Day 30 of 31 Days of Giveaways - Susan Brubaker Knapp from Blue Moon River

IHAN's 30 Days of Giveaways

Anniversary Celebration

Day 30

The Tulip Bag Pattern and

Orchid Series Note Cards  

from Susan Brubaker Knapp 

of Blue Moon River 

The Tulip Bag

The Tulip Bag Pattern has a large outside pocket, lots of inside pockets and come with a pattern for a cell phone case. What a perfect bag for Spring!!!

Orchid Series Note Cards are photos of Susan's work

 Hi Susan :)

Oh I'm so excited to share with everyone a fun story about meeting Susan Brubaker Knapp.  Last fall I went to Huston for Quilt Market.  I was sitting on the sofa in the lobby of the hotel blogging (only free wi-fi and you know I'm frugal) along with several other folks who were using their laptops.  As usual I struck up a conversation with some of the gals sitting around me and Susan happened to be one of them.  I had absolutely no idea I was meeting such an incredibly talented woman.  We exchanged business cards and I checked out her blog.  Talk about feeling lucky.

When I decided to do this Anniversary Celebration 30 Days of Giveaways I wrote to Susan right away.  I absolutely love her work and I had read about her Orchid Series Note Cards (photos of her work made into note cards) on her blog.  She not only agreed to give a lucky IHAN blog reader a set of her Orchid Series Note Cards but she's giving them The Tulip Bag Pattern too!!!

Think I'm just embellishing the way I talk about people?  Then check this out....who's work is splashed all over the cover of Quilting Arts Magazine? 

Oh yea baby.....that would belong to none other than Susan Brubaker Knapp!  See I was telling the truth and I was not embellishing the story one bit.....she really is incredibly talented :)

I asked Susan about what it is like to create, where does she begin and this was her reply:

Each piece is an emotional catharsis, and begins when I am filled with a strong emotion: awe at the beauty of nature, joy in nursing a baby, anger at an injustice. Art is my way of celebrating and documenting the deep mysteries of human beings’ relationships with each other, with our innate creativity, and with the natural world. Much of my work explores metamorphosis and transformation.

Creating fiber art is an intense tactile experience. My core materials — cloth and thread — are the result of my background as a traditional quilter. But I also use substances foreign to traditional quilters, such as fabric paints and dyes, Tyvek, Angelina fibers and water-soluble pastels, to transform the cloth.

Susan speaks to Guilds and Teaches as well.  I've not had the good fortune to take a class yet but if I get the opportunity I'm going for sure. 

This is Susan's DVD, Free-motion Stitching and Thread Sketching, it is available at the Interweave Store.  I have found DVD's have been a great resource because I'm a visual learner and I'm not a fast learner so I can take my time and review the material over and over. 

If you would like to have a beautiful set of Orchid Series Note Cards and The Tulip Bag Pattern then you'll need to leave a comment on this post telling us about someone special you have met just by chance. 

There is no requirement to follow Susan's blog, but you may be very glad you did because she shares great information and inspiration.

Thank you Blue Moon River!!!

Susan you continue to inspire me and I am very appreciative...big hugs to you. 

Grateful Smiles,
Kelly

Day 29 of 31 Days of Giveaways - #3 MISTYFUSE

Edited 8:40PM...yes I'm getting punchy here folks :)

IHAN's 30 Days of Giveaways

Anniversary Celebration

Day 29 Giveaway # 3

Mistyfuse

by Attached Inc.

Are you wondering if I'm on the payroll over at Attached Inc.?  Really I'm not (the truth)  but I do want everyone who wants a chance to win some to get their name in the drawing.  Remember I was telling you about making note cards using Mistyfuse?  (Honestly Barb, I did say it....it is just your memory again!! :)  How about using Mistyfuse to make your own paper fabric?

You can layer your collage items between two layers of Mistyfuse and make paper fabric.  What can you make with paper fabric you ask? 

• 
  
  You can make Artist Trading Cards
• 
  
  Make really fun file folders for all those patterns you have printed from on-line tutorials (I do that too!!)
• 
  
   How about making gift bags for special gifts or kids birthday parties. 
• 
  
  You could have the most interesting wallet and hand bag going if you put together some really fun things for your paper fabric.

Obviously I could go on and on and on....but you get the idea....there are so many fun things you can make with paper fabric.

Bradie Sparrow from A Quilty Kind of Girl Designs uses Mistyfuse to bast her quilts.  Oh why did I not think of that first?  So smart!!!  Birdie you got it goin' on girl!!!  Who hates to baste their quilts?  Me too.....now we can use Mistyfuse between the batting and fabric and press it.....and it's basted!!!  Holey Smokes that is an excellent idea.  Mistyfuse is light so you'll never even feel it.  Go over and check out Bradie Sparrow's tutorial on basting with Mistyfuse, you will be glad you did.

Thank you again, and again, and again.....and 100 yards worth of AGAIN Attached Inc. for celebrating with IHAN....You rock Iris :)

Edit begins here: Good grief....I really am falling off my rocker, for real this time!!!  I forgot to put my seatbelt on...when will I learn.  I have trained everyone so well you've already been leaving comments and I didn't even remember to tell you to leave a comment.....oh thank you :)  Big Hugs around.

Iris, owner of Attached Inc., has sent 3 large packages of white Mistyfuse (20x 10 yards) one package per week and then a 12 x 100 yard roll for the Grand Prize Drawing just for the IHAN blog readers.  Tremendously generous is all I can say.  I have been very good and have not opened one package or even played with it....and that has been very difficult I must say.

So if you would like to win a 20 x 10 yard package of White Mistyfuse....jut leave a comment below....say anything you want....the sky is the limit...tell us a joke, share a fun story.....tell us a story about a famous person you have met....anything at all.  The only stipulation is you MUST have "Mistyfuse Rocks Big Socks" somewhere in your comment.  (Gene you have to come back and re-post so I can see what you say...lol...everyone else who has posted a comment before the edit is exempt from this little fun game....unless you just want to play and have fun too.)

Tired Smiles,

Kelly
Where do you know you can go for 3 giveaways in a day?  IHAN....oh yea baby!!!

Day 29 of 30 Days of Giveaways - McKenna Ryan from Pine Needles

IHAN's 30 Days of Giveaways

Anniversary Celebration

Day 29 Giveaway # 2

A Journey To Light 

by McKenna Ryan 

Pine Needles

Hi McKenna :)

McKenna let me introduce you to the IHAN blog readers.  IHAN blog readers this is McKenna Ryan (as if you didn't know...LOL).  I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet and speak with McKenna.  She is one incredibly talented designer.  As a matter of fact you might want to go back and read that post because I took photos of her design boards for Easy Applique the McKenna Ryan Way.

McKenna will be giving one very lucky IHAN blog reader all the patterns for her A Journey To Light multi-block quilt.

A Journey To Light 

 A Journey to Light is only one of McKenna's multi-block quilt patterns.  

 Silent Night (18 x 27)

Midnight Clear (32 1/2 x 19 1/2)

Bearly Beginning (29 x 19)

Beneath His Wing (18 x 27)

Sharing The Season (25 x 19)

Guiding Light (26 x 27)

Humor In The Midst (21 1/2 x 19 1/2)

A Journey To Light is one of McKenna's multi-block quilt patterns.  She also has series quilts and to see all them you can check out McKenna's website, Pine Needles. 

There seems to be a spiritual quality to McKenna's work.  Wouldn't you just love to have this holiday quilt at your house?  I know I would.  If you are not up to an entire quilt, you can make lovely wall hangings too.  McKenna has fabric recommendations posted on her site as well as helpful tips and suggestions. 

Thank you McKenna for joining IHAN in our First Anniversary Celebration!!!

If you would like an opportunity to own A Journey To Light please leave a comment on this post and share with us a spiritual experience you have had while either looking at your own work or another person's work.

Smiles,
Kelly
PS....guess what?  There will be 31 days of giveaways and not 30....someone does not know how to count....shhhhh don't tell anyone :)
PSS: The word Spiritual can mean anything you want it to mean for you.

Day 29 of 30 Days of Giveaways - Bendedbias Applique by Linda M. Poole

IHAN's 30 Days of Giveaways

Anniversary Celebration

Day 29

Bendedbias Applique 

by Linda M. Poole

Believe it or not, I actually snuck away a few weeks ago and went to a class taught by Linda Poole.  When I saw her Bendedbias Applique book and samples at our guild meeting I knew I just had to sign up for her class.  I was prepared to move major mountains to be able to attend....then I found out it was being given from 10AM-1:00PM and I did not have to move a thing....except for my bootie to get it out the door!!! 

I will post about Linda's lecture and give all the great details of the class at anther time it was WONDERFUL!!

 

I really liked this piece and thought the beautiful stitching really made the dragon fly pop out.  The applique can be hand or machine stitched.

I have no idea who the person on the left is (a lie), but the person on the right is Linda Poole.  She is from PA..where some of my wonderful quilting buddies live.  Linda has a great sense of humor and her teaching style was refreshing. She never once hit me even though I had to ask a zillion questions and had my camera in her face and over her shoulder the entire time. 

This is a very cool design Linda brought and she said she had had this particular project un-sewn for over a year and it still kept its shape.  So, being sneaky, my friend and I pulled back a little bit and put it up against the back of a shirt to see what it would look like as an embellishment for a jacket or blouse.

Tell me you would not look twice if you saw this on someones jacket or blouse.  I know I would have to be introducing myself to see how they had done it and tell them how pretty it is.  (Yes I do that....I'm one of those :)

This is a photo of my Bendedbias table runner.  Of course it is not finished yet but I promised Linda it would not end up in the UFO pile.  Just as soon as this giveaway ends, I'm taking all the time I spend writing posts and finishing my much loved table runner.

 

During the class I told Linda about the 30 Days of Giveaways and she gave me an autographed copy of Bendedbias Applique!!!  How wonderful is that?  Very wonderful especially for one very lucky IHAN blog reader!!!

If you would like to win an autographed copy of Bendedbias Applique by Linda Poole you need to leave us a comment on this post telling us what creative ideas you have for using Bendedbias the actual bending of bias not the book...LOL.  No cheating....your comment must include your ideas for using Bendedbias.....or the bloggie monster will eat your entry :)

Twisted oh I mean Bended Smiles,

Kelly

Craft It Wednesday - Check out their Giveaway :)

Guess what, Barbara Foley over at Craft It Wednesday is having a giveaway and I thought everyone would want to know. I'm starting to think the old saying, "April Showers Brings May Flowers," should be changed to April Showers Brings Great Packages :)

Barbara is giving away a brand new issue March/April 2010 of Creating Keepsakes, Trading Cards for scrapbook book, and Crazy for Chipboard book. Click here to enter her giveaway :) Craft It Wednesday's giveaway ends on April 15, 2010 too. Hop on over and put your name in the hat....feel free to tell your friends too.

Yes I know this is a re-post....but...I know I love giveaways and thought you would want to know....and if you are not interested in the magazines....hey just leave in your comment to send them to Kelly!!!  After all, Darlene is giving Barb the GO! AccuQuilt Cutter if she wins!!!  Gotta love the kindness here in blogland.

Warm Smiles,
Kelly

Day 28 of 30 Days of Giveaways - GO! AccuQuilt Fabric Cutter

IHAN's 30 Days of Giveaways

Anniversary Celebration

Day 28

GO! Fabric Cutter 

from AccuQuilt

Ok IHAN Blog readers....it is time to put on your safety belts.  Remember the cushion you are sitting on is not a flotation devise...so don't count on it to keep you from falling out of your chair and drowning in your coffee or soft drink.  A seat-belt is highly recommended!!

Don't say the Dummies didn't tell you to put on your seat belt.  If you find yourself on the floor....it not our responsibility (our lawyers confirmed this a lie) you've been forewarned.  Everyone safe and secure now?  Ok....lets proceed.

AccuQuilt  has joined the IHAN First Anniversary celebration and one lucky IHAN blog reader will be receiving an Go! AccuQuilt Fabric Cutter  delivered to their home.   

(Ouch....all that hooping and hollering just broke my ear drum.  Guess I need more than a seat belt....I need ear plugs too.)

Seriously now, you know why I find this exciting?  Because I thought I would never buy a GO! AccuQuilt Fabric Cutter .  Then I joined in an I-Spy block exchange on Karen's blog, Sew Many Ways. I cut out 120 4 1/2 inch I-Spy squares.  I put them in piles and noticed they were not all the same size.  I was so frustrated because I had used the same ruler and I am very careful.  No wonder my squares get weird....it is very difficult to be accurate when cutting no matter how hard I tried.  I knew I could put a fix to that situation and I bought the GO! AccuQuilt Fabric Cutter.  Now all my squares are exactly the same size!!!  I have found cutting my fabric is much less of a chore and I get excited about knowing everything will work out because my cuts are precise.

These are some examples of the dies currently available for the GO! AccuQuilt Fabric Cutter.  To view all the dies you can click here.

There are great project sheets (yummy recipes) on AccuQuilt's website.  I used a project sheet that was included in their Newsletter and made this wall hanging to celebrate a 10th Wedding Anniversary. 

I just ironed on Mistyfuse (works great with the GO! AccuQuilt Fabric Cutter because it is so nice and soft) and cut out my hearts, ironed them on . 

These New Dies (coming out in May) were inspired by "some of the quilt industry's most influential and premier quilters, Alex Anderson, Ricky Tims, Eleanor Burns and Sharon Pedersonare" according to AccuQuilt.

Arabesque #2 by Ricky Tims

Arabesque #3 by Ricky Tims

Quarter Square-4" Finished Triangle by Alex Anderson

Bountiful Baskets by Alex Anderson

Blazing Stars by Eleanor Burns

Rose of Sharon by Sharon Pederson

These new dies are so exciting and fun.  I am inspired by the designs and the Project Sheets because I try things I'd otherwise not even attempt.  I probably would never have made a my heart wall hanging.  I would have been frustrated that my hearts were not all the right size and then it would not look nice on the wall.  The GO! AccuQuilt Fabric Cutter gives me more confidence that my projects will be uniform when I'm finished (that's not to say I still can't mess them up...I won't go into that...LOL).

If you are a visual learner like me, you will appreciate all the GO!AccuQuilt Fabric Cutter videos offered by AccuQuilt.  I find videos much more user-friendly than written instructions.
 
Thank you AccuQuilt for celebrating with IHAN!!! 

One very lucky IHAN blog reader will have the GO! AccuQuilt Fabric Cutter  shipped to them directly.  To enter today's giveaway you must leave a comment on this post telling us how you think having the GO! AccuQuilt Fabric Cutter will inspire your creations.

AccuQuilt gives away a 100.00 Gift Certificate every month to Newsletter Subscribers!!! I'm a fan on their Facebook page....if you join....you know you'll be in good company :)

If you want to have 10 extra entries for today's giveaways....scroll down and read yesterdays post.

Smiles,
Kelly

Day 27 of 30 Days of Giveaways - Just Another Button Company

Edited 4/12/10 - I must have been tired and left some of my favorite parts out....oops :)

IHAN's 30 Days of Giveaways

Anniversary Celebration

Day 27 Giveaway # 2
Just Pins 
from Just Another Button Company

Just Bees

Carrot Patch

Flower Power

Cecile McPeak from Just Another Button Company calls these, "Just Pins."  IHAN calls them "Pretty Darn Spanky Embellished Wonderments."  I can't help it....they are just toooo much fun.  Several weeks ago Cecile sent me a wonderful package that included these pins.  Now, you must know I could not part with everything she gave me....I'm sorry but sometimes a girl has to do what a girl has to do!!!  (I can get away with this because she sent them as a gift without knowing about the 30 Days of Giveaways :). 

Just Another Button Company also makes wonderful buttons for embellishing needle art projects, wall hangings, quilts, clothing and pin cushions of course!!!

 All Buttons for I Believe Book

Love Is Button Pack

These buttons are just so fantastic.  There are so many patterns available using Just Another Button Company buttons as embellishments.  Look at this Tea Pot Series:

Who would not smile with delight when looking at the Tea Pot Series.  The embellishments really make this design extra special.

Edit begins here :)  I must have been very tired after our trip because I forgot some of my absolute favorite photos...so here they are :

Just Another Button Company's Pin Cushions :)

How ever did I leave these out?  I absolutely love them.  Seriously now, can you imagine walking into your sewing area and seeing something so delightful and not feeling good?  If you can imagine that....see a doctor....preferable a Psychiatrist because you may have serious signs of Depression NOS. If you think they are ugly you definitely have had a Brief Psychotic Disorder!!! Seek Professional HELP FAST :)

As a matter of fact, Cecile sent me a kit and did I put it in the giveaway?  NOPE....not this time friends.  See what I mean....I want everything for myself.  But since it was not officially for the Giveaway....I get the pleasure of making it and showing it to everyone....but no touchie...sorry :( 

Thank you Just Another Button Company for joining IHAN in our Anniversary Celebration!!!

If you would like to win one of the Just Pins pictured above please leave a comment on this post telling us why you would like to win them and where you plan to use them.  You can also tell us which pins you would like to win if you like.

Smiles,

Kelly

PS...part of the edit....I can tell many of you are scanning the giveaways and not reading the posts...(you may just miss out on some fun....or the cue that you need to seek medical help, LOL)  This giveaway is for the three sets of Just Pins....not the buttons or the sample Tea Pot Series.  If you want your comment to qualify, each comment needs to be in response to the requested comment.