It's Pumpkin Season!

There must be a crazy pumpkin epidemic that has hit our country. I for one know I am addicted to the pumpkin smoothies from my local health food restaurant and David is addicted to those Little Debbie pumpkin cakes. Yes...I'm a health nut and he's a junk food junkie. Anyway, I can't begin to tell you how many emails and messages I have received regarding my Peter's Pumpkin - Folk Art Fusion design. So many people would like to make it and were sad that there was no way they would be able to attend a class with me.

So, after much debating and lots of breaking my arm off, arm twisting, I have decided to offer all my Folk Art Fusion classes as PDF Patterns and Kits to all my friends.  Of course, I will still offer them as classes and if your guild, or group would like a Play Date with the crazy bunny lady, I would love to meet you. Plus, it really is super fun getting together with friends and having an adventure down the rabbit hole. :) :) :)

Peter's Pumpkin (Photo above shows fabric center. Kit is all wool felt as in this photo)

Seamore the Seahorse

and Bridgette Butterfly

are three of my six Folk Art Fusion classes which are now available to everyone as PDF's and Kits in my SHOP. The other three classes are coming soon.

As always, your friendship and support of my small business is so truly appreciated! Without you purchasing my designs and kits, I would not be able to continue designing projects for you to create. I also would not be able to help the bunnies. So thank you for believing in me!

Hugs and I'll see ya next Wednesday!

Michelle

What I do - Who I am

Isn't it funny that as adults we are always asked, "What do you do?" Yet, when we were children, we were never asked that question. We were simply asked, "What's your name?" I read once that this is the reason it's easier to make friends when you are a child and why those childhood friendships usually last forever. I know this is true because my best friend, Beth, and I met when we were twelve and have had a "BFF" friendship spanning the last 35 years.

     Bridgette Butterfly - new class for 2016

When you are a child, you are just "you." You're not a mom, dad, boss, employee, husband or wife. You are simply (insert name here). Your main focus, in most cases, when meeting someone was to make a friend. So recently, when I was again asked, "What do you do?" I realized I am more than an artist, author, instructor and what I do. Who I am is, Michelle, and I am a friend.

As I hopped down the path of my creative career over the last three years, I discovered how much passion I have for teaching and sharing my Folk Art Fusion with others. I also realized how important it is to get together with others. While on-line courses are wonderful and convenient, they will never compare with the creative energy, laughter and fun that comes from a gathering of friends.  

Last month I had a "Play Date" with the Crystal Coast Quilters in Morehead City, NC. They were so very kind to me as I was at the tail end of a cold (first one in 9 years) and I had LOST MY VOICE! Let's just say it's not easy to teach when you can't talk. Lucky for me, it was a wonderful opportunity to hear their stories and get to know them better.

Here are some photos from our "Peter's Pumpkin" Play Date.

This is Cindy. She invited me to teach. She is a retired Physical Education teacher. Cool! I told her that was one of my favorite classes and I always made straight A's. Math....not so much. ;)

This is Debbie (aka the Iron Lady). We were all sooooooooooo grateful to Debbie because there was a little misunderstanding about needing ironing stations for our play date. Debbie graciously brought three irons to class. Thank YOU!! (She's so pretty!)

This is Nan. She's a sweetie and super creative. She is going to put her pumpkin on a sage green background. PLEASE send a picture! I can't wait to see how it turned out. 

This is Joanne. She is a lady after my own heart as she supports animal shelters with spaying and neutering.

I like to inspire my students to use their own creativity to finish their projects. They don't have to stitch exactly like I do if they don't want to. I'm just a tour guide into my Folk Art Fusion world. Joanne was excited about this as she wanted to use her new couching foot and her sewing machine's decorative stitches to finish hers. Here is what she came up with.

I love how it turned out and was even more excited when she told me it was being donated to raise money for the animal shelter. Yay!!

This smiling sweetheart is Patti. She is soooooooooooo much fun! Patti is one of those quick witted people who I love listening to. She made a suggestion in class about an easier way to layer the pumpkin stem and I must say, it was a GREAT suggestion! Thank you!

Patti finished her pumpkin and decided to hang it on her front door. LOVE it! What a great fall welcome to friends.

It's amazing the friendships you can make when you teach someone to express their creativity. Last night I got a text from a my friend, Julie. She was a student of mine ten years ago when I taught at the local quilt shop. Julie had finally finished her "Stardust" quilt from my class back in 2004 or 2005. She took the quilt to the Croatan Quilters' guild (miss you girls!) meeting for show and tell. Isn't it beautiful? I can't tell you how much it means to me that she shared this. Thank you Julie!

Creative friendships are so much fun. Like I said earlier, the energy, the laughter and the bond cannot be found through on-line classes. This photo is from my new friend, Patty DeSaye. Patty, along with her daughter, Karmen, own Cozy Mountain Quilts in Whitehall, MT.    

Patty contacted me about carrying my book in her shop. I was thrilled!!!! Patty was inspired by my work after seeing it on Pinterest. She ordered the books, made a sample and offered a class. Each student got a copy of my book (thank you!) and Patty was their tour guide into Folk Art Fusion. She said everyone had a total blast and is looking forward to the next adventure. Yay!!!!

Maybe one day I will get to hop in and visit with Patty and Karmen in their adorable shop. Until then, if you get a chance to visit, be sure and give them a hug for me!

So now, when someone asks me what I do, I say, "I inspire creativity and play" but who I am is Michelle and I am your friend.

I have updated my calendar, photos and contract for 2016 Play Dates and Chats. If you, your guild or group would like to have an adventure down the rabbit hole with me, then HOP over HERE for more information.

Light, love, hugs and friends,
Michelle

 

It will be here soon and a Winner!

I can't believe it is the middle of October already. You know what that means...Christmas will be here before we know it!

Back by popular request (pleading, demanding, bugging) are wool felt and thread kits for my Christmas Folk Art Tree.

This really is a fast and fun project to make. It's a wonderful gift to give yourself, a friend or even to make for a quilt guild exchange party.

There are a limited number of kits available, so don't delay and Hop on over to my SHOP to get yours.

Next, I would like to thank you so very much for your kind, sweet and much appreciated notes on my 8 year blogging anniversary. I truly appreciate you hanging in there with me all these years. Your friendship is such a blessing to my life.

So, on to the winner of the calendar! The random number generator chose number 22, which is Jackie Attaway! Congratulations Jackie!

Have a super fun weekend. Oh, and guess what? They started my house! Yay! I'll be sharing photos with you of the process as my house grows.

I'll see ya back here next Wednesday.
Light, love and hugs to you,
Michelle 

Eight Years of Blogging and a Giveaway

As I started to write this post, my mind drifted to so many adventures I have had over the past eight years. It really is hard to believe that eight years have passed since I decided to write this blog and share snippets of my life with you. So many things have changed and yet, at the same time, so many things remain the same. It's funny how one's path can wiggle just a little as they grow older, while others have a path that twists and turns down many rabbit holes. Mine is definitely the latter.

I still am passionate about my Folk Art Fusion and creating designs to teach you. Here's a sneaky peeky of Bridgette Butterfly, the Botanist, hee,hee,hee. She is a new class coming in 2016. I have found that my passion truly is in teaching and not being a pattern designer. Inspiring others to be creative brings me more joy than pumping out pattern after pattern to try and sell to stores.

Bunnies are forever my loves, but I simply can't bring myself to get another one at this time. Harrington's sudden passing in June took a HUGE chunk out of my heart and it still hasn't healed. I miss him so much. Thank goodness Hannah is doing very well and is just as precious and sweet as ever. I can't wait for her to have her beautiful room in the new house. It will also be a spot where I sit and stitch, or draw, or work on my laptop. I am really looking forward to that.

Speaking of the new house, here is what our house will look like. It's an adorable Craftsman cottage. David will have an extra garage space for his Camaro, which makes him super happy. In fact, the entire garage area will be his "Car Cave." The window way up high on the rear elevation is my new studio, which will look out over a pond. There is tons of beautiful natural light that will pour in through that window. I know it will be a truly inspiring place to design my Folk Art Fusion.

There have been major delays from the county permitting office and we are now three months behind schedule. So, it looks like we won't be in our new home until the middle or end of January instead of November 18. We are very sad, disappointed and truly sick and tired of living in this storage shed of an apartment, but at the same time, we are grateful we will have a nice new home to move into. Our hearts go out to all those who have lost their homes to flooding and fires this year. It's so very sad.


My darling Sabrina has taken on the duties of Office Assistant. Every morning she reviews my calendar and lets me know what I need to accomplish. ;) 

 
I think back to a year ago when she came into my life with the "Cuddle Puddle." Remember Miss Tiggy Wiggins and DK?

Tiggy

 DK

This is the two of them before they went to their new home. They were sooooo adorable!!!!!

Well, here they are now all grown up. I got to see them in Virginia when I was there in August. Tiggy is small like Sabrina and looks just like her except she has white markings where Sabrina has brown.

DK, who is now known as Deeks, is a big boy with gorgeous markings like his brother, Shamus. He is still the sweetest.

Here he is with his beautiful mom, Jen. I am so grateful she adopted them both. They love being together.

Blogging has changed so very much over the past eight years and I find I miss those wonderful days of sitting with my cup of tea and visiting all my friends in blog land. Most everyone is using Facebook now and I find I do the same. However, I am not ready to give up this little diary of my life as I still have many more adventures to share with you.

So today I will celebrate my eight years of blogging with a giveaway. This gorgeous calendar was designed for National Nonwovens by Tammy De Young of Plum Creek Collectibles.  (Sorry my photos aren't that great. It has rained here for three weeks!)

There are twelve applique patterns, one for each month, which can be made with wool or regular quilting cotton. You fill in the dates on the calendar.
 

Here are a few of the adorable blocks.

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post. Sabrina kitty will use the random number generator to select the winner next Wednesday, October 14th. This giveaway is open to all our friends around the world.

Thank you for following along with me all these years through email, Blog Lovin and Blogger (sign up to follow on the right side bar). You are truly a blessing to my life and such an inspiration for me to continue my adventures down the rabbit hole.

Light, love and hugs to you,
Michelle