Flexible...oh yeah that's me....I have to be flexible and now you do too!! No Giveaway Today...I have a sick co-worker home and I had to tend to him all day. I guess we'll all just go with the flow and I'll be able to get something up soon.
Nothing serious....upset stomach and lots of whining. Wonder where he gets that from? I get fussy when I'm sick too.....must be a genetic thing....or not!
Hope you each had a great day and I'll be back in touch tomorrow....unless I'm forced to be even more flexible....dang sometimes I feel like Gumby Momma :)
You know I can't keep a good thing to myself....much less a Great Thing....actually THREE Great Things.
Dragon Threads Blog is giving away a copy of Susan Brubaker Knapp's latest DVD. I was over there putting my name in the hat and figured you might want to know too :)
AND
Susan Brubaker Knapp is giving away a copy of Confetti Naturescapes by Noriko Endo.
I saw Noriko's work in Houston....it is absolutely beautiful. Her techniques are very interesting....check out Susan's review and enter to win a copy of the book. Hey, if you are not interested....just remember I am...and ship it to me :)
And to top it off, check out Patsy Thompson's blog. She is giving away some Batik Fabric....yes BATIK....
Wow....Blogland is a great place for fun giveaways. Speaking of which....I think tomorrow will be a giveaway day here too. Hmmm....I'll do digging into my goody bag from Market and see what I have to share.
If you still want to to order for the Holidays, NOW is the time to do it. I'm going to be slowing down around here and preparing for my family to come to town. So, if you want to take advantage of the IHAN HOLIDAY SPECIALS you better hop on the bus and forget about Gus, and get your Visa free!!!
Last Friday's post was a review of Threads, The Basics and Beyond and there were 59 comments at my last check. So I ran over to the ole Random Number Generator and here is the number that came up. I hope you are all very proud of me now....I was able to do a screen print, go to Paint, copy it there and crop it....I want a star on my computing forehead!!! The last time I did this, I took a digital photo of the screen....see, you can teach an old dog a new trick :)
Be right back....I forgot to see who number 51 is....LOL...Progress not Perfection, Right? Right!!
I'm back....here is the comment for #51
sewmeow said... 51
Thanks, Kelly, for more fun info and a great giveaway. I love to try new things.
Sewmeow please e-mail me at IHaveANotion at yahoo dot com with your home address and I'll get this excellent book in the mail to you.
You all know there are more gifts to come so please don't pout if your name was not drawn (Santa is watching ya know).
Do you want the Sizzix Vagabond from Santa? If you do, you better tell Santa because there are more Vagabonds arriving here at IHAN very soon....and you could have one before Christmas. I just got a phone call today and I'm getting my delivery soon....I'm so excited. I'm so excited I think I'll even send a Free Die (of my choosing) along with your order. Just write Free Die in the comment section on the order page. I'm only offering this to blog readers so make sure you do this or you won't get a free die :(
When I sell out I may not get more before January 2011 so if you are wanting one, order now before they are back ordered.
If you did not see the video I posted yesterday....just click here....and no laughing at me....please :)
Ok, now before you watch this I just want to say that this is my first published video and I have exactly no experience doing this. I was scared and my hands were shaking a bit. I so badly wanted to show everyone how the Vagabond works and not just in photos. Much of the video relates back to my earlier post about the Vagabond arriving here at IHAN.
Here is the long list of credits:
Directed by: Kelly Jackson
Written by: No one, it was all ad lib
Produced by IHAN
Director of Photography: Mr. McSteamy
Editor: Mr. McSteamy
Costume Designer: That was no costume...I dress like that every day
Make Up and Hair Designer: None, that's why Mr. McSteamy did not shoot the face or hair
CAST : IHAN CEO, The Sizzix Vagabond Killer Fabric Cutter, Mr. Mucinex as the stowaway
Camera Operator: Mr. Mc Steamy
Script Supervisor: Would have been great to have one.
Post Production Supervisor: Kelly Jackson
Supervising Sound Editor: Could have used one of those too.
Construction Manager: Mr. Mc Steamy moved all the toys and put up the table for the big shoot.
It took all evening just to shoot 4 minutes of video.....now I know why we pay so much to go to see a movie at the theatre!
When I walked outside to get this box I saw the label and my heart rate sky rocketed. If you live in a 4 state radius of IHAN I'm sure you heard me screaming when I saw this on my doorstep....I scared the co-workers....poor guys.
Do you see those words....yes those....the one's that read...Tim Holtz and VAGABOND by Sizzix!!! On my front porch no less. All I could think was, feet don't fail me now. I ran into the house and the kids wanted to know why I was all excited (they are home from school due to the weather and snow here in OH)
My co-worker standing next to me while I cut the tape on the box.....
Waldo's Granddaughter, Clair, and my Co-Worker Zach were standing at my feet......they had to see what I was screaming about.
Look at this....even the cardboard box ROCKS.
This is exactly what you see when you open the box.....the stickers are to embellish your Vagabond any way you like.
Oh look, it comes with a luggage tag....somehow an IHAN card made it right into the slot even before I un-clipped the Vagabond. I wasted no time marking this one as MINE....and I'm a darn good aim too....just for the record.
I clicked the button and the Vagabond suitcase opened right up.
It comes with standard cutting pads, a Solo Platform and a Shim........my heart is pounding as I'm typing just recalling all these things that just happened a few minutes ago.....
Typically I clean up before I shoot pix....not today folks....sorry for the mess but I was just too excited to share this with everyone....so pretend you don't see the mess, ok! Promise?
This is not a Sizzix warehouse...but I am happy to say I am fortunate to own the Big Shot Pro on the far right, the Vagabond, and the Big Shot in the background. The Big Shot Express belongs to a customer in PA who asked me to give it a test run for her. Within the last 24 hours I've had the incredible pleasure of cutting lots of applique shapes without even turning the handle.....sounds lazy right? Think about it though.....when you need to cut hundreds of blocks or applique shapes your arms and shoulders get tired (mine do anyway) so it is wonderful to have one that you plug in and it just zips on through. Many quilters have problems with Arthur (Arthritis) so the Big Shot Express and Vagabond are the ticket to cutting lots of pieces at one time and quickly too.
I'm going to quickly show you the machines so you can see which one's I'm talking about and the size differences.
This is my Big Shot Pro...I tape the photo from the package onto my dies so I can quickly glance and know which is which.
This is the Vagabond....can you say OH YEAH BABY? This machine will make all other cutting systems dial 911.....no kidding no joke and you have my word....you will flip too.
This is theBig Shot Express with a Sizzix Snowman Die. I was extremely pleased when I tested my friends Big Shot Express. Since it does not belong to me I did not attempt to run 12 layers of fabric through it but I did cut 6 layers with ease.
I know I'm excited and my post may not be as clear as I would like it to be so I'll just tell you that both the Vagabond and The Big Shot Express are electric. The Big Shot and the Big Shot Pro are manual.
This is my Big Shot, it does not come with my little friend who sits on mine...he makes me smile and I appreciate all the smiles I have in the dark months of winter.
The Vagabond has a little side compartment to hold the electric cord.....and when I looked away for just a minute.....
A stowaway jumped in. See.....he is even happy to be close to my new Vagabond.
So, now is the time for the big test. You know I'm not cutting up any fabric....not scraps....nope....I'm funny like that. So I took a 100% cotton pillowcase cover that I bought at a factory sale for 25 cents and yes....I'll cut that up. Will I cut one layer with the new Vagabond? Two? Three? Four? Heck no....the very first time I put fabric through this baby I used........
TWELVE layers.....why? Because I heard this baby works like a dream and it cuts chip board....if it cuts chipboard (which is very dense cardboard) you know it will cut 12 layers of fabric. Keep in mind I have not read the instructions and have no idea how many layers are recommended....but I did watch the YouTube video for the Vagabond and I knew I had to give it a spin. I did not use the new cutting pads that came with it....I have to keep those pretty for awhile, I used the one's I use with my other Sizzix machines so you can see the pads are used.
I simply put the Sizzix Ornaments Die with 12 layers of fabric between the cutting mats and pushed the button. The Vagabond is very quiet and within literally 3 seconds or less ( I didn't time it but I can if you want me to :) the die came through to the other side.....how did the test work?
Like a charm!!! All 12 layers....cut through without one little string hanging....not one I tell ya. Now you know why I'm so dog gone excited.....this machine cuts like BUTTAH and it is sooth, fast and sturdy!
Look at all these perfect little ornaments.....24 in all ....in seconds. Can you even begin to imagine how quickly you can cut applique shapes? Blocks? Circles? Triangles? Dresden Plates? I know many of you are like me and I can't keep going or we'll all need medical attention.
Look at this....12 deep....smooth....real smooth.
That is 12 layers and I'm still looking at that stack of fabric.....I can hardly believe it....this is absolutely amazing to me...perfect....and I have one....please don't wake me up if this is a dream....I'll shoot ya.
When Mr. McSteamy gets home from work and the boys get settled down....I'm going to video tape me cutting this exact same thing again....so you can see it and hear it for yourself. If you can't wait you can always call me and I can hold the phone next to the machine so you can hear how quiet it is....you won't believe it either.
Last night I used the Big Shot Express to make the Tea Towel from my last post. The entire thing took me 20 minutes. I wanted to test the machine and I also wanted to make something useful so I used my "real" fabric. There are so many dies for applique that your head may spin....so hang on tight before you click on any of the links here.
If you want to see the YouTube video before I make the IHAN Vagabond video...here it is:
I've had these questions asked so many times that I'll post the answers here. If you have any more questions please e-mail me don't ask them in the comments. I'm on a vacation from replying to comments....but never e-mails....so if you want met to reply...send a e-mail or call me. The contact info is on the front of the IHAN website.
Ok...I hope this all makes sense....I feel like I hit the Quilting Lottery....good thing I was not in a towel when the Fed Ex Driver came...LOL.
I put this little gift together yesterday....in 20 minutes it was done. Talk about the perfect holiday gift...I guess because I've always loved holiday guest towels and kitchen towels (when I was a kid I always thought only rich people had these sorts of things). I used a spanky machine to make it with some really spanky dies too. More on that later....but if you want to see the spanky dies...click here...drool away :)
Smiles,
Kelly
FYI...I am still not replying to comments...please, please, please forgive me. If you want to chat...call me or e-mail me (numbers and addy posted on the front of my website).
Because I have not finished my Spring Quilt Market Reviews and then I went to Fall Quilt Market in Houston. What can I say? I need more time and lots more energy!!
Liz and Ruth are great fun and I love the vest Ruth wore to Spring Quilt Market. Check out the back of her vest below.
How cool is she? Not only a great looking vest but a fun advertisement and demonstration for Image Transferring. I chased her down the hall yelling, "Hey Fabric Embellishing Girl"....no kidding. Clearly I have no shame. I could not remember her name ....that happens to me all the time.
Ruth and Liz presented at School House and we had a opportunity to see many of their techniques in their samples. They have a big sample book of their techniques and the book is very inspiring. Below you will see a collage of some of their pages. I didn't think the collage showed enough detail so I also included some of the individual photos below those.
Unfortunately I was not able to take their classes but Ruth and Liz were kind enough to send me home with a kit to try myself. Kind and generous ladies for sure!!!
Fabric Embellishing, The Basics & Beyond was co-authored by Ruth Chandler, Liz Kettle, Heather Thomas and Lauren Vlcek. This book (as well as the next one) are hardcover but made with the spiral bindings inside which really makes it easy to read along while you are working. There lots of photos that help teach the techniques that are described....which include this long list of great techniques:
Textiva
Cocoons & Rods
Burning
Paper Collage
Weaving
Embroidery
Devore
Stamping
Angelina
Discharge Dyeing
Couching
Tyvek
Crazy Quilting
Metal
Image Transfer
Beading
Needle Felting
Rusting
Lutradur
Foiling
Isn't this just an incredible list? I'm sooooo glad they did not call me and ask for help with writing this book.....it would still be in pencil form and no where near the printers. These girls are clear in their instructions and really share tons of information....an excellent reference book and a great gift too!!
In this photo Liz is sharing some the techniques in book Threads. Below is a photograph of one of the projects that was shown.
Debbie and Liz cover so many ways to use thread in your creating. I never looked at thread in so may ways before. This book offers an in-depth coverage of thread as paint, quilting, texture, ornament, structure and embellishment. The photos are a great part of the book for me. Without the excellent photos, I probably would not really have a full appreciation for all the techniques.
If you want some in-depth information to further your creativity I highly recommend both of these books!
Would you love win a copy of Threads The Basics & Beyond? Here is your chance. Just leave a comment on this post telling me what interests you most about the book. The winner will be announced on Wed. December 15th.
Smiles,
Kelly
PS....I most likely will not be replying to all the comments as I have made a commitment to myself to get some sewing done too :)
I'm in Heaven....Kelly Heaven.....oh...Heaven.....and of course there are monks chanting in the background....:) If I put music on my blog it bothers some folks....so you'll just have to get your imaginative juices working this morning/afternoon.....
I'm just appreciative that Brandon has such a good sense of humor and Liza had her back turned because otherwise....I'm certain I could have been jailed in Houston.
The energy these colors. along with the designs just speak to my inner "Wild Mo Jo".....and I don't think I really knew I had an inner "Wild Mo Jo" until I first saw their booth a few years ago.
I could have parked a lawn chair in front of this quilt and book and stayed there for three days with a smile on my face and joy in my heart.
Kaffe enjoying his needlework.
I thought Kaffe was kind to even bother to look up for a photo. After all, he had been on a plane most of the night (or so I was told.....maybe he really thinks I'm a nutcase and can't stand me taking his photo....who knows?)
Since this is my blog and I can take creative liberties.....I"m going to name this piece,
"Peaks of Enlightenment." How do you like that? :)
I'm calling this one......"Amber Waves of Joy"
I like "Cornered Energy" for this one.
"Wheels of the Ruby Dharma"....I like that title...do you?
This I call, "Where is Waldo?"....LMAO
(if you don't know what the acronym stands for....please don't look it up)
"Water Falling on Bliss"
"BAM"
"BAM, BAM and AHHHH"
These are just the titles I've given these photos. I love these Westminster Fabrics and the designers are very inspiring to me.
These Rowan Threads were in the Westminster Booth just down the isle. Can you believe I did not even attempt a heist? Me either!!!
I was thinking while writing this post.......
........Ever notice that when someone/several some one's work resonates with you....it is actually just reflecting something on the inside waiting to get out?
The IHAN world in which I live can be fun on afternoons such as this one. Prior to seeing any of these folks work I knew I liked color but I think it was buried deep inside me. I realize I need some color in my world/home. I don't typically work with colors etc because of self doubt. My uncle was a very successful designer and he had wonderful taste. He was held up as the measure for taste and style....if he liked it....it was "divine" (said in such a grandiose manner too). Apparently I internalized the message that only "designers" have taste and I certainly am not an artist or a designer so I have honestly never explored much until recently. I've never taken an art class relied on a color wheel to tell me if things "worked" together or not.
Fear color no more!!! This photo was taken a few minutes ago in my kitchen. Like the color? I can tell you it sure beats what was there before....just ask "Waldo."
