About
Karen E Overton is known for her humor, gift of gab (quilt related of course) and her style of teaching – giving each student the individual attention, instruction and encouragement needed in a relaxed enjoyable learning atmosphere. From beginners to advanced quilters, it is Karen’s personal goal to inspire & guide her students in their quilting journey.
After making her first “rotary cut” quilt in the late 1990’s, Karen turned around and taught a class of beginner quilters with the joy of sharing her newfound knowledge with others. Always aspiring to learn, that desire quickly translated to her first love – that of teaching others to quilt.
In 2003 Karen began her longarm business Quilts ‘N Kaboodle, which started the journey of hand guided quilting of thousands of customer quilts, making memory or t-shirt quilts, as well as making over 250 personal quilts. In addition to “quilting for hire” Karen was the Texas Dealer for A-1 Quilting Machines for several years, traveling with her husband Johnny to set up quilting machines and train the new owners.
Karen’s skill and expertise with a longarm have been recognized by many professionals within the quilting industry, resulting in her work being included in the following publications:
* Lone Stars III: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1986 – 2011 by Karoline Patterson Bresenhan & Nancy O’Bryant Puentes, quilter of Mainland Morning Quilt Guild (Texas City’s) “Happy Trails” – 1st place ribbon Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo 2007 Quilt Show
* Magnificent Spiral Mandala Quilts, by RaNae Merril, 2010l. “Bliss” designed & pieced by Rhonda Adams, quilted by Karen Overton; and “That’s The Way Love Is” designed & pieced by RaNge Merrill, quilted by Karen Overton.
* Hunter’s Star Hidden Treasures, by Deb Tucker, 2015. “Spring Fling” designed & pieced by Krista Leathers, quilted by Karen Overton.
*Sugar & Spice by Deb Tucker, 2015. Designed by Deb Tucker, quilted by Karen Overton
*Pre-Cut Patchwork, July/August 2019, “Checking The Boxes” designed, pieced and quilted by Karen Overton.
Karen has appeared as an instructor on Quilt It! The Longarm Quilting Show as well as a guest on Pat Sloan’s Podcast. Karen likes to say that her claim to fame is knowing famous people!
In 2017 Karen became an Island Batik Ambassador and a Certified Instructor with Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 Design. Combining her love of batiks and Deb’s tools, Karen designed and published over 20 quilt patterns under The Quilt Rambler branding before “retiring” from pattern design December 2022 to return to her first love of teaching.
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