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Karen: I kept thinking about all of the colors of the southern Appalachians and tried to put them in this quilt - sometimes the forests are so dark and close together, and then, there will be a little patch of light on the forest floor.
Aug 03: Was checking USPS website. Learned this quilt was delivered yesterday in the midst of pouring rain all week. The box was drenched but the quilt is fine.
Aug 30: Karen selected Easy Swirl with Bottom Line Silver thread. Aug 31: Doing overlays. Sep 24: Prepped. Loading. Sep 25: Quilting. Finished first section before I realized I was not quilting what Karen asked for. An awesome good sport, she is happy with it as is. Sep 26: Quilted. Karen: I made this quilt for my husband. He is a herpetologist (from Greek "herpein" meaning "to creep"); herpetologists study and teach about reptiles and amphibians. At the moment, my husband studies salamanders in the southern Appalachians and a critically endangered frog in Mississippi called the Mississippi gopher frog. We’ve been married more than 20 years, and during that time, I have spent a lot of time helping him study salamanders and frogs. The fabric in this quilt is frog fabric I’ve collected over the last few years. I’ve also included dragonfly fabric because dragonflies use the same habitats that many species of frogs use. I also like dragonflies – a lot. The quilt itself represents the ephemeral ponds and wetlands where many species of frogs live. These are wet areas at the interface of water and land. I chose the “wedding vine” quilting pattern because, like any marriage, ours has had its ups and downs. Also, when you’re out catching frogs, you’re often creeping through vines and underbrush.
Jun 23: First contact.
Jun 25: Selected Wedding Vine pattern. Wants Magnifico thread. Jun 27: Quilt arrived. Jul 07: Measured & photographed. Slight problem to work out. Jul 24: Done. Prepping. Jul 25: Backing is prepped ready to load. Jul 28: Top is prepped. Took care of a slight issue. Jul 30: Programmied. Couldn't do overlay. Aug 01: I use PIXLR to do the overlays. For two days I have not been able to get it to work. This morning, it is back. Great online tool! So now Karen & I both know we have the density she wants. Decided on Magnifico #2138 Lakota Blue thread. Aug 02: I am glad Karen is no hurry. Got the back loaded. The batting is cut & loaded ready to baste after I wind a slew of bobbins. My vacuum was not working so well so I took it apart and cleaned it including washing parts that required 24 hours to dry. Darn...should have cleaned up the area around the work table and longarm so I could proceed. Aug 03: Wound most of the bobbins I will need. Everything is loaded ready to quilt. Aug 04-06: Quilting. Finished. Aug 07: Decided to order boxes for the super sized quilts that have dominated my work lately. Karen doesn't mind waiting so it is time.
Jan 03: First contact on this quilt.
Jan 11: Quilt is here. Quilting Leafy Swirls medium dense using Magnifico #2003 Snowflake (off-white) & Warm & Plush batting. Jan 13: Prepped ready to load. Jan 16: First task today--wind 10-12 bobbins. Loaded ready to quilt. Jan 17: Quilting. Couldn't quite finish. Since I'm snowed in, I can't ship tomorrow anyway. Jan 18: Quilted. A fun quilt to photograph ... can you tell? Posted in the Gallery. Will ship when I can get out of here &/or the carrier can get up here, if not Saturday then Monday. Sorry Karen. 
Karen: During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, we lived in New Orleans. Our house was flooded with about 8 feet of water. After we returned to New Orleans in January 2006, we rented a house on Dante Street near the river bend in the Mississippi. The house had no power for 6 weeks, and it was cold that January. I needed something to do at night in the dark to keep warm, so that is when I thought about making my first quilt. I was able to cut the fabric for this quilt using the light from a flashlight. On the weekends, I took the pieces into my husband’s office where he had an old sewing machine, and I sewed the pieces together. We eventually lost our jobs in New Orleans and moved to western NC, and I forgot about this quilt. Last summer I found it again when I was finishing up my 2nd and 3rd quilts. The seams are uneven and twisted, the points do not meet in many places, and there are waves and tucks galore, but I love the pattern and the fabric and the memories in this Katrina quilt. After talking with Linda, I decided that I would try to finish this quilt. I finished it a week or so ago, and Linda has agreed to quilt it. Bless her!
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