Paducah Quilt Show and Just Jennifer

This weekend I had the pleasure

of traveling

with my friend Margaret,

to the AQS Quilt Show

in Paducah KY.

I have no photos from the actual show

because there

were signs everywhere

warning…… “No Photos”.

I needed my hands free

to buy fabric,

look at buttons,

buy fabric, look at books,

buy fabric……

It was really hard to believe

how much fabric was

there to buy.

  Vendors with bolts,

upon bolts of fabric.

Warehouses full of fabric

and of course,

 Hancock’s of Paducah.

If there is a fabric made

I think they have it.

We arrived Friday

and decided to visit the vendors

in downtown Paducah first.

The first shop we entered

had the most fascinating booth.

There were beautiful heart pins

created from zippers,

wool pincushions and phone cases,

but the item that had

my attention was

a beautiful jacket created from soft

pink and beige fabrics.

  The artist ( Jennifer) came

over to see if she could

show us anything.

My friend Margaret,

wanted me to try on the jacket

and kept insisting I put it on.

  I knew it was

out of my price range.

I had only just arrived

for a weekend of shopping,

did I want to spend it all,

in the first shop?

“That jacket looks just like you,

you have to try it on”,

Margaret was saying.

So, of course

I slipped it on

SOFT, COMFY,

and all those other descriptions

of heaven came to mind.

But, the price!

  I am tight practical,

with my money

so, I reluctantly took it off.

I thanked Jennifer

for allowing me to try it on

and we left.

We visited more booths

filled with beautiful things,

but the jacket kept

creeping into my mind.

We shopped

until the stores closed

and  returned to our hotel.

The hotel had a special room set up for

us “quilters”, serving desserts and wine.

We had a nice evening

chatting and laughing

with birds of a feather,

the other quilters.

Margaret and I settled in,

with the idea of getting up

early to see everything

the quilt show had to offer.

Out went the lights,

but I could not go to sleep.

  I was thinking about that jacket!

  I got out my Nook

intending to read

myself to sleep.

Around 3:30 a.m.

I did an internet search

for Jennifer.

I found her site

and noticed she had a PATTERN

for her lovely jacket!

I would not have to wonder,

if I could live without it……

I could make my own!!!!

I went to sleep

with a new found peace

and with the thought

of being there when Jennifer arrived

the next morning. 

Jennifer not only had the pattern

she took the time to

talk me through the steps

that go into creating

her “Quilted Fleece Jacket”.

She offered advice

on fabric selection

with unhurried detail.

I brought the pattern

to the cash register to pay.

“I am gifting you the pattern.” Jennifer said,

“ you are my first customer

of the day. You”re so excited about

making it, the pattern is my gift to you.”

I, of course, hugged her

and thanked her for

not only the pattern,

but for being so generous

with her knowledge.

  It is not often we meet

vendors that will take the time

to really help us.

How many will take the time

to offer helpful tips,

almost a mini class

in the pattern construction.

I am giving a shout out,

to thank Jennifer

for her gift of love,

in a way heART.

I hope you will visit her site

and see what she has to offer.

Thank you again, Jennifer.

I will document the

construction of my  jacket

in the coming days. 

Love to all,

Deb

Some Gifts Are From The heART

I have a thing about hearts.

I am always looking for heart shaped stones.

I have a collection of hearts

hanging in my sunroom.

~~~~~~~~~

It is easy to see, when something

has been created,

from the heart.

To me “from the heart” means,

the maker took their time

and there is the

all telling

attention to detail.

You can look at an item

and see if it was thrown

together at the last minute,

or if it was loving put

together.

I call it “heART”.

~~~~~~

A piece of heART

arrived at my home.

Wrapped in pattern tissue paper

and tied with pink seam binding.

With a note from the maker.

The dearest hand created book

I have ever seen.

Filled with beautiful pages.

The above items Jillayne

brought home from her trip to France.

  She wrote some

outstanding posts about her trip.

  The posts were thought

provoking and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them.

The binding is just as interesting

as the pages in the book.

I once included a quote from Coco Chanel on my blog:

“When I am no longer able to create something,

I’ll be done for.”

Jillayne remembered the quote and used Coco Chanel for her inspiration.  Notice the pearl buttons, crystals, vintage sewing notions used here in the binding.

Jillayne created herself a book just like mine you can see hers here. 

We are thinking of doing a tandem post in

the future on our books.

I wonder what fantastic

items I can capture within the pages.

 

I love the tiny key she included…..it came from France

too!!!  Isn’t that the cutest key ever.  (I know a little

nutsy about the key, but I love it!)  I may now have to

start collecting keys!

Thank you Jillayne for the heART.

Once Jillayne has

received her box from me,

I will show you what I created for her

……yes it is heART too!

 

Love to all,

Deb

Crocheted Boho Wrap Bracelet / NecklaceTutorial

Do a search for

"crocheted wrap bracelets,"

 you may be surprised

by how many show up.

They are comfortable to wear

and the perfect addition

to your summer wardrobe.

Boho Wrap Bracelet/Necklace

You will need crochet cotton,

a small crochet hook

and lots of beads.

The crochet hook I used was

one my grandmother used.

I can remember her making

necklaces similar to this

back in the early 1970's.

A size 7 hook creates a nice

small chain stitch.

Load your beads onto the thread

before you begin to create your

crocheted chain. 

 You will include a bead

in your stitches either on a

random basis or after

a set number of stitches.

In researching the bracelets,

I saw some that used only

1 style of bead, others

used random beads,

 those were the bracelets

I preferred.

Begin your stitches

with 10 chain stitches,

before you add the first

bead. (Those beginning

 10 stitches will be used

 to form a knot

 with the ending stitches.)

 Continue forming

 chain stitches

and adding beads

 until you have

completed a length of

 approximately 34".

This length will allow you to

wear it as a necklace or bracelet.

To finish off the necklace,

chain stitch 10 stitches

without adding a bead.

Clip the thread and pull

through the last stitch. 

Tie the two crocheted

 ends together

(beginning and end of

 the 34" chain) 

forming a square knot.

The beads in this necklace

 are randomly spaced.

Wrap your wrist

or wear as a necklace.

The bracelet is the only view I will

be showing.  Don't think for

a moment, I will be showing

a close-up of my neck!!!

As I mentioned, these

are quick and easy to

make.  Here are

some I have completed

this weekend.

This one was created

using all white beads

and white thread.

It would be perfect

for a beach bride!

Love to all,

Deb



Calling All Angels

Please take a moment to read and vote for my friend.

Glenn

I have a friend with a son 13 years old that is unable to walk, talk or care for himself due to a genetic condition.  This is National Mobility Awareness Month and the sponsors are giving away a van fully, equipped to help transport those that are in need.  The top three vote receivers will win a van.

For Glenn to win, I am asking you to vote.

 Here is the link:

http://www.nmeda.com/mobility-awareness-month/

click the button Enter to Win Now,

On the next page enter the name: Hall 

The state is Kentucky

You can see a brief video of Glenn and his courageous mother Margaret.  Margaret never complains and has a great attitude, but as Glenn continues to grow how long can she carry him as she does now. On the voting page there are a few questions to answer to limit your votes to once a day.

Please, take just a moment to vote for them, I would appreciate it. Occasionally they will give out a code to receive extra votes. The code for today is 968

Love to all,

Deb

If you would, please pass this on to your friends.  I would do the same for you.

Glenn will be 14 this weekend.

Then There Were Three

Three pebbles complete! 

This last pebble is on it's way

to Jillayne! We have a little

trade going on.  I love the books she

has been recently making and she liked

my pebbles, so......we will each

have a bit of the other's heart. 

I have included a few little extras

that I would like to be a surprise

for Jillayne, so I will post those soon.

Love to all,

Deb

"Creative Fabric Techniques" Book Review

I recently won an ebook Kerry was

giving away. 

Kerry is a crazy quilter and has a feature

on her blog called " Build A Seam".  She

takes a stitch, adds embellishments and creates

a seam treatment.  I have learned quite a

bit from this, as I will often struggle with I

have a stitch...."Now, What?".

  I know you should not judge a book by it's cover,

but with all this stitching it is hard to ignore.

As the title states this is a book for quilters,

embroiderers and textile artists.  Really it

is a book for anyone that uses fabric in their

artwork.

The book comes as a CD ebook and is filled

with inspiration and encouragement.  Annette

takes repurposing/reusing to a new level, as

she creates her fabrics.

In the chapter "Found Fabrics", I found

great inspiration where Annette  used

button bands and plackets to create fabric.

I will often use buttons as embellishments,

but I never thought of using the entire button

band.

"Trash Quilts" will have you looking at

those ragged quilts destined for the trash in

a new way.  As a matter of fact, there may be

quite a few items you will not be throwing

away once you see how Annette incorporates

them into her fabrics.

Have you ever burned fabrics?  Annette does

and she will show you how to use your soldering

iron and heat gun to create burned out areas

of interest in the fabric that could not

 be done with a needle and thread.

I love the tip she has for a soldering iron holder!

We all have fabrics that make us wonder, why we

ever bought them.  Annette will show you layering

techniques that use those fabrics along with any scraps

you may have.

As I mentioned before this is an ebook on CD.  I have

always enjoyed having a book in print.  I like to hold a

book in my hands while I dream of the projects on the pages.

As this is a CD, the ebook comes as a PDF document.  This

format enables you to print out any of the pages as often as

you want.  Since I will almost always make a copy of a project

from my books, to save wear and tear while I am working on them.

The CD ebook version is the better way to buy books.  No trees

are cut down and they take up much less storage space!

Love to all,

Deb

A sample of the book can be found here:

http://www.rainbowdisks.com/graphics/products/files/CFTLRtaster.pdf

Easter Greetings

Does this egg make me look fat?



Wishing you a

Taking a break and resting my fingers!

See you the 16th!

Love to all,

Deb