If you follow my blog, you know that every year myself and 6 other very talented ladies make a quilt for the MCC sale in Hutchinson, KS. MCC stands for Mennonite Central Committee and they do a lot of wonderful things! They are known for helping with disaster relief and often are one of the first to arrive at the scene. This last year, we made a Valentine Crazy Quilt made from a pattern designed by Carole Samples. As I pieced the quilt, I made some changes from the original pattern but really I do love how it turned out.

Our group has met the wonderful person who bought the quilt. She is also a crazy quilter and we know it went to a really good home! She sent me the picture above and doesn't it just look perfect in her house!

I will be offering this quilt as a block of the month/online class starting this month. For more information on enrolling in this class you may go to my website, http://www.valeriebothell.com
I hope you have a good Pink Saturday and remember to visit Beverly our sponsor at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com.

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

2010-09-25T08:10:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone! Once again, I have taken an unintentional break from blogging. Well I am back and once again grateful for Pink Saturday because it makes me blog. I have been really busy getting ready for the Victorian Stitchery Retreat and a few other projects that I have going. The picture above is something I did 7 or 8 years ago. It is done in all hand dyed ribbon.

Well, I hope you have a great day and remember to visit our wonderful sponsor of Pink Saturday, Beverly. You click on the Pink Saturday button on the top right to visit her blog.

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

2010-09-11T07:54:00.005-05:00

As part of the fun at the Victorian Stitchery Retreat, I always have a little crazy quilt contest. Two years ago I had a crazy quilt name tag contest. I didn't enter the contest since I am the hostess, but I still thought it would be fun to make one. Of course it has a little pink in it!

Have a happy Pink Saturday and don't forget to visit our sponsor, Beverly at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com. You can click on the button at the top right and it will take you there.

Talk to you later,

My Website has a New Look!

2010-09-10T11:13:00.004-05:00

I have updated my website, and it has a whole new look that I really like. Website work is NOT my favorite. I would rather be stitching, teaching, or even getting a cavity filled! These are some of the new hand dyed laces that I have put on the website. I like to name the color combination's that I use when I dye lace. The one pictured above is named Indian Summer because of the fall colors I used. The one pictured below, I haven't quite figured a name out for. It is a new color combination that I tried and I think it has many possibilities!

The lace picture below is a color I have been doing for awhile and it really is my favorite! It has a vintage look to it and has my favorite color in it!

I would invite you over to my updated website at www.valeriebothell.com and take a look! I will be adding items daily so you can keep checking back.

Talk to you later,

MCC Pansy Quilt Update

2010-09-07T09:04:00.002-05:00

Just a quick MCC Pansy Quilt update. Pictured at the top is a finished square and below is a new one that I will be giving Dixie today! Look out Dixie, here I come!

Talk to you later,

Another Happy Pink Saturday!

2010-09-04T00:02:00.001-05:00

A year ago or so, Carole Samples and I taught an online class together entitled, Fancy Valentines. We had a lot of fun and we also learned how different it was to teach a class online. Pictured above was one of the patterns taught in the class. Basically, Carole took a simple appliqued heart and designed beautiful embroidered stitches that fit perfectly around each heart. She even designed templates so that you could actually mark around the heart and take the guess work out of your stitching.

At the Victorian Stitchery Retreat in November Carole will be teaching part 2 of this class. She has designed more "Fancy Valentines" for us to stitch. The one pictured above is mine and of course, I did all of my Valentines in PINK. No surprise there...ha! If you would be interested in taking this class from Carole, you may email at pinkbunny@valeriebothell.com.

Please take some time and visit the sponsor of Pink Saturday at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com or click on her logo on the top right hand corner and it will take you right there.

Have a very PINK day and I'll talk to you later,

Victorian Stitchery Retreat

2010-09-02T17:49:00.005-05:00

It is hard to believe that there are only two months until the retreat! It is going to be a wonderful, fun filled week with 4 fantastic teachers! We still have room in Carole Sample's Build A Better Block class. This is a wonderful class for newbies as well as intermediate and advanced stitchers. Whether you are a beginner or advanced, it will teach you some new wonderful piecing techniques and give you lots of inspiration! The class will feature19th century modifications we can make to create beautiful crazy quilt blocks. You will learn about seam intersections, 7 different applique methods for piecing, adding 4 different kinds of curves, 5 different generic patch edges and 8 additional possibilities for building beautiful and interesting blocks.

If you have not taken a class from Carole, it really is a treat! She is truly a gifted teacher, crazy quilter and artist.

If you would like more information please feel free to email me at pinkbunny@valeriebothell.com.

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

2010-08-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

I hope all of you are having a very happy Pink Saturday! This is a picture of some fabric that I recently bought at Hobby Lobby. The picture below is what I did with that fabric this week!
As I have mentioned before, I teach crazy quilting from my home(for the past 13 years!)and I wanted to spruce it up because I am having an open house today. I used to have these dark green curtains that were so old they were faded. I really love the new look and it really brightened up the room.

Please visit Beverly at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com as she is our wonderful sponsor of Pink Saturday. You may click on her button on the top right and it will take you to her blog.

Have a very Pink Day,

MCC Quilt Update

2010-08-27T08:29:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Dixie gave me the large center piece of the MCC quilt. If you remember, it was the piece I gave a small tutorial on a couple of weeks ago. Isn't this little bouquet she did cute? I thought so! Remember, tomorrow is Pink Saturday.....

Talk to you later,

My Fall Open House is this Saturday!

2010-08-25T18:32:00.005-05:00

It is that time of year! This Saturday, I will be having my fall open house. I will have the new class projects for fall ready for you to see and there will be lots of new ribbons, buttons and charms to look at(and buy)! If you are in the Wichita area, feel free to stop by.

If you are in the mood to make a crazy quilt pumpkin, I have just the thing. I designed this pattern several years ago and taught it as a class in Omaha at the Crazy Quilt Convention. Miss Carole Samples did my illustrations and designed some templates that are included in the pattern. You can go to my website, www.valeriebothell.com if you are interested.

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

2010-08-21T08:36:00.004-05:00

I hope all of you are having a wonderful Pink Saturday! I have several reasons that I love Pink Saturday. One, it makes me blog when I am getting lazy or I feel I am too busy to blog. Two, the ladies who participate are a wonderful group! Three, pink is my favorite color! We have been challenged to feature other bloggers that participate in Pink Saturday. The picture above, is some wonderful treaures that Sarah at www.bloggingwhilewaiting.blogspot.com has posted. Check out her blog to see what other treasures she has found recently.

Here is a picture of a little crazy quilt project I did a couple of years ago. Can you guess what it is? It is a pinkeeper! You make this by putting two CD discs together, and the space that is created in between the two discs you can stick your pins in . Of course I had to make mine pink!

Please visit our sponsor of Pink Saturday, Beverly at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com.

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

2010-08-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted all week, I have just been really busy. I am having an open house for my shop in a couple of weeks and I am trying to get all my class projects done in time. Here is a picture of a little silk ribbon embroidered floral spray that I did I my full size PINK crazy quilt. I hope everyone is having a good week and I'll talk to you in a few days.

Oh, and remember to visit Beverly at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com as she is our wonderful sponsor. You may also click on the top right button and it will take you to her blog.

Bye for now,

Happy Pink Saturday!

2010-08-07T00:01:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is having a happy Pink Saturday! I teach crazy quilting from my home and I didn't want to have a big sign in my window. I did need something that would identify my house if a new person was coming and was lost. For awhile, I had a small pink flag with a bunny on it stuck in the yard and a pink wooden sitting next to it. One year, at Easter, someone took them both! I then made this little crazy quit bunny and I hang it in the window. Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you that the name of my shop is The Pink Bunny...

Remember to visit our wonderful sponsor Beverly at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com or you can click on her link in the top right hand corner. She has a list of many other wonderful blogs that love PINK.

Talk to you later,

The Anatomy of a Crazy Quilt

2010-08-03T20:50:00.004-05:00

For those of you who don't know me very well, I am really a science geek. I have a degree in biology and silly me 10 years later I went back and got a chemistry degree. Ha, the joke is on me, I now teach crazy quilting! It just goes to show that you don't always know where life is going to lead you. The other day, I was piecing the large center portion of the crazy quilt that my small group is making for the MCC Sale. I thought to myself, this is the anatomy of a crazy quilt. The skeleton that makes the quilt what it is. With this skeleton, you then embellish it and make it beautiful. To piece my crazy quilt "skeleton" for a large center, I start by cutting my muslin the size I want it. Then I take an air erase pen and mark how I want to piece it.

With the center of this year's MCC quilt, I am doing it like last year's Valentine quilt, with a fan in each corner. I piece my center, keeping in mind what I am going to do on each corner.

I piece my corner's and voila, it starts to come to life!

I decided to do something with an oval shape in the center, so I did a little running stitch to remind all of us that we only need to do stitches to the line.

I am really anxious to see what everyone in my group does to embellish our crazy quilt "skeleton", I'll keep you posted!

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

2010-07-31T00:01:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is having a happy Pink Saturday! I wanted to show a pink needle case I made several years ago. I belong to an online silk ribbon group and they decided to do a needle case swap. I made this needle case and then sent it off. In return I received the most beautiful needle case! Every once in a while, I would mumble something to my best friend (who is also a crazy quilter) that I sure miss that pink needle case I made. I don't know why, but I have the hardest time giving the stuff I make away! For my birthday, she came to my little shop while I was gone and bought one of the kits and made one for me! I was certainly surprised, I would have never guessed she would do that. I carry it with me when I go to our quilting group at church. It holds everything I need, a thimble, needles and my scissors.

Remember to go to see Beverly's blog at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com as she is our wonderful sponsor of Pink Saturday. To easily get to her blog you may click on the button on the top right that says Beverly's Pink Saturday and it will take you right to her blog. She will have a wonderful list of other Pink Saturday participants and they are the most wonderful group of people!

I would also like to thank all of the Pink Saturday ladies for the wonderful comments they left last Saturday. I started to go to all of their blogs and leave comments for them. Then I got confused as to who I had already left a comment for! Oh my, I was too embarrassed to leave a second one, so thank you to all of you! You are a wonderful group of ladies!

Talk to you later,

Have a Happy Wednesday!

2010-07-28T08:40:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone is having a good week. Here is a picture of a project I have been working on for awhile. The squares are black on black and I embellished it all (of course) in pink.

Talk to you later,

Pink Saturday!

2010-07-23T20:45:00.006-05:00

When I found out that there was such a thing as Pink Saturday, I just knew I had to participate! I think from childhood, my favorite color has always been pink. This is a wall hanging that I have recently finished. It is a class I have been teaching here at my shop and it has taken a couple of years to finish it. I entered it in the Sedgwick County fair and it won a blue ribbon! It measures 36 x 36 and it was made in honor of the Peace Rose. We have a peace rose in our garden in the back yard and they are beautiful mixture of white, pink and yellow.

I have also been selling the squares as kits on my website. I think I need to list the final square to those of you that have been doing them!

If you have a moment, please stop by Beverly's blog at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com as she is the sponsor of Pink Saturday.

Have a great day,

Answer a few Questions!

2010-07-23T15:10:00.003-05:00

I have had a few questions about Miss Carole's new book, so I'll try to answer them. It is not the same book that is included in the Dream-A-Seam Templates. The first half of the book teaches her method of piecing a crazy quilt fan. It really is a wonderful way to piece a fan that can easily be done by hand or machine. The last half of the book gives instructions and stitch ideas to create the "needlework" lace that surrounds the top half of the fan. I hope that answers any questions you might have. The picture above is one of the two fans I stitched to practice before I taught this class in Maine.

Be sure and check in tomorrow for I am going to participate in Pink Saturday. Imagine that!

Mommie's Ties Workbook is done!

2010-07-17T08:17:00.003-05:00

I wanted to dedicate this post to Miss Carole's new workbook for Mommy's Ties. Two years ago, she taught this class at the Victorian Stitchery Retreat. She has developed all of her notes from that class into a very nice instructional workbook. It goes through the steps of piecing crazy quilt fan's using her own unique method. She then gives complete instructions and design ideas for the needlework "lace" that you embroider at the top of the fan.

I taught this class in Maine for her and I have to tell you, it is my all time favorite class of Miss Carole's! If you would like more information on purchasing her workbook, just leave me a comment.

Talk to you later!

A Great Give Away!

2010-07-09T12:28:00.003-05:00

Right now Pam Kellogg of Kitty and Me Designs is having a give away for this great sewing quilt. You may go to her blog www.kittyandmedesigns.blogspot.com to get me info. Good Luck!

Back to blogging again!

2010-07-05T19:16:00.003-05:00

I didn't mean to but it seems I took an unintentional vacation from blogging. It was certainly not on purpose, it just happened. Part of the problem maybe the picture above, ha! We built a swimming pool 3 years ago, and always, the swimming pool battles for my attention and wins out many times! I found this picture on my camera, so some stinker in my family took this. I notice I am also talking on the phone and I am pretty sure it was Miss Carole I was talking to!

We went to my nephew's wedding in early June, and I found out that my youngest boy is a party animal! They had a dance that night and he danced the entire time. He kept coming to my table and saying,"Mommy come on, let me show you my moves!". As you can see, he found the flower girl to dance with. He still talks about her and says she is his girlfriend. Such cute memories! I will confess, I danced with him to Village People's YMCA song!

I have had some comment's asking if there are opening's in this fall's Victorian Stitchery Retreat. Yes, there are openings! The teacher's for this year are Judith Baker Montano, J. Marsha Michler, Candace Kling and Carole Samples. If you would like more information on the retreat, you may leave me a comment and I will get it to you. The dates for this year's retreat are November 8-13. I have also formed a group on Facebook, Victorian Stitchery Retreat(of course!), if you want to check for updated information.

I have been playing with the new Dancing Needle I bought and these two flowers are the result of my first two attempts. The ribbon flower in the top picture was done with varigated Mokuba ribbon and the ribbon used in the bottom flower was done with Hanah silk bias ribbon. It was a lot of fun!

I will try to post a couple of time's a week now that I am back at blogging, so keep checking back. You never know what I may talk about!

Back from Omaha and the new MCC Crazy Quilt

2010-04-30T12:05:00.003-05:00

Well, I am back from teaching in Omaha and I had a wonderful time! I really had to laugh because I gave a lecture there on Tuesday night at the hospital. They didn't have a cart to carry my stuff in, so we used wheelchairs! I don't know why, I just think that is funny! I have my bags hanging from the IV stand.

The next 6 pictures are of the first squares that we will be working on for the next MCC Crazy Quilt which will be all about pansies.

Talk to you later and have a good weekend!

MCC Sale Hutchinson Kansas

2010-04-24T11:35:00.003-05:00

Our Valentine Crazy Quilt for the MCC sale was sold last Saturday. Here is a picture of the quilt on display before it was auctioned off. It was hard to get a picture as people were crowding around it taking pictures and just looking at it! One person came from Tyler, Texas just to buy it! The MCC sale is always a fun day even if you aren't there to see a quilt get auctioned off. It is held at the Kansas State Fair grounds and there is plenty of food to buy. There are zweibach, pies, verenika, german sausage. You name it, it is there to buy and eat. We got there around 8:15 and the auction started at 8:45. Our quilt had a late number, so it didn't auction until around 2:30.

Here is a picture of the crowds right before our quilt auctioned. When they started, I think about 5 people immediately began bidding and within seconds, it was at $1,000! The quilt sold for $1750 and we were thrilled. Many of the quilts went for a much lower price than usual, probably due to the economy. We were also thrilled to meet the person who purchased the quilt. She is a crazy quilter and lives about 45 minutes away!

Here is a picture of our quilt as they auctioned it off. They put the quilt on a bed and rotate it around so everyone can see it. Stayed tuned as next week I will be starting next year's quilt which will have a pansy theme.

Oh, I will be teaching in Omaha, Nebraska next week. If you are interested and live close by, let me know, I think they have a couple of openings.

Talk to you later,

So Very Thankful and a bit of Eye Candy

2010-03-28T18:37:00.004-06:00

So sorry I haven't posted for awhile. This week I had a bit of a scare. I don't usually share alot of personal stuff, but here I go. I was talking on the phone to a friend and I saw a bright flash of light in my eye. I didn't really think too much about it. It happened again a couple of days later when I was shoe shopping and I still didn't think too much about it. About a week later, I kept seeing floaters in my eye and I was due for an eye exam anyway, so away I went.

So I tell my eye doctor that I am seeing floaters. He quietly says, "Did you see a flash of light?", "Yes". He then explains to me what might have happened. For those of you who don't know me really well, I am truly a science geek inside even though I am a crazy quilt teacher! I have a degree in both biology and chemistry and I am 100% understanding what he is saying to me including the part about maybe going blind in that eye. There were two possible places in my eye that I might have torn. One place, no big deal but floaters for the rest of your life. The other place, the retinal wall requires surgery to keep your sight. Whoa! I also have a weak stomach and when he said that, I had a total panic attack! I went home and prayed about it...then I went back the next day to get my eyes dilated to see what exactly had happened to my eye. I am happy to report that the news was even better than expected and I had torn nothing! I am very, very thankful for that! God was good to me beyond my expectations! Thank you to my dear friends and husband who prayed for me!

Now, for some more fun things! The final posting of pictures of the MCC Crazy Quilt. We decided to name it a Victorian Valentine Crazy Quilt. The pictures I am posting are of the large center square that measured 20 x 30. I was so, so disappointed. I took pictures of the quilt as we inside tied it, and I was going to do a small tutorial on how to do that. I went to download the pictures from that day and they simply are not on the memory card. Not real sure what happened. If you look back on my blog, about two years ago, I have a tutorial when we inside tied the first MCC Crazy Quilt we donated.

Talk to you later,

MCC Squares 12 through 14

2010-03-05T19:01:00.003-06:00

Here are the final three squares that surround the large 20 x 30 center of our MCC Valentine Crazy Quilt. We sewed some of the sashing around the center last Wednesday and will finish up next week. On March 17, we are scheduled with my quilting group to inside tie the quilt. I'll take pictures as we do it! I a few days, I'll post what the large center section looks like. It is really beautiful and I will be anxious to see who buys this quilt at the MCC auction in Hutchinson in April. Since MCC is usually one of the first organizations to appear at natural disasters, I am always happy to donate to them. I have been toying with naming the quilt Hearts of Haiti, but I haven't talked to the other members of our group to see what they think.

Thank you to all of the ladies who have helped with this quilt, they did a large majority of this quilt and spent many hours of dedicated work. They are all very talented and I feel very honored to know all of them. Many thanks to Miss Carole Samples for her inspiration and ideas for this crazy quilt also.

TTYL,

MCC Squares 11 of them!

2010-02-19T15:14:00.004-06:00

I have received 11 of the 14 squares that belong to our MCC Valentine quilt for this year. Some of these I might of already shown you, but I am so proud of our group of talented ladies who have worked on these squares. Enjoy all the eye candy and I'll post the large center piece and the three additional squares when I have them done.

Talk to you later,

New Online Class!

2010-02-01T20:27:00.002-06:00

Several years ago, I offered some classes on adapting traditional crazy quilt stitches to become beaded crazy quilt stitches. The class decided to keep going until we had 4 squares done with all the crazy quilt stitches and motifs I could think of at the time. I have certainly thought of more since then! I have decided that I would like to offer this class online. Beginning February 1 enrollment will begin and the class will start February 16. For more information on the class, you may go to my website, www.valeriebothell.com. Pictured above is the square I made using all of the stitches that will be taught in the class. Hope some of you will enroll in this class!

TTYL,

Center of the MCC Valentine Quilt

2010-01-22T09:53:00.002-06:00

I am finally posting the large center block for our MCC Valentine quilt. I have been working on it for weeks because I kind of felt like it wasn't going to get done on time. Just like everything else, I need a break from it and I am going to send it to another member of our group today. I really love this quilt and I am going to offer it as a class this spring. Since there are 14 squares surrounding it, it may take a couple of years to do the class. I think it will be so worth it!

TTYL,

The Happiness Project

2010-01-08T09:47:00.004-06:00

I was watching the Today Show this morning and they had a guest on who really caught my attention. She had written a book called, The Happiness Project. The general idea I had from the interview was to live for the moment and do what makes you happy. For me, that would be crazy quilting. For me crazy quilting is more than a hobby, it is a way of life. I stitch everyday. When things are bothering me, I stitch. When I am happy, I stitch. Crazy quilting extends way beyond just stitching. It is a way of bonding with others that you may have never known if you didn't crazy quilt. For me it has opened up a world I didn't even know existed.

Why don't you leave me a comment about how crazy quilting has made you happy?

The embroidery pictured above is from another spring project I am working on. If you would like the pattern for it, you may go to my website and it will be listed under freebies. My website is www.valeriebothell.com.

TTYL,

Christmas Gift's: Naughty and Nice

2009-12-29T17:59:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures of a few of the nice things I got for Christmas. Above is a very pretty ceramic Pink Bunny. For obvious reasons I got that gift. Thank you Lori!

Here is a very cute gingerbread house that I got early in December as a gift. I was hoping it would last for a couple of years, but the first day, I had a four year old eat one of the gum drops. Apparently he just couldn' t resist! Thank you Dixie!

This came in the mail yesterday! It was all beautifully wrapped in the most beautiful pink sparkly wrapping paper! I wonder how long it took to gather that many wonderful pink and brown things....Thank you Miss Carole!

Ok, this picture I am doing on the sly! I gave these pajama's to my two oldest boys for Christmas. Of course they only wore them long enough to take the picture...HA! Who in their right mind makes blanket sleepers large enough for grown boys to wear? When they returned them the next day, the girl asked why they were returning them. My oldest held one of them up and said, "Isn't it obvious?". Okay, don't mention I posted this picture or I am in really big trouble!

TTYL,

My Christmas Donut

2009-12-19T16:46:00.003-06:00

When Judith Baker Montano was here for the retreat, she taught a crazy quilted Victorian Christmas Wreath. I remember she called it a donut...well now I know why. That thing was really hard to sew together and even worse to stuff. After all of that, I was told by one family member who shall remain nameless, that it looked square. Well, I am leaving it. I am a big perfectionist, but that wreath(donut) will never be round! I am enjoying it anyway....

Finished Valentine Crazy Quilt Squares

2009-12-14T12:30:00.004-06:00

Some major progress has been made on our Valentine Crazy Quilt that we are donating to the MCC sale in April. This crazy quilt has 14 small 10 1/2 inch squares surrounding a 20 x 30 inch large big piece. Here are the five finished ones I have and the other squares are still out and about among the 7 of us working on the quilt. Enjoy the eye candy and I'll keep posting finished squares as I get them.

Talk to you later!

My Funny Job!

2009-12-10T15:12:00.003-06:00

My job as a crazy quilt teacher, is sometimes interesting. What is always strange to me is when everyone else is busily working on Christmas stuff, I am working on spring stuff. That is always so that the projects I am going to teach in the spring are ready to go. The other side of that is, in May, I am working on Christmas stuff while everyone else is working on flowers and summer stuff. It's just how it is, but sometimes it is hard to work on Christmas stuff while you are out lounging by the pool!

Anyway, the picture above is stitched on a project I will be teaching in the spring...so enjoy even though it is Christmas!