Ohhhhh my....thanks for all your thoughts and prayers....I'm so glad to report I have emerged from the undisclosed location unharmed!!!! I was driven to my in-laws house and pushed from a running vehicle into their driveway just in time for Thanksgiving :)
Today I spent my day with this lovely woman.....she is my Mother-in-Law. No one can fix a Thanksgiving feast like she can. I know I'm safe now :)
This is what she was up to today.
Ohhhh yea baby....I made cranberry relish today....one of my favorites.
Look, it's Mr. Wonderful helping in the kitchen!!!
Joanne has asked to visit with Mr. Flat Stanley so as soon as I get back to OH I will take some photos with him there and ship him to Joanne!!! Thanks Joanne :)
I have to say all this captivity has done me well. I've been in bed before 2 am every night. However I have not been getting back to all my e-mails very quickly. I have read every one but I will need a little more time to reply. Orders are being shipped her from PA....the CEO never rests :)
This is one scary hostage situation here. The CEO was held captive in a room covered in Quilt Ribbons....so many Best of Show, Judges Choice, Viewers Choice, First Place and Best Visible Handwork.....now that is pure torture. Forced to use a Bernina 820 (basically means several steps above the machine I own) and eat coffee cake for breakfast. Please don't send out the FBI.....unless they bring Robert Redford with them!!!
These are just a few of the East Coast Directors ribbons....she has box after box stashed in the attic.
Forced to watch as these beautiful hand made items get priced for a Holiday Art and Craft Show being held at the IHAN East Coast Headquarers on Dec. 4th and 5th.
Then.....after suffering like this she was escorted out and placed into a Chrysler Pacifica with dark windows and taken to another undisclosed location.
When she arrived....this woman, who goes by Anne, forced her to look at this beautiful new jacket she has made and suffered with the company of 10 of the most fun ladies in Tioga County. It was just terrible....then came the forcing of the pumpkin cheese cake....oh the pain and horror.
Those little green men are following her around....she can't shake them. It is like a terrible nightmare.
The woman, who goes by the name of Anne, forced a Flat Stanley upon her. The requirements of the Flat Stanley are that he has to travel and gather experiences and some suveniers and trinkets and be returned to a little fella by the name of Sam (Sam does not know anyone who lives outside his town-truth). The CEO will take FS back to OH and then look for one wonderful person to take possession of him and quickly return him to PA via USPS. Need one volunteer.
Aaaahhhhhh then they wiped off her beautiful makeup and flattened down her hair and stuck her into a photo......between Kay and Anne. Should you ever be tortured like this....SMILE!!!
This is the "Undisclosed Location" of IHAN's CEO. She is being kept hostage by the Green Boogie Family and the Director of East Coast Operations.
Very little time to sleep around here....between the Bernina 820 and the Little Green Men.
Today the CEO of IHAN is being permitted out of captivity to rub elbows with some of the most wonderful women Tioga County has to offer. Updates pending.....
Mr and Mrs Boogie take their two sons on a road trip. Upon arrival to their destination, Mrs Boogie heads off for two days to an undisclosed location to play with this 820 Bernina!!!
Ohhhh my she is in bliss....
And at this undisclosed location there is a brand new Tutto XXL Bag/House for the 820 Bernina :)
Mrs. Boogie is in the process of using some her new Textile Batik fabrics to make an undisclosed project.
Ohhh this is so much fun....Mr. Boogie has the two little boogies and Mrs. Boogie is living it up with a girlfriend Boogie lover.
Ohhhh.....Green Boogie Man goes for a ride on the John Deere!!!! Stay tuned for more updates on this Undisclosed Location and Undisclosed Project....ooohhhh yeah baby!!!
Sandy Workman of Pine Mountain Designs designed these two quilts. They touched the little person that lives inside of me. All I could think of was continuing to put away pieces of cloth from my boys clothing and making each one of them a little boys quilt using that cloth. Can you imagine?
I just loved everything in her booth. The punchneedle patterns were really fun too. I will be adding her punchneedle patterns to my website soon. You can check out more Pine Mountain Designs here.
I was asked the other day if I still had more posts for Quilt Market in Houston. I have enough material to post every day until Spring Market. I need a Publishing Manager to help me get everything organized and then I would be able to do just that. I keep a box of material right next to my desk. Honestly I still have not added items to my shop that I loved at Spring Market. There is just so many wonderful and fun designs out there....I'll try to get more out soon.
Simply click on the photo to order!!! Can't get much easier than that :)
This sampler features collections from twelve Moda designers. There are four hundred eighty 2 1/2" squares. The prints range in style from light-hearted fun to pieces from our quilting past. Each stands on their own, but together would make a fascinating charm quilt.
Includes a booklet that offers templates and quilt inspirations for these charming small quilts.
These hot little babies are going fast. I only have a few left so if you are considering ordering one or more....please do so quickly or e-mail me to let me know and I'll put your name on it. I don't want anyone to be disappointed when they sell out. I can not get any more.
This is exactly why I love my blog. I have the wonderful opportunity to meet people from all over the world that I would have never gotten a chance to meet otherwise. I have felt more alive and full of joy since I started this blog and business and it is all because of the people I have met. Check this out:
I was expecting a check from Joanne but certainly not a box. First thing I did was listen to make sure I did not hear any puppy sounds or any ticking. Next I checked for white powder leaking out the side....nope. So....I opened the box. For the life of me I could not even imagine why she would have sent me a box. Then:
This was what was in the box:
A wonderful Green Boogie Family. My joy level shot up sky high. This is exactly the type of humor and fun that tickles me. If you don't read regularly you may not know that my co-workers and I have had this mucus thing on and off for over 6 weeks now. So apropo.
Then....in the bag I found this...Chocolate Chip Biscotti. My first thought was I'm sure she sent more and those green boogies ate my biscotti. Then I figured she really loves me and knows I don't have any self control so she only sent 4....now that is LOVE.
While I was having all these thoughts the phone rang and it was Rick. He was coming home for lunch. I was just in the midst of eating the biscotti and having a cup of General Foods International Coffee-Vanilla Bean Latte (free samples given out at a guild meeting). I could hear music playing ,....I think it was the harps of the angels....then the devil spoke up and said...."Girlfriend....you better eat that last biscotti fast before Rick gets home and sees it." My reply, "oh Rick is going to love this so I'm saving this one last piece for him."
I realize this is not enough to get me to heaven....but that's ok....because I've been having some heaven right here and I truly appreciate the thought and sweetness. To you they may be just a bunch of green boogies.....but to me....they are cherished family members that will have lots of fun travels.
Thank You Joanne!!!! And Thank You to everyone who takes the time to leave comments and e-mails. I appreciate the effort and it feels more like a conversation that just a one sided publication. It gives this place we meet called - I Have A Notion Blogspot- into a fun place filled with joy and kindness. Can't beat that, not even with a big stick :)
Last night I took my Accuquilt Go to a guild meeting. I showed several of the gals how nicely and easily it works. I got lots of positive feedback. The one thing everyone always says is, "well I still have to cut my fabric don't I?" The answer to that is yes and no.
NO: You don't have to cut your fabric to fit on top of the dies. It depends on what size piece you are starting with and what you want to do with it. You can take a one yard cut and fold it to lay it over the dies for the strip cutter. If you have scraps you want to use...don't pre-cut them...just lay them over the die and put it through the machine...and wahhhh lahhhh.
Yes: If the fabric you are using needs to be fussy cut or if you want to lay the fabric just a 1/4 inch overlapping the die blade. Then you would need to pre-cut to the width you would be using.
Consider this: I just cut 140 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch squares for the I-Spy square swap that Karen did over at SewManyWays blog. I cut 140 blocks using my ruler and rotary cutter. It took me quite awhile. I was very frustrated that no matter how well I looked at my ruler the blocks were not the exact same size. I don't know why. I had to re-cut some and some of that fabric was wasted. So yes, you will have some waste....but there are very few projects where you don't have even a little waste. It is all in how you want to work. I truely find mundane repetitive cutting to be unpleasurable. So if I want to just have the fun of sewing my strips, blocks, circles, hexagons and triangles I can get to the fun part faster.
I never imagined myself buying the Accuquilt Go. Honestly....and why....because I did not think I would use it enough to justify buying one. Then I kept going back and looking at it...over and over. I've had the privilege of using it several times at market and at shows. I've decided it is worth my time and energy to own it and I've been really happy with how it works.
The obvious thing about sewing notions are that no one really needs anything more than a pair of scissors, yard stick, needle and thread!!! That is what quilters used for many years and many still do. You don't "need" all these wiz bang notions. It is a choice for your own convience, comfort and budget. In order to get to the fun part I have chosen to use the sewing notions I really like and believe are worth the investment.
Everyone knows I would not recommend anything that I thought was not worth the money, RIGHT? RIGHT!!! I'm saying this is worth every penny. If you are even considering one...please call me (419-914-8080) and I'll tell you everything I know and some things I bet you'll be surprised by!!! The call may be something you are Thankful for :) Feel free to call and just say howdy anytime 9-9 CMT :) If I'm in the middle of "working" with my co-workers....you might just have to talk to one of them for a minute!!! LOL
This is Mary Lee Grabowski's quilt. The pattern is by Sew Be It and the title is "Petals on The Edge." I have admired this quilt since I saw Mary Lee making it at the Widewater Retreat we went to back in Oct. I love leaves and nature and this really caught my eye. The lighting was not the best unfortunately.
This wonderful little dancers were also made by Mary Lee. They are so much fun. I didn't get the pattern name for these last night. I will get the name and come back and post when I hear back from Mary Lee.
SewCalGal has a wonderful giveaway going on. I am only posting this to get my name in the basket an extra time...I really, really, really don't want any of you to go and leave your comments because it reduces my chances of winning....ROFL
(click on photo to enlarge it....then you can really see the great details)
These oh sew cool shoes were made by Mark Miller for his mother's birthday. Cindy, Mark's mother, was at the Widewater Retreat I went to back in October.
Cindy was telling me he did not use any photos for inspiration....all of this came from his memories of growing up watching his Mom sew.
