The Easter Tree

It is Easter week and one of our little bunnies

will make it home from college to celebrate, the

other one has to work.  Growing up and getting a

job can put such a glitch in your plans for fun...

Today I gathered some branches from the crab

apple tree in the front garden and collected some

of my embroidered ornaments, some decorated 

eggs, some mini blue Christmas balls, a few wreaths

I made as a young bride many years ago and some

prisms from old chandeliers and decorated a tree for 

our dining room table.  Mr. Wonderful  and I rarely

eat in the dining room nowadays, the table seems

too big and empty with just the two of us.  We put 

a smaller table in our family room ~ another sign

of our empty nest honeymoon cottage.

Though it was chilly this morning and we still had

frost, it has turned into a beautiful Spring day.  The

windows in the studio are open and a gentle breeze 

is floating in.  I was able to go out on a hike today

and met up with this beauty.

Yesterday Mr. Wonderful took me out to lunch 

at our new favorite Indian restaurant.

It is close to Trader Joe's so when we eat there

we always stop at TJ's and find something

special.

I left with armloads of flowers and filled the

house with blooms.  For now, we will still have

to buy our flowers but from the look of the 

daffodil bulbs that I divided last Fall, we should 

have a bumper crop in a few weeks.

Prepping Kits

Today I'm working on prepping kits for my 

lectures.  There are a number of options.

Many guilds are very hands-on and they

request an activity as well as a lecture.  

This is a stitching kit that I offer ~ groups

have a chance to try out some hand stitching.

This is a great accompaniment to my Wool

Gathering lecture.  It takes about 15 minutes

and happens just after the lecture.

I also offer a Make & Take kit.  It is a sweet 

little ornament that can be completed in an

 hour.  Everything needed is included in the 

kit, all you need to bring is a pair of scissors.

This mini class generally takes place an hour 

or so before the meeting begins.

The kit makes a sweet little ornament

that introduces students to common

embroidery stitches and shows how to

stitch corners in the best way.

Of course, my pincushion/ornament class is

always a lot of fun.  Students can choose from 

any of the current 13 patterns.  This workshop 

should last for at least 4 hours.

For further information go to my website:

http://www.americanhomesteaddesign.com/Lectures-Workshops-Appearances.html

Snowstorm Stitchin'

I'm hanging out in front of the fire, enjoying Mexican

hot chocolate and stitching some beautiful wools today.

Don't you just love the colors?  

I'm watching Midsomer Murders on Netflix and checking

the Weather Channel and CNN occasionally to keep track 

of Winter Storm Juno.  

I hope all my friends and family back east get to stay

home and keep warm through this huge storm.  If you

are a quilter, stitcher or knitter, then be happy to have

some time to be creative and get to work and stay off 

the roads...

A Wool Applique Giveaway

Hey everybody, just a reminder that I am doing a

giveaway on the Wool Applique site on Facebook.

/https://www.facebook.com/groups/399416250167265/

To be accepted into the group you must be someone

interested in our passion for wool applique.

Once you are at the site, comment under the photo

for the giveaway.

The giveaway is a baker's dozen of my ornament/

pincushion patterns plus a few rolls of wool felt

and felted wool.

Good luck everyone!

A Magazine Mention

I recently heard from the magazine, FabShop News.

They said they had mentioned my business,

 American Homestead in their magazine.

They sent me a copy of the magazine and I was 

happy to see American Homestead was included 

in an article about Wool Applique.  I'm so happy 

to see wool applique continues to gain in popularity.

Working With Wool/Felt: Changing Colors

I've been working on making new samples

for my wool applique lecture that I give at

Guilds and Quilt Shops.  This is my Grand

Isle pattern made from felted wool.

Here is the same pattern made with wool

felt.  Wool felt is the easiest way to applique.

And here is another one made with wool

felt.  I love that changing the colors can 

make it look like a completely different 

piece!

I'm using this one in my studio this week

for Halloween.

Asking For Your Help

Hello readers!

I am a small business trying to become a not

so small business.  At the top of the right side

bar of this blog is the Martha Stewart American

Made Nominee badge.  Please click on it and view

my profile.  Then please click and share on 

facebook and twitter below the photos.  It is a step

to help promote a small American business to a 

larger community.  Thanks for your help!

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'.

Three's A Charm

I was thrilled to have my block included in

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Vol.9.

It was extra exciting to see my quilt using the block 

had been included in the Designer's Gallery.

But it wasn't until I had a chance to sit down and

savor all of the magazine that I discovered my block

 had been used in a quilt in the Block Tester's Gallery.

What fun!  Look for it on page 90!

A Gift From Quiltmaker

I just got home and found a little box waiting for me 

outside my front door.  It contained a few presents

and a card from Quiltmaker magazine, thanking me

for participating in the 100 Blocks, Vol. 9 issue.

Well, thank you Quiltmaker!

That was lovely of them.

Setting Goals, Meeting Goals

I have so much going on in my life these days

that I find I have to make lists to remind myself

of all the things I have to do.  Then I break those 

lists down and try to figure out when I am going

to accomplish all of the tasks at hand.  This 

weekend my goal was to make these 3 felt table-

toppers.  They have been made before in the same

colors for the pattern covers but I need them for

trunk shows and trade shows.  I knew it was going

to be cold and snowy this weekend so I set 3 days

aside to accomplish this task.  I sat in front of the

fire and watched the new season of Lilyhammer

among other things and by early last night I was

finished!  They are ready to go out into the world.

I'm heading to Spain for a few weeks later this

month and though it is vacation, I am the type

of person that is incapable of sitting and doing

nothing.  So,  last month I had packed up my

 little travel kits to take with me.  It is a baggie

with the felt pieces and a little picture of a

finished piece (so I know the right place to put

the right stitches) and also my ring of floss, pins

and needles and a thread cutter.  I make up a lot

of these kits and stuff them in the front pocket

of my carry-on and pull them out as needed.

I've stitched on planes, trains, in cars and when

I have some time in the evenings and I want to

relax.  I'm sure I'll be stitching on my balcony

in Spain where if I look to the left I see the

mountains and if I look to the right I see the

Mediterranean.

While the kids were home for Christmas the 

weather was awful and we ended up spending

a lot of time hanging around watching movies

and I was stitching.  I ended up making all the 

kits I had prepped for Spain!  I made 35 new

pincushions/ornaments.  

Now I have to add to the list:  make new kits.

Christmas Ornament Class

 

Today I taught a class on Felt Holiday

Ornaments for 12 lovely students.

 

 

We had carols and cookies and

lots of fun!

 

Check out the work of some of the

students.  I didn't get a shot of everyone's

ornament because some photos came out

blurry or the student may have been away

from the classroom having a little retail therapy.

 

Note to students:  please send a photo of your

finished piece and I'll post them on the American

Homestead facebook page.

 

 

 

 

Christmas Is Coming!

My Heart's Goin' Boom, Boom, Boom!

 

It was a busy day of Me Timin', birthday

celebratin' and eh, working...  but on my

morning errands I ran into a shop across

the street from my bank and picked up this

little turquoise tree!  It will be perfect for

displaying my feltworks in the European

Folk Art Collection.  Sometimes little things

can make you so happy.

Holiday Ornament Class

Come join us for a Holiday

Felt Ornament Class on

December 8th, 2014.

Details follow:

 

 

Choose one of the 13 felt

ornament patterns and

get a felt roll kit for $10.

 

 

Register now!

 

Come stitch for a few hours, enjoy

holiday music and cookies.  Perfect

for getting in the holiday spirit!