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Thursday, April 9, 2009
Easter is almost here and today is Passover
Last night I drove all the way out to the Toledo Botanical Garden for what I thought was a Toledo Needle Arts Guild meeting. I was there promptly at 6:30 with my stitching in my bag and I was excited. I've been wanting to go for over a year and just have never made it to a meeting. The conference rooms were filled with people that were obviously not stitchers. No bags of threads, hoops, needles....nothing....zip, zero, zilch. I phoned Rick (my husband) and he googled the Needle Arts Guild and it meets in a completely different place and the meetings are no longer on the second Wed. of them month....they are on the third Wed. Well, I guess I was relieved they did not change their meetings to the first Wed of the month. Guess I'll have to wait another week to meet the gals there.
My scheduled time out did not go to waste....oh no....I stopped at Sally Anns and got several new spring tops and two pair of carpi's. Not all is lost!!!
These are some magnets I made to give the boy's teachers in their Easter "baskets". I put some batting in the top to make them puffy. I especially like the Dr. Seuss magnets....sooo darn cute.
Hope it is warm and sunny in your part of the world today. Don't forget to leave a comment so I can enter your name in my drawing to win 4 bag tags. You have to leave a comment to win!!!
Kelly
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
You just have to see this gals bags!!!
So here you go: http://mousechirpy-polkadotpineapple.blogspot.com/
Ya can't say I don't share!!! Cuz you know I do....and I love it.
Good night all....and Good morning AU
Kelly
Circle Quilt
Our furniture was in storage and had been for almost a year. So I dug out some photos of my furniture and took them into Needles. Mary and Katie stacked so many bolts of fabric on tables that I thought their arms would fall off. I'm sure their arms have huge muscles from all that hauling and toting those bolts of fabric. I went through the stack and selected the ones I liked the best. They encouraged me to pick things I might not otherwise select as they would enhance the other fabrics I had chosen. So I stretched and got some with little flowers, stars, dots, etc.
Once I started the practice piece for sewing on a curve, I was off and running. I finished the top in less than a week (if my memory serves me correctly!!).
This is the Quilt Label:
“Around and Around”
In the year 2005, I took a circle quilt class from Janet Bellinger of Wellsboro , PA at Needles Quilt Shop. Katie Mader & Mary Guinn, the shop owners, inspired me to make a quilt for myself and assisted with the selection of fabrics.
Janet did the long arm quilting and my friend Mary Jane Ehlich helped me put the piping and binding on.
Completed July 2007 by:
Kelly Howlett March Jackson
Janet has made many circle quilts and she also is a long arm quilter. Who better to do the quilting? She finished it and then Mary Jane and I sat and worked on the piping and the binding. Mary Jane had just gotten the "Piping Hot Binding" tool. It was so great. The piping was made in no time and the edges were nice and even; very easy to sew on the edge of the quilt top.
I'm very proud of this quilt and happy that all these other women have helped make the finished project so beautiful. The quilt hangs over a chair in my living room. I love wrapping up in it on a cold evening. Speaking of cold evenings....it was snowing again....hmmm...April....come on SUNSHINE and warmer weather :)
Kelly
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
The purse was designed and punched by Starr. I guess I forgot to mention these things. Oops. It is a lot like quilting. The top can be pieced by one person and another person does the quilting. Sorry Brenda for the mistake as your designs are beautiful!!!
Kelly
Who Ordered The SNOW???
I had a great afternoon....did I say GREAT.....ok.....you got it then. I had been looking forward to visiting and seeing more of her work so I was so grateful that my husband was able and willing to take the boys for the afternoon. I have posted only a few of the pictures I took because of the upload time on blogger. I will upload more again soon. These are some samples of her work:
This sits on Starr's sewing table. How fun is this? Everything in her room was organized and kept in drawers and rolling carts. I just wanted to sit for hours and look through the books, magazines and threads. It is so much fun to look through other people's things....mine don't seem nearly as exciting. I've named her "Gadget Girl" because Starr has all the gadgets. I saw things today that I did not even know existed. My "to buy" list just got longer!!! Yikes
The thread used in the back ground-tan and white-is variegated thread. I really like the dimension it adds to the work. None of these works were finished/framed. We just folded back the fabric and snapped a picture.
Starr uses different gauges to achieve the 3-d effect in the flowers and border. This is much more visible on the following photos.
The sheep in this photo was punched in fuzzy thread. The sheep really stands out and is fuzzy and warm looking. The flowers just pop off the fabric. Again, we just folded over the fabric and the photos don't really do the work justice.
The fine detail in this piece really caught my attention. I have been having the most difficult time getting my work to look like a fine detailed picture. After a few demonstrations and some instruction I was able to understand how this effect is achieved.
So are you wondering if my piece is completed? Well it is not. I was planning on working on it this evening and I spent the better part of my night working on getting these photos to upload. I have made a beautiful slide show of her work but I could not get it to load on blogger. So I will figure another way to share all these lovely works.
Now lets hope there is no more snow here until December......Kelly
Part 2 of Who Ordered This Snow?
With all the snow I thought I would post some fitting pictures!!! Here is a beautiful piece with the variegated thread again. I think it really gives the background some pizazz. I wonder if Santa leaves Easter eggs?
The next two pictures are of a evening bag Starr punched. Then entire bag is punchneedle. I'm not sure if the sparkle threads come through on this photograph as well as they did when I was holding the bag. The fuzzy yard makes the cuffs and hat really stand out. The glitter thread used in the snow makes it glisten.
I really enjoyed listening to Starr talk about making things that are useful with punchneedle and not just pictures. She has made a checkbook cover and an eye glass case. She told me to think outside the frame more than once today. I thought perhaps I could do a small design and put it on one of my magnets. Then she mentioned I could punch the entire bag tags that I like so much. So many ideas. The last thing I will say before I close is .... "if it goes through the needle....you can punch with it." There are no hard and fast rules....just create and enjoy.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Silhouette Applique
“I was running out my 'train projects'. So I was searching internet for appliqués and embroidery projects that I thought I could do on the train. I found some animal appliqués that were free to download. I printed them. Then I saw some Sunbonnet Sue projects that I thought quite cute but they're not free. Then, the Sunbonnet Sue pictures reminded me of DD wearing her sunhats. Isn't she the same cute as Sue?
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Quilted Note Cards and Fabric Post Cards
ZACH'S FIRST FABRIC POST CARD
My 4 year old son is the designer of this beautiful fabric post card. He was watching me sew and asked if he could make something special for our guests. My friends were visiting from Japan and he wanted something "special" to give them. I let him go through my scraps and he climbed up onto my tall stool and he began cutting out little pieces of fabric. Then he ran upstairs to get some foamies and some stickers too. Boy was he angry when I had moved his little pieces of fabric over a few inches. "Mommy you messed up my work!!!" Well, I guess he told me. He took several minutes placing each piece of fabric on the front of the post card. Then he choose the color of thread and the stitch that we use for each seam and embellishment. Zach was so proud of himself and I was too. I even let him press the buttons to change the stitches. He thought that was big time sewing!!
Then he signed his card.
These are the recipients of Zach's beautiful card. Jim and Chika were so pleased to receive such a nice gift. Made the crystal bowl I bought them for their engagement look a whole lot less valuable :)
Have a great Saturday!!
Kelly
Friday, April 3, 2009
More Easter fun...and Don't Forget"Tag You're It"
http://whipup.net/2009/03/29/easter-tutorial-chickummyjig/
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Free Embroidery Machine
I found this on a blog that lists free gifts from bloggers. These days you don't even have to go into a store and fill in one of those entry forms to win a prize. You can click from home. Would you have ever have dreamed this would all be happening? I never in my wildest dreams would have thought up the Internet....much less cell phones. I remember when I was in my early 20's someone saying one day there would be phones in cars. I laughed as I thought of all those long cords being drug down the highway. Now....my kids have never known life without cell phones or the Internet. I guess I'm sounding very old about now and I'm feeling more and more like my Grandmother. I guess neither of those things are too bad, right?
Please let me know if you win and don't want the machine. I'll send you some money for postage so you can send it to me !!! :)
Smiles,
Kelly
My Internet Was Out Today
This is a picture of some Stump Work I made and gave to a friend as a gift. I took a class from Jan Kerton of Bustles and Bows. This is a link to the store she works from. http://www.bustleandbows.com.au/embroidery-classes-jan-kerton.htm
Jan lives in Melbourne, AU and comes to teach classes in the US. I met her in South Carolina about 8 years ago. When I had the opportunity to visit AU with my husband a few years ago I looked her up. Rick was working and I had the day to myself in Melbourne. I remembered only that she lived in AU and not where. So went to the town center to use one of the computers I had seen there. I Googled Jan Kerton and up popped her name and the address of the shop. So I ventured out on street car to the area and began walking until I found the shop. It was amazing....I had goose bumps. I was standing in a store I never thought I would ever be in and seeing the patterns of the lovely woman who had taught me to make such lovely things. I mentioned to the gal behind the counter that I had met Jan in the US and was by chance visiting the area. She said simply, "Well if you'd like to talk to Jan she is in the back room teaching a class." It was like a siting of Elvis for me. Unbelievable!! What is the likelihood that I would be in AU, standing in a stitching shop and Jan Kerton was by chance in the back room??? I knocked on the door and she opened the door and gave me a big hug and smile. She remembered my face and invited me to join her class. What a great experience for me. I was invited back later in the week to learn more about Brazilian Embroidery. The work the ladies were doing was absolutely gorgeous. It was a peak experience for me for sure.
It is almost bus time here. My son gets off the bus and I have to be out in the driveway to get him.
Have a great day!
Kelly
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
KA JINKER
This apron is embellished using the Ka Jinker. How sweet is this? This would make a really neat Easter gift. Do you want to know what size I wear??? OK, enough kidding. I think this thing is so cool I should embellish my under garments and shock my husband. How funny would that be? Better yet, embellish his and wait for him to find them.
HIPPITY HOPPITY EASTER IS ON ITS WAY
The last set I made I put a little bit of batting in to make them pop. You can embellish them with sequins, beads, bullion roses, buttons and anything else your creative mind can come up with. Have you seen the cool new new tool called the KaJinker? (look under notions at http://www.ihavea-notion.com/) This tool has a tag gun and it connects great embellishments to fabrics. I think it would be awesome to embellish magnets, totes and fabric postcards.
How about this Easter basket?
TAG.... YOU'RE IT
Notice Something Different?
Kelly
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Beautiful Blue Birds
Monday, March 30, 2009
OH, BY THE WAY
http://www.IHaveA-Notion.com
Stay tuned...
Kelly
Bendable Bright Lights
I have a Bendable Bright Light and I just love mine. I learned about them while on a trip to PA (I seem to learn a lot from going there!!) We all just had to have one and this is how I got started in business. I was reading a quilt magazine and saw them advertised as well. These lights really are as great as they look. The entire stitching area is lit up so you can see even on dark fabrics.
If you have one and would be willing to share your thoughts about the Bendable Bright Light, will you please leave a comment in the comment section.
Another cool thing I saw was a Thread Carousal. I've been in contact with a woman and we'll see if I get permission to post those too!!!
Who will be my next guest artist? How about you? Just drop me an e-mail to IHaveANotion@yahoo.com and send me some pix of your work. I love to see new and interesting ideas. I find myself surfing blogs for hours mesmerized by all the creativity out there.
I'm off to bed. Sweet Dreams!!
Kelly
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Edyta Sitar's Quilts
On March 19th, Edyta Sitar (Laundry Basket Quilts) came to speak to the Gathering of Quilters in Toledo, OH. When she asked for volunteers to help hold up her quilts while she was speaking I jumped to my feet. Being 6 feet tall with long arms is an advantage when holding up quilts. I was able to see her work up close and touch all those lovely fabrics. Ohhhh I had a ball. I think I may have been drooling, eek. I got to chat with her husband while we held up some of the larger quilts. I suggested that perhaps after all this hard work I could select a quilt to take home.....I'm so glad he laughed....well....maybe not so glad....but it was nice that he had a great sense of humor.
http://www.laundrybasketquilts.com/
Edyta's New Book:
I've got to run cook dinner. I have had the worst time trying to figure out how to move photos around a blog. If you have expertise....please...PLEASE....pretty please e-mail me at IHaveANotion@yahoo.com so I too can learn how to move these pix aound. I will eventually find the time to google the "how to" about moving photos....but not tonight!!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Piece by Piece
This king size Dresden Plate quilt was made for my husband, Bill, who stopped at quilt shops for me while driving to and back from Pennsylvania to Oregon in May, 1998. Blue and yellow was just becoming poplar about this time and in some shops there was only a novelty print. I hand pieced the plates on another driving trip to the west coast. The plates were hand appliquéd to the back ground using the needle turn application and hand quilted. I was honored to win Viewer’s Choice at the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild Exhibit, my local guild. The exhibit is on display for the whole month of September in even years at the Gmeiner Art & Culture Center, Wellsboro, Pa.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Feeling Ragged?
"I am a pattern designer and web designer www.sherlockdesigns.com. I taught elementary school for a number of years. I have no formal training as a designer or seamstress, I think I just barely passed home ec in jr. high. When I first started doing crafts I had no skills, just a desire to create. I took classes and tried every craft. I think the more you try and get away from the "I can't do that" mind set you are able to create. I used to say primitive was my skill level and now I say it's my style. If I am not creating something new or working on a project I am "not a happy camper". I believe God gave me the ability and the desire to learn, but unfortunately no "real" skills. There are so many things that I wish I could do much better, but I keep trying to learn more all of the time.
My first patterns were for country dolls and critters. My favorite patterns are raggedy Anns and bunnies, but I have a broad spectrum from wearable sweatshirts to frogs. www.amongcountryfriends.com
I changed my focus to quilts several years ago. My folk art quilts www.sonshineseedco.com are inspirational quilts with each quilt having a different theme. I combine primitive stitchery with tradition quilt blocks and rag quilts. Most of my quilts and many of my primitive stitcheries have been digitized for machine quilting. I really like working with wool felt and making penny rugs.
My newest patterns are punch needle and rug punch hooking.
I am an exhibitor at several quilt shows each year. I demonstrate punch needle, rug punch hooking, applique with felt and rag quilting at every show. I have just started presenting programs for the quilt guilds.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Burning The Midnight Oil
Will there be a "Starry Night" tonight?
I belong to a Punchneedle Yahoo group and a conversation was started about the idea of punching Van Gogh's Starry Night. Lynnette Larson had already punched this piece and shared it with the group. I admired it and asked her permission to share it on my blog. Happiily she agreed and this is what she had to say:
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Burning The Midnight Oil
Sweet Dreams!!
Kelly
So March Showers Bring April Flowers?
Part Two of Todays Post
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Thank You!!!
I will be featuring another punchneedle artist soon. I'm in the process of gathering the pictures of her work. You can look forward to quilt projects and other hand made items as well. I have found that looking at other people's creations has inspired me to continue working my my projects or to try something new. That is how I started doing punchneedle. I saw another gal doing it and I was fascinated. It is so easy and I enjoy having a project to work on in the evening when I'm tired and don't have to "focus".
My website is up and running. You can take a peak at http://www.ihavea-notion.com/ I have many more products to add to the site. My current focus is balance, so I will do this a little at a time. If there is anything you are in need of or interested in learning more about, please e-mail me at IHaveANotion@yahoo.com.
Have a wonderful day!!!
Kelly
Monday, March 23, 2009
Another Sunny Day and My First Guest Artist
"There are many fine designers out in the market that do design punchneedle if a person is timid to draw their own images. I just get excited to see how people love the art of punching and the reward when it's finished. You can punch a design that only takes an hour or you can punch one that takes weeks....its all up to you. the main thoughts about punchneedle art work....Enjoy and Have fun Punching!!"
Thank You Starr for being the first guest Artist on my blog. Your pin is absolutely beautiful and I look forward to having a private lesson!!
To purchase punchneedle supplies just e-mail me at IHaveANotion@yahoo.com and I can have your supplies out the same day (usually).
Kelly
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Good Sunday Morning
I am in the process of having some guest artists featured on my blog. I'm very excited to share their talent and enthusiasm. You won't be disappointed!!
It is a beautiful sunny day here in Perrysburg, OH. I am looking forward to spring and flowers blooming. Speaking of flowers, Amy, from Perrysburg Flooring, has 3 acres covered with flowers and plants. I'm going to ask to visit to get some ideas for your yard. Her passion and therapy is gardening. I'm looking forward to learning more about plants and flowers for my yard.
Have a wonderful afternoon.
Kelly
Saturday, March 21, 2009
New Website Coming!!!
I'm working on a punchneedle project using sewing thread. I can't believe how beautiful it is. Starr inspired me to try using sewing thread. I'll keep you updated.
Smiles,
Kelly