American Homestead Pincushion/Ornament Class

This post gives information on my Ornament/Pincushion

Class that I teach to guilds, stitching groups and retreats.

There are many ways to use the projects that you create.

Here are the various ways you can use the ornaments.

You could also embroider a name and date on the back

to make it a special keepsake ornament.  I know people

who make them for their kids or grandkids so when they

grow up and have their own homes, they have a collection

of ornaments from someone they love.

You can also add a little pocket to the back to hold

a gift certificate.

If you decide to make a pincushion you can place them

on a metal candlestand which looks lovely.

You can also frame them, they look great grouped 

in three or four on the wall.

You can also put them on dowel sticks and

add them to a floral arrangement.

You have two choices to make:

1. What pattern do I want to make?  There are 13 to

choose from.  They are shown below.

2. What colorway would you like to work in?  There is 

a brighter group of fabrics called the European Folk

Art Collection and a deeper group of fabrics called the

Pennyrug Collection.  Here they are:

Patterns created in The European Folk Art Collection

Patterns created in The Pennyrug Collection

This is what you need to bring to class: (it's so 

simple, you can bring it in a little basket!)

Scissors: sharp scissors to cut the wool felt and thread

Small pincushion with a few pins

Needles: appropriate to your choice of thread or whatever

feels good for you.

For ornament: 2 - 6'' x 6'' squares of cotton batting (scraps

from your quit projects are great)

For pincushion: a sandwich size ziploc of fiberfill

Floss/Thread:  There are as many opinions on what is the

best thread as there are brands of thread so I let my students

choose their favorite.  I generally use DMC embroidery floss 

and the correct color numbers are shown below.  If you prefer 

another thread or floss then just search for a comparison chart

for the brand you choose.

For European Folk Art Colorway:  Ecru - 806 - 3347 - 742 - 816

For Pennyrug Colorway: 677 - 920 - 826 - 816 - 732 - 742 - 310

Now choose one of the 13 patterns.  The photos show a

European Folk Art colorway example on the left and a 

Pennyrug colorway example on the right.

Here is a video about the class:

I hope to see you sometime very soon!!  ~ Ellen

A New Book Project!

75 Fun Fat Quarter Quilts

An exciting new book has just been released.

It is called 75 Fun Fat Quarter Quilts and many

designers have written chapters and I am happy

to be one of them.  My chapter is called 

One Simple Block

because all the quilts are made from, yes, you 

guessed it, one simple block, The Contrary Wife.

The quilt shown above is called  Au Contraire.

This quilt started with this sweet fat quarter

bundle because remember, this book is about

quilts that can be made from fat quarters.  And

all the quilts in my chapter are so easy to make

because the blocks are made from 4 half square 

triangles and 5 squares and you sew them into

a simple 9-patch block.  What makes this chapter

so interesting is the eight quilts that I designed 

all look so different by changing the colors or

changing the way the block was placed in the

quilts.  And just to get you a bit more excited,

I'm going to give you a sneak peek at the quilts.

This is Falling Leaves, a great Fall themed quilt

but you could use the same idea with any fat 

quarter bundle that you may love and it would

 look beautiful.

This is Chain Link, a completely different look

using white, red and black fabric.  This color

grouping is the favorite of my daughter Katie

Rose so I have lots of these fabrics in my stash.

This is Big Red, those of you that know me know

I love stars in quilts, they are such a traditional,

iconic look.  But this quilt looks bold and modern

by using bright, bold colors.

This quilt is called Magnificent Valour, I thought 

it would be perfect for those of you that make all

of those wonderful Quilts of Valor.

This is Ups and Downs, as you can see, again, I

have lots of red, black and white in my stash.  I 

think this would also be great if you did each row

in a different color.

This is Garden Paths, it reminded me of a show

garden with lots of flower beds surrounded by

grassy paths that meet with a fountain at the 

intersections.

This is Candy Garland,  I thought of strings of

wrapped candies when I designed this one.  It 

would also be fun in Christmas fabrics.

And this is just one of many, many chapters from

all sorts of talented designers.  So there you have it, 

just a snippet of the chapter I wrote, after all, we want

 you to run out and buy the book so you can see the full 

designs for yourself.  And remember, this is all from

One Simple Block!

To win a free copy of this book* please leave a comment

on this blog post, let me know which of the quilts in my

chapter is your favorite or you can just say hi!

  Remember to include your email address with your 

comment so I can reach the lucky winner.  On Wednesday, 

December 23 I will select a winner using a random 

number generator. 

*If your address is  in the United States you will receive a 

hard copy of the book.  A winner from outside the US will 

receive a free e-book version.

So many people can get to know about this new book we

are having a blog tour.  Stop by these other sites to see

what some of the other designers have to say about their 

chapters.  There are still a few more days of the tour!

12/14 C&T Publishing blog

12/15 Jera Brandvig

12/16 Melissa Cory

12/17 Kate Colleran

12/18 Sue Pfau

12/19 Tiffany Jenkins

12/20 Ellen Murphy

12/21 Amanda Castor

12/22 Jo Kramer

All the best!   ~ Ellen

Update!  A winner has been chosen for 

this giveaway.  It was Bonnie.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Homecoming

A package arrived from California today.

The projects from my next book came back from

the publisher.  They left me last July and have 

been hanging out in Cali having their photos taken.

It was nice to see them again.

In 3 weeks we will be leaving for our big

trip ~ 3 weeks!  And by the time I get back

home sometime in July, it will be time for

my book to be released. 

Something to look forward to!

Remember you can pre-order right now on 

Amazon so you can get your copy ASAP.  

Then you can get  busy making fun projects

for Christmas... or anytime.

Your can pre-order it here.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

around my American Homestead!

That's ME! ~ In the Land of Wonder, the Land Down Under

What a way to warm up a frosty day in the

American Midwest.  A copy of Australian

Patchwork and Quilting arrived from all the

way on the other side of the world.  AND, it

has an article about me and my book.  Oh,

thank you so much Australia ~ I can't wait 

to finally get to see you next summer.

I apologize if the photos are a bit blurry

but I admit I was a bit teary when I was

taking the pictures.  It was a mix of happy

and sad tears.  You see, the article talks

about how my Mum encouraged my 

interest in embroidery and our trips to the 

Five and Ten store where I would always 

want to buy embroidery floss while other

little girls were buying paper dolls and candy.

So, I sat down and had a big boo hoo.  We miss

our sweet girl so very much... But I know she 

would have loved this article, after all, it's why

she encouraged my interest in crafts all those

years ago.

Thank you so much Ally!  I love it!

Christmas in July at The Back Door Quilt Shop

It is time to start working on all the Christmas 

projects!  Yes, it may have snuck up on many

of us but it is JULY ~ how did that happen?

And the perfect way to do that is at a 

Christmas in July celebration!

I will be at the famous Back Door Quilt

Shop this Saturday July 12 from 9 to 3.

The Back Door is a destination quilt shop

located at 2503 Fairview Place, Ste. W in

Greenwood Indiana, (317) 882-2120.  The

owners of this shop have been in business

together for 41 years.

I will be there for a Meet the Designer day.

We can celebrate some woolie wonders with

my Christmas ornaments.

If you haven't done embroidery stitches in 

a while ~ no worries.  There will be a hands

on Stitching Demo that will give you all the

information and skills you will need to stitch

up a storm.

Many of my customers make the ornament/

pincushion patterns for friends, all their

co-workers and especially children and 

grandchildren.  Some lovely stitchers make

many ornaments for their loved ones so when

those kids or grandkids are old enough to

have their own homes with their own trees

they will have a collection of lovely hand

made ornaments from their Mom or Grandma.

Start a tradition now!

You can also hear the story behind my book

and see a trunk show of all the quilts from the

book.  I'll also be available to sign books too.

So here's the days schedule:

10:30 - Story of the Wool Work and

Wool Trunk Show

11:30 - Hands on Stitching Demo

12:30 - How I became a designer and

got a book contract

1:30 - Trunk show of quilts from the book

2:30 -Trivia contest with prizes

I'll be in the shop all say so there will be

plenty of time for chatting and stories.

I hope you will stop by!

Pump Up the Patterns

As a pattern designer for the Quilt/Craft industry, 

I design for all skill levels.  My felt patterns with

 embroidery use about five common embroidery

 stitches.  I want my patterns to appeal to all age 

and skill levels.  That said, if you happen to be a 

person that likes to put your own spin on a piece,

 I say go for it!  That's what I would do!

Recently I heard from Lee from Two Thimbles

Quilt Shop in Bellingham, WA.  Lee's shop was

hosting a class to teach my felt ornament patterns.

 The shop has a talented stitcher, Suz, who put her own

spin on my patterns, she changed sizes, tried new

embroidery stitches and added buttons and beads.

They were beautiful.

Look at this gorgeous present, it is better 

than candy or cookies (and less fattening).

I would love to get a present like this.  Imagine

this gift for a grown child celebrating their first

Christmas in their own apartment or for a couple

that has just married and are celebrating their

first Christmas as a married couple.  I can also

imagine making these ornaments for one's

grandkids each year so by the time they leave

home they have their own collection of ornaments

and what a great memory of their Grandma in the

future.

This is a photo taken of the class, so many

busy hands creating art.  Someone is using one

of the felt ornaments to embellish a stocking.

I wish I could be there to join in the fun.

Now let's zoom in on the photo from above and a

confession from me.  I spotted that tabletopper in

the photo and thought WOW, that is fabulous, I

wonder who designed that, hmmm, it looks so 

familiar.  That's when it hit me ~ I designed it!

It is my Grand Isle pattern made with a combo

of batik fabric and felt.  Love it!

And here is a photo sent to me from Little

Scrap Quilt Shop in Kokomo, IN ~ they used

my Petaluma pattern and made it from cotton

fabric and made it into a wallhanging.  Great idea!

Keep those creative juices flowing and keep

on stitchin'.