NEW McKenna Ryan

Wow hummerlou that is just stunning the sad bit over here in Oz the cost of her patterns are so dear that it blows the idea of making her quilts right out of the water.....Are you intending to make this one??

Pookie wrote:

Wow hummerlou that is just stunning the sad bit over here in Oz the cost of her patterns are so dear that it blows the idea of making her quilts right out of the water.....Are you intending to make this one??

Pookie, don't feel like it's prohibitive just in Oz... at over $15 a pop for ONE block pattern last I looked, I will drool forever but NEVER pay for one of her patterns.

I know it's terrible of me to say that, but I have just got to get real. Just 7 blocks is over $100 for the pattern, not including sales tax or shipping if I can't get it locally. And with the # of fabrics used, even if I just got a FQ of each batik I'd need, the price is astronomical.

Did you click on that link and wander around? The full kit for the most recent (I think) quilt, Wish Upon a Star, is over $500!! Most of the individual block kits are over $100 each.

Tell me, am I missing something here? Do people actually PAY that kind of money???

But, oh, they ARE bee-yoo-tee-ful!

that is darling, especially the fabric used.. love it...

Thats a real eye catcher......I just love the owls and her color selection. Real precious !

I love her designs too...but they are out of my price range too. Are you thinking of doing this one Lou?

FiberBabble wrote:

Tell me, am I missing something here? Do people actually PAY that kind of money???

But, oh, they ARE bee-yoo-tee-ful!

Well, thank you all for not publicly pointing out my gaffe!! I've learned (privately and tactfully) that at least one of our intrepid members actually does pay that kind of money!

You all know I wasn't meaning bad things about someone does that, right?

Right? :char-129:

Tracy - you know we all stick our foot in our mouth now and then. (boy! do I ever!!) I'm pretty sure none of us will hold it against you. The McKenna Ryan's are gorgeous - if I wanted to do one (and thought I could do one - they're so detailed and challenging) - I'd spend the money for those patterns and cut back on other books or patterns to make it fit my budget. I'm glad to "know" some people here who do them, so I can ooh and ahh and say, "Wow! That's beautiful!"

I never think price matters much if its something you want to make and will enjoy for a long time... just think of how much some of our quilts cost us... My kids were shocked to know that some of the quilts they recieved were well over $300 .... just think if you had to pay out labor ...

Have you ever looked at Hancocks from Paducah catalog?? sometimes they will kit her stuff and a considerable discount.

I usually wait a while and see if I can get some of her patterns on discount...since they have been out for a while and the stores want to clear them out for the new stuff... sometimes I see them for 60% off!! which is about the 'normal' price for a pattern

Thanks for that info, mamu.... will have to check that out...

Well, thank you all for not publicly pointing out my gaffe!!

Oh tracey no one thought bad of you, dont ever think that, of course not, some of us would have been though, hehehehehehehe.

I must say though that I love this new pattern, I love owls and this is like her original stuff. Many years ago I got addicted to her through a friend who owned a quilt store in montana, she sent me a couple of her patterns and wow, Id never seen anything like it in australia. Her patterns have only really appeared here in the last 3yrs or so. I used to swap my designs/embroideries for patterns with the quilt store and it was wonderful. There is a beautiful quilt store about an hour and 20mins from here, the owner is a pineneedles nut and she does them all by needleturn - :affraid: shocking but true, she does a beautiful job too.

A couple of years ago, I bought 'In Full Bloom' and some odd patterns of McKenna Ryan's from Ebay for a lot less than the shops sell them for. Also I don't think she is as well known here in England and that could be why they are a little cheaper?? But I am ashamed to say that I have not made any of them yet......they look so daunting! I have put them in the retirement box!

Polly

My daughter would love that quilt...she loves owls..
I find it daunting to think of doing that quilt..but I like to look at it and and would love for someone on our forum to make it and post a picture...

The owl design is gorgeous,
but I am very tempted by the Faith Hope and Love design. It would go so well in my soon to be redecorated bedroom. Now I am in ' I have to have it' mood!! I think I need a trip to my sewing room to remind myself of all my UFO's and snap out of it!!!

Polly

I certainly understand the "have to have it" mood...it has caused me to purchase large amounts of fabric....and stay up late at night....to sew and cut and plan...

Polly wrote:

A couple of years ago, I bought 'In Full Bloom' and some odd patterns of McKenna Ryan's from Ebay for a lot less than the shops sell them for. Also I don't think she is as well known here in England and that could be why they are a little cheaper?? But I am ashamed to say that I have not made any of them yet......they look so daunting! I have put them in the retirement box!

Polly

Yes, Polly... they do look like quite a handful to do up. But, I have made several of her patterns and they really are NOT hard to do at all. Of course I would never do needle turn :affraid: Yikes.... just the heat and bond method. Takes a little while to trace the designs and cut everything out...but once that is done then it is great fun placing your colors about. I would do one block a day and by weeks end I would have my quilt top done! :lol:

Do you free motion the edges of your appliques, the way MR describes on her web site? That's what looks scariest to me!!

Needleturn.........gosh i am wincing just thinking about it! It would take forever to needleturn one of Mckenna Ryan's quilts!!

Mamu.....have you any pics of your Mckenna Ryan quilts? I would love to see how they turned out :))

Dont forget McKenna Ryan doesnt actually sew each and every individual piece down, when you read the instructions/hints on her web site you will discover that she fuses the top down and when she quilts it she does a meandering stitch that travels over each piece to achor it. Dont forget, she does her work mostly as wallhangings not designed to be used, hence her doing it the way she does. I experimented on one of hers and I fused the top then did a meandering stitch all over the top, just the top, no batting & backing. Once everything was stitched down I then sandwiched it etc, that way worked really well for me

PS the lady who does needleturn of all the pineneedles patterns, she owns a quilt store, most of her business she said is online - she sells kits for mc kenna ryan (only a couple in australia do that) and some civil war kits. She sews every day in her shop, its easier to work on hand work than sit at a machine so think of it this way - she is earning money while sewing LOL

Gimpy, its just me and my phobia of needleturn which I must overcome!! Maybe I need to go to a class!
But if you stitched it all down first with the meandering stitch, then sandwich the quilt, what part do you quilt? Or could you sandwich it first then meander stitch? Sorry for all the questions but I am feeling guilty having had these patterns for so long and not even taken them out of the packet! :roll:

I think I would like to learn needle turn...just so that I know it...I don't want to do any big project swith it...I just want to know how to do it. I don't want that art to be lost...
I may be able to teach one of my grand children.

Polly wrote:

Gimpy, its just me and my phobia of needleturn which I must overcome!! Maybe I need to go to a class!
But if you stitched it all down first with the meandering stitch, then sandwich the quilt, what part do you quilt? Or could you sandwich it first then meander stitch? Sorry for all the questions but I am feeling guilty having had these patterns for so long and not even taken them out of the packet! :roll:

My suggestion to you Polly... is to fuse down your applique and then sew around the edges with a straight stitch very close to your raw edge...take it slow in doing this and remember this is free hand sewing ... no feed dogs. For very small pieces, you might have to forgo the sewing around the edges. Then when your top is done, sandwich and quilt it as you like. :sewing1:


Some don't sew a round the edges of the applique...just fuse it. They do this when they know that they will not be using or washing the quilt. So, you would have to decide how you want to use your quilt.

McKenna does meandering around all her applique pieces so she doesn't have to take the time to go around all the little appliques. Since her quits are not made to be 'used' she doesn't care how the quilting is done....some times not done at all except around the borders or background to hold the layers together.

Jessica..if you want to learn needle turn..you could just do a few blocks with hearts..no big commitments..and mix them with a pieced block and make a little wall hanging..or do a Hawaiian applique pillow. I learned needle turn by doing a Hawaiian and found it was a lot easier than I thought it would be! Sometimes things look hard or scary, and they're really not as hard as we think they will be.