Wednesday, April 10, 2019

A Play Date and Chat in St. Simons Island, GA

Hello my friend!

I'm sorry I missed our visit last week. I returned from teaching in St. Simons Island, GA to having my email system upgraded and migrated to a new platform after it had been hacked. Then I had to learn the whole new system and make it work with my phone, website etc. Then... my business credit card got hacked and I had to deal with all of that. It's really soooooo annoying how much time and money I have to spend fixing things and protecting myself from awful people in society. I can't help but think how lovely the world would be if they used their talents to help others instead of hurt others. I guess that's just how it is though and I'm grateful for the wonderful people who help me get through it all and are patient with my meltdowns. ;)

 So, lets hop onto something more fun shall we? Like I said, I went to St. Simons Island to give my "Down the Rabbit Hole" lecture chat and give my "Beekeeper" workshop play date. What a wonderful time I had with these lovely friends, which included one visiting from South Carolina and three who drove up from Florida to take my class. What an honor!

Here I'm giving some demos on how to build the flowers for my "Beekeeper" pincushion. The guild (Debbi Sue) gave all of us bunny ears to wear! Several people bent their ears like Henry's! They are so fun! 



The Florida gals writing down what colors they wanted on what parts. Oh, and Tanya made me a sweet bunny pin that I'm wearing! Thank you Tanya! :) :)




This is how you wear ears when they start giving you a headache. hee,hee,hee.


Mary, in white, came from South Carolina. I met her last year when I was in Hilton Head. She is so sweet and I'm glad she could be there for my class.




I bring everything needed for my classes except scissors. It's all about inspiring individual creativity. Everyone gets so excited when they see all the goodies I bring. My little bunny mobile is packed to the roof!

I will have a new class to offer in 2020 and I'm already booking dates. If your guild would like a Play Date with the crazy bunny lady, please contact me! You can find more information on my website HERE.





Next, I just have to tell you about my new, forever friend, Loanne Hamje. She is just the sweetest! She invited me to stay with her at her incredibly lovely and cozy home. I know you are going to love her home as much as I did.

First, this gorgeous fountain is in her parking garage. She lives in a fabulous condominium. The fountain helps reduce the noise from cars in the garage. The home builder in me was loving this!


Her inviting front door.

This is what greets you as you enter. My eyes grew big as I gazed upon all those incredible quilts! Loanne has collected quilts for many years.


 



This is an applique a friend made for her that she had professionally framed. I love the matting.


I'm in love with this custom build in cabinet!


Loanne loves Americana and has lots of red, white and blue collections.


 In addition to quilts, there are needlepoint chairs, pillows and cross stitch pictures everywhere.


 This is Loanne's beekeeper pincushion she made in my class in Houston this past November.


This is her progress on the one she made at this class. Isn't it fun to see how changing the colors makes it so different. I love how she jazzes up the bees! :)


Here is the sweet lady in her studio. You're going to die when you scroll through these photos. It's a fabulous space!


Don't you love the flip flop quilt?


Fabric stash anyone? Her ceilings are 10' high... just sayin. ;)



This is one of her many vintage quilts she has collected.


This is her room. I love the white bedspreads with the quilts at the bottom. Loanne lost her husband, Bob, two years ago. I enjoyed hearing about him and I know I would have loved him as much as I love her.



This is the room I stayed in.


You know I had to choose this bed. ;)


This is her kitchen where she made me a smoothie, coffees and wonderful breakfasts!


This is the formal side of her living room. Quilts and needlepoint everywhere.






I just had to take a picture of her laundry room sink. I love it!!!


This is one of Loanne's favorite vintage quilts. It's from the late 1800's and is AMAZING!
We had the best time looking at all the embroidery work that was done on it. It makes me want to do one with a modern flare.... hmmmmm.....






This cutie is on her balcony porch.


We had an ice coffee out there and this is the view. My favorite Live Oak trees with moss dripping off of them. Pure Heaven!!!


She lives a short walk to the water and


a beautiful public space where a wedding was getting set up. How magical!


Well, did you enjoy this as much as I did? I sure hope so. I'm truly blessed to have a job that allows me to meet new people, inspire their creativity and make them forever friends.

See ya back here next week.
Hugs and friends,
Michelle


12 comments:

Petal49 said...

Wow your friends home is beautiful and all those gorgeous quilts. Your play date looks like it was a whole lot of fun.

DIGBY said...

What a lovely post, Michelle! I really enjoyed visiting your play date and your friend's home. It was wonderful seeing all of the handcraft items she has on display. It made me very envious. I have things on display but the display area is not quite so elegant. My home is small and I am an eclectic decorator and not a very good housekeeper. But we seldom get visitors so it suits us. Thank you again for giving a chance to see so many wonderful things!

Jeanette said...

Oh i wish i was able to attend one of your play dates. They look to be such fun & all those goodies you bring, fabulous. Your friends home is fabulous. So many beautiful things to look at. Hugs, xx

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

YOU are an accomplished artist,teacher and now,businesswoman. Shell,when I see these photos, I am reminded of how many hours, years and moments of joy as well as frustration it has taken you to get this far. BRAVO my friend!

Jill said...

Oh my. Such a wonderful teaching trip you shared. A fun group of ladies who are eager to learn. Lucky you to have the chance to stay in such a lovely tastefully-decorated home/condo. The crazy quilt is beyond gorgeous. Who would not want to pretreat their clothes at that laundry sink. Most definitely Loanne’s welcoming condo is magazine worthy. An enjoyable post indeed.

KaHolly said...

This was such a delightful post to read with my morning coffee. What a beautiful home! It must have felt like stepping into the pages of a Good Housekeeping magazine. I am so pleased you are having so much success and are obviously enjoying it. I’d love to live closer and be able to take advantage of one or more of your classes.

tink's mom said...

Sorry about all of the headaches. Glad you were able to get things back on track and are moving upward and onward. Looks like you had a wonderful adventure on this trip. Your new buddies home is fantastic. More like a fabric arts museum. Thank you both for sharing it with the rest of us.

Barb Neiwert said...

That sink of hers is amazing! Any idea where she got it? Sounds like you had a fabulous time.

Natureluvr57 said...

Speechless! First I loved all the eye candy set out like a buffet. I want to dig in and play. I never thought much of condo living-they look so small but I'll never think that again. Your friends condo looks so spacious and lovely and it's filled with such special items. Any empty ones available :)

QUILTING IS BLISSFUL, DI said...

What a lovely 'rabbit hole' you jumped into this trip--
class looked like a lot of fun--
and where you stayed is to 'die' for--
glad you had such a lovely time--
luv, di

Createology said...

Shell Dear you do have the most wonderful Play Dates with amazing ladies and guilds. Everyone is so very lucky to be in your classes. I love that you bring all of your materials for everyone to choose exactly wha they want. Sweet Bunny Ears! Your new BFF who invited you to stay in her beautiful home is such a lovely lady and her home and quilt collections show how very wonderful she is. Bunny Blessings for All.

Stitches said...

I was just surfing around on here this morning and came across this post, wow, what a wonderful time you had!!! Loanne's house is absolutely gorgeous and I can imagine all of the "eye candy" that you saw..I have followed you forever and have enjoyed your journey, Thanks for your inspiration over the years..

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