Perhaps the reason that Block of the Month projects are so popular with quilters is because they are taking on that elephant one bite at a time. For the past 12 months, I offered a block of the month for the members of the Carol Doak Quilting Group and it was very successful with lots of participation. It was time for me to put on my thinking cap and come up with a new Block of the Month. Several members have requested scenic style blocks, so this new BOM should be a hit with our members. I know it was a hit with Mona from San Diego, because after uploading the first pattern to the group late last night, I woke up to Mona’s wonderful October block. Mona wrote of her block “I just posted a photo of my little tree. Mine became a fall colors tree instead of an apple tree. I bought this great fossil fern fabric ages ago, and have been waiting for something that needed those colors. I only wish trees around here would turn orange. They don’t,they turn brown, and then the leaves fall off. But I’ve been to New
England in October, so I know what I’m missing!” Mona in San Diego
I do live in New England and am anxiously awaiting all the fall color to decorate our world. My block is very different from Mona’s and I look forward to seeing all the member’s blocks and seeing how their world’s are colored. There will be a new scenic block each month for the next 11 months. If you want to join in the fun, please do by clicking on the link above to join our group.
Speaking of fun, a couple of years ago, I taught on a cruise where I had the pleasure of meeting Barbara Wendell. Since then, Barbara has joined me on several other cruises. The picture above was taken on this cruise showing some of the blocks made by the students. But on this cruise, I taught a workshop based upon my book, Simply Sensational 9-Patch Stars. The focus of the workshop was to share all the creative opportunities the foundations in this book offer.
Barbara made the decision then to make lots more blocks after the workshop to create a 9-Patch Star quilt. Well, taking on the one-bite-at-time challenge, Barbara finished her quilt and just sent me a photo of this stunning quilt. Wow, I was impressed!
This close-up shows the exquisite quilting of Barbara’s quilt.
So perhaps, this one-bite-at-a-time might just have a stunning reward for you when you are finished.
Until next time…

Boy, the last few weeks have been a real whirlwind of travel. First, I traveled to the wonderful conference in Stanley, Idaho to teach for the Sawtooth Mountain Mamas. I returned home and two days later, flew to the west coast to film my new companion DVD for my newest book, Easy Reversible Vests-Revised Edition.   This book is currently available in my web store. I was so thrilled to have the opportunity to produce a product that lets me personally take you step-by-step through the process of making vests that are so easy to make and fun to wear. Of course, I am a quilter and totally out of my comfort zone when it comes to lights, cameras and action. Thankfully, I had the staff of Nine Patch Media to take charge of all those elements. Here Chris Manuel, the Technical Director, is preparing one of the cameras.
Sharon Pederson, is not only a good friend, but as the Producer, she kept things on track and beautifully organized. As you can see from this “Clap board”, we are about to take “take 2”. I guarantee, the bloopers are a hoot!
Steve Walton was such a pleasure to work with during the filming. As the videographer and editor, he has promised to make me look 10 lbs. lighter in the finished product. You just have to love a guy who can do that.
Liz Phillips was there to make sure all the parts came together just as they should. Liz is not only accomplished in all those computer skills, she is also a quilter!
I was reunited with all my vests that I had sent to the publisher during the production of the book, so it was fun to showcase them throughout the video. Being able to actually show you and talk about each of the steps seemed such a natural way to teach. It felt as if I was teaching a one-on-one workshop.
This DVD was such a pleasure to do and lots of laughs along the way with Sharon, Chris, Liz and Steve. It is expected to be released soon. I will keep you all posted when it is. I think it will be the perfect companion to my new book!

One of the advantages of reading a blog is to learn about the latest information. I just heard on Friday that my new book has arrived and my books have been shipped to me. Yippee!!! Writing a book and the editing process is about a 2-year investment so learning that delivery is about to occur is great news! Another thing I did on Friday was to take my advance copy of my book to an office supply store and have it spiral bound. I do this often to my books. This is a relatively inexpensive item and really adds to my enjoyment when using my books.
Since this new book comes with a pull-out pattern sheet of the two vest patterns, I had them include in the back of the book one of those plastic pocket folders. This way my pattern sheet is securely tucked in place and protected. I love doing this to my books, because it offers me the opportunity to easily include items with my books.
The spiral binding permits the book to lay flat when I am following instructions. Speaking of instructions, the step-by-steps for the vests in this book are sooooo easy. This page shows the instructions for making the cover vest and two other color interpretations.
This page shows another one page instruction for another approach to making Easy Reversible Vests.
Since I know the books will arrive next week, I have gone ahead and added my new book to my web store.

Once you all start making vests using the easy techniques in this book, I think it would be fun to have an online fashion show here. So, please do send me your pictures (qcarol@comcast.net) and I will collect them until I have enough for the fashion show.
Until next time,

I just returned from a road trip to a delightful quilt shop, The Cotton Cupboard, in Bangor, Maine where I taught a 2-day Fire & Ice Workshop from my Mariner’s Compass Stars book. It occurred to me when I downloaded some of the photos I took during the workshop, that some quilters might be interested to know what it is like to take a workshop. I travel almost 40 weeks a year to teach, so teaching workshops is something that I do often. Although I teach the same classes, each class for me is different simply because the students are different in each class. One of the most enjoyable aspects of my job, is the opportunity to meet so many delightful quilters from all the world.
They come for different reasons. Some come to learn a technique, some come to perfect the technique, some come so they will enjoy the technique, some come just to make the project and some come to just have fun.
Typically the students come from the surrounding area when a workshop is local and bring their own sewing machines. When the workshop is at a national event, they can come from all over and many times the sewing machines are supplied by one or more sewing machine companies. The plus to having your own sewing machine is that you are familiar with it and therefore in a comfort zone. When sitting at a strange machine, it can sometimes be unsettling at first, but often times, it is a great way to explore other machines and what they have to offer.
Students tend to become a group throughout the day and enjoy each other’s company. There is often lots of sharing and support. Quilting, after all, is a hobby and is supposed to be fun. If I can teach students techniques that will add to their enjoyment of their quilting, then I feel it has been a good day. We tend to have lots of laughs in my workshop and that often leads to students relaxing, learning and enjoying!
And at the end of the day, some students will have completed the entire project and others will have completed parts of the project. The goal is not to work as fast as you can, but to work at your own comfortable pace. That is different for each student and a student who works more slowly has not learned less or is less accomplished. They simply worked at their own pace. A student who works quickly is not an “over achiever”, they are simply working at their comfortable pace.
If you leave the workshop feeling as if you enjoyed the day, enjoyed learning worthwhile techniques and laughed a bit along the day….then it was a good day.

First, I want to share information about an exhibit of 26 of my quilts that will be on display at the upcoming quilt show presented by the Keepsake Quilters in Iowa. I’ve never done this before….sending off so many of my quilts to be on display in one location. As I gathered the quilts, I felt as if I was gathering my children and thinking back to the joy of making each quilt. Quilts really are the fabrics of our lives. The quilt on the left is a quilt I made for myself using some of the block designs from the 50 Fabulous Paper-Pieced Stars book. Here are the details of the show. If you stop by, say “hi” to my quilts for me.
Dates: Sept. 19, 20th 2008
Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM both the 19th and 20th
Place: Waterloo Center for the Arts, 225 Commercial St., Waterloo, IA 50701
Admission: $5.00 No strollers.
Show will feature 200 quilts made by the members of Keepsake Quilters and the beautiful trunk show featuring 26 quilts from Carol Doak.
Vendors at the show will be selling beautiful fabrics, patterns, tools and more.

If people have questions about the quilt show they can contact:
Cheryl (quilt show chair) clpeck@cfu.net
Leann (quilt registration chair) labraham@cfu.net

Don’t you just love the show and tell portion of a quilt guild meeting when you get to ooh and ahh over the quilts being shown by the members. Sometimes, you are impressed by the first steps into quilting by a brand new quilter, sometimes you are inspired by the creativity of a quilt setting, sometimes you are inspired by the workmanship in the quilt, sometimes a quilt is not your style at all, but you still enjoy seeing it and sometimes you are just plain speechless. I thought I would share some pictures of quilts that I have received recently and have our own little “Show and Tell”.
This quilt is called “Ava’s Quilt” and was sent to me by her proud Grandmother, Debby, who made it just for her. It is heart-filled basket blocks and the block design is the Sherry block from my book 40 Bright & Bold Paper-Pieced Blocks. I know that Ava appreciates all the love being sent her way through this lovely quilt.
This quilt is a little miniature quilt (12″) that I designed for the Yahoo group. It was made by Carole Doyle who put her happy fabric stamp on the design. Carole has participated in most of the challenges and events that we have in the group and her quilts are always a pleasure to see.
This stunning little beauty shows off the Block of the Month designs that I uploaded for our Yahoo group this past year. Sandy in Henderson made this little beauty. Although the blocks were presented in a 12″ format, Sandy wanted to do them in miniature. The center block — the 4000 member block — is 6″, and the BOM blocks are all 3″. The top itself measures 16″ square. Just stunning!
Speaking of stunning, Gayle from Eureka, Montana sent this lovely picture of your Country Baskets miniature quilt that was awarded a blue ribbon at the Lincoln County Fair. Gayle wrote that making this quilt was a pure joy. I had the pleasure of having Gayle in a workshop when I was teaching in Montana recently.
In my last blog, I shared a graphic of the new 4000 Member Celebration Block that I recently uploaded for the group members. The above block was made by Kesley Jones of Iowa. Kelsey is not only good, she is quick as she won a prize for being the first member to upload a picture of the completed block.

If you have made a project from one of my books or patterns and would like to be included in a future Show and Tell, just send me a jpeg image to qcarol@comcast.net

Now that September is here, it is time to get out some fabric and start thinking about some new fall colored quilts.
Until next time, may all your points be perfect.

The Carol Doak Yahoo Group just hit another milestone with our 4000th member. It still amazes me that our group, only a bit more than two years old, has so many members from all over the world. It has been my custom in the past to create a new block design for the group in celebration of milestone memberships. The design above is our 4000 Member Celebration Block. Members will download the pattern for this block and create their own version. Then members upload photos of their blocks and the eye candy begins. It is so inspiring and exciting to see the same design worked in hundreds of different ways. And, as with past custom, I will also select a random winner to win a prize from all the pictures posted. If you want to join in the fun, just click on the link above.

In a past blog, I requested pictures of projects you have made from the designs in my books. The pictue of the “Turtle” quilt above was sent to me by Mary. Mary used a block design (block 297) from 300 Paper-Pieced Quilt Blocks to make this darling quilt. The little turtles marching throughout the quilt are just precious. Thanks Mary for sharing your quilt pictures.

If you have a picture you would like to share, just send me a jpg at qcarol@comast.net.
I just returned from a teaching trip to a lovely quilt shop in Clarion, PA called Sew Elegant. The lecture and workshops were lots of fun and while I was there I stocked up on some fabric for a new project I am working on. Can’t tell you much yet, but standby…news will be shared soon.
All the best,
Carol

Just before I left for my quilting cruise, I uploaded a simple boat design for the nearly 4000 members of the Carol Doak Yahoo Group. I challenged the members of the group to make a block or project using this boat. Wow, was I impressed with all the creativity the members displayed. When I returned, there were so many wonderful pictures uploaded by the group members. The boat above was made by Ruth who added a couple of masts and used realistic type fabrics for the water and sky . I was impressed with Ruth’s skill for cutting the directional fabric perfectly.The Christine made the above quilt featuring both large and small boats. She added letters in the white border to add a happy message to go with her boats.

This darling little rag quilt was made by Terry. Now what little guy wouldn’t love cuddling up with that cheerful little quilt?

Irene added a patriotic twist to her block shown above with the red and white stars and stripes fabric. She named it Smooth Sailing in America.
Phyl added quite a bit of detail to her 3 masted schooner.
The Love Boat above was made by Mary D. using a patchwork print fabric for the boat portion.
Oh What A Night! is the name of the block that Julie M. made above. Just darling and complete with fireworks.
One of the things that I love most about this wonderful group is their creativity and sharing. They embrace the designs that I provide and make them their own. When members look at all the possibilities, it really does bring home that patchwork is a creative art and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
If you would like to join in the fun, please do by clicking the link above to join our little group.
All the best,
Carol

I just returned from a wonderful cruise called, “Quilt Camp At Sea – 2008 Cruise for a Cure“, where we boarded our ship in Boston and visited Portland, Maine; St. John, New Brunswick, Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia; and Bar Harbor, Maine ports. Quilters from all over the world gathered for fun, good food, sightseeing, classes and lectures. This was also a fund raiser for Breast Cancer, where quilts raised thousands of dollars for this worthy cause. The seas were calm but I couldn’t resist having my own little Titanic moment at the bow of the ship.

Our first port was Portland, Maine where we invaded a local quilt shop to stock up on fabric……like most of us don’t have any! Nautical prints were in high demand and it was fun seeing what everyone was purchasing for their stash.
We also enjoyed strolling the streets of Portland and seeing the items in the local shops. Several cruisers took sight seeing trips to see what is special and unique in the Portland, Maine area.

Our next stop was Saint John, New Brunswick where we spent the morning in search of the sights and fabric! As a quilter, it always amazes me how you can find inspiration everywhere for our passion.

In Halifax, we were greeted at the port by two young gentlemen dressed in traditional militia garb. They definitely were a tall drink of water and didn’t mind posing for pictures with hundreds of quilters. I think several quilters were eyeing their lovely plaid kilts!

With a couple of ports behind us and lots of fabrics added to our stashes, it was time to begin classes and lectures. I taught a quilt that I designed specifically for this cruise called Bright Sails. I used a block from my book, 40 Bright & Bold Paper-Pieced Blocks, as the inspiration for this little wall quilt. The students used sewing machines supplied by Janome and got to work making their quilts. Lots of happy students got their quilts underway.

When we reached Sydney, the quilters there went all out to make us feel welcome. A local fabric store, Fabricville, organized a group of local quilters to act as hostesses providing a wonderful display of their quilts, refreshments and just good old fashion friendship when we arrived at the store to shop. Here I am helping one of our cruisers with her fabrics. I was really so impressed with the kindnesses of the local quilters and how open and sharing they were. We visited several shops and artist type galleries in Sydney. One local quilter, Anne Irons, displayed her Cape Breton Heritage quilt and explained the meaning of the the blocks in her lovely quilt.
As one who travels quite a bit, the locations may be different, but it is the people that you meet along the way that make a place special. The Cape Breton quilters certainly made our stop in Sydney very special indeed.

Having a couple of hundred quilters land in Sydney is news and we made the newspaper!!! This photo was snapped by a local reporter of several cruisers comparing purchases as we were leaving the store. Here I am lusting after one of the purchased fabrics. This clipping was sent to me by one of the Sydney quilters.

Back on ship, there were more classes and lectures and lots and lots of great food and good times. The trip was great fun and lots of lasting friendships were made. But mostly, it was just plain fun with lots of laughs!
All the best,
Carol

I simply love to receive “Show and Tell” from people who have made projects using the designs in my books. This photo came all the way from Brazil and was made by Jane Bertolaccini. It is a great use of the varied blocks available in 300 Paper-Pieced Quilt Blocks and the setting is simply stunning.
Jane’s wrote: I would like to share with you the attached photograph of a lap quilt I have just finished. Last Christmas I got “300 Paper-Pieced Quilt Blocks” as a gift, and so far – due to lack of time – I had only made a pillow. Now I feel like I have done the book justice! The quilt measures 64″ X 64″ and is formed by 32 log cabin blocks and 30 foundation blocks from Carol’s book (plus an appliquéd squirrel and a Dresden Plate, which I have included at my daughter’s request!).

There are no quilters in my city besides me… but I have been teaching some women and now that they have seen my quilt they are all dying to order their own copies of the book!

Regards,

Jane Bertolaccini

Thanks so much for sharing your quilt Jane and for sharing the fun of paper piecing in Brazil!

If you have made a project from one of my books that you would like to share, please email me your jpg image to qcarol@comcast.net

May all your points be perfect!