karen gray design

Happy 2016!

Instead of resolving to be a better blogger this year, I've decided to hang it up... for now anyway.  I am including a bunch of great pictures from the past 3 years of my awesome sewing club ~ Modern Fabric Group Therapy in this final post.  Over the past 3+ years, we've worked out all the problems of the world through our friendships and our love of sewing.  So many wonderful memories ~ enjoy the photos.

2013 Block of the Month quilt ~ Color Therapy.  Everyone did such an amazing job.  Love this quilt!

In 2014, we worked on this cool Log Cabin quilt using a pattern in Quilty magazine.  So much fun!

Last year we worked on a Sampler Quilt ~ such a great project.  I love seeing all the interpretations of this quilt.

So many fabulous Swaps and celebrations with this fun crew!  
Love all the incredible talent these ladies shared with me every month.  Thank you so much for all the inspiration!  Wishing you all the very BEST in 2016!  Love, Karen oxoxo....

Summer...coming to an end.

Summer has been fast and furious!  I am always struck by how time blows by so quickly and I am left feeling like I just made a mental note of my New Year's plan of action.... still in progress.  I do look forward to the Fall months.       I want to share some details from the August Modern Fabric Group Therapy meeting at the Village Fabric Shop - we always have such a great time.  The ladies who show up for group therapy are truly an inspiration and I look forward to learning all their sewing secrets.  It's going to take time.  Every month we feature a member and learn all about their story and what motivates them to share their love for sewing.  Ann Monroe was our August Spotlight and I was completely captivated by Ann's story and loved all the gorgeous quilts she brought to share.   Ann is a treasure.
Every month we have some great Giveaways, which is always fun.  Alice wins a fat quarter bundle of FreeSpirit solids ~ always useful to have on hand.
Tillie wins some Quilter's Dream batting which was contributed by Sheri Collette.  Good Stuff!
Joan shares her completed Village Fabric Shop Sampler, as well as her Tula Pink City Sampler ~ LOVE!  Well done Joan.

Janet uses up her pretty fabric scraps in this lovely string quilt.  Check out the gorgeous quilt back too!

Martha Claire shows off her cool quilt she made with a bunch of fat quarters and a free Art Gallery Fabrics pattern.
Row by Row quilt made by Colleen.  Really fun!
Here is a masterpiece made and quilted by Laura Davies.  Insane!
Up close photo of Laura's mad quilting skills.  Wow!
The next Modern Fabric Group Therapy meeting is Wednesday, October 14th at The Village Fabric Shop, 9:00 - 10:30 am.  Feel free to stop by for a little inspiration.    Hope you all have had a nice Summer.  Let me know what you've been working on ~ I'd love to know.  ox

 

Sew Fun Camp

I still have a few spots open in my Sew Fun Camp next month at Summit School.  I am so excited to hang out with aspiring sewists  and offer my creative direction while we work all week long making patchwork picnic blankets and pillowcases ~ what could be more fun!  We are going to learn a pretty good variety of new skills and explore endless color combinations.   If you know of any 5th - 7th grader (boy or girl) who would like to learn how to make some cool stuff, this is a perfect opportunity.  Summer is right around the corner!  

Stripping and Hooking ~ "It gets old".

The lovely Elizabeth Morgan was our guest speaker at Modern Fabric Group Therapy last week.  Elizabeth is a talented expert in the rug hooking arena and has been teaching and hosting a rug hooking club for years.  This lady knows her stuff.This is Elizabeth showing off her hook she wears around her neck, which is similar to a crochet hook.      I paid a visit to Elizabeth's studio while she was hosting her weekly club and the amount of inspiration and focus that was happening in that room was impressive. I was not surprised to learn from the ladies, who were busy hooking and chatting away, that they find the activity to be relaxing and meditative ~ much like sewing.   A small fraction of Elizabeth's wool stash.  She has every color imaginable and hand dyes a lot of it too.   We were teasing Elizabeth about being "a hooker" and she replied, "I'm a stripper too.  Actually, the stripper and hooker thing gets old".  I'm sure she hears that all the time, like a bad joke.One of many projects Elizabeth is working on.  Sound familiar?   This is a stack of wool that has been naturally hand dyed using onion skins, and here is the project with this wool - a footstool cover.  Gorgeous. Here are a  few more projects I admired at the studio ~
We were all inspired by Elizabeth's enthusiasm and love for the art of rug hooking. I think this adorable ornament would be a perfect entry project 
Here is a small sample of Elizabeth doing her thing ~ she makes it look so easy:

Elizabeth Morgan ~ Rug hooking demonstration from karen gray on Vimeo.

 Funny thing ~ I have had a hard time calling Elizabeth by her name, instead I have been calling her Carol.  After being corrested 2 times, I was determined not to make the mistake again.  That didn't last ~ in fact I have had a hard time writing this post without messing up her name.  I figured out that Elizabeth really reminds me of my Aunt Carol and I must be missing her.  Elizabeth was a good sport about the whole thing.  Thank you for being such an inspiration and sharing your expertise with everyone at the MFGT meeting.  We hope you visit again soon! 

 

May Flowers

We really had the best time at the May addition of Modern Fabric Group Therapy at Village Fabric Shop this week.  Everyone was feeling the spirit of Spring and so many project ideas were blooming.  Cathy Bogan was the Spotlight this month and we all loved learning about her sewing journey.  Cathy brought a bunch of impressive quilts she has made over the year to share with us ~ gorgeous!


Thank you for being so awesome Cathy! We were extremely lucky to have Elizabeth Morgan come and speak with us about her devotion to rug hooking.  Elizabeth generously shared her enthusiasm and expertise with our group and I am certain we have a bunch of ladies ready to add a new "hobby" to their arsenal.  
I had the opportunity to visit Elizabeth's wool studio last week.  She has a rug hooking club that meets weekly.  I was completely overwhelmed with how talented this group of ladies are and will be doing a blog post on Monday devoted to that experience.  Stay tuned. Martha Claire shows a quilt top she made for a Fat Stacks Challenge.  Well done.  I like it! Here is Joan showing off her completed blocks for the MFGT Sampler.  Looking good Joan!  Can hardly wait to see this quilt finished.
This is a quilt back I put together ~ named it "Family of Four".  I like when my scraps come together and make sense.      I will be gathering my photos from the Wool Studio this weekend and posting on Monday.  Have a wonderful weekend.  Don't forget about the Free Demo I will be doing at Village Fabric Shop tomorrow at 11:00 am.  It's going to be fun!  ox

Appliqué Beach Towels

I am doing a FREE Demo this Saturday at Village Fabric Shop in Reynolda Village at 11:00 am.  Learn how easy it is to personalize beach towels with pretty fabrics.  All Fat Quarters will be on Sale for $2.75 (reg. $3.25) + ALL thread is $1.00 while quantities last.  Time to stock up.  Hope to see you Saturday!

Pillowcase Classes in May

 I am very excited to be teaching a few Pillowcase Classes this month at the Village Fabric Shop.  This class is a perfect opportunity to learn how easy it is to make something beautiful and completely functional.  In addition, you will learn:

• the importance of pinning

• how to make a French Seam

• pressing techniques

• pivoting

• how to trim a seam allowance

• how to fold a pillowcase 

Supplies needed to make 2 standard size pillowcases:  1.5 yards quilting cotton for pillowcase body, 1/2 yard for cuff, 1/8 yard for accent trim.

Call Amy at 336-779-6155 if you would like to get together and make a set of pretty pillowcases. Consider taking this class with a friend.  

Class Fee: $30

Hope to see you soon.

Pillowcases are the perfect beginner project!

Fabric Roses!

MFGT ~ April 2015

Be Inspired!

I am very excited about sharing my love for sewing this Summer at Summit School.  

I will be leading 2 camps with the assistance of my lovely niece Ashley, who has been interested in sewing for years.  I am not only looking forward to hanging out with the creatives - that being rising 5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th graders, but also the collaboration with Ashley will positively be time well spent.    
Sewing has truly had an imprint on my life and I feel like it is such a productive activity for young people to engage in - skills that will benefit them throughout life. Check out all the super cool camps Summit Summer is offering to activate inspiration.  Here are a few details for the 2 camps I am offering:              

Sew Fun Camp •  June 22-26, 9 - 2pm • Rising 5th, 6th & 7th Graders
This camp will launch students into the colorful and creative world of sewing. We will cover sewing machine and hand sewing basics, fabric and color consideration, cutting and ironing safety techniques, and develop project design ideas. Students will complete a pillowcase and a patchwork picnic blanket. Family and friends are invited to Show & Tell Event on Friday, June 26 at 1 pm. Open to boys and girls.
Your student will leave camp with the confidence, skills, and inspiration to take his or her sewing super powers to the next level.

Sew Fun School Essentials • Aug 3 - 7, 9 - 2pm • Rising 5th, 6th,7th & 8th Graders  This camp will launch students into the colorful and creative world of sewing. We will cover sewing machine and hand sewing basics, fabric and color consideration, cutting and ironing safety techniques, and develop project design ideas. Students will create a patchwork memo board, an awesome fabric folder, and a pencil pouch. Family and friends are invited to Show & Tell Event on Friday, August 7 at 1:00. Open to boys and girls. Your student will leave camp with confidence, skills, and new sewing friends. 

I will be doing a lot of prepartion over the next few weeks and will do my best to post my progress, as well as the camp project samples.  I can hardly wait to see what the kids make.  I really should warn them that sewing is highly addictive.    

Have a nice weekend. ox