So, I used to live in Duluth, MN. Have you ever been there? It is one of the most beautiful places on earth. But holy cats! It. Is. COLD. Right on the edge of Lake Superior, I found myself, as a transplant, taking in all that Northern Minnesota has to offer with hiking, kayaking, skiing, sledding, and an endless sea of quilters. Karen McTavish lived in my town and while I never had the chance to know her before she moved to Wisconsin, my grandma and I stalked her from afar. Her studio was next door to a pizza place and we’d drive by very slowly trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on inside.
When it was time to quilt this monumental object of a lot of firsts (first fabric collection, first published quilt pattern Succulent Garden) it was an occasion to be celebrated and treasured and I wanted the quilter to be a part of my story, my journey of quilting. Karen won the debate in my head. I wholly respect and admire her work and felt like it was the right decision to send my quilt to her given the Minnesota and grandma connection we share. I gave her no direction on how to approach the king sized monster and realized that she is known for her intense and complicated quilting — SHE INVENTED McTAVISHING!! and I wasn’t sure that a dense ornate approach would work with this quilt — but I trusted her. Here is what she came up with and has to say about being given this modern quilt.
I’m a modern quilter, although you wouldn’t know it from my past work. Modern revolves around the Gee’s Bend quilters in Alabama and boy, do I love my quilting history. As a quilter, I try to remember perfection isn’t as important as inspiration & interpretation. My take on Succulents is about adding texture, not complicating the fabrics with a motif or over quilting. In this piece, it’s about fabrics and piecing- I’m just the texture guy. Texture is my role in this project – the quilts over-all impact is the most important element.
Follow along on the tour:
March 15: Heather Givans (me!) of Crimson Tate :: http://www.crimsontate.com
March 16: Eric Lubrick of Eric Lubrick Photography :: http://oartooar.com/
March 17: Sarah Sharp of {no} hats quilts :: http://www.nohatsinthehouse.com/
March 18: Lindsay Lefevere of ellesquare :: http://www.elle-square.com/
March 19: Karen McTavish of McTavish Quilting Studio ::http://www.crimsontate.com/
March 20: David Barnhouse of Crimson Tate :: http://www.crimsontate.com/
March 21: Meghan Eschbaugh of Calvin and Carolyn ::https://calvinandcarolyn.wordpress.com/
March 22: Brooke Starnes :: http://www.crimsontate.com/
March 23: Matthew Wheeler of Kapa Quilts :: http://www.kapaquilts.com/
March 24: Samantha Howard of Bobaloo Kids :: http://www.crimsontate.com/
March 25: Amy Garro of 13 spools :: http://www.13spools.com/
March 26: Amanda Castor of Material Girl Quilts ::https://materialgirlquilts.wordpress.com/
March 27: Heather Jones of Heather Jones Studio ::http://www.heatherjonesstudio.com/
March 28: Heather Givans (me!) of Crimson Tate :: http://www.crimsontate.com/
What are your thoughts on “being the texture-guy”? Got words for Karen McTavish? Leave a comment for her here and be entered to win a fat quarter bundle of Succulents courtesy of Windham Fabrics. Fourteen bundles will be given away at the end of the tour so be sure to head to all of the blogs and check out what is going on. To find out more about Karen McTavish, head over to her website.
See you back here tomorrow when David Barnhouse shares his experiences.
xoxo
Heather
Heather Givans 
I am enjoying this series. I got a chance to meet you in December and love your fabric collection. It would be fun to win.
Awesome job Karen! Love the succlents fabric!
Gorgdous quilting on a great quilt! Sometimes simple line is the best solution, notcomplicating the gorgeous quilt itself!
That quilt is just beautiful. I absolutely love it. I love the quilting too.Thank you for the chance to win.
Your quilt is simply stunning. Love the photos of it. Great job. Thank you for the inspiration.
I would also cry! Love this line, LOVE Karen like crazy-whoa, and o.O at the free motion STRAIGHT line. Wow.
I’m learning that it is the texture that makes the quilt for me. I love what you’ve done with this one!
Wow! Absolutely beautiful quilt, both artists did an amazing job! Karen how long did it take to quilt this beauty? How do you decide how to quilt a piece? Love your work! Would be great to win some fabric, need to add to my stock (it’s dwindling! ).
Quilting is lovely and is just perfect for this quilt!!!!! Karen does amazing work.
Dianne
OMG!! Who Knew!???! I saw you, your booth & your stunning quilt at the recent Quilt Show in Bloomington, IN two weeks ago. Your quilt and fabric line are AHHHMAZING!! How fun & utterly special that you had Karen McTavish quilt YOUR QUILT!!! WOWZER!! Not many peeps can claim that!! So fun to have met you, albeit briefly… Hoping to visit your shop in Indy one of these days. I bet it’s a really fun place to hang! On a personal note… can you tell me where you got your eyeglasses {frame}??? They are ‘da bomb~ and couldn’t be any cuter!! Thanks! Wishing you a ton of success with your business/shop~ Take Care~ Deb Myers
I love Karen McTavish and her brilliance with adding texture to quilts.
Karen, you never fail to dazzle me. The quilting and the quilt are stunning.
Eek I love it. Northern Wisconsin is my dream vacation, and where my Granny lives. My Granny is who inspired me to quilt, and Hayward is our #1 vacay spot, perfectly serendipitous! #succulentskeepuswarminthenorthwoods
She is a quilting genius! What I wouldn’t give for a little bit of her talent.
My grandmother was born in Duluth, over 100 years ago. I love that the quilting doesn’t overpower the fabrics and the design of the quilt. Beautiful!
Congratulations on your first OF MANY TO COME line of fabric!!
so simple BUT so very effective for this quilt !
A.Mazing. Free motion straight line quilting???!! So hard! But she does it so well.
I’m often stumped with how to quilt a quilt. The texture approach is both lovely and less intimidating (or at least makes it feel less so) to me. Thanks for giving me another way to think about it.
Love the creative backing and the whole fabric line! I like texture, too.
Congrats- I just love this quilt! Love how the quilting is described as texture- so true! Thanks!
Wow! What a journey from creating the fabric, to piecing, stitching, quilting- the result is scrumptious!
Love the way straight lines vary for interest!
This quilting is stunning. I’m wondering how many hours and hour it took? *sheesh. Must’ve been a cold autumn up there!
Hey both Heather and Karen! Brava!! You both are quilting rock stars, and I’ve so enjoyed finding this blog and following along the guest tour. Karen, have all your books and dvd’s and hope to one day be one tenth the long arm quilter that you are…and Heather, love love love your sense of style and humor. Happy Spring! xo Beth
Beth!! Thank you for the kind words. I’m happy to tell you that YOU WON!!! Send me your contact information and I’ll forward it along to Windham. Best, Heather heather@crimsontate.com
I have several of Karen’s DVD’s and yes, she free motion quilts in straight lines! And I am still trying to figure out how she is so fast on that longarm. I have watched and watched her tie off the threads and still can’t catch it. She is a master.
As someone who has quilted quite a few quilts for other people, (not sure when I became the quilter girl for everyone, just happened) I can say that I have to develop a working relationship with each one. This entails laying the quilt out on my guest room bed and just looking at it. Pretty soon the quilt starts to “speak” to me, and it tells me how it wants to be finished. I know that sounds weird and mystical but it really works. Especially if I am not the one who pieced it I have to give my brain time to process the lines and open spaces. It also forces me to quiet my mind so I can hear the suggestions. It’s probably the part I love the most about quilting.
Wow, the quilt is beautiful. To me the mark of a true master is being able to just “be the texture guy” when the quilt asks for it, to fit your skills into the framework given, rather than fitting the quilt to your skills.
I love the story of stalking Karen from afar. That’s what I do to all you internet quilters too. Quilting has always intrigued me because of the texture, so I think “being the texture guy” is a hugely important guy!
I think Karen was spot-on with the quilting for this one. I love what she said about “being the texture guy” and I couldn’t agree more. Thanks for the chance to win!
Beautiful quilt and nicely quilted Karen. Your vision is perfection on how to quilt it. Enjoyed seeing this one!
This collection is absolutely gorgeous and the photographs capture it so well too! Love this stunning quilt as well!
oh, what a perfect finish to this glorious project! wowza kiddo …. it is beautifully brilliant!
I am in awe how artists can see fabric, decide how to use it and let it shine in its own light. The quilt has a life of its own and is just beautiful.
Beautiful work! I aspire to be half as good.
Beautiful quilting on beautiful fabric! I am in awe of all the talent here!
The straight line quilting is just as beautiful as her McTavishing.
Gorgeous – fabric, pattern and quilting!!
I love this quilt idea ty for sharing…….keep up the good work…….happyness04431@yahoo.com
This is a beautiful quilt! I love that she was able to free motion quilt a straight line. Mine would look terrible! Thanks for sharing.
I’ve just gotta say wow!, Karen that’s a great quilt, Love the succulent fabrics. very nice. and Miss Heather you’re so creative can’t wait to see what you create next!
I’m a fan of free motion quilting done in a straight line. The quilting doesn’t clash with the pattern. Congratulations on your awesome quilt!
The quilting complements the quilt beautifully! What a great collaboration! Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful quilting and fabrics! I enjoy FMQ and I love seeing what others do.
I first met Karen a few years back in Houston at the show. I was talking to Ricky and Justin at their booth. I didn’t realize that her booth was next to his. I saw her and wanted to meet r so badly. I left Ricky in mid sentence and walked over to shake her hand. She was so friendly. We have shared stories together and continues to be my muse. She can quilt anything. And t think a simple straight line design would look so great. Just found this blog and I am liking it.
OH how beautiful! The colors, the texture, the lines, the location all work so well together.
The fabrics are wonderful, the pattern is great and Karen’s quilting is icing on the cake that makes you want to drool. Just fabulous.
your quilting is quite stunning… I admit I’ve always quilted in straight lines, I’ve never had the courage to go beyond that! But the texture of heavily quilted quilts is just wonderful…
Karen it’s wonderful to meet you. Wow I love the texture in the Succulents quilt. all I know is straight line FMQ and it Really makes it sing and dance . the back is equally as uplifting . Thank you for inspiring me to continue w straight line quilting .
Love that “simple” quilting! It is perfect!
I’m a long-arm quilter myself, and am always inspired by your work.
I would love to win this fabric and create similar magic. I like creating texture through quilting – it is simply fabulous.
merryorganic@gmail.com
Karen, love your quilts and their being showcased in a greenhouse.
Really love this collection – all the projects have been great so far!
That’s a heck of a texture guy you had there! It is just lovely and honestly, I often find myself drawn to either the fabric and design of the fabric and the texture is secondary or exactly the opposite. So, honestly, I think it’s about the individual piece and this one, she was right, the fabric and the design are the showstopper
Love the fabric, and your quilts and the quilting are beautiful!
Stunning quilt. Thanks for a lovely giveaway.
Beautiful quilting on beautiful fabric!
I love the fabrics! I think Karen’s work is inspired and amazing!
Love this fabric line and am enjoying all of the ideas for using it. This is a definite winner! Thanks for the giveaway.
I love your quilt is sooooo beautiful
I love Karen’s style and free-motion, line quilting! So cool and so chic! I’ve been to Duluth and it’s a beautiful area and yes, it gets mighty cold….even colder than we get here in Iowa!
Love your quilt. Beautiful quilting.
Your quilt shows off the fabrics wonderfully.
The quilting really does have a lot of texture. Very pretty.
The fabrics are so cool and the quilt is wonderful! Thanks & God bless! ILuvTheEucharist @ aol.com
I am new to this stuff, but with an engineering background……quilting lets me be creative in a way that makes sense. I love the modern quilting concept, where the beauty of the fabrics isn’t lost in the intricacy of the design.
Love hexagons!
Beautiful quilt! The simple quilting emphasizes its special beauty.
How exciting that you were able to get someone special to quilt your quilt. It’s beautiful.
The quilting was perfect for your quilt! Super way to add the texture and not detract from the fabric. Thanks for the chance to win some wonderful fabrics.
What fabulous quilting! I am amazed that it is ‘free motion’ quilting!
What a beauty, it was great seeing it up close in the shop:)
What a beautiful quilt! The design and texture both make a quilt sing.
Great quilt, been stalking Karen for awhile. . . I strive to be like her when I grow up!! 😀
My current quilt brought a comment from my non-quilter sister who said I have taught her about texture in quilting, something she never knew of or thought about before, so yay. I took a class about six years ago from Manquilter, who had bought Karen’s old machine and had studied with her. It really changed my FMQ world!! That was as close to Karen as I’ve got…YET, lol!
I haven’t done a lot of quilting myself, but I love all of the texture it lends to quilts!
“FABULOUS, darling!” tee hee
Thanks for the chance to win these fab fabrics again. Love the line and love following you on IG Karen. #textrules!! Just put a deposit down on a longarm. eeek. Will be stalking your IG feed even more now. 🙂
Your straight line quilting so complements this wonderful quilt!
Beautiful quilt and quilting
Beautiful quilt! I love these fabrics! Thanks!
I never would have guessed that Karen did the quilting on your quilt top. Of course, she chose to do the perfect quilting design for the top–it’s gorgeous!
Love hexy quilts. Such a wonderful use of the fabrics.
She did a beautiful job on that quilt!
The quilting can make or break a project. This is beautiful! Thanks for sharing! notwendy gmail
This quilt could come live in my home for sure! It is beautiful!
Interesting note about textures. The quilts look really awesome.
I love this quilt so much, I just love everything about it, and the quilting is just perfect for it! Karen is such a genius, such an artist with skills I can only dream of! She is my ultimate quilting role model. Texture is so important to a quilt, changing the way the light bounces off the fabrics, influencing the colors and drawing to eye to certain details. The right quilting can make an average quilt sparkle, but get it wrong and it becomes just another quilt, nothing special. Learning the art of letting a quilt tell me how to quilt it, and going with my gut rather than how I think it should be quilted is something that I always have to work on!
I love the texture added by the quilting–it follows the pattern so well, without competing with the fabric, perfect! The fabric placement is great, too, I love how the border prints were used in the pattern.
Love the fabric, the quilt design and the quilting Heather! Great job on it all. Loving that Karen decided to quilt with straight lines, it accents the design and doesn’t take away from the beautiful fabric. I’m really excited to take two days of FMQ with Karen in May — it can’t come soon enough. I keep pinching myself to be sure I’m not dreaming. Thanks for the post – loved it!
Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever seen straight-line quilting look so beautiful! What a great artist Karen is — knowing exactly what to do to make the most of a quilt.
Wow! That quilt is amazing!
Stunning quilt,and lovely pics.
OMG her quilting is beautiful!! It takes talent, a great eye, and a steady hand to put those kind of stitches on a quilt!!
Great quilt, Karen! Hexagons are my favorite 🙂
The quilt is just beautiful. So inspiring.
Love, love the giant hexagons!!
OMGoodnessGracious! I LOVE this quilt! Everything about it makes me happy!
Love the way you used the border fabrics!
Great work with the quilting. It is gorgeous!
The giant hexagons are fabulous…. and Karen was spot on with being “the texture guy” the quilting is perfect for the quilt.
LOVE these pieces and this line and have my hand raised!! pick me please!
I just found out about this from the Material Girl’s newsletter last night. I l am loving all the things that are made with Succulents fabrics. Love Annie’s Carry-all.
I really love the idea of looking at quilting as texture rather than a visual to keep in line with the design of the quilt or the fabrics. That is a much more freeing idea.
I love how quilting can transform a quilt from beautiful to GORGEOUS!!
beautiful quilt! I love the back too! I want to make a fun pillow with this fabric. 🙂
love the fabric, love the quilt, love the quilting work, love the photo. can’t wait to work with some of these fabrics they look beautiful and so versatile
Just beautiful!
The right texture really brings a quilt to life and Karen really knows how to do that. Here quilting really lets the fabrics shine trhough while adding another dimension of interest to the quilt. Love it.
I learned of Karen from Manquilter and Bradie Sparrow. I fell in love with her quilting from the get go!!
Such beautiful quilting! Together your fabric and her quilting just shines!
So pretty! I can’t wait to use this line!
This is such a gorgeous quilt! It’s sooooo cute! I need to start quilting!
I love this collection and want to win!!!!!
I love all these beautiful fabrics. Nice job!!
What a gorgeous quilt! I love the huge hexis and the quilting is very wow!