Different Kind of Christmas

 Different Kind of Christmas by Mark Schultz

I thought some of you would appreciate this song....I know I do.

 Kelly

Trademark Infringement

Please be advised, I Have A Notion is a Registered Trademark.  

My registered trademark is being violated.  As you can imagine, my patience is running thin.

I've not been posting recently due to the sudden death of my brother.  He was killed by a hit and run driver on October 3, 2016.  One hour at a time, one day at a time I am coping.  My sincere thanks to everyone who has extended their condolences.  I will be writing my letters of thanks soon.  Still reeling from this nightmare. 

Not Smiling So Much,
Kelly

So Very Thankful!

I am so thankful for my family and for the joy, entertainment and opportunities they bring to my life.

I am so thankful for all of my friends who have provided so much support, companionship, tutelage and humor.

I am thankful for all the years I have spent with those that I have deeply loved and are now passed. 
 
I am so thankful for nature and the beauty that surrounds me daily.

I am so thankful for the lessons I have learned thus far in my life.   I am forever changed and I hope for the better

I am so thankful for the resources that are available to me each day: food, shelter, clean water, oxygen, electricity, heat and air conditioning, appliances that make my daily chores so easy, a reliable vehicle, a safe community in which to raise my children and health care.  

OH YES....and I must not leave out how THANKFUL I am for the joy of sewing and my wonderful sewing machines, amazing fabrics and those oh so handy NOTIONS!!  

I am thankful to own I Have A Notion, Inc as it has provided me so many opportunities to meet and connect with amazing and talented people.

I'm certain there is a long list of things I have not written here....but know I am THANKFUL to be able to recall some of the things on my list :)

I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to share publicly my thoughts, opinions  and experiences.

I am THANKFUL for YOU....for the internet being able to connect us....for your kindnesses and support over the last 6 years!

May you be healthy enough today to enjoy what this day brings your way.  I have learned over and over again that without our health, it is difficult to enjoy the other gifts we are given.  OK, now I'm starting to sound like my grandmother....so I will shut up!  How did I get so old so quickly?

Hugs and Smiles,
Kelly

THANK YOU ...the words seem so small sometimes...

The words Thank You can seem so very small in comparison to the years of hard work and never ending will to succeed for those who serve in our military.    I'd like a much bigger word and a bolder word....one that would convey imminence gratitude for the freedoms and rights we have as Americans. 

THANK YOU TO ALL  VETERANS TODAY AND EVERYDAY

My Father....Thank you Dad!

My brother, Thank You Matt!

Our Daughter, Thank You Maddy!

I'm proud to be an American and very appreciative of my right to speak out and against those things I feel are unjust....and I can celebrate those things that are Great about this Land too!  I don't forget, it is a freedom protected and provided by the many Men and Women who serve us daily in our Military.

With Much Gratitude,

Kelly

Love and it's Many Forms

Sometimes love is expressed with gifts to a friend.

Sometimes love is expressed by claiming what is loved.

Sometimes love is expressed with the amazing gifts of nature.

Other times....it is expressed in the pleasure of Flamingos!

And Flamingo Parents watching their children play in the leaves.

How ever you find Love today....embrace it!

With Love,

Kelly

Flamingo Family and Life

Imagine my surprise when I received a phone call from Elijah Johnson, Journalism Student at Bowling Green State University requesting an interview.  Elijah is writing an article about the Flamingo Family here in Perrysburg.

 

(photo posted previously)

How wonderful is it that Elijah has chosen to focus on such a fun and uplifting art form for his paper????  The amount of time and energy that goes into these temporary forms of art are greatly appreciated by many and I'm thrilled they are again receiving attention for the gifts they give to complete strangers.

I have taken a break from blogging since May because I didn't feel like I had much enthusiasm for blogging about my quilting life or new products.   I have continued to sew and I've made great progress on the hexi quilt I've been making that will be entitled, "Life."

 

(the model is JJ...adopted from Craigslist and he has been absolute joy in my life)

I put the sections together randomly based on nothing other than free flowing intuition.  Each piece and part are a reflection of the process of life....sometimes it is beautiful, sometimes it makes sense, humor is reflected, sometimes cohesive....and then like real life....it gets dark and makes no sense in places.

The quilt is approximately 50 x 60 at this point with areas still needing to be filled in.  Each hexagon is 1/2 inch....about the size of a nickle....and with each piece needing to first be basted to the paper punched hexagon and then joined....each side requires 10-14 tiny stitches per side.   So you can see I've been busy.

Life is so unpredictable....in the last 5 months I felt calmly focused on just being....creating....and enjoying the people in my life.  As many of you know, the grief of loosing my dear friend Mary Jane seemed insurmountable to me for quite some time.   Just as the heavy weight of missing my girlfriend began to lift I learned my brother was killed by a hit and run driver in Hazel Park, MI earlier this month.

I certainly don't want to bring people down....at the same time.....I have learned quite a bit recently and I believe that information would be very helpful to many others.  If you are interested, you can see more on my Facebook page.

Not Smiling So Much These Days,
Kelly

How Flamingos Celebrate Memorial Day

The Flamingo Family went way out for Memorial Day....such fun!

Sending out my gratitude to all those who have served our country and gave their lives for our freedoms. 

CLEARANCE SALE AT IHAN

If you are an machine embroidery enthusiast and are looking to stock up on all in stock machine embroidery stabilizers, threads and designs....there is a clearance all Floriani and Anita Goodesign.  There is one catch however, I can not advertise the prices so if you are interested, please e-mail me at IHaveANotion at Yahoo dot com with what you are interested in and I will give you an amazing deal.  The more you buy....the more you save!

Smiles,
Kelly

Reflections on Mother's Day

I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day....I certainly enjoyed mine :)

The boys seemed to have a good weekend as well :)

Have you ever noticed that relationships with parents and family doesn't always look like a Hallmark Card?    I know the hardest job I've had in my entire life is being a mother and step-mother.  When times get tough I think to myself...."who's idea was this anyway?"  AND....I would not trade a child I have or have nurtured for anything...sometimes I just need to say...DAMN....this is hard! 

My relationship with my Mother was not a Hallmark card...until the last three months of her life.  I find it very easy to forgive her shortcomings because I know there isn't a one of us that were born with a menu to choose our strengths, weaknesses, temperaments, genetic predispositions, appearances, talents....not a single person alive gets to choose.  All we can do is the best we can with what we have and take responsibility for our choices.

As a mother I do the very best I can and I hope to God it is good enough.....I hope they forgive me one day for my short comings and know all I ever wanted for each of them is to be loving, kind and happy human beings.  I don't care one iota what jobs they have or how much or little money they make.  What is most important to me is that they are honest with themselves and one another, that they are kind and generous with their gifts and talents and that they come to know what it is that they are responsible for in this lifetime.

Imagine a Sit Com that was about those folks who could and did choose their attributes?  I bet there would be folks, including myself, who would make a mess of that too....ROFL.  The human condition/experience....not very pretty at times....but it sure is amazing and wonderful all at the same time.

Smiles,
Kelly

Selling Some Beautiful Needle Art - Udate with Offers Posted....It closes Today

 UPDATED 4/29/16

Normally I don't do this, but I was thinking who would appreciate beautiful needle work more than those who do needle work?

Here is the story....these two beauties were made by a Guild Member who no longer has room for them in her home.  The quality of each piece is tops!  At first I thought I would put them on E-bay for her....then I thought...heck I don't even look at E-bay and great people would miss the opportunity.  Sooo....I'm going to show you photos here and if you are interested in purchasing either one or both, please e-mail me at IHaveANotion@yahoo.com with your offer.

NO OFFERS AS OF 4/29/16

Cornucopia 23 x 16 3/4 Framed (without frame 20 x 14)

The quality is beautiful as you can see...and I even smelled each up close...they definitely were never hung in a home with smokers...there is no odor at all and I have a great sniffer :)

I Built Myself A Farm (18 x 12)
$28.00 OFFER AS OF 4/29/16

This is a cross stitch and it is the tiny stitch type.  I have taken close ups for you to enjoy.

You can feel free to make offers through Sunday May 1st and I will update this post daily with the highest offer for each.  The money will be given to the Black Swamp Quilt Guild.  Each piece will go to the highest offer and that person will pay exact shipping only.

Any questions...feel free to e-mail me.  Please be sure to indicate which piece you are making an offer on so I will be clear as to your preference.

Smiles,
Kelly

Early Onset Dementia?

Photo Credit: houseandhometidbits.blogspot.com

I'm not quite sure what is wrong with me....it is a very rare event....so rare in fact that I can not even remember the last time all of these events occurred together...I actually cleaned out my refrigerator, freezer AND pantry yesterday. 

This may not sound odd to any of you....but I was so concerned last night I had to text my sister and ask if she thought it might be early onset dementia and was wondering if I was loosing myself.  Thankfully she assured me that every other part of my personality and mind seemed to be intact.....this was just a rare and strange event and if I were really lucky it might strike again.

What next?  This is very scary for me.....is it possible to domesticate a woman at 52?

I'm going to start counting backwards by 7's from 100...just to be sure I'm OK.

Smiles,

Kelly

Sunny and Bright

Remember that little red sports car that was left in the snow?  Well....today it got a new life!  The Flamingo Family are sporting that hot little thing and I loved seeing it today on my drive past.

I've finished a few small projects and I've got to take some photos and then I'll share.  Suffice to say it is more yard weather than it is indoor sewing weather here in Ohio.

Smiles,
Kelly

Jet Lagged

I had every intent to continue posting to my blog and then I got hit by jet lag, chores, orders and every other thing....so here I am...and I gotta make this one short because I have another full day ahead of me.

While in France we did some Geocaching.  If you don't know what Geocaching is....you may want to find out because it is a ton of fun...for grown ups and children alike.

This one was particularly good.  I won't give any of the clues away or even identify the location of the cache. 

Someone did an excellent job hiding the cache in this tree.  The boys loved finding it.  There was another that was magnetic and placed on the back of a large parking meter system.  The metal piece looked like it belonged there....but nope...there was a cache hidden behind it.

Something very funny (to me anyway) happened while searching in a park for one cache.  The four of us looked high and low....used the instructions and still could not find the cache.  Rick went down a set stairs into parking area.  He saw an opening and felt some paper.  He thought for sure he had found the cache so he called the boys and I over.  His intent was to allow the boys to be the one's who actually do the discovering. The opening was too high for their reach so I reached into this hole and pulled out some paper.

Lo and behold....it was not a Geocache at all....YIKES!

We found someone's drug stash.  Worse yet....I never thought to wipe my finger prints off the paper.  So if anyone in France is looking for me....ya gotta know we were just Geocaching and nothing else....HONESTLY!  I am so grateful it was me who reached up and pulled it out and not my kids.  I sent them away after I noticed there was no paper to sign like in a Geocache.

Speaking of addicts.....I'm still working on my nickle size hexies.  This is the progress I've made:

It it growing and I'm really enjoying this project. 

Oh...and did I mention a snow storm?  We were hit with 7 inches of snow and it took out a part of one of our trees.  Here is how it started:

Beautiful white flakes in the early evening....and by morning...

A winter wonderland in April.

So very grateful Rick owns a chain saw!

The poor little frozen children in front of the city library!!!  LOL

Now....off to get a ton of stuff done.

Smiles,

Kelly

PS....just visited Susan's blog, Hanging on by Needle and Thread. She is having a giveaway and I don't think you will want to miss it.  Click Here to enter to win a class teaching scrap quilts or pineapple quilts.

Returning Home from Spring Break

What a wonderful time we had.  We visited Lyon France, Paris France, Rome Italy and by chance a day in Amsterdam.  I really don't want to bore anyone to death with vacation photos...after all we each had a camera and I took 659 myself...yikes.  I will share a few highlights and later will create a photo album on line for anyone interested in more details.

The Louvre in Paris

 

Eiffel Tower in Paris

Tribute to Lady Diana at the tunnel where she was killed.  I've seen this a few times now and every time I cry.  What a lovely woman and so very sad to have died because someone wanted her photo.

We were very interested in the one person electric cars in Europe.  They were so cool...I want one with a hitch so I can pull my kids along behind me...LOL.

One very big problem would be getting all that fabric home in this little jobbie.

Musee de l'Armee seeing the tomb of Napoleon

 Naturally the boys loved all the weapons and armor.

No quilt shop visits :( but I did see some beautiful textiles and clothing.  I will share about those in a separate post.

Every quilter I know touches the fabric in the shop....right?  Tell me if I'm wrong...but I've never been to a shop yet that said, please don't touch the fabric....until Rome!

 Valli Fabrics

I was so excited when I came upon the Valli fabric shop in Rome.  The fabrics were absolutely amazing...BUT....as I was looking at the fabrics and began touching some of them a salesman approached and told me, "do not touch the fabrics.  If you would like to see them, ask me." Perhaps this is usual and customary for Rome, I would not know as this was my first visit.  The one fabric I wanted to purchase was 136 Euro (apx 155.00 US dollars) for 1 meter.  I wanted to  make a lovely scarf for myself and one for my sister as a special treat....yes...a very special treat.  The store had no customers and three sales associates standing around.   My thoughts on the subject...no matter the customs of the country.....if I can't touch your fabric then you can't touch my money!  Instead I bought a few lovely scarves at other shops....and yes....I touched the scarves before purchasing them :)

Up to my ears in laundry and feeling guilty for using my clothes dryer.  The family we visited in France do not use a clothes dryer....I feel so spoiled and lazy.

Smiles,
Kelly