bitten by the ungrateful fairy

Today I logged onto to Craftsy to see what patterns I had sold. I quickly noticed I had one negative review of my "pattern" New York Beauty Alternate Cutting Instructions. I was reviewd with one out of five stars with the anonymous person stating it wasn't a pattern and wasn't worth the download. Hmmpf. Yes, I know this is not a free pattern but cutting instructions. I stated this on the instruction sheet as well as in the description. I even stated you needed to have the pattern, where to get it, and how much it cost.

I opted to upload this sheet to Craftsy, so I could see who is actually downloading it. Craftsy allows you to see everyone who downloads your patterns which is a security measurement for me to know if someone has infringed upon the copyright. Most people ignore the fact that everything you create, every image, every photo is unofficially copyrighted. You do not need this © sign on anything you create to state it is copyrighted. It is automatic. Even if it is shown on a pattern, © 2017 Karen Ackva, this doesn't mean they are just the author. You are not allowed to copy it nor distribute the content without written consent from that person. I write this on all my patterns, but legally, it is understood. I put it on my patterns just to remind others. Legally, no one is allowed to even repost one of your photos on Instagram without permission. Did you know that too?

I was so disturbed by the negative feedback from this one ungrateful fairy, that I deleted the free cutting instructions for this as well as other "free"patterns. If you are looking for this sheet, you can still find it here.

I would like to remind all of you out there who download free patterns of anything - a lot of work and thought goes into writing patterns, tutorials, and blog posts. I think a simple thank you or appreciation is reward enough. Sometimes, that is just too expensive, though. I apologize Ungrateful Fairy! If you had left your name, I would have sent you the entire pattern free of charge including all full size templates.

**EDITED** I reuploaded the form to Craftsy. I decided I shouldn't let one bad apple get in the way of a nice thing, especially for those who really appreciate it. If you are looking for the original pattern, you can purchase on my website page or on Etsy in my easypatchworkSHOP. Thank you.

-Happy Butterfly

the casually pieced Rückseite - FREE PATTERN

Hello everyone! Here it is...the long awaited free pattern for the BACKING of prairie Traditions. This very simple pattern can also be used for the the front of a quilt, of course. It goes together in less than one morning.

I made the backing from scrap pieces and just improvised the whole thing until it was large enough. I need to do a little more improv in the future. It does the soul good!

You can download a PDF version on my pattern download page. Remember to please leave some thanks if you decide to use the pattern for your own personal use.

I made my original quilt backing from "HONEY HONEY" fabrics from Kate Spain for Moda. The colorway is so trendy with color popping & blocking everywhere in oranges and blues.

I hope you enjoy.

Slice & Roll Kinderquilt Pattern

I am really excited to share with you my newest quilt pattern, the Slice & Roll Kinderquilt featuring the Berenstain Bears - Welcome to Bear Country fabric for Moda. If you have been following my blog and posts, you may know that my family and I love the Berenstain Bears. We have quite a few books - maybe 30 in total from the original authors, Jan and Stan Berenstain. I started reading the books to my first-born when he was three years old. He really enjoys them and understands the lessons behind the stories. as well.

When I found out there was a fabric line coming out from Moda Fabrics, I was completely beside myself. The "I got to have it look" as quoted from The Green Eyed Monster quickly came over me. I designed a block with the fabrics depicting the original four main characters (Mama, Papa, Brother & Sister Bear) and a few other solid fabrics taken directly from the books. I also went a little modern with an offset border. With the great novelty fabric, I was able to make a "book" in the lower right with a selvage tag.

This really is a great pattern to use with all children's and novelty fabrics such as Dr. Seuss & The Cat in the Hat, Olivia, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

And as always, if you make this quilt, I would love to see YOUR creation!

Pattern Features:
selvage tag
offset borders
partial seams
easy sliced blocks

You can download your PDF pattern at the following locations:

DaWanda  |  Craftsy

Ich freue mich sehr, Euch meine allererste kaufbare Patchworkdeckenanleitung vorzustellen. Sie heißt Slice & Roll Kinderquilt {Patchworkdeckeanleitung}. Und sie liegt mir echt sehr am Herzen. Wenn ihr meinen Blog verfolgt habt, dann wißt ihr, daß wir die Berenstain Bären - Bücherreihe lesen. Es ist eine amerikanische Kinderbuchreihe die in den 1950er herausgekommen ist. Sie erzählt alltägliche aber sehr wichtige Lektionen, die die Kinder erleben, wie z.B. das Lügen erzählen und die Konsequenzen hiervon. Wir haben sehr viele Bücher der Reihe, ungefähr 30 Titel. Ich fing sie an vorzulesen, als unser Erster drei Jahre alt war. Er mag sie und versteht den Hindergrund.

Als ich erfahren habe, daß Moda Fabrics eine neue Patchworkstoffkollektion mit den Bären raus brachte, mußte ich sie sofort kaufen. Ich habe den 4er-Block mit den Stofffarben der Kleider der vier original Bären - Mama, Papa, Bruder und Schwester Bär entworfen. Die anderen Farben habe ich passend zu den Farben aus den Büchern dazu gewählt. Ich habe die den äußeren Rand (Bordüre) asymmetrisch entworfen. Der illustrierte Stoff aus der Kollektion ist ein schönes Beispiel für die Illustrationen in den Büchern. Dazu habe ich ein Zettelchen aus der Stoffrand in den Block rein genäht, so sieht es ein bisschen wie ein echtes Buch aus.

Man kann hierfür alle novelty Stoffe verwenden, wie Tante Emma Stoffe, Kaptän Sharky oder Prinzessin Lillifee.

Anleitung Schwerpunkte:

Slevage Tag

Asymetrischbordüre

Partial Säume

"Stappel" Schneidetechnique

Die Patchworkanleitung in Englisch kann hier als PDF herunter geladen werden:

DaWanda  |  Craftsy

new project for Moda Bake Shop

I've been working on a great new project for Moda Bake Shop using one 10" Layer Cake. I submitted my design back in Sept/October and was completely floored when they contacted me. They actually said my pattern was good enough for their site. I even got to pick out the fabric that I wanted for the new improved lap quilt. I couldn't resist to pick the new fabric line from Kate Spain, my favorite designer, that comes out in January.

So here is a little sneaky peaky of "prairie Traditions" for Moda Bake Shop. It should be "premiering" in December 2012 or January 2013.

Honey Honey by Kate Spain for Moda Fabrics

All you need for the quilt top

If you would like to make this pattern, I would love to see your finished quilt. Please post them on flickr under prairie Traditions. Or send me a jpeg, and I will post on my website. 

I am looking forward to writing more patterns for you in 2013! :-)

Bis dann und schöne Grüße
Karen

TradMod for Lilli

This past week I finished up the top to a children's quilt and am really pleased with the results. My customer wanted to recycle the baby clothes from her daughter's first year into a bed quilt. We worked intensively together and came up up with with a bright and simple traditional pattern using "Apple of My Eye" from the Quilted Fish for Riley Blake Designs. I added a little "Sugar and Spice" for the binding and inner border.

 I really enjoyed working with Beate. At first I showed her very subdued pastel colors but was thrilled when she steered me back to my favorite color palette of red and turquoise! Riley Blake Designs has really fantastic fabric for children's quilts and you can basically mix and match fabric lines.

I fussy cut motifs from onesies and mostly jersey fabrics. I backed them with iron-on stabilizer which keeps the fabric from stretching when you sew it into another block.

The backing is made of cuddly flannel. Quite fitting to the apple theme is Debbie Mumms' Love U flannel from Moda. The entire quilt measures about 160 x 180 cm.

It is simply adorable!

I thought it only fitting to give this special blanket the full service, so I arranged for B. Heitland to quilt it for me. I strongly believe that Brigitte is one of the best long arm quilters here in Germany!! I can't wait to get it back and see her amazing quilting creativity.

I will post the finished quilt when everything in finished.

happy halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year and is slowing starting to come here to Germany. About five years ago, no one did anything for Halloween. Now, you can find parties and some of the kids even go trick or treating. I passed out treats in Kindergarten one year and even told about the tradition and how it came about. It is actually a very old Celtic holiday.

We will carve our pumpkins tonight and light them to scare away the evil spirits who lurk the darkness before "Allerheiligen." If my kids decide to dress up, I even have a few ghostly treats for them.

Here is a table topper I made for Halloween a couple of years ago. I never quite finished it, but I still wanted to share. It is one of those patterns that you just have to make, and it doesn't matter when - just do it. It was featured in the September/October issure of Quiltmaker in 2009 No. 129. It was designed by Marilyn Larson of of North Dakota. Mine is still lacking the finishing touches such as the eye lashes, backing, quilting..finishing.

I also made a Scribbles Monsters II wallhanging last year. The panel is from Clothworks. And yes, it isn't finished either. I added some "Juggling Summer" fabric to it which gave it a nice modern feel. Hope you enjoy. You can see the rest of the photos on my flickr feed here.

Happy Halloween! Stay safe. Don't eat too much candy! Give out some healthy treats too such as tattoos or pencils.