Little Things Make Me Smile

Frequently I find myself marveling at the little things in life and my heart begins to  sing.  The little  thing I found recently is a toy sewing machine.

I found it at a resale shop while burning 15 minutes before an appointment.  It was cheap and I thought it would go nicely with this little toy iron I found at a garage sale a few years ago.  I need to find a place to put my "little" toys because I also have...

a little wooden ironing board with a cloth cover and a wooden iron.  Awe...miniatures can be so cute.  Too many little things that catch dust isn't a good thing...guess I better keep this collection small.

Then there are those "Big Things" that also make me smile...this time it is my oldest co-worker receiving his Arrow of Light, the highest honor in Cub Scouts.

Aaron is no longer a Cub Scout, he is a Boy Scout...booo hooooo...my baby is growing up way too fast.  Mr. McSteamy looks very proud of our big Boy Scout in this photo and I was smiling big behind the camera. 

Having so much snow and now rain...can you believe it?  It is pouring outside right now all over our snow...and you know what that means...slush and muddy brown stuff where our beautiful snow used to rest.  YUCK!!  I'm forced to find inside things to focus on ....and one of those things  is my new quilt project.

When I was in PA for my retreat I was gifted a big bag of blocks from a block swap that I was not able to participate in.  My girlfriend, Eleanor (not Lady Eleanor...but PA Eleanor) has already made two quilts using her blocks and she didn't want to make another so she gave these to me.  I just love this project and I'm using my Featherweight because its so fun to sew on.

There are about 36 little blocks assembled so far and I know it will look great when I'm finished.  I think I'll even hand quilt this one.

YES, I do look at other things each day....namely....my morning coffee, my breakfast plate, my lunch plate and my dinner plate...oh yeah...and then those late night snack plates too.  Way too many late night snack plates around here this winter I"m telling ya.  Oh yeah...and I also marvel at icicles since we have so many these days...

This was a huge collection that hung outside my guild meeting last Thursday.  If I could have, I would have climbed into the snow bank and took close up pictures because it was so pretty.

Snow sculptures in my front yard also catch my eye....

Last night the boys all went out to sculpt a big alligator head in the show...he looks menacing doesn't he?  I wouldn't mess with anyone living in house with a huge alligator in the front yard would you?

Still smiling,
Kelly

Guess What?

I just learned that Sandi Blackwell, of Square-agonals fame, is now a Craftsy Instructor.  I'm so excited for her.  Way to go Sandi!!!

This is a photo of Sandi from back in 2010 when I first met her.  Sandi has since published three books and several patterns that teach her method of quilting.  What I really am taken by is that she doesn't sew angles...no triangles!  She does however teach people how to sew together squares and later cut them into pieces that turn out to be amazingly placed angles....or to use her term, "Square-agonals."

 I've had the good fortune to host giveaways for Sandi's books....you may recall the most recent two:

 

Simply Sensational Square-agonals Quilts 

 Square-Agonals 12 Easy Pieces

For those who don't like piecing triangles or on point settings....you can definitely rely on Sandi to teach you how to accomplish amazing and beautiful quilts.  I'm a visual learner so videos and classes are better than books typically...now you can check Sandi out at Craftsy dot com.

I've taken a few Craftsy Classes now and I've been very pleased.  I like that once I pay for the class, I own it forever.  I just sign in and I can view or review the video anytime I want.  Since the class is stored on their server, I don't even have to wonder where my DVD's are, if they are scratched, or have to dust them...I just head over to my computer and sign in.

I'm so happy for Sandi and I am grateful to Sandi for letting me share with the quilting world that she is now a Craftsy Instructor.

A note from Sandi:
Kelly, thank you so much for sharing my big news! However my class won't be released until spring, you won't find it yet! But I will keep you posted....thanks again for spreading the word!

Big Happy Smiles,
Kelly
 

Love is....

Love is....

photo taken from a forwarded e-mail some time ago 

 anything you want it to be really.  February 14th brings about the celebration of St. Valentines and in my neck of the woods it is celebrated by children at school.  In my world, love is celebrated every day and words and actions of love are carried out as a routine part of our everyday lives. 

I recall several years ago....I was in my early 30's..being taken to the airport by my mother and before I boarded the plane she told me how much she loved me.  Later that night while visiting with my father, he told me how proud he was of me and that he loved me.  That night I went to bed thinking how wonderful it was to have been told by both of my parents how much they loved me...all in the same day.  For many people...that is routine...for me....it was amazing and I'll never forget that day.  My heart was full and I felt special....and I knew then that should I have a family, that was going to be shared every day and my children would find that to be the routine....and so it is.
 (both parents had shared words and actions of love long before this day in my thirties...but I don't recall having heard those words communicated so clearly by both parents on the same day...that day was indeed special)

Happy thoughts of love....I'd love to hear about your special moments of loving memories...either here in a comment...or via e-mail...yes I do read them and love to know from those who care to share...what you hold near and dear today.  I"m always at IHaveANotion dot com.

Smiles of Gratitude today,
Kelly

Hari-kuyo: Festival of the Broken Needles Honored at IHAN ® Today

When we join needle to thread and begin stitching, in time, our skills improve and we create more masterful pieces.  Our skills are not improving on their own, it is the needle that works along side of us to join the thread to fibers...a co-creating of sorts.  Those fallen counterparts (the needles and pins) are "laid to rest" if you will....in a ceremony or festival honoring their work and it is called Hari-kuyo.  

Hearing about Hari-kuyo several years ago, I had a desire to have a Festival or Ceremony of my own.  Today was "that"  day and I did it the same way I do most everything in my life, I winged it.  If I were Native American I'm sure I would have been named "flies by seat of pants".

With my limited knowledge and understanding, I gathered the pins and needles from my sharps container and all that were collected from the IHAN® Needle Exchange Program.   A candle was lit and I began focusing my attention on gratitude for all those needles and their joining with me in my quest for improved needle art skills. 

 Reflecting on all that I've asked those needles to do and being grateful that not a one of them laughed at me or all my mistakes.   Taking time to think about the gifts that needle work has brought to my life and how being part of the needle arts community has changed me as a person....now those needles seem very sacred and treasured parts of my jouney.  Tossing them into the trash seems difficult if not impossible.  I will lay them to rest in the flower garden in  front of my home where I also have hung bird feeders as a memorial to my mother.  Birds will sing over the top of those broken needles...what a wonderful resting place.

This experience has been powerful for me and I'm so glad I participated in Hari-kuyo this year. 

Smiles of Gratitude,
Kelly

You can read more about Hari-kuyo from these sources or you can visit the "wise village elder" aka Google:
Stitchtress Stumbles
Audrey Yang at ISSUU

It's Snowing...just like when I was a Kid :)

The beautiful white snow feels like a return to my childhood when school was closed and we could barely open the front door because the snow had drifted to over 2 feet.   The memories of being a child include "real snow" where it would literally be over 24 inches and we dressed in multiple layers and used Wonder Bread plastic bags (the ones with the colorful dots on them) as lining over our 2 or 3 pair of socks to make it easier to slide on our boots.  We headed out to play and shovel show.  Mainly just play until we were somewhere around 11 and then snow brought with it the opportunity to make money by shoveling other people's sidewalks. 

School has been canceled today (we're up to 5 1/2 days of weather related absences this winter) and we have been enjoying it from the windows thus far. 

An ordinary passerby might think nothing of this cave at the end of our driveway....but to this Momma, that is the sign of two very hardworking and happy boys :)  The co-workers have tunneled through the big pile of accumulated snow and ice to make their own tunnel.  I loved the ice sickles that have formed on the roof of their cave.

Between going to Physical Therapy and keeping up with the snow and ice I haven't found much time to sew.  I've been using my embroidery machine to make labels for some quilts that are finished.

 This is one I made yesterday and then cut through the fabric while trimming the stabilizer.  You can guess there will be a duplicate in my near future.

I was given a bird feeder and a bird seed wreath for Christmas and I took them out front earlier this week and hung them in the trees.  Oh the birds that have visited...

 

The bird house was covered in seed when it was hung...they didn't last long that's for sure!  It is now a naked house...giggles.

Rick filled the bird fountain with seed so they would not have to fight for the seeds.   Snow and birds...a wee bit of stitching...that's what I've been up to this past week.

Three days from now it will be the Festival of  Broken Needles aka Hari-kuyo.  For the past 4 years I have wanted to acknowledge this Festival but my planning and execution skills were not aligned.  This year is different!!!  My understanding of Hari-kuyo is taking the time to show gratitude for old and broken needles.  Sort of a Thanksgiving for our stitching needles.  Very cool indeed and I plan on having a little ceremony here. 

I've saved all of my broken sewing and hand stitching needles in a medicine bottle for several years  and I also saved all the needles I received in the IHAN Needle Exchange Program a  few years back.  This will be the first time I will officially celebrated "Hari-kuyo" and  I was thinking of a funeral of sorts to lay those wonderful needles to rest.  I'll post more on the 8th.

Back to the snow....

Smiles,
Kelly

The Minimalists: Everything That Remains Book Tour Trailer

Dreary Saturday Outside Today

We've had snow and now rain...and boy is it slushy outside today.  No worries for me however...I'm inside :)

Doing what you ask?

Well...after I've sorted tons of paper on my kitchen table, I've arranged play dates for both co-workers and now I'm headed to the sewing sanctuary to make some quilt labels on my embroidery machine. 

Guess who flew back home this week....my Power Suit Piece (above) arrived back home safe and sound.  That is one well traveled bird I have to say.  So glad I participated because it challenged me to do things I would not have otherwise done.  I'd love to hear about some of your challenges that you've participated in....share away :)

Smiles,
Kelly

Pincushion Appeal Winner Announced

 We have a winner!!!

Pincushion Appeal

Congratulations goes out to Kathe!!!

I have sent Kathe an e-mail and I'm waiting to hear back from her.  

THANK YOU Cecile McPeak and Rachel Martin for supplying the book and fun kits :)

I have been fortunate enough to hear about so many wonderful pincushion collections since posting about this new book, Pincushion Appeal.  Someone needs to organize a pincushion swap for sure.  It just can't be me...I'm swamped...but I'd love to participate if you coordinate :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Smiles,

Kelly

Good Sunday Mornin' to Ya :)

Enjoy...I did!

My mother absolutely loved babies and when I saw these videos, I knew her spirit was listening too. We have more beautiful snow here in OH.....thankfully I don't have to dress 4 babies in winter gear. Smiles, Kelly

Fleece Scarves Tutorial With or Without Embroidery by Karin

Hello there!  The other day, I realized that we had THREE birthdays coming up, all within the first 10 days of February.  I mentioned it to Kelly and she asked me what I was gonna do about it.  Well, since they were all in Virginia, and I'm in South Texas, I also had to factor in some shipping time....what to do, what to do?  I was gonna use up some fleece, that's what I was gonna do!  That would solve a couple of problems - easy, quick birthday presents, and use up some fabric, how could I go wrong with that??  So, I got busy and embroidered and  sewed up four scarves real quick.  I sent Kelly a picture of some of them, and she wanted to know how I made them.  So, here I am, sharing with her, and you, her dear readers.  So, grab some fleece, a ruler and thread, and let's go!

There are a couple different layouts for your design, and you'll have to figure out which you want before you begin.  If you have fleece that's wide enough to accommodate your design AND a backside, you can use that, but if you only have a narrow scrap of fleece, you'll want two lengths, so you can sew them together down the long sides.  For the pictures and  tutorial here, we're going to assume you have an unlimited supply of fleece (or at least sufficient).  (Everyone has a bunch of fleece in a tote bin in the corner of their guest room, right?  Oh...it's just me?)

For these scarves, I decided to use some of the  Wrapped Up in Winter designs from Embroidery Library.

They're just too cute, aren't they?  And sooo easily customized with simple color changes.

These designs are about 7 inches wide, so I cut my fleece at 18 inches wide, selvage to selvage 

(7x2 plus 4 (seam allowance and 1 inch on each side of the design)).

Remember, if your selected design isn't as wide as mine, you won't need to cut such wide fleece, and if you're doing another color fleece for the scarf back, you'll need TWO long pieces of fleece, but only wide enough for the seam allowance and design.

For this  tutorial, I'm going to assume you're working with one piece of fleece.  Find and mark your center.  I put a light chalk mark, but then I stuck a pin through it so I could see it better.  You'll want to make this mark at least 6 inches up from the short end of the scarf.  This'll allow room enough for you to add a name and a fringe later on.

Pick your colors - this was the hardest part for me - always is.

Hoop your fleece and stabilizer.  Now, you've got a couple options here.  You can use one piece of Floriani Cutaway, or a couple of pieces of Floriani Tearaway - totally your choice, and dependent upon how dense your design is.  There's no need to hoop the fleece (and if you try to do so, you'll probably get aggravated, not to mention, hoop burn on your fabric).....just hoop your stabilizer, then pin your fleece to the stabilizer.

Below you can see the pin I placed for centering.  Let me warn you - I just bought a new Babylock, and one of the advanced features is that automatic targeting system, using stickers that look like baby snowmen.  I used one of them on the first scarf I did...follow my advice, not my lead, and DON'T.  Do NOT use those stickers.  Those babies are just tooooooo sticky, and a lot of the fleece's pile was removed when I removed the sticker.  Surprise!  (Same reason I don't recommend Adhesive Stabilizer for this fabric.)  So, I used a pin for centering all the rest.  Move your needle over to the pin, but don't start sewing yet!!!!  Just move your design so the center of it is roughly where your pin is.

Remove your hoop, but don't take your fabric out of it...just pin a layer of Floriani Water Soluble Topping  over your design area.  This will help lay the fuzzy pile down and float your stitches on top of it, giving a nice, even fill that will appear nice and dense.  Why didn't we lay down the topping before centering the design?  Because we would have laid that topping down right over top of that centering pin, and we all know what happens when needle strikes pin, right?

Here's the Floriani Water Soluble Topping added...

Now, this next part is totally optional, but since it adds stability, you'll lessen the chance of wrap-arounds and  pull-aways.  Wrap-around is where the bobbin thread wraps to the front of the stitching, and pull-away is where your stitching areas separate from one another, leaving your fabric peeking through (trust me, neither is ever a good look).  A good rule of thumb is one sheet of stabilizer for every 8,000 stitches.  So what I've done here is taken one of my scraps of tearaway and tucked it under the hoop....it's not attached to anything, it's just laid down on the bed between the hoop and  the throat plate.  Obviously, you'll want to make sure your design is going to stitch in the same area as your floating stabilizer...So, this design is about 18,000 stitches, and I've got 3 layers of tearaway, which will hold about 24,000 stitches - I'm good to go.

Load up your first color and press START.  Let 'er rip!

When your stitching is all complete, remove the hoop from the machine, remove all the stabilizer and topping and  trim any long jump stitches.

Now it's time to turn your embroidered fleece fabric into a scarf!  Fold it in half, lengthwise (or put your two pieces right sides together), and pin.  If you're going to make a fringe, be sure to start and  stop your seam accordingly...see where I double-pinned?  That's approximately where my fringe is going to start.

Because fleece is stretchy, be sure to use a long zig-zag stitch.  You know what'll happen if you don't? You'll have wavy seams and broken stitches.  Trust me on that.

Oh yeah, a walking foot will make it much easier and  neater to sew.

When your seam is sewn, turn your tube right side out and roll that seam around to the center back (if you're using 2 separate pieces of fleece, just make sure your side seams are lined up nicely on each side).

Run a line of zig-zag across the scarf, just past the start/stop point, leaving the fringe end open.

Trim the selvage off each short end and fringe as desired.  Just be careful and don't make your fringes so skinny that they pull off.  And don't cut all the way through the line of stitching (I probably didn't have to tell you that, but I'm sure McDonald's didn't think it had to tell people its coffee was hot, either).  Since it's not woven, fleece won't ravel, but I prefer the look of the pinked edges.  Feel free to use straight scissors if you wish.

And that's how she did it.  These sew up quick and easy and nice they're so light, they were easy (and inexpensive) to ship.  I'm told the kids loved 'em, and my hubby is thrilled that fabric went OUT the door instead of in  (sshhhhhhh, don't tell him I bought about 5 yards of something pretty when we were in Austin the other day.....)!  Win-win-win!

Thanks for letting me crash your blog, Kelly.  Let me know if you have any questions!

THANK YOU Karin....another wonderful tutorial!  I love the scarves and I know the kids do too.  Big hugs to you and Driver :)

Kelly

Pincushion Appeal Book REVIEW and GIVEAWAY

Pincushion Appeal by Cecile McPeak and Rachel Martin

The first time I laid eyes on this book it was mine...I just knew it.  Then I saw who wrote it and I knew why I loved it so much.  Cecile and Rachel from Just Another Button Company wrote this fun book!!

I do my very best not to "collect" too many things because the more you own, the more it owns you...right?  Salt and Pepper shakers are one of my weaknesses and the other is pincushions.  I love to give and receive them as they are so much fun.  Cecile and Rachel will tickle your pin cushion fancy with all the patterns they have in their new book, Pincushion Appeal.

I can't imagine a down day or being frustrated when looking at this heavenly mushroom including

 "embellished wonderments" (my term for Just Another Button Company's products).  Pincushions are my anti-depressants...LOL.  I just love them :)

Not only are you going to have a chance to win this great new book....but your prize will also include the fabric kit and a tiny packet of extra embellishments.  I can not guarantee you'll have the same anti-depressant effects I receive....but I bet you'll be dancing at your mail box if you are the winner.

A few notes about this giveaway....you must be an IHAN ® blog follower to win, you must leave a comment on this blog post (before 1/31/14) and you will be asked to pay the shipping associated with this prize (shipping from 43551 zip code).   See the Rafflecopter below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Best of luck to all of you in the giveaway....if you like Pincusions or know someone who does..I know you'll enjoy this book immensely.

Smiles,
Kelly