Sunset at Sea

I slotted in on my calendar some time at home this month to catch up on some things. Now, keep in mind, this slotting began about 3 years ago so at the time, I had no idea what I would be catching up on, but knew I needed some time at home to catch up.

Well catch up I have…I have had some ideas for some new workshops so I was able to design the Sunset At Sea Workshop and prepare the supply list and handout for this class designed around the foundations in Simply Sensational 9-Patch Stars.

Not Your Grandmother's Feathered Star

Now I do love that book and have wanted to develop a workshop based upon the feathered star type points, but take a new look at the color and design options. The result is the “Not Your Grandmother’s Feathered Star” Workshop.

Scrap Quilts With Attitude

Another book that has lots of creative options is the 300 Paper-Pieced Quilt Blocks Book. I have wanted to play around with the options using a really simple foundation pieced block and scraps for fabric choices. The result is the Scrap Quilts with Attitude workshop. This simple block can be placed in many different ways to produce completely different quilt designs.

Three in a Row - Bingo!

With the holidays just around the corner, sometimes you just want to make a quickie and the various block designs in this book gives you the opportunity to make little quilts feature three blocks in a row horizontally or vertically. Another workshop was birthed!

Sunrise made on The Quilt Show

Another thing that has been on my “to do” list is to finish the quilt that I started as the demo when I did the taping in March for The Quilt Show. My show will air in February and now I have this item checked off!

Stripe from Floral Affair fabric by Northcott fabrics.

Now, with Quilt Market just behind us, my new fabric line, Floral Affair, by Northcott Fabrics was presented. The fabric will not ship until January, but you can get a sneak peak at this fabric collection at this link:

http://www.northcott.net/?sid=2&layout=2col&content=fabric_details&colid=348&colorid=579

Royal Windsor Fabric Collection

Knowing, more fabric is coming my way, I decided to upload for sale in my web store, some fabrics from my previous collections. The first collection I am selling is the Royal Windsor Collection. I will sell this fabric and once it is gone, I will put up another collection.

Asian Vest

Not having any new workshops to develop, having finished my only UFO, I thought I would whip up a new vest to wear when I begin traveling later this week. I found the fabric on the right side of the vest and just fell in love with it. It was perfect for a conservative style vest yet offered the opportunity to include a variety of colors on the patchwork side. I played off the horizontal and vertical lines on the right side to create the patchwork on the left side.

Tweed Vest

Now, I have had this “tweed” fabric on the right side since March. I purchased it in Texas while I was there teaching. It is a really soft cotton fabric that looks like tweed fabric. It is Robert Kaufman’s Quilter’s Tweed. When I purchased it, I knew I wanted to make a vest for the winter. Well, it snow big white snowflakes here yesterday, so I got the fabric out and made my new vest.

When I look back at all that I have accomplished in the past three weeks, even I am amazed. I won’t even go into the replacement of my computer and dealing with the transition and compatibility issues and the fact that my laptop crashed. That meant reinstalling all the programs and operating system upgrades and then putting back all the documents…oh my…computers can be a trial. But, I am almost at the end of my time at home and I am so looking forward to next weekend when I will travel to lecture and teach…I need a rest.

All the best,

Carol

Royal Caribbean Voyager Ship

I am sooooo excited to announce my next cruise which will be March 6-13, 2011 to Honduras/Beliz/Cozumel on the Royal Caribbean Voyager Ship leaving out of Galveston, TX. I will not be traveling to teach during the 2011 year, but this offer was just too wonderful to pass up.

Although I announced this trip in my latest newsletter and to my Carol Doak Yahoo Group, I thought it would be fun to discuss what it is like to go on a quilting cruise. I am often asked about what it is like to go on a quilting cruise when I travel to teach.  I have done several and although the exact format depends upon the group organizing the cruise there are common aspects.

The entire ship is not full of quilting cruisers. The number of quilters in the group range from approximately 50 to 250. Sometimes, it is the quilter and a friend, or a husband or a family member. The classes are typically held only on the days at sea, so the days in port and the evenings are always available to be spent with your traveling companion. Quilters also come on the trip without companions and the organizers can often match you up with another single traveler to share a room.

What makes the quilting cruises fun is that you will be part of a group. Typically there is some sort of a meet and greet event and depending up the ship and group the dinner meal has the group all eating in one area of the dining area. So although you may go your separate ways on the days in port, you will meet up again at dinner time. This can be pretty flexible. The dinner clothing often scares people away from cruising. This has really relaxed quite a bit over the years. Most nights it is “smart casual” which just means show up in something respectable such as slacks and a blouse. On the formal nights (typically 2 nights), that means a cocktail dress or something a little dressier than smart casual. If you wore a black skirt and shell, that would be fine. As I wrote before, it has really relaxed in recent years.

As for the classes, there are conference style rooms on the larger ships and this is typically where classes are held. On some cruises, handwork classes with fewer students might be held in a stateroom.

Some of the cruises do supply sewing machines (typically supplied by a shop) for the cruise. This cruise will supply sewing machines. This eliminates you having to bring a machine. This has been the case on all the cruises that I have taught on. Some have kits available for purchase. This cruise will have a kit available for the classes.

On your down time on ship you can take advantage of all the ship has to offer such as the evening entertainment, the spa, the pool, the library, the casino, the shops, and the list goes on and on.

I had actually never been on a cruise prior to teaching on my first Caribbean Cruise and I discovered I loved it! First, the ships are large and you really don’t feel like you are on a ship. Except, having your morning cup of coffee on the a chair sitting out on the deck looking at the beautiful blue water and the sun rising is so relaxing. The food is fabulous…trust me…the food is fabulous…And you become part of a wonderful group of quilters that gets to play together for a full week! How much you connect with the others in the group is purely up to you. I found that I loved getting to know the others on the cruise and sometimes we made plans to go together on shore excursions.

The route

Deciding where the ship is going and when is also a factor. I live in NH so going on a March cruise where the weather will be warm is a real plus for me. Also, as soon as I heard this cruise was going to Belize, I was in! I have wanted to travel there for several years. Leaving out of Galveston makes it an easy port to get to and that is another plus.

If you want to read more about the details of this particular cruise, just click on this link and tell them Carol sent you…we will leave the light on.

http://www.stitchinheaven.com/stitchin_heaven_pages/cruise_mar2011.asp

If you have a specific question that I have not answered, please feel free to email me at qcarol@comcast.net or post a comment here.

Hope to meet some of you on the high seas!

Carol

Quilts at Homestead Quilts

OK, so I admit that my Oregon Trail might be slightly different, but when I had the pleasure of traveling to Oregon to teach and lecture for three guilds, it was fun to stop at several quilt shops along the way. After the workshop in Sunriver, Oregon, we stopped at  Homestead Quilts in LaPine, OR. It  is a charming shop.

Just popped in to say "hi"!

Cathy Buono, the owner, was very gracious and we caused just a bit of a stir when we popped in to say hi. Several customers and staff were there just having fun, so we posed for a photo op!

Honestly...I tried to be serious....

We laughed and we giggled and I really tried to be serious before this picture was taken…not.

Sew Many Quilts, Bend, OR

After the workshop in Bend, we were off to Sew Many Quilts. One is never too tired to stop at another shop. As soon as you walk in the shop, the high dramatic ceilings grab your attention.

Charming areas at Sew Many Quilts

It is a large shop filled with little nooks and crannies of areas set up with quilts and fabrics. What more could a girl want?

Tater Patch in Merrill, OR

Having completed my events in Sunriver and Bend, we were off to meet up with the next group at a half-way point…which just happened to be the most charming shop in Merrill, OR. This is definitely a friendly down home quilt shop that is worth the effort to get there.

Tater Patch Quilts

When you walk into a new quilt shop, you want to feel welcome and I certainly felt very welcome in each of these shops. If you are in the area, they all are worth the effort to stop by….tell, them Carol sent you…lol

Gerri putting on the triangles...

I was here to teach and lecture so I guess I should include some of those fun pictures. Here Gerri is putting on the triangles on her France block from the Mariner’s Compass Stars book.

Contemplating a border

Having completed her center, this student is contemplating that to die for border fabric!

Cover Quilt

I always enjoy seeing how others complete my patterns. Here is the cover quilt from my book, Easy Machine Paper Piecing, beautifully done in several colors.

I returned home with very fond memories of my trip along my Oregon Trail.

All the best,

Carol

Before you think I have lost my mind and will be tripping across the dance floor, let me assure you that I will not! However I am excited to spread the news that the brand new Dancing with the Stars Block of the Month that features 15 new paper-pieced star blocks that I designed is now available at the Stitchin`Heaven Quilt site.

Deb Luttrell, owner of the shop, described this new block of the month this way…

Dancing with the Stars spotlights 15 paper-pieced, 12″ star blocks designed by Carol Doak exclusively for Stitchin’ Heaven! You’ll be amazed as you step onto the dance floor, and take a spin with this striking, stellar-inspired quilt. Each block is named for a gorgeous ballroom dance like, the Viennese Waltz, the Foxtrot, and even the Cha Cha, and proudly shows off the brilliance of Hoffman’s batik fabrics. The setting, designed by Deb Luttrell, features a chain block, and two borders, framing this stunning quilt with simple elegance. Like stars on a dance floor, these beautiful, batik blocks will have you mesmerized, as they sparkle and shine with each step of the dance.

During this 14-month program, you will receive the patterns and fabrics needed to make the quilt top including borders and binding. The finished quilt measures 80″ x 92″.

If you would like to jump in and enjoy the dance, just stop by and sign up:

http://www.stitchinheaven.com/stitchin_heaven_pages/block_of_the_month_programs.asp

All the best,

Carol

I'm easily impressed!

OK, so I just returned from a lovely trip to the hill country of Texas and ran across this bull….Thought the title of this blog would grab you.

Downtown Fredricksburg

My first stop on this trip was to a lovely town called Fredericksburg. It is about 1 1/2 hours west of Austin and everything about this town is charming. The Main Street is lovely with lots of beautiful old buildings and interesting shops.

A happy student

My first class was the Perfect Points class from 300 Paper-Pieced Quilt Blocks. Here we have one happy student.

Time to rip!

This student is smiling even if she is doing the frog stitch!

Look at those perfect points!

Gotta love those perfect points!

She is hooked!

Ok, one block done and cutting to makes lots more! I would say she is hooked!

San Antonio Shoes!

I love my San Antonio shoes! Sharon Ashby of the Hill Country Quilt Guild brought me to San Antonio so we could visit the factory store…gotta love a gal who knows how to shop!

Quilt on the wall at SAS

We even found a quilt on the wall inside the store. If they  like quilts, they are good in my book.

Creations Quilt Shop in Kerrville

After one of the workshops, we were off to have the much talked about quilt shop, Creations. Oh wow and wow is all I can say. It is a fabulous shop with lots of rooms each having their own theme…this is a definite stop by if you are within a 100 miles! If you are not close by, you can always visit their web site: www.creations-online.com

Until next time….

Carol

International Quilt Festival - Long Beach, CA

I just returned from a lovely week teaching at the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach, CA.  This was my first trip to this Festival and I was very pleased with every aspect.

The Convention facility was spacious and the weather was gorgeous every day. I could not have asked for better classroom space.

The students were happy and successful!

Even had the opportunity to meet some members of the Carol Doak Yahoo Group.

I knew Flo was a member because she was wearing her Carol Doak Yahoo Group Name badge….Is that embroidery cute or what?

I often see students wearing clothing that matches their fabric, but this was a first! Judy Wallace had nails that matched her fabric!

The Convention center and hotel were right in the middle of a wonderful area of Long Beach offering great restaurants etc.  Where else could you see purple trees?

Perhaps the aliens I saw walking around the convention floor had something to do with it.

They really seemed to go all out for the quilters. Even this carpet was an inspiration every day.

The vendors were super, the quilts lovely and the classes fun. What more could a girl ask for?

All the best,

Carol

Happiness Is Quilting in McKinney, TX

I just returned from a teaching trip to Texas. My first stop was in McKinney, Texas at a delightful shop called, Happiness Is Quilting. First off, McKinney is a charming little town with charming little shops and restaurants.

When you step in the door of the shop, the tin ceiling brings you back to another era. The high walls are the perfect place to display lots of quilts.

Plan to spend some time here poking about as the shop has cute items at every turn.

Laura Kay, owner of the shop, treated herself to the first day of workshops. Laura was having a good time….but then Laura always seems to be smiling.

I taught the Perfect Points class on Sunday and everyone enjoyed seeing their Perfect Points appear just like magic!

On Monday I taught the Sunrise Quilt. This student is admiring her sections before assembling them. Great colors!

Then I was off to Bryan/College Station, Texas to present a lecture for the Blue Bonnett Quilt Guild. We had a record crowd show up that night.

I also taught the Sunrise workshop here. Now, I started to notice a familiar trend….the students seem to be wearing the same colors they brought for their blocks…red…

Teal anyone?

Some even matched their hair…

A happy student who likes green. A great time was had by all and lots of super quilts were nearly completed.

Until next, time

Carol

Mary's 5000 Member Block

When I teach classes, I often cover the topic of choosing fabrics for a project. Most quilters are timid and unsure in this area of patchwork. Recently I uploaded a new block design for the Carol Doak Yahoo Group. It was in honor of our group reaching 5,000 members. Lots of members have been making the block and uploading pictures. Mary used a white background with red and blue to produce a very patriotic block.

Linda's colorful block made into a small wall quilt.

Linda chose a black background and a variety of bright colors. She also found the perfect multi-color setting fabric. This wall quilt has a contemporary feel.

Kathi in Georgia gets our attention

Blue and orange create a very strong contrast and this one has great attention getting appeal.

Bonitahounds

This block has a graphic appeal and a variety of fabrics and colors to keep our interest.

Cathy in Maryland

Cathy in Maryland chose her colors from the border fabric she used to frame her four blocks. Wonder if Cathy would have chosen the colors without the border fabric? Perhaps yes but perhaps it was the comfort of seeing them work together in the border that inspired her.

Patti's block

When I first saw this block, I noticed that great print fabric used in the rays. It almost gives a lacy appearance to the block.

Carol, Cathy's Mom

Now Carol may be related to Cathy, but she definitely marches to a different drummer. The simplicity of the shades of black and red are wonderfully graphic.

Barb's block

Doesn’t Barb’s block just make you think of early spring with the purple and yellow flowers decorating the earth?

Anita D.'s block was turned into a Trivet

Anita’s colors against the solid black are very graphic. My question is the chicken and the egg…did Anita have the border fabric and choose her colors from it, or did she choose her colors and found the perfect border fabric?

Merilyn from Australia

Most of the fabrics in this block read solid against the white background. Using that very dark maroon for those spikes really make them stand out and give this block a delicate look.

Chris in Oregon

Chris has a graphic block too, but she chose more pastel colors to give it a soft look as well.

Lida in MA

Lida’s block just celebrates color!

Barbara in TX

Many quilters do love the combination of blue and yellow. Barbara did it well with plenty of contrast and interest in the textures of her fabrics.

Pat F

Pat used blue and yellow also, but went for a neutral white background and added an accent of green in the four corners.

Carole D

The batik style fabric that Carole used in her block gives it a tropical personality.

Janice in TN

The floral print Janice used was a great jumping off place to combine the colors she used. I really like the darker red triangles in between because they add a bit of spice to this block.

Suzanne's block

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Suzanne’s Christmas fabrics definitely define the purpose for this graphic block.

Patty C wanted to play

Patty C wanted to play with the possibility of using this block to create a medallion style quilt. She limited her color selection, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be expanded to include more colors later.

As I looked through the blocks that were posted and noted the different approaches members took to make their blocks, it brought home that choosing the perfect colors is simply a matter of choosing the colors that achieve your goal.

All the best,

Carol

Leslie's Mystery Quilt

Recently I began uploading the steps for a new Mystery Quilt to the Carol Doak Yahoo Group. The last time I did a Mystery quilt for the group, it was very successful so I thought it was time to do another.

Julie's Mystery Quilt

First the fabric criteria (light, medium, dark, warm and cool colors) were given along with yardage and cutting lists. It always amazes me how quilters love to participate in a Mystery, not having a clue where it will take them.

Lee's Mystery

Perhaps as a designer, I need that control…lol. As members uploaded their fabric selections, I began uploading the first step. This quilt used only three 4″ blocks, but different color placement and settings for the blocks offered variety.

Mary H's Mystery Quilt

Some members followed the graphic color’s that I used in the illustrations and others went down a completely different color road. Perhaps those are the adventurous quilters.

Linda's Mystery

In the end, one member, Mona, did figure out the Mystery solution. However, I think I kept most of them guessing. I discovered I loved designing Mysteries and creating something interesting from very simple foundations.

Mona's Mystery

Anita, decided to use the foundations in a smaller size and create a Miniature Mystery Quilt.

Anita's Miniature Mystery

The photos of the completed Mysteries are still coming in. Each time one is uploaded, I enjoy seeing a new fabric combination and seeing how it impacts on the overall design.

Enjoy the show…

Mary's Mystery

Karen's Mystery

Joan's Mystery

Carole D's Mystery

Nancy's Mystery Quilt

The completed tops are still coming in and still creating the mystery of how the same design can yield so many different looking amazing quilts.

All the best,

Carol

Debi Moffett, owner of Somewhere Sewing

I just returned from a delightful trip to Johnson City, TN,  where I taught classes for Somewhere Sewing. The cracker jack owner, Debi Moffett, arranged for two classes. The room where the classes were taught was decorated by one of Debi’s customers, Lucy, who is no stranger to my designs. This stunning quilt, featuring the block designs from 50 Fabulous Paper-Pieced Stars, set the stage for a super couple of days.

Minis.....

Lucy also brought several of her miniaturized versions from 50 Fabulous Paper-Pieced Stars as well as some miniatures from Easy Paper-Pieced Miniatures (out of print).

and even more minis and Just Ducky

It was fun to be surrounded by all these lovely little quilts. The Just Ducky Quilt is from Easy Paper-Pieced Baby Quilts (out of print).

Free Miniature Pattern

Susan proudly displays her version of the free miniature quilt pattern available here on my web site. I planned to wear that matching shirt….LOL

Perfect Points

The first day, I taught the Perfect Points class. I do love teaching this class because everyone achieves those amazing Perfect Points easily!

Janice admires her Sunrise Block and setting triangle

When I travel to teach, sometimes I am fortunate to have a student in the class that I have “met” online in my Carol Doak Yahoo Group. That was the case with Janice. Since Janice lives in Knoxville, she signed up and came to the class. Now when Janice and I correspond on the group, I will know her in person.

All smiles

You know, I just never tire of teaching classes because this is what it is all about for me. That big smile on the face of a student who has enjoyed the day, enjoyed the process and enjoys the results.

Fun and Friends

Now these three told me they were the “trouble makers”, however they were no trouble for me. Instead, they were delightful students and fun to be with.

Star, The Rockin Colt

Now, this was a first for me. Paulette Jensen came to the class with pictures of a colt she had made for the “Colts on Parade” in Lake Geneva, WI. This was a fund raising event for Challenged Children on Horses.

Hind quarter stars

Paulette decorated “Star” with actual star blocks from my book. She used an acrylic gel medium to adhere the fabric blocks and then several coats of polyurethane to complete the project. Her efforts were rewarded with a top 7 Award Prize.

It was a fun trip all the way. If you are ever in the Johnson City, TN vicinity, a detour to Somewhere Sewing, is worth the trip! Tell Debi, I said “Hi, ya’all”