Desire to Inspire - July Challenger - Meet Karen Capellman

Meet Karen Capellman- She took on the challenge of using "Winter Whimsy” by Simply Shelly Designs in the month of July 2019.

I am Karen Capellman and currently live in Virginia’s serene Shenandoah Valley with my loving and supportive husband of 36 years.  Steeped in history as far back as the late 1700s, with architecture still standing from that period on, I love exploring and discovering rural tiny villages and towns in Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland on our Harley.  Fields, where cattle, horses, alpacas, donkeys, and sheep roam, are all around us.  Rustic old barns, wildflowers and gnarly old trees dot the grassy countryside.

Mother of two grown children, we have a son and his wife who live in Austin, Texas, and a daughter and her husband who live three minutes away.  My daughter and her husband will soon be moving to England and we are excited for them.  When we all get together, we play board games, cards, and love to go on vacations with them and their spouses.  My husband served in the USAF for 20 years where we spent the majority of the time overseas in Japan and Germany. Originally from California’s beautiful historic Sacramento Valley, I learned to swim in a lake very early at two years of age, climbed tall oak trees and rode horses.  I also learned to read at two years of age.  I attended community college in Saratoga, California and received my BA from San Francisco State University (SFSU).  After receiving my teaching credential from SFSU, I worked as a Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DODDS) elementary school teacher.  I retired early to be a stay-at-home mom, and to pursue sewing, quilting, organic gardening, cooking, and health.

When I was nine years old, my mother taught me how to embroider and sew on a vintage black Necchi sewing machine.  While growing up, and even as a teenager, I embroidered sweaters, jeans, jean shorts, and homemade jean purses.  My great aunt was the quilter (I am the proud owner of two of her quilts made in the ’30s and ’40s), and my grandmother was an embroiderer. (I have some of her embroidered blocks to make something with).  My other grandmother was a seamstress and loved to sew fancy beads on evening dresses, dyeing her shoes and handbags to match. I am a self-taught quilter, and after 27 years, I still love to learn new techniques - I have been told I am fearless.  I don’t worry about mistakes, I have plenty of fabric.  I enjoy experimenting with different color palettes, challenging myself, designing my own quilts and have twice participated in sew-alongs.  Although I am rather eclectic regarding quilt styles, I really love modern, traditional and improv style quilts.  I am looking forward to designing and appliqueing a quilt in the near future.  I would also like to try Kantha stitches on a future project.  The culture and surroundings in the Shenandoah Valley inspire me every day, and I am always curating new fabrics and designing new quits to satisfy my need to create and express myself.

At the quilt museum in Harrisonburg, Virginia, I had the great pleasure to meet and view Pat Sloan’s amazing quilts.  I shared a few pictures of my quilts with her, and she encouraged me to join Instagram and share my work.  I thought about it for a while, a bit timid, and finally joined the wonderful quilting community.  I was blessed to find a community of caring men and women who share my passion for quilting and being creative.  Through the generous and knowledgeable people on Instagram, I discovered many new techniques and learned to think of color placement in a different manner.  As a result, I am a better quilter and continue to learn and grow with each quilt.  I hope I encourage and inspire others as well.

Karen's Projects That She Made with the "Winter Whimsy" Collection

Quilt

Pillow

 

Gnome

View the Full Collection Here

Download Quilt Project #1 for FREE Here