Gloria gave me an order on the spot for a batch of the books and told me of her plans to make a sample to hang in her booth. Since that time she has become a wonderful friend and a mentor to me, sharing her knowledge of area quilt shows and giving me great tips. Every time I would talk to her or see her at a show she would tell me that the baskets were coming along. Last spring I saw the blocks, completed but not set together yet. They were just gorgeous… soft and rich looking.

Well, at the recent River City Quilt Guild show in Sacramento, I checked in with her during setup and there was the quilt, finished and up on the wall.

Victorian Baskets by Gloria Foley

Wow!!! Look at that red setting. Talk about punch! It looks so different from mine, I love it! Gloria used needleturn appliqué and, instead of a dogtooth border, she used prairie points in the border.

Sixteen Baskets by Kay Mackenzie

At the Sacramento show, people had fun walking back and forth between our booths to look at the two versions.

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

“Here is the picture of the baskets that I promised to send you. I sure enjoy your books. Betty”

BOM Basket Quilt by Betty Kisbey

These are the designs from Baskets to Appliqué. Oh, is this quilt exquisite… the soft browns, beiges, and reds create a soothing effect to me. Betty has put her own creative touches on some of the blocks. I love it when quilters do this; it makes things happen that I could never see in my own mind’s eye. In the second row, she broderie-persed some beautiful roses in the first basket, where I had lollipops, and added some roses to the ivy basket too. Wonderful.

I asked Betty what methods she used, and it sounds like she pulled out all of her appliqué bag of tricks!

“I used hand appliqué,” she reports, “a combination of needle turn, back basting, freezer paper, starch methods, etc. We did the BOM with it and this is the result.”

Thank you, Betty and Karol of The Quilter’s Stash! Betty reports, “Next I will use your new book, Easy Appliqué Blocks.”

Fantastic!

Until next time,
Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs

I sent her a copy of my book Baskets to Appliqué, which features 16 charming basket designs to appliqué using the method of your choice.

In my next post, I’m going to show you a fabulous Baskets to Appliqué quilt that was made by a shop for their BOM!

Until next time,
Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs

Doesn’t the black set off the beautiful batik colors?

Until next time,
Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs

This change-up shows the lemons from one design sitting in a basket from another. Also, piecing the background puts the basket on a table!

Fabric choice also creates the look and feel you like. I made two samples of the lollipop basket using 30’s repro fabrics. The yellow one wound up in the book. Here’s the green one.

The photos that appear in my books are available for viewing on the Quilt Puppy website, on the “See the quilts” link.

Speaking of baskets, the National Quilting Association is holding a special Basket Quilt exhibit as part of their annual show in Columbus, Ohio, in June. I’m happy to say that my sampler quilt Sixteen Baskets has been accepted into the exhibit! More information at the NQA website.