Interesting Stuff in Five Short Chapters

Today's post is a collection of things I've been wanting to share so I'm putting them all in one post with 5 Chapters.

Chapter One

Do you remember when I blogged about this book, Happy Villages?

Happy Villages by Karen Eckmeier

Rosemary, my girlfriend, bought Happy Villages and I bought the Accidental Landscapes and Layered Waves books by Karen Eckmeier.  Rosemary is much faster than me....check out Rosemary's Haunted Village below.

This was still on the design wall and the threads were not clipped when I snapped the photo.  Isn't this a fun Halloween wall hanging?  I just love it.  I don't have any Halloween fabrics but I'm going to start getting some so I can make one too.  Of course, I want on for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Presidents Day, Valentines Day, Columbus Day...oh yeah....and my birthday too!!! 

Chapter Two

I recently needed to make my own design wall.  So I laid the insulated foam board on the floor with the batting under it so I could cut just the right length....don't want to waste any!  Check out these Batting and Fabric Shears that I received from Brint (Famore Cutlery) the Scissorman.  When I first saw them I thought they were huge.....I mean they are 11 3/4 inches from tip to top of the handle!!!  Everyone knows I'm almost a giant so typically I would not hesitate....but these really caught my eye.  I was pleasantly surprised how nice they felt in my hand as I cut the batting....the scissors cut the batting smoothly and I did not have to use my fabric shears which was wonderful (I only use those for fabric).  When I find out more about stocking them at I Have A Notion, I'll let everyone know.  They are some mighty fine scissors indeed!!!!  Yet another reason to LOVE the Scissorman!!!

Edited 15minutes later....found the scissors and have link embeded


Chapter Three

A year ago I learned about "Wrapagain" when a friend e-mailed me thinking I would be interested.  After reading more about Wrapagain I was very excited and thrilled for Susan Frantz, owner/designer.  She has designed her own re-usable gift wrap made from our favorite ingredients : FABRIC!!!!  I was tickled when I ran into her in town at a festival and asked if I could blog about her product and take some photos.  I'm so glad she said yes because I think her invention is genius.  It is green as green can be....nothing to throw away ever....and it is beautiful.  You can't get better than that for wrapping gifts.  Click here if you want to see how to wrap a gift using a Wrapagain.

(the little boy in the stripe shirt is none other than my co-worker Zachary :)

I bought the large red Wrapagain that Susan is holding above.  I have not used it yet because I'm having a hard time parting with it...LOL.  Word to the wise....buy a Wrapagain that you are not crazy about.  That will make it much easier to actually wrap a gift and give it away!!  Another really cool thing is Susan has each Wrapagain numbered and when you register them there is a tracking system.  Isn't that cool?  I think they make neat gifts in and of themselves.

Chapter 4

Check out this beautiful holiday towel I got in the mail.  I was so tickled when I opened the envelope.  Surprises are so much fun.  A blogging friend, Karin, made it for me.  Now to keep it away from the boys!!!

Chapter 5

My traveling friend, Dana, came by to visit and stitch one afternoon and she brought some things for show and tell.  Check out the great skirt she made with Batik fat quarters. 

And of course, she had to make some fun fleece socks for this winter.  I made some last year and I'm telling you if you have not made yourself a pair of fleece socks.....you might just want to....they feel wonderful and are guaranteed to make you smile.

Dana made a gift for a friend....and of course....her humor is right up my alley!  Check out this cute little shirt:

 

It is not an I-Pod, but a I Peed....perfect don't you think?  And check out the back:

 

This just cracked me up.  Mr. McSteamy came home for lunch that day.  Being in the IT field I knew he would appreciate this bit of humor.  He was more than willing to model the shirt for me.....LOL :)

 

Well, this concludes my interesting things to share in 5 short chapters.  I have been working on adding the GO! Baby Dies to my website for pre-order.  It takes me several hours to add items to my website....so if you don't see me for a few hours....you'll know where I am...:)

Smiles,

Kelly

The Quilted Lizard at Checker Distributor 62 Anniversary Celebration

Checker Distributor 62 Anniversary Open House

Chapter 10

The Quilted Lizard - Karen Eckmeier

Talk about a fun surprise at Checker's Open House.  I got to meet Karen Eckmeier and learn about her books and patterns.  I was only vaguely familiar with Karen's work prior to meeting her.  I absolutely and thoroughly enjoyed seeing her quilts and watching her demo.  What a talented woman

The two wall hangings on the bottom of her demo table are examples from her book, Happy Villages.   

I wish this photo was clearer but you can see this is definitely a Happy Village.  My girlfriend Rosemary is in the middle of working on this project from Karen's book.  I can't wait to see how it turns out. 

This book, Happy Villages , is so cool.  They pages are full of great photos and instructions of how to create the village of your dreams.  Although Karen gives the reader guidance on  12 variations (seasonal, international, whimsical, etc) after you begin to learn the process your imagination is the only limit.  Definitely a fun project when you don't want to sew since it is all fusible applique.

Accidental Landscapes is another one of Karen's books. 

 

Discover the secrets of creating a fabric landscape accidentally using Karen's layering and topstitching technique.

• You'll find out how to capture the feeling of a scene in simple layers
• create a landscape based on a favorite photo, postcard, color palette, memory or vacation
• surprise yourself with lively, exciting compositions
• adopt the same easy techniques for gorgeous curved borders

My eyes kept going back to this quilt that is featured in Layered Waves.   I really like the free form lines in this "Layered Log Cabin."  First I like colors and that always grabs my eye. I also really like the non-traditional way of doing a traditional pattern. 

Isn't this close up so much fun....see that little guy in the center of the block....now that is fun :) 

 Karen also has a new pattern series that is now available too!

"Circle of Friends" Series

Circle of Friends - Goofy Ghosts

Circle of Friends - Silly Snowmen

Circle of Friends - Fabulous Flamingo's 7

Aren't these patterns just plain fun?  And interesting? And colorful? 

As you can see, my eyes were completely full after leaving Checker's Open House.  I still have more photos but I think I'm going to make a photo album of the photos with descriptions so we can get to the giveaways!!  Everyone loves a fun giveaway, right?

Smiles,

Kelly