Our August Desire to Inspire Challenger, Pat Carter, Met the Challenge!

The Challenge was accepted by Pat Carter of Alpine, WY. 

Here is her story.

I am Pat Carter, and I live on No-Name Mountain in Alpine, WY, a small town nestled between the Wyoming and Salt River Ranges in northwest Wyoming.  We are located south of Jackson Hole, WY, at the southern end of the scenic Snake River Canyon. 

Fabric Arrives!

Grand Teton National Park (40 miles) and Yellowstone National Park (90 miles) add another dimension to the many outdoor activities of this area:  snowmobiling, skiing, fishing and lake recreation on Palisades Reservoir, ATV, mountain biking, hiking, hunting, etc. Wildlife abound in this area--from Petunia the Skunk to elk/deer/moose and bear.  All of the trees we have planted on our lot have been creatively pruned by the deer who call our lot their favorite dining-out spot.  The annual snowfall in this area can exceed 500 inches.  

My husband and I are retired teachers and are year-round residents.  We love it in the summer when all the snowbirds return, but we also love the winter months when the town loses its summer folks and our mountain becomes a winter wonderland.  The snow drifts straight down, and the trees shed extra snow weight in mini avalanches.  Then the sawdust flies in my husband's shop, and several of the beautiful wood turnings find their way down to my quilting studio!   

Two Children's Aprons

Adult Apron

My mother and grandmother were quilters; they spent many winter hours hand quilting on a frame my father made and set up in our farm house.  

Full table setting with table runner, placemats, napkins and fabric bowls

4 placemats and napkins... all lined!

I learned to embroider, crochet, and sew as a young girl, but did not make my first quilt until several years later when my high school was closed for asbestos removal in 1989.  We went to a split session, sharing space in the other high school.  I spent those free mornings taking a quilting class--and a new love was born!  This new hobby led to the purchase of a longarm quilting machine and another aspect of the quilting avocation.  I became involved in making quilts of valor, a project dear to my heart;      I would often combine machine embroidery with piecing.  My personal quilts gravitate toward traditional patterns, with a twist (i.e., a basket within a basket, machine embroidery in a center block of a log cabin, etc.).  I have incorporated Sally Fields' shoes (machine embroidery found at BFC Creations) in 4 quilts--her shoes have such creativity and detail!  I'm currently trying to reduce my stash, some of which is 15+ years old--and I'm using those favorites that I have just "petted" fondly throughout the years.  Does anyone else have fabrics that are so pretty that you have not cut into them?!  My bucket list of "quilts to make" grows longer each time I visit Pinterest!



Some of my favorite fabrics have been from the Henry Glass collections.  I used a Henry Glass fabric book panel named "Why" to make a quilt for our grandson, and liked it so much that I made a second baby quilt!  (You can see the "Why" quilt on my blog:  http://tetonnuggets.blogspot.com/2015/01/stash-report-week-2-2015-11015.html

Table runner, basket liner and fabric bowl

And then I was notified on August 1 that I had been selected to complete the August Desire to Inspire Challenge--thank you Henry Glass Fabrics!  What fun!  I anxiously awaited the arrival of the fabric which landed on my porch on August 8 (we are a little out of the way!).  Since the Country Cuisine fabric featured strawberries, my thoughts turned to kitchen projects.  I kept adding items to my "want to make" list, but finally ran out of time.  So, here is the fabric collection I received:  

Backside of Table runner

The table runners, placemats, aprons, fabric baskets, and basket liner were all lined. 

What a fun project this has been!  The Country Cuisine collection by Isabelle Biche lends an air of spring to any kitchen, reminiscent of soft breezes, fragrant flowers, lush green grass.  

Desire to Insire - Call for Challenger with our Rhyme Time Collection by Delphine Cubitt

"A sailor went to sea, sea, sea to see what he could see, see, see." Such are the tales of the Bed Time Rhymes collection by Delphine Cubitt, which also includes a visual representation of Little Miss Muffet, Little Jack Horner and a cast of characters from the poems we will love forever. Delphine is an English artist who works from her garden studio at her home in the beautiful surroundings of the Peak District in England. Delphine is really excited to be designing children's fabrics, "I love designing for children, I draw inspiration daily from my three, very funny, little boys!"

This is our September Desire to Inspire challenge! Would you like to make something great with this collection? Here are the guidelines for Desire to Inspire challenge: 

1. Put your name and some of your past project pictures in 

an email to vanessa@jaftex.com 

2. We will select a lucky winner and send you the fabrics shown above.  

3. You make something AWESOME during the month of September, 

and send us pictures and your story.

4. WE post it. YOU keep it.

We would like to have challengers show us they can meet the challenge, so please send a picture or two of projects you have completed or tell us things you have done. Give us SOMETHING so we can rest assured you can do this!!! Even great ideas count! Please do your best to stand out, and you will have a great chance of being selected. 


Below is a glimpse of the whole collection, which will ship in September to quilt shops. The collection includes 3 panels, one of which is a book of bed time rhymes. 

Bed Time Rhymes Complete Collection by Delphine Cubitt 

Let's Get Quilting - Fast Track 8 pc. bundle

We are all on the raceway, aren't we? There just isn't enough time to get around the ole' track every day. Here is a collection that puts the picture behind the sensation of just going too fast. FAST TRACK, designed by First Blush Studio will be in quilt shops across the country in October and here is a 8 pc. bundle for the winner of this week's giveaway. 

8-pc bundle of Fast Track for this week's giveway

Here is a picture of the full collection of Fast Track- available in October at your local quilt shop. 

Let's Get Quilting - Fast Track

Let's Get Quilting - A Kim Diehl Prize Pack Blowout!!

Summer just got a little bit better!  Here is an AWESOME prize pack for this week's Let's Get Quilting. I don't know, maybe because it's vacation season and we are just plain slap-happy in the office, but here is what we have for you... Kim Diehl's Simple Christmas Tidings book (signed by Kim Diehl herself) AND this great big huge Abundant Blessings bundle. The Abundant Blessings collections is what is used throughout the book, so if you are lucky enough to win this Prize Pack you can stay making projects from this book right away!

Let's Get Quilting - Summer Blowout with Kim Diehl Prize Pack

Desire to Inspire Challenger for August - Meet Pat Carter!

Meet Pat Carter from Alpine, WY. She lives in what she calls God's Wonderland, which is south of Yellowstone National Park. She loves piecing, applique and embroidery.

We can't wait to see what she does with her August project with Country Cuisine.

You can sew along too! These fabrics are available in your local quilt shop! 

Meet Stacy West, the high-energy maven behind Buttermilk Basin and Henry Glass Fabrics’ new collection “Spirit of America.”

 

Meeting Stacy West in person is NOTHING like the slow-paced laid-back style of her folk art designs.

The patterns of her company, Buttermilk Basins, evoke a quality of days gone by, where life was at its finest when you had time to set on the front porch and stitch away at a project that seemed like it was just part of your lap for the better part of a month.

Meeting Stacy feels like you are on a rocket ship headed to the moon! Put your seatbelt on because it’s going to be a wild ride. The energy of Stacy is palpable as she commands presence with her graceful yet wielding power. I first met her at her Buttermilk Basin booth at the Spring Quilt Market in St. Louis. It was an incredible booth packed to the brim with ideas, projects, inspiration, themes, and people. This is very much how I might picture the inner workings of her brain.

And what a cute name Buttermilk Basin is too! The name came from how inspired Stacy has been by the life of her Grandmother. Her Grandmother lived to almost 101, and grew up in the era where she hauled water, got milk from cows, and she always had buttermilk in the fridge, hence the name Buttermilk Basin. 

Stacy has come from humble beginnings and worked her way to being a respected designer in numerous mediums.  She is an artist at heart and is not afraid to step out of the box to try new things.  She has designed rubber stamps, licensed her designs in the gift industry, designed logos, and identity systems for various shops in the past utilizing her education in graphic design. 

Henry Glass Fabrics has chosen Stacy and Buttermilk Basin to create a new line called “Spirit of America.”  Stacy has taken this design opportunity to marry cotton, yarn-dyed dobbies and wool together in a cohesive collection of quilt shops to carry that will enhance and the many projects that Buttermilk Basin already has to offer.

One of the first things I noticed about Stacy was the size of her online audiences. 20,000 on Facebook, 5,400 on Instagram and a pretty impressive number of followers on YouTube. Stacy is quick to speak of her audience as her friends. Stacy says, “I teach a lot of classes, travel to a lot of shows, and I meet a lot of people who have genuinely become friends of Buttermilk Basin.”  Stacy is a self-described chatty gal, and over the course of 15 years since her business began, she has chatted with a lot of ‘friends’ who are now dedicated followers. And she rewards them too! Every month on her media platform she has giveaways, introduces new products and has a Mystery Block of the Month with a free pattern download that builds to create an awesome project by year’s end.

Stacy also has a strong personal drive.  She does not believe in failures... only learning lessons!  She is inspired and most importantly, has a work-ethic that keeps her moving from task-to-task leading the charge in all facets of her business; design, manufacturing, sales, marketing and operations. 

Buttermilk Basin is both an online and a brick and mortar business. In her 2,200 sq. ft. shop she hosts workshops, events and offers a variety of mediums including wool, cotton, yarn dyes, fibers, patterns and kits to her customers. She also brings in women from around the country (and as far away as Australia) to her WOOLSTOCK event which is a bi-yearly 3-day event held at the shop.   She is the only teacher that teaches two days of workshops, one day of make-it take-its along with a trunk show and the event culminates in an evening party.

So, yes, Stacy is a kind of a big deal! In 2015, she made it to the top 3 in Martha Stewart’s American Made challenge. You will see Stacy featured in various magazines including Simply Vintage, Quilt Mania, Better Homes & Gardens Special Interest Publications, The Wool Street Journal, Primitive Quilts and American Patchwork & Quilting.

Here is the October issue of American Patchwork & Quilting where Stacy is featured:

American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine. ©2017 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

It is tough to keep up with Stacy in conversation and in life as she is always running from one creative project to another, but here is how you can keep up with her online:  

Instagram:  Buttermilk Basin
Facebook:  Buttermilk Basin
Blog:www.buttermilkbasin.blogspot.com
Website: www.buttermilkbasin.com