Designs to inspire and a visit

Well hi ya! Are you having a good week? I'm currently getting ready to vend at the 2016 Splash of Color Quilt and Fiber Arts Show this weekend in Concord, NC. If you are in the area, hop over and visit with me! For more information, you can go to the website for the Cabarrus Quilters Guild.  

Next, I am excited to share some photos from my dear friend, Kat. She is a fellow bunny, cat and critter mom, not to mention, a treasured customer.

Kat has taken several of my designs, put her own twist on them and made them as donations to be raffled off to help an orphanage and food pantries in Africa. She is also making more of them to help out a Horse Rescue. What a generous and talented friend!

 Here is Bridgette Butterfly or as she calls it, "Michelle Monarch." ;)

Here is Pumpkin Kisses.

Here is her bunny, Mitzy helping out with Pumpkin Kisses and

here is her cat taking a little nap under the quilts. You see how the cat sleeps and the bunny works don't you? hee,hee,hee. Sabrina and Hannah are the same way. ;)

Didn't she do a wonderful job? It makes me so happy when my work inspires someone to create and it's the main reason I do what I do. Hugs to you Kat!

Finally today, I wanted to share about the wonderful visit David and I had over the weekend from my mom and her husband, Oliver.

They came to Wilmington, from my hometown of Virginia Beach, to celebrate our 25 year anniversary. Mom gave us this beautiful treasure box filled with bunny napkins, a throw blanket and hot pads that she crocheted, some delightful teas in Beatrix Potter tins, a cute stuffed bunny (forgot to put her in the photo) two lovely handwritten letters to David and I and the biggest surprise of all...a check for $2,500.00!!!! David and I were in shock and never expected such a HUGE gift. Mom said she felt bad that she couldn't really do anything for our wedding 25 years ago, so she wanted to do something special for this anniversary. Well, that was special indeed!

Thanks so very much mom. Love you bunches!

Well, have a great weekend and I'll see you back here next week with some quilt photos from my local quild.

Light, love and hugs to you,
Michelle

25 Years Ago in September

September 21, twenty five years ago, I got into a cake fight with my best friend.

In some ways, it still feels like it was yesterday. We paid for our own wedding. It wasn't big and fancy, but considering I was making $5.00 an hour and David was making $12.00 an hour, it wasn't too bad. In fact, David gave me money from his savings to buy my dress. It was actually a used dress which originally cost over $2,500. The lady I purchased it from sold it to me for $600, which was still a ton of money for us.

I took it to a wonderful seamstress who changed the neckline from a high neck to a sweetheart neck, changed the back and took the long sleeves and turned them into 3/4 sleeves. The train was really long and the dress weighed a ton with all the beading, but I loved how it bustled up under a big giant flower on my butt. To this day, it is the only dress I have ever loved and yes, me who doesn't keep things, still has this dress.

We couldn't afford a limo, so we rented a city trolley so our wedding party, family and friends could ride with us.

My BFF, Beth, was my maid of honor. We have been best friends since we were twelve years old. She and I shared an apartment the year before I got married. It was so much fun. To this day, she is the only person besides David that I could ever live with because, like David, she is the calm to my hyper. We always joke around that we will be roommates again when we move to the nursing home. Hee,hee,hee.

Beth came to visit me in Wilmington this summer. We had a blast. Although, she did say the humidity about killed her. She lives on top of a mountain in West Virginia. We visit each other once a year and we talk on the phone every Wednesday. There are lots of friends who come in and out of our lives, but some friends are meant to share our lives forever.

David and I have always had an obsession with houses. A sense of "Home" is the most important thing to us both. Instead of going on a honeymoon, we built our first house. We were dirt poor, had no furniture and ate a lot of spaghetti, but we were so happy to start our life together with a new home.

Today, we are on our fifth house and while it's cute, we know there will be a sixth. ;)

This is our engagement photo from September of 1990. This was one of the best years of my entire life. I was so happy and so free with everything to look forward to. In my mind, I  will always want to be twenty two years old. ;)

Here we are today. I miss having good eyesight (four different prescriptions now) and my long hair. As for David? Well, he just misses his hair. hee,hee,hee

I think back to when I was twenty three and all the things I did that September. I got married, I bought a house and I also got promoted to Office Manager and Bookeeper for a commercial roofing company. I took over for Margaret, who had worked there for 42 years. Not easy at all. Margaret always said she loved all my energy. Well, looking back today, it makes me tired! Haaaaaaaaa!

Who knows what adventures and houses the next twenty five years will bring, but one thing I am certain of...

See you next Thursday!

Michelle

Paisley Pumpkins and a Winner!

Well hellooooooooo! It has been a long couple of days stitching, photographing and writing the instructions (over 27 hours of pattern writing), but it's finally ready!!

Here are my Paisley Pumpkins! This pieces measures 21" x 36." I was inspired by all the gorgeous pumpkin topiaries I see. Plus, fall is my most favorite time of year and I thought paisleys on pumpkins sounded fun!

I have Kits available with paper patterns and if you don't need a kit, I also have e-Patterns available for instant download. Hop on over to my new SHOP HERE.

There will be a limited number of kits available, so if you want one, don't delay.

Next, I want to thank you so very much for your kind comments on my new website. Without people purchasing patterns, books etc., designers will go away. Not many people can work for free, or want to spend all their creative energies for nothing. Heck, they can just make things for themselves! ;) So from the bottom of my heart, the bunnies and I truly appreciate your friendship and support of our small business.

So who is our winner of the Valdani collection? Well, the random number generator picked number 17, Wendy of Ravenwood Whimsies!! Congratulations Wendy!

Send me an email with your address and I will get your Wilmington collection in the mail to you.

Finally, I have decided to move my weekly blog post to Thursdays. Wednesday has become a super busy day for me (as you can tell by the late hour in which I am writing this). So I'll see you back here next Thursday!

Light, love and hugs,
Michelle

Something Wild Calls You Home

Helloooooooooo! Well, I am a day late, but not a dollar short. In fact, I'm late because I have so much to celebrate and I had to wait until today to share it with you!

First, I am over the moon to tell you that my new Website is up and ready! After attending webinars, reading tutorials and then spending countless hours loading all the new content into the site, I can finally say that this little bunny learned some new tricks! hee,hee,hee. I am thrilled with the fresh, modern look of my site and I have to give a shout out to Jordan at Like Sew for all his kindness, patience and support he gave me. If you are looking for a website shop or an update to your current site, I highly recommend them.

My site offers my kits, supplies and now e-patterns! New items will be coming soon, like this, a sneaky peeky of my Folk Art Fusion project, Paisley Pumpkins, which will be available next week.

So take a hop on over HERE and let me know what you think.

Next, yesterday marked my ninth, yes ninth year of blogging! I can't believe I have been writing my little tales and sharing my thoughts with you for that many years. I still remember the day I decided to start a blog and how excited I was to embark on this adventure. So much has changed over the years. People, bunnies, critters and events have come in and out of my life. Sad times, good times, fun times, crazy times all written here in this little space in the universe. The friends I have made through this blog are my greatest treasures. Even when my creative "mojo" seems to take a vacation from time to time, something wild calls me home.

My favorite violin girl, Lindsey Stirling, worked with Andrew McMahon on this wonderful new song, "Something Wild" from the movie Pete's Dragon. The words have so much meaning to me.

"You've got a big heart. The way you see the world has got you this far. You might have some bruises and a few scars, but you know you're gonna be okay. Even though you're scared, you're stronger than you know. If you're lost out where the lights are blinding, caught and all the stars are hiding. That's when something wild calls you home. If you face the fear that keeps you frozen, chase the sky into the ocean. That's when something wild calls you home. "   (Auntie loves you very much Noelle.)

Enjoy the video!


Finally, in celebration of my new Website and for Nine Years of Blogging, I am having a Giveaway of one of my Valdani size 12 perle cotton collections!

You can choose my new Wilmington collection or

my Folk Art Fusion II collection.

To enter, leave a comment here on the blog as to which one you would like. This giveaway is open to friends worldwide. The random number generator will choose the winner next Wednesday.

Thank you so very much for being such a big part of my life and for sharing my journeys and adventures. Here's to more adventures down the rabbit hole together!

Light, love and hugs,
Michelle