Tuesday, July 30, 2019

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


Winter Whimsy Quilt #1


15 comments:

Joanne said...

What fun projects! I really like how you rotated the direction of the stripe in the pinwheels of your beautiful quilt. That adds a really nice touch! The gnome is cute and looks great next to the pillow. Congratulations and thanks for sharing! :-)

Creativeblonde66 said...

Beautiful projects. Love the quilt. The cushion is adorable ♥ And I NEED that gnome �� �� �� �� Great use of the fabrics �� �� ��

Diane Beavers said...

Wonderful makes Karen! Cute pillow.
Your talents equal your inspiration. So proud to know you snd read all about your sewing quilting beginnings.

WyoPat said...

Love the gnome!

Lynda said...

I absolutely adore this fabric line - any chance it will be available in a quilting cotton in lieu of flannel?

Brenda @ Songbird Designs said...

Love your projects AND this line of fabrics! Thanks for sharing your talent with us!

Anonymous said...

Awesomeness Karen�� Love that quilt & the gnome�� So glad you joined IG to share & glad I joined #100days2018 to have met you! You inspire me and I love your comment about mistakes - got plenty more fabric!!����
��Michele @3LittleBirdsNMoo

Danette said...

These are just wonderful! Will be lovely to bring them out again at Christmas. Thanks for the inspiration!

Brenda @ The Quilting Nook said...

Hi, Karen! It's so nice to learn more about your background and family. It's been fun watching your progress on IG, while you've made your projects with this great fabric line.Thanks for sharing your talent.

Kcapellman said...

Thank all of you for your kind and thoughtful comments. I do not know if this fabric will be made into quilting cotton. Perhaps an email to Jaftex and Henry Glass fabrics could get you an answer! It is lovely in the flannel. A nice weight.

Shelly Comiskey said...

Karen such adorable projects!! So fun for me to see the beautiful finished pieces! Great work and thank you!

Kcapellman said...

Thank you Shelly for liking my work❣️ Your fabrics were a lot of fun to work with. My pleasure !

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Cute projects. I just love that Gnome!

Pat Gottshalk said...

Beautiful work. All the fabrics were used so well. Your gnome looks perfect on your red chair. Thank-you for sharing your creativity.

Kcapellman said...

Thank you Pat and Cheryl for liking my work! It was a fun challenge!