Ahhhhh

Yep, that's what I have to say about going to Virginia and Maryland this past weekend, "Ahhhhh."  Possibly preceded by a "Ohhhhh Ahhhhhh."

Driving out of  Ohio on Thursday, I said to myself, "It is raining giraffes and elephants out here."

The heavy rain came down with an urgency and there were some cars and trucks pulled off to the side of the road for a period of time.  I pressed on through those large animal size rain drops because I had an agenda.

 

The view outside the car was lush and beautiful from Ohio to Leesburg, VA.

Yes, I do hold my phone up without looking and snap photos of what I'm passing....will ya look at those clouds....they look so very pregnant.

We live in a country that is so very abundant with beauty.

Fortunately, I live in a community, the quilting community, that is also so very abundant with beauty :)  Before and after going to the Wonder Woman Weekend hosted by Iylana Vanzant, I stayed with a blogging friend, Beth Hunter.  She and I met blogging while she lived in South Africa.  Many of you know on the top of my bucket list is going to Africa so there was a natural attraction to hearing about Beth's life while she lived in South Africa. 

What I learned about Beth: She is the daughter of a wildly wonderful, creative, artistic  and colorful woman, the wife of a deeply caring and talented man and the mother of two beautiful and playful German Shepards.  Beth has embraced her creativity and I found her energy to be electric and magnetic.  Did I mention she can cook?  Damn that girl can cook!!!  Gotta love friends like that :)

The bed I slept in.

Contents of the room I slept in......

 The wall hanging I looked at while laying in that beautiful bed.

The jacket pictured below was made by Beth's Mother (wildly wonderful, creative, artistic  and colorful) who now lives without her earthly body.

The photo is dark....but you can certainly tell that those colors are right up my alley!  Check out all the hand stitching she did on this jacket:

This is not the only stitching either...there was lots of beautiful stitching.

 Beth comes by her talent and creativity naturally.  The "H" above was not done by an embroidery machine, nope!  Beth thread painted that piece....I just love it.

 More of Beth's work....

 Hand pieced and quilted by Beth....breath taking isn't it?

Now, I've got to stop here so I can go and package up those very special IHAN ® orders....there are folks waiting right now for the "Elves" to inspect their order!  More to come.....

Joyful Smiles,

Kelly

Self Care

 my new friend

Thank you to everyone who has called or e-mailed to inquire about my well being, I am very well and have been engaged in self care :)

I think my 50's will be a season of inner focus and caring for this body I've been given.  I think that's why I've been a bit quiet here on my blog but I've not been quite with my inner circle....we talk by phone and e-mail and actually visit in person and I'm all the richer for it :)

So, what's life been like at IHAN ®?  Thanks for asking :)

 

 Waldo came over the other day to get my assistance with shipping this amazing quilt to her son.  She hand quilted it and I'm telling you it is a heirloom treasure and I was jealous.  The thought did occur to me to ship it to myself and say it got lost in the mail...ROFL.  Can you see her face when she came to visit the next time and found me curled up under it?  Fun thought....unforgivable deed...good thing I know the difference!

Another Waldo project....this was her charity quilt....way too much fun.  I will definitely have to make a chicken quilt soon!

Sleeping in this bed makes me uber-joyful.   I've been to PA to stay with MJ for 5 days as she has been under the weather.  We watched Downton Abbey each night and enjoyed just being together. 

My youngest co-worker, Zach, turned 10.  As you can see he was very excited to have 2 friends spend the night.

Mr. McSteamy and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary....flowers compliments of MJ :)

The trees are blossoming in the most beautiful fashion at IHAN® headquarters :)

 Yes, I'm still having tons of fun :)

Speaking of fun....I'm staying with a blogging friend in VA and going to the Wonder Woman Weekend in Maryland today.  Wanna know who I'm staying with?

Smiles,

Kelly

Is A Travel Quilt In Your Future?

For those of you who love Machine Embroidery you are going to be tickled to see what Anita Goodesign has come up with.

The 50 States Embroidery Designs

 Because I love to travel I think this collection will be so much fun.  I can see a quilt of each state that we have traveled to as a family.  Plenty of gifts for family and friends....the ideas keep coming!    The entire set of 50 States is available for Pre-Order NOW at I Have A Notion, Inc.  Individually these designs are $25.00 each, totaling $1250.00 but Anita Goodesign is generously offering a Pre-Order Special for $399.00 NOW....how cool is that?  If you are a Machine Embroidery enthusiast and you are not convinced this is in an incredible deal, watch the "youtube" video below.

You know I'm Smiling and excited to get these designs too!
Kelly

HUGE Sale Alert for Locals

 Diana Trost was one of the happy shoppers today.  

The sale is being hosted by Mary Clark and a few of her friends.

I can only begin to imagine the amount of time and energy that went into this amazing sale.  All of the fabrics are organized so nicely.

There is enough for everyone I know and everyone they know....giggles.

 

 

There is also a huge variety of books covering every quilting and stitching subject that I'm aware of and probably some I have yet to discover.

 Sewing thread and hand stitching threads galore....and one lonely sewing machine....LOL.

I bet you want to know the address.....I'm going to post it for two days only and then come back and delete it from the post.  Are you ready?  Gas up your cars and prepare for a real adventure and plenty of lovely ladies to chat with.

April 25 and 26th 9am-4pm at 7435 Country Meadow Ct., off King between Brent and Sylvania

I'm guessing there will be police to direct traffic tomorrow...LOL.  If I were really smart I'd head over and put up a coffee and cookie stand and make a mint.  Enjoy the shopping and if you go because you read it here....please do send me an email and tell me all you bought.

Smiles,
Kelly

Del Thomas...Wonderful Woman, Quilt Maker and Collector

UPDATED...SEE BELOW

 Del Thomas was the Collector in Residence the week I was at Asilomar this past March.  She is a lovely lady, a quilter and a prolific quilt collector.  I admire her for supporting quilt artists and showing their beautiful quilts. 

There was an amazing quilt show of some of the quilts Del owns and I did my best to take a picture of every single one.  I hope the notes I took during her lecture were accurate, if not, I'll come back and correct the names of the artists who made the quilts.

UPDATE: THERE WERE SOME ERRORS...THEY HAVE BEEN CORRECTED...THANKS TO DEL THOMAS ....I SO APPRECIATE THE CORRECTIONS!!!

This free picture slideshow created with Smilebox

Kelly

Hoffman Fabric Winners Announced

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to the winners!  Please send your full name and address to IHaveANotion at Yahoo dot com and I'll calculate the postage for you.

THANK YOU Hoffman Fabrics for sponsoring this giveaway....your fabrics ROCK BIG SURF BOARDS!!!  oh yeah...and require virtual defibrillators too!

Smiles,
Kellly 

A Visit to Hoffman Fabrics and A Giveaway

UPDATED 4/11/14 Due to Rafflecopter Hiccup....I have fixed the Rafflecopter gizmo and it should start working.  No worries if you have already left a comment, I can go back and manually add them to Rafflecopter.  I have also extended the time because of the mistake :)  I might even add more fabrics....stay tuned!!! Thank you for your patience :)

I've been traveling so much that I'm thousands of photos deep in preparing for blog posts.  When I was in California a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go back to Hoffman Fabrics.

 

I instantly fell in love with this quilt and the fabrics.  I think this is the "Royal Surfer" line ....makes me want to jump in the water.  Check out Hoffman's 2014 Tropicals & Conversational Catalog" to see more fun fabrics.

Seeing all the mouth watering Hoffman Fabrics my creative energies began to run wild.  After seeing the Route 66 fabric I thought of home, the Motor City and the Woodward Dream Cruise.  Classic cars are driven up and down Woodward Avenue for three straight days and people come by the thousands.  I suggested Hoffman consider making some Dream Cruise fabrics so those classic car enthusiasts could be sporting  Hot Rod Shirts, Skirts and Shorts.   I also thought of the pattern I have for making boxer shorts....classic car boxer shorts would really be fun.   Just so you know....I AM holding my breath Hoffman Fabric Designers :)....and I'm begging too!  

Another recommendation I have for Hoffman Fabrics is to put defibrillators within arms reach when giving tours....I felt my heart racing several times during my visit.  You may need one just to view the remaining photos...you've been warned!! 

 Pallet after pallet of beautiful Hoffman Fabrics.......

"Route 66"

 "Royal Surfer"

 "Sunset Fighters"

 "Parrots"

 Hoffman  Batiks

Jamie Fingal's Home is Where Your Story Begins  is so much fun.  Can you see those travel trailers....this fabric makes me smile in my heart.

 This is a piece Jamie made and instead of using batting, she used felt on the back. "Coffee Break" is a free pattern offered by Hoffman Fabrics and you can find it HERE.

Very playful.  I was  thinking  making prayer flags with her fabric and using the felt would be a fun idea....I may have to try this.

New Hoffman Fabric Lines for Christmas....here is one of them.....

Stained Glass Christmas

Stained Glass Christmas will be coming out soon and I think it will be a huge it.  If you would like the free pattern, just CLICK HERE.

While I'm on the subject of Christmas....keep in mind that SewCalGal is hosting a Hand Made Christmas Challenge and there will be wonderful prizes....including Hoffman Fabrics...another chance to win some great fabrics.

If you love Batik Fabric like I love Batik Fabric....check out these Holiday Batiks

Honestly I'm not trying to torture you....giggles....I'm just preparing you for a GIVEAWAY!!!  Yes....Thanks to Hoffman Fabrics I am able to give away two bundles of fabric on my blog....I know...a defibulator would come in handy....I'll put one at the end of this post just in case....LOL

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

 This giveaway is open to EVERYONE EVERYWHERE because the winners will be paying the shipping.....the only way to balance the books folks.

There are two bundles being given away.....

 

Holiday Batiks

Stained Glass Christmas

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Here is your virtual defibrillator....throw your chest against your computer and perhaps it may help....keep in mind....it may not help....in that case...DIAL 911 immediately :)

Smiles,
Kelly

Got a Sec? Make a Tote!

Hey y'all!  It's Karin, steppin' in for Kelly for a moment...she's doing the boot-scootin' boogie right now...in between loads of laundry (and I do mean LOADS!), she's finishing up her tax paperwork and getting back into the swing of things, after being gone for a few days.  Gone, you say?  Oh yeah, baby, she was gone, and it was good!  I'll let her tell you all about it, but here's some news that just can't wait!

Photo Credit: Barb from Bejeweled Quilts

Quilters are a generous bunch, and since we all know or are related to someone that's been touched by breast cancer, I thought I'd share one woman's personal drive to make a difference.  Thank you, Barb, of Bejeweledquilts by Barb, for making me aware of MJ's touching story and this courageous young woman.

I know your time is precious, but you really must give both posts a read, where you'll learn all about how MarthaJane was diagnosed with breast cancer, just after Valentine's Day, 2005.  You'll read how she was only 24 years old, and even worse, she was in the doctor's office for a follow-up to her recent miscarriage.  Yeah, wham, bam, thank you ma'am.  And wham again, just for good measure.

So, MarthaJane got all this really crappy news, and like everyone who gets news of this nature, once she heard the doctor say "cancer," she really didn't hear much else.  She likened the conversation to a Charlie Brown cartoon, where the adults are saying "BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH."  (Trust me, when I was a kid, that's what they all sounded like to me, too!!)  But, one thing she did get out of that first meeting was a handmade tote bag, containing (along with breast cancer literature) some chocolate, a journal, a candle and a pen.  To this day (9 years later), she still treasures that handmade tote bag.  In her follow-up video, she explains how she's used it all these years to carry her favorite scarf, more chocolate (can you relate?), her journal, falsies (yup, she's kept her sense of humor), her wig, and other personal necessities that she needed to keep close at hand as she went to all those treatment sessions.  And she remarks that it let her know she was loved and that someone cared.  She's grateful to the person that took the time to make the tote and donate it to the hospital, and she wants to honor that person and provide the same comfort to other ladies.

To that end, she is looking for your help - she would love to be able to deliver 100 tote bags (she calls 'em Totes for Tatted Tits, and she explains the "tattoos" in her blog) by Mother's Day to her local oncologist's office.  She says it way better than I:

 I want those who will receive them to know that they are not alone and that there is a network of survivors and supporters and cheerleaders encouraging them in this fight before they ever leave the doctor’s office.


She's got her mailing address listed over there on her blog entry, and I know time is short....but it only takes a few minutes to put together one of these totes, and she's even provided a link to an easy pattern.  And here's another one, courtesy of Barb & Lazy Girl Designs.  Just think of how good it'd make you feel to help a sister out.  Personally, I've reached out to my Sister-In-Law, who had previously asked me for suggestions on how her church ladies (who are not at all crafty) can get involved in some service projects.  I suggested that they get together and choose/purchase some pretty fabrics, send it all to me, and I'd sew the totes up & send 'em along to MJ.  Perhaps you could reach out to some of your own friends?  Maybe now's a good time to teach a youngster to sew?  What about the 4-H or Girl Scout groups in your area?  I bet with your help, MJ can reach her goal, and then some!  So how about it??  Don'tcha have an extra yard or 3 you could spare??  She's promised to find a home for each and every one she receives, so don't worry about making "too many.." - I bet there's no such thing as too many!  She doesn't ask you to stuff them with anything, but I'm sure she wouldn't object to finding a few surprises tucked inside...just sayin.  :)

Thanks for reading along, and for taking action!  I just know this post will generate quite a few Totes for Tatted Tits!!

Welcome Home, Kelly, and thanks for helping me spread the word on behalf of MarthaJane and all the sisters!