Kim Hanson

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McCalls Quilting magazine – “Jolly Holiday”, Christmas quilted and embellished pillow.

June 12, 2020 | 2 Comments

Summer Issue – July/August 2020

The best of Friday to you all! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post today.

McCalls Quilting magazine has just published my Christmas pillow, which we called Jolly Holiday, in their most recent issue – Summer, July/August 2020. Now, if you’re at all like me, and appreciate the fact that our Spring has only just finally arrived, the last thing you’re going to want to think about is Christmas! I know, I know! I truly feel exactly the same way.

But, Christmas is still coming. Maybe you’d love to get ready for it in June or July? Maybe you’ve had a hankering to stitch a project now to add to your Christmas decor in December? If so, this fun and easy pillow is just the quilting project for you. You can pull out some traditional red and green Christmas fabrics from your stash, or you can purchase some Christmas fabrics from the collection called All the Trimmings from Maywood Studio, which I used to stitch this quilted and embellished 18″x18″ pillow.

Jolly Holiday; designed and stitched by Kim Hanson

The pattern and photos are featured on Pages 70 – 73 of the issue. In Canada, you can find the magazine at Chapters/Indigo, Co-Op and some quilt shops. It can be ordered online here.

On Jolly Holiday, I worked with the fabulous Lori Baker, acquisitions editor at McCalls, whom I have known for many years. Thanks so much Lori for your valuable assistance and for choosing to publish my design.

I really strive to create fun and easy, colourful projects…projects that other quilters will love making. This one was fun; particularly the piecing of the pillow top and the embellishments I used – giant Riley Blake buttons and a Riley Blake crocheted flower. Why not try this out? You’ll have a great addition to your home come Christmas.

Summer in my backyard?

Please message me or leave me a comment if you have any questions.

Thanks again everyone. Please take care of yourself.

Kim H.

Filed Under: Magazine quilts, Uncategorized | Tagged With: Christmas, Christmas pillow, LoriBaker, McCalls, McCalls Quilting, quilt, Quilted pillow, QuiltPhotography

Missing a Deadline

November 21, 2018 | Leave a Comment

Something crazy happened to me a few weeks back. For the first time ever, I missed a deadline.

Heather McArthur, the editor and publisher of Quilter’s Connection magazine asked me to do a smallish project for the Winter issue of the magazine. She wanted a project featuring some machine embroidery. Naturally, I pounced on the opportunity! I really love working for industry magazines, but especially for Heather.

So, I went about my business as usual. I marked down what I believed to be the deadline on my work calendar and chipped away at my to-do-list. In September, one full month before Heather’s quilt project was due, the quilt was well underway. I was humming a happy tune, just so completely proud of myself…I was on track!

Then, an email popped up in my inbox from Heather. I’m thinking she’s likely just checking in…to see how my quilt is progressing. Instead, I was beyond shocked when she asked me if my project was ready to ship. Wait! What? Ship? I hadn’t even begun to machine quilt yet. Evidently, I was a month behind! A month! I’d been mistaken about the deadline and I got it completely wrong.

As is my habit (I like to blame this one on my Mom!) from childhood, I started the mental bob and weave game. What could I do? What could I tell Heather? What was my excuse? Perhaps I could tell her the quilt was in my car and the car was stolen. Or even better, the dog rolled around on my beautiful quilt top, soiling it irretrievably and I had to start over. Maybe, I could blame my husband and tell her that he inadvertently used my precious quilt to mop up a mess in the garage.

Nope. None of those excuses would do. Sheepishly, I responded to Heather’s email with the simple truth; I had totally messed up the deadline. As is her style, Heather was gracious. She commiserated with me and just asked that, “I ship the quilt as soon as I could.”

Needless to say, the quilt was bumped up my to-do-list to the very top. I stitched and stitched, a little frantically, and finished it in a hurry. Shipping from Calgary to Port Coquitlam, B.C. is very fast, so Heather had the quilt soon after its completion.

I checked online today and Quilter’s Connection winter issue is now available in digital format, and will be on the store shelves very soon. Looks like my quilt is on page 19. Love the snowman on page 8!

Thank you Heather for your patience with me. It was so very much appreciated.

Kim

 

Filed Under: Magazine quilts, Quilt Patterns, Quilters, Quilts, Quilts and Machine Embroidery, Uncategorized |

A Canadian Quilter in Russia

June 27, 2017 | Leave a Comment

Have you ever wondered if there are quilters in Russia? Do they embrace the art of quilting with fabrics in the same way that North Americans do? Gail Heller, a Canadian businesswoman and Certified Instructor for Studio 180 Design happens to know the answer and it’s a resounding “yes”!

Gail recently returned to Calgary from a trip to Russia, teaching quilting skills to women in the quaint and charming medieval-style town of Suzdal, located on the banks of the Kamenka River a four hour drive from Moscow. Suzdal’s warm, friendly and welcoming citizens quickly put Gail and her Canadian travelling companion Sharon Thompson, at ease.

As part of the Suzdal second annual International Quilt Festival, Gail was invited to attend as international quilt instructor. She feels privileged to have given a trunk show and taught three classes to 36 willing and eager Russian students.

Each student, working within a three hour time frame, made four quilt blocks using the Petite Hunter Star tool and Studio 180 method of piecing. At the conclusion of the class, the ladies used the floor as their design wall and “pooled” their individual blocks to make one pleasing integrated pattern. Gail quickly discovered that design skills in quilters is universal. The students were thrilled with their efforts. Apparently “thumbs up” means the same in Russia as it does in Canada!

Gail loved and appreciated the enthusiasm of the quilters. She was struck by their wonderful work ethic, their talents and their willingness to learn and embrace the North American style of quilting. Subtle differences in their quilting habits however make their style unique.

  • Although Russian quilters love the unbeatable quality of North American quilting cottons, these fabrics are not readily available to them. Proving their amazing resourcefulness, Russians will tend to use whatever fabrics they have on hand for their quilting.
  • A patchwork style is very popular in Russia, with quilt tops being “backed” only and not quilted.
  • Long arm finishing is just being introduced to the country.
  • Time is of the essence to these ladies – they want to work hard; efficiently and quickly. Gail distilled her usual five hour quilt class down to a mere three hours to better accommodate the needs of her women students.

In our country, mothers leave their children at home when attending quilt class. Not so for Russian mothers. Gail had several women arrive to class with their daughters in tow. In the case of one mother, she brought along her adorable daughter dressed in Russian costume, who did all Mom’s pressing and ironing as the blocks were pieced together.

Gail, Hunter Star quilt, mom and daughter

There is a greater desire in Russia that children are to be included in sewing instruction…..in fact, there is a wonderful feeling of community and support in passing down sewing and quilting skills from one generation to the next.

Teaching a quilt class in English to a group of Russian-speaking students presented its own set of challenges. But Gail was armed and ready. As part of her pre-class preparation, she learned a few Russian sentences to help her students feel at ease. Я рад быть здесь means, “I am pleased to be here” and Я надеюсь, вам понравится мой класс translates to “I hope you enjoy my class”. Rimma Bybina, Russian quilt festival organizer is fluent in both English and Russian and helped Gail effectively communicate with her keen students. A useful translation app, the pattern book itself and “charades” kept the ladies learning and moving forward.

Language barrier aside, another teaching obstacle for Gail came in the form of measurements. Quilting in Russia is taught using the metric system. Even though Canada is a metric country, quilting here is taught using yards, feet and inches – the imperial system of measurement. Gail had to convert the quilt patterns to metric and assisted her students with their fabric cuts in order to avoid any confusion.

Gail is home, back working at her company in Calgary. She is grateful for her wonderful experiences abroad and would encourage Canadians to visit Russia and the annual International Quilt Festival without trepidation. Her visit has left her with many new Russian Facebook friends….her translation app is working overtime!

Gail and quilt festival organizer Rimma at the Applefest in Suzdal. Applefest ran concurrent with the quilt festival.

Quilts hanging from the balcony at Applefest

 

 

 

 

 

At the Field of Quilts – Marina (Moscow host), Gail, Nina (St Petersburg host) Sharon

Note:

Gail Heller is a transplant to Calgary, Alberta from Port Stanley, Ontario. She runs Erie Quilt Art, a Calgary based distribution company selling quilting products to quilt shops across Canada. She is one of only four fully accredited Studio 180 Design Certified Instructors in Canada. Gail is also the exclusive Canadian distributor for Studio 180 Design (Deb Tucker) patterns and tools.

 

This article previously appeared in Quilter’s Connection magazine.

 

Thank you everyone.

Kim

Filed Under: Magazine quilts, Profile pieces, Quilt Patterns, Quilts |

A Healing Quilting Retreat

April 25, 2017 | 3 Comments

After my article Quilting – Healing Medicine was published in the May, 2017 issue of American Quilter magazine, I received some wonderful comments and feedback from readers.

One lady in particular, Wendy Christian, really touched my heart. As a writer, feedback is so very important – actual proof  that someone has read what you have written! Without it, we are basically lost in the woods. Positive or negative, feedback is the only way we really know if anyone has read our words.

Wendy is a quilter who also struggles with the effects of PTSD. In Wendy’s words, “Quilting is my therapeutic escape. Your article touched me in a sense that it helped me realize there are others that use quilting in the same way I do…..as therapy”. I know its true that many suffer alone in silence; feeling their issues are specific only to them. Learning that others struggle in a similar manner is helpful beyond words.

Wendy is working towards an admirable goal – she dreams of opening a quilting retreat for survivors of abuse. A warm and comforting place where educators and counsellors and quilters can gather to learn and sew and heal. I wish her well on her journey.

Here is a cover shot of one of Wendy’s baby quilts, Happy Flowers, published in 2008.

Thanks so much everyone for reading my words.

Kim

Filed Under: Magazine quilts, Quilters, Quilts, Uncategorized, Writing |

Beautiful, inspiring, idyllic Canmore, Alberta

April 8, 2017 | Leave a Comment

I took a quick trip west to Canmore yesterday, to do some research for an upcoming article I’m writing for Quilter’s World magazine. Even though I live only an hour away, I forget how beautiful it is. Being surrounded by mountains and walking paths and crisp, clean mountain air is truly amazing. What a pretty, bustling town!

While I was there, I paid a visit to The Sugar Pine Company, an outstanding, destination quilt shop located on 7th Avenue. I realized I hadn’t been there since they moved to their current building – so 15+ years ago! A little nutty – since it’s a fantastic shop with everything a quilter could ever desire. Literally….everything! I’m going to plan a trip out there soon with one of my quilting friends (Marilyn W.? Marilyn C? Karen? LA?)

The displays are so pretty and so creative…..the work of owner, Leah. Leah and her husband Dean work together in the shop daily.

While I was in town, I was lucky to take in the Visions Art Quilt Show.

I will be sharing photos of wonderful art quilts with you all, but you will have to wait for my magazine piece! It’s due winter of this year.

Any quilters or artists wanting to be inspired by the spectacular surroundings should take some time and visit Canmore. What’s old is all new again!

Kim

Filed Under: Decorating with Quilts, Magazine quilts, Photography, Quilt Photography, Quilters, Quilts |

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