Tag: Beach Quilts

Pinky, the Baby Octopus

August 19, 2022 /
Home » Beach Quilts

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Table of contents

Miniature quilts are fun to make!

This miniature quilt gives you a burst of happy for a baby’s room or even coastal decor!

Pinky Mini Miniature Quilt Pattern

Firstly, her name is Pinky Mini. She’s the same baby octopus as the original Pinky (see below). However, this Pinky is a 12-inch square quilt.

Secondly, like the original, Pinky Mini is made using BOTH beautiful sides of fabric!

Miniature baby octopus quilt
Pinky Mini, the baby octopus miniature quilt pattern.
Image of large quilt and miniature quilt
The PINKY quilt pattern is available as a 36 inch wall hanging.

Watch PINKY on YouTube!

Fishbone Dance Fabric

Furthermore, both quilts shown above are made using a fabric I designed called Fishbone Dance. This fabric features little curved fishbones swimming around sand dollars with tossed starfish. See Fishbone Dance here on a bubblegum pink background. However, there are several colorways available, including dark blue, lime, and aqua (see products below). These designs are printed on the exquisite Spoonflower fabric called Organic Cotton Sateen. Learn more about Spoonflower.

Image of Fishbone Dance fabric
Fishbone Dance

In addition, you can find matching merchandise and home decor with all my fabric designs, including this one! Be sure to check out my shops at RedBubble, Zazzle and Society 6, too!

Fishbone Dance notebook
Fishbone Dance Notebook on RedBubble
Fishbone Dance sheet set on Spoonflower
Pillow by Spoonflower of Fishbone Dance Lime
Fishbone Dance fabric on Spoonflower
Fishbone Dance aqua fabric on Spoonflower

Seasonal Decorating with Miniature Quilts

These pint-size designs are great for seasonal decorating, too, because they fit perfectly on a 12-inch table-top quilt stand.

See the additional miniature quilts made with patterns using both beautiful sides of fabric:

Felicity tea pot miniature quilt
Felicity, the tea pot miniature quilt is shown here made with both beautiful sides of Pioneer Woman’s “Breezy Blossoms” fabric.

Felicity features a tea pot and lid (made with the reverse) with a bouquet (made using the right side). You’ll also make the binding with the focus fabric! This makes choosing fabrics fun and easy! This is a simple broderie perse technique.

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Jacq O’ Lantern quilt pattern.

Finally, quilting friends say that sometimes they like to make miniature quilts because of space, cost, and the fact that they’ve made more large quilts than they know with what to do!

See more fun ways to use both sides with Seven Ways to Use Both Sides of Fabric!

Image of one block quilt pattern at beach
Treasures

Coastal Christmas Decor

December 22, 2020 /

You can enjoy the beach throughout the holidays by adding beautiful coastal decorations to your Christmas theme!

Yeah, we live smack dab in the middle of the country. So why do I want to have Coastal Christmas decorations? There’s just something about summer, sunshine, warmth, water and the beach that makes me happy.

The colors, smells, and sparkle of the ocean are part of it. In fact five or six years ago, when turquoise was first introduced as a Christmas color made me realize I never really like traditional green and red. Many people love the traditional hues. They just never really worked for me.

We lived in Pensacola twice (see Quilts at the Beach). Add in that my husband flew F/A-18 fighter jets, so our love for the Blue Angels is part of the beach experience for us. Therefore, over the years of vacationing near our previous home, we’ve collected Pensacola specific coastal decor over the years. Our family room has slowly evolved into a coastal retreat.

Now, this Christmas, it has become a full-blown Coastal Christmas decorations feast for the eyes!

Image of Coastal Christmas Decorations

Can you see the stingrays circling the tree? Sparkling sea shells, jellyfish, turtles, fishes, and pearls decorate this country tree.

Image of coastal christmas ornaments
Image of quilt
Image of Mermaid stocking holder

See how Treasures fits right in? The fabrics features seahorses, shells, and coral. This quilt kit uses both beautiful sides of three fabrics on a soft white background. It’s easy, too. There’s only one block: Contrary Wife. This quilt adds it’s own sparkle to our room and I just love it.

Image of Treasures
Coastal Christmas Decorations

While the rest of the house has a more traditional feel, I just love entering the family room and feeling like we are back home again, in Pensacola.

See Treasures on YouTube! SUBSCRIBE!

Enjoy YOUR quilting journey!

Image of Lord Stanley

A Great Blue Quilt

September 14, 2020 /

Introducing…Lord Stanley.

This guy is hot off the quilt pattern presses. But why call this a great blue quilt?

(And what’s with that name, you might ask?)

Of course, Lord Stanley is a Great Blue Heron. I met this guy on the beach over a year ago. He was hanging around the fishermen and didn’t mind a bit that I got close to him. That’s when I started sketching a heron quilt.

Image of a great blue heron

To understand this “blue” thing, you gotta know a bit about my family. We used to live in Pensacola (twice). My husband, a former Marine fighter pilot of F/A-18 Hornets, introduced me to air shows and the Blue Angels thirty years ago. The “Blues” do a beach air show every year on Pensacola Beach- the best air show EVER. So the beach and the Blues are a thing for us.

Do you get the feeling this could be like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon? See It’s a Bear Out There.

Enter Lord Stanley. Last year while I was creating this beach bird quilt using BOTH beautiful sides of one feather focus fabric, the St. Louis Blues hockey team were in the playoffs for the coveted prize…the Stanley Cup.

Image of a great blue heron quilt
Lord Stanley Quilt Pattern

When the Saint Louis Blues WON and I needed a name for this guy, well…”Lord Stanley” stuck!

The traditional prized cup now known as the Stanley Cup was purchased in 1893 by Canada’s governor-general Lord Stanley of Preston.

Now anytime my family sees a Great Blue Heron, they tell me they’ve seen Lord Stanley!

Use both sides of one focus fabric for Lord Stanley (bird body), his throat details (reverse), the borders (reverse), and the binding! Make an easy, scrappy background beach scene for this guy and he’ll be right at home, wherever he’s hanging.

Image of a great blue heron quilt at poolside
Image of a great blue quilt

SHOP more than 50 quilt pattern designs that use both beautiful sides of fabric!

Image of Fiona
Fiona Quilt Pattern

Creative Bee Studios is now on YouTube! SUBSCRIBE today!

Image of Tropical Sunset

Tropical Sunset Quilt Pattern

September 7, 2020 /

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Table of contents

Use both beautiful sides of your fabric to make a super fast quilt that will keep you feelin’ warm all year long!

Use both beautiful sides of Hoffman California Fabrics to make Tropical Sunset!

See Tropical Sunset featured on YouTube.

Image of Use Both Beautiful Sides of Fabric
Tropical Sunset Quilt Pattern by Karla Kiefner of Creative Bee Studios for Hoffman California Fabrics

What is Tropical Sunset?

Firstly, this quilt features a window scene. Fused strips are used to make window panes. Easy, right? On the sill is a tropical bouquet of flowers in a woven vase. Beyond the window frame is a dark trim (stop border). Beyond that is the “wallpaper” and, finally, the binding.

Tropical Sunset was designed for Hoffman California Fabrics using “Meet Me in Paradise”.

image of quilt made with both beautiful sides

Therefore, you begin with your window scene, add the panes, one strip for the window sill, and three borders. Your window is ready for you to arrange your own bouquet!

How do you use both beautiful sides of fabric?

Basically, the RIGHT side of a tropical floral focus fabric is used to make the bouquet. The technique is a simple Broderie Perse. Notice the lighter woven vase? It’s made from the REVERSE of the same fabric. You’ll use the full-size template to make the vase shape.

The Tropical Paradise quilt pattern includes instructions for making your own background panel. Furthermore, as in every pattern, I’ll teach you how to audition BOTH sides of fabrics.

Moreover, consider the possibilities for your own window view! You might like a country meadow out the window with a vase of sunflowers on the sill. You can customize your quilt by the fabrics your choose!

Discover the nuances of value as you learn to use BOTH beautiful sides of fabric!

Below is PHOEBEE, made using Hoffman California Fabrics “Electric Garden”.

Image of use both beautiful sides for Phoebee
Phoebee Goes to Market!

Another quilt designed for Hoffman using Floral Rhapsody!

You only need to use both beautiful sides of only THREE fabrics for VariLovable Star – shown below using Hoffman California Fabrics Floral Rhapsody.

VariLovable Star is made using one block and three fabrics. Therefore, you’ll start with a small Variable Star block and use the reverse of the fabric for the background “light” pieces. Then you nestle that star by using it as the center of the next largest star. The center star and the largest, outer star are matching. The quilt is bound with the fabric of the third (orange) star. This quilt goes together quickly and really makes a statement…or you might say, splash!

Image of Use Both Beautiful Sides Quilt
Varilovable Star using Hoffman California Fabrics!

See more than 50 patterns that use both beautiful sides in my Etsy Shop: Creative Bee Studios!

Please SUBSCRIBE to Creative Bee Studios on YouTube!

Enjoy YOUR quilting journey!

Margie’s Sew Much Fun

September 16, 2019 /

Clearly this is a shout-out to Margie’s Sew Much Fun Quilt Shop owner, Margie!

Margie’s Sew Much Fun quilt shop is loaded with fabric, machine, patterns and more!

Image from Margie's Sew Much Fun Quilt Shop Online

Located in the Florida panhandle, in Crestview, Margie’s quilt shop has been serving her community since 1971.

Image of Margie's Sew Much Fun Quilt Shop

Clearly, Margie will show you a fun time in her quilt shop. She stocks over 3500 bolts of fabulous fabric and both Bernina and Janome machines. Additionally, she carries patterns that use BOTH beautiful sides of fabric!

Also, find Bernina and Bernette products, including a Studio Frame long arm machine.

Moreover, I am happy to say that Margie is a repeat customer of #usebothsides patterns. You can tell from the name of her quilt shop and our delightful phone conversations, she’s got a fun shop YOU really need to visit!

As you might guess, Margie chooses coastal theme patterns for her shop.

Here are two such patterns, made with both beautiful sides of fabric: Sally and Fiona.

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Sally Quilt Pattern

Sally is made with both beautiful sides of a seashell focus fabric on a scrappy background. The sea horse body is cut from a paper template. The seashell coral is made by cutting the sea shells from the fabric motif. Both the seashell coral and the floating bubbles are the REVERSE side. Even the binding is made with the focus fabric.

Image of Pattern at Margie's Sew Much Fun Quilt Shop
Fiona Quilt Pattern

So take a trip to Margie’s or visit her online at www.margiessewmuchfun.com

Tell her Karla sent you!

Enjoy your quilting journey, Karla

Summer Books & Quilts

July 12, 2019 /

Summer books and quilts are a part of my life. It’s just not summer for me without a good book to read and a good quilt to enjoy.

My all-time favorite summer book is this one:

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

A Reese’s Book Club selection.

Image of Book

When I read this summer book (while snuggled under my quilt), I feel like I’m learning more about nature while being entertained and intrigued with the storyline. I yearn to be outdoors, to breathe in the sounds and smells of nature and to study my surroundings. I’ve read Where the Crawdads Sing numerous times as well as listened to it while on trips.

When I first read it I was at a loss for words for more than 24 hours after finishing it. I hadn’t planned on sharing the quilt shown below yet, but I need to – I guess it’s my feeble attempt to thank Delia Owens for the insight into a habitat I knew nothing about while enjoying a fantastic and enlightening book.

Summer quilts are also a favorite!

This guy was hanging around me at sunrise on Pensacola Beach. He might have been disappointed that I wasn’t a fisherman, but he let me grab some awesome photos. I found the feather focus fabric later that day at A & E (Pharmacy) Fabrics.

Making use of “value”, the light on his face and throat is made using the REVERSE side of the feather fabric. The borders are, too!

Image of Crane on Beach
Image of Great Blue Heron Quilt
Lord Stanley Quilt Pattern
Image of Quilt of Crane

Lord Stanley got his name for several reasons: 1) He’s a Great Blue, 2) We are big fans of the Blue Angels 3) The Saint Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup (Lord Stanley) that year!

See “Sunrise Quilts”, too!

Shop Creative Bee Studios Etsy Shop HERE for all the #usebothsides patterns!

Image of Sally Quilt Pattern
Sally is made with both beautiful sides of a seashell bouquet motif.

Quilts at the Beach

June 17, 2019 /

Give me a good beach quilt in the midst of winter!

Why do I love a good beach quilt? We lived in Pensacola, Florida – twice! The first time (as newlyweds), my husband was a student pilot. The second time, with two little ones, he was a flight instructor. When he left the full-time USMC life, we moved to Missouri. We’ve spent many vacations going back “home” to Pensacola (also home of our favorite: the Blue Angels).

Location, location, location. It’s the key. As you can see in these pics, Sally, Sandy, Fiona, and Bubbles are right at home on the beach!

This weekend we attended a wedding to attend in Baton Rouge, so we decided to grab a couple of beach days on the tail end of the trip. I debated whether I should even bother to take quilts along to photograph…I’m SO glad I DID!

Image of Sandy Quilt on Sand.
It’s Sandy on the beach. 🙂

My favorite name for a beach quilt has to be this: Sandy! Doesn’t she look happy in the sand?

Image of Sally Quilt at Beach
Sally

Sally the seahorse was flying high in the morning light. She’s made with both beautiful sides of one of my all-time favorite KFC fabrics: Shell Bouquet by Philip Jacobs.

Image of Fiona Quilt at Beach
Fiona

Fiona the friendly flamingo helped me spot a friend at the beach:

It’s hard to spot another quilter at the beach. Therefore, when I passed a gal on the walkway who was wearing a MSQS shirt, I HAD to speak to her! It turns out she’s from Missouri, too! She had just bought fabric from the pharmacy (now A & E Fabrics) to make some #usebothsides quilts! See my blog about her guild HERE: Inspired Quilters Inspire

Image of Karla and Cheryl, quilters at the beach.
Cheryl helped me take evening pics. Quilters are so nice!
Image of Bubbles on deck.
Bubbles

My husband came up with the name “Bubbles” for this happy guy! See The Marine Behind the Quilts to learn more about his role (my husband’s, not Bubble’s).

You might wonder how those quilts just seemed to hover in the air above the beach…You can see in this blooper: thanks to his quick reaction, my hubby saved Bubbles from a big one! I thought he hid quite well on that little beach chair behind the one-yard square quilts!

Image of blooper photo.

Patterns for each of these quilts and MANY MORE are available in my Etsy shop: Creative Bee Studios

Read more at Summer Books & Quilts.

Using white in quilts

Monochromatic by Nature

June 2, 2019 /

Even choosing a monochromatic quilt color can be a challenge!

First, you know I like to use nature to help choose a color palette for quilt projects, right? (See Nature’s Color Wheel for more information.) For this color challenge, I decided to take my cues from a beach walk. I didn’t expect to find black seashells on this particular white beach! So, I ended up with a monochromatic theme from nature.

However, I think using a single fabric for a one-color quilt can make the quilt seem “flat”, in regards to interest. (We do strive for flat quilts!) However, when you add more shades of one color, you can add interest to a single-color quilt design.

Its amazing how difficult it can be to choose fabrics for a quilt, especially for a new quilter. I distinctly remember the kind teacher helping me choose fabrics for my first quilt class at The Sewing Basket many years ago. It was for a patriotic quilt, so even though that palette was obvious, I had a lot of fear of choosing the wrong colors!

While, technically, a two-color quilt isn’t monochromatic, we often refer it is as so, especially when the second color is a neutral. If not a neutral, the second color should allow the “focus” color to steal the show.

I found these seashells on the beach and realized that even nature can be monochromatic.

The varying shades of black in these seashells are interesting. Don’t you love the contrasting shades of beige, also found in the shells?

Makes me think of batiks. You?

Generally, I love to mix “whites”. Therefore, finding these light shells with so many shades of white was really fun for me!

Here are two monochromatic quilts of similar colors:

Click picture for link to Amy’s Creative Side.
Click on link for Beech Tree Lane Handmade

Below is a fun use of value in a monochromatic quilt! See The Tricky Traits of Value HERE.

Image of Monochromatic Quilt
Click on picture for link to Craft Paper Scissors pin.

Also, see Sunrise Quilt Colors for more on using nature as your palette guide.

Do you make monochromatic quilts?

How do you choose your quilt palettes?

Be sure to Join The BUZZ for all the latest news and new product introductions!

Use the easy-link blue SHOP buttons to see more than 40 quilt patterns, new fabric collections, and merchandise to match your quilts!

Shop Patterns
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Finally, enjoy your quilting journey, Karla

Read more at Shades of White in Quilts.

Image of Quilt by Pool

Hello world!

July 6, 2016 /

Sew it begins…my quilting journey.

This is the exact spot where another phase of my quilting journey begins.

Welcome to my first Creative Bee Studios post!

Table of contents

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Pensacola Dreamin’

Got a beautiful view out my window and quilting opportunities on the horizon!

I write this very first post from our condo at the beach. Unlike my home in the midwest, this place has wifi…unlimited. How is a blog part of my quilting journey? Follow along and let’s learn together!

Updates along the journey:

Firstly, when I began this blog, I was trying to get a quilting book published. (A blog is necessary to be considered for publication.)Turns out…my book idea wasn’t a good idea at all! However, as these things go, I learned a lot. Same with this blog: I thought a blog was about writing! I had no idea it was about coding, SEO, algorithms, widgets, plug-ins and much, much more!

Use BOTH beautiful sides! Patterns and more!

Secondly, I developed a line of quilt patterns based on a happy accident! Read about Phoebee and all her friends throughout this site. Learn how VALUE is key to using both beautiful sides of fabric in The Tricky Traits of Value. This itinerary change has helped me make lots of fun quilter friends along the way as I teach classes and give presentations to guilds about using both sides of fabric!

Quilting Journey
Kate's Bouquet
Kate’s Bouquet is one of my broderie perse designs. It’s made with both sides of TWO fabrics on a splash of a background!

Phoebee was the start of more than 50 quilt patterns that use both beautiful sides of fabric!

A third big detour in my quilting journey came when I began learning to design my own fabrics and merchandise! See fabrics and home decor in my Spoonflower shop!

Image of shop page

Check out Pensacola Dreamin…  and How to Put a Little Punch In Your Summer for some fun beach quilts, punch needle, and pondering.

Tropical Trip

As this journey continues I will update this very first blog post. I hope you’ll continue to follow and embrace your own journey!

Catch the The Buzz! for periodic posts about quilts, techniques, patterns, fabrics, and more!

Follow and share on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!

Thanks for following, Karla

Enjoy YOUR quilting journey!

Karla’s Design Story

 

 

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