American Patchwork and Quilting Radio

Hi ya!

Just a quick hop in to invite you to listen in on Monday, March 11 at 4:45. The show starts at 4 and I will be the 4th guest of the day.

You can listen HERE.

Hugs and friends,
Michelle and the Bunnies

Hello there!

Well helloooooooooo!

Isn't my camellia pretty? David planted it a few weeks ago. The hurricane destroyed the shrubs I had here so I replaced it with this beauty. It's going to be even prettier when it gets big and is covered in white blooms.

On my walk the other morning, I saw all these white heron at the end of my street. They were having a major breakfast buffet!

My "Within and Inch of My Life" project continues to grow. I love my stitching time each day. I have been stitching since March 28 (the day after my 50th birthday) and haven't missed a day yet. I always stitch what stood out to me the day before. I stitched the white herons one day.

After giving it one last "horrah" at 50 of trying to have long hair, I decided to call it quits and go back to where my hair does best, which is a shoulder length bob. I had five inches cut off and I'm really happy with it.

I had the most wonderful time with the Charlottesville Area Quilters Guild. What a fun and lovely group of friends. I was invited to teach at their retreat at Smith Mountain Lake, which is a five hour drive from my home. My trip was cut short by an evening as there was a MAJOR snow and ice storm on the way. I literally had a tiny window of opportunity to leave before I would have been snowed in for a few days. So while I was exhausted and the thought of a five hour drive in the dark after a full day of work was not appealing, I knew I needed to go. This little beach bunny does not know how to drive in the snow and all the local people there said the country roads are much too dangerous with the ice. So off I went.

I collect "Bunny Ear" photos from my students wherever I teach. hee,hee,hee

I take a lot of gear with me when I teach. My students only have to bring two pair of scissors to class. I bring everything else. When I'm able to drive, I tend to pack lots of stuff. :)

Then, when I get back home, I count all the the inventory and repack it for the next adventure. It usually takes me a few days. Don't ya just love looking at all that Valdani? My students get just as excited as I do over all these nuggets of fun! :)

By Sunday afternoon, I ran out of steam and like the bunnies, I decided to take a much enjoyed nap.

See ya back here next week!

Hugs and friends,
Michelle and the fuzzies

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit - Welcome to May

Well hello there!

Did you miss me? Did you even notice I only posted once last month? My dear friend, Di Cannon did. I am fine. I'm just incredibly busy with traveling and teaching. It's simply easier for me to share my life on my Instagram and Facebook page as I can post from my phone when I'm traveling. Plus, there use to be tons of people who read my blog and now only a few loyal friends hop by to say hi. I've noticed the blogs that have all the big followers etc. are people who blog for a living. They don't really share their life, they share "content" that they get paid for by sponsors. I'm just not into that and I don't have the time for it. My blog will always remain a little place about my life.

Going forward, I will still post at least once a month, but that might be it. Unless, I feel like posting more. You never know when something might come along that I just have to share in the form of a blog post. So, be sure to sign up (on the right sidebar) to receive my posts in your email. That way you don't have to remember to hop by. Of course, you can follow me on Facebook and Instagram if you want to see what I have been doing on a daily basis.

So let's see.... last month brought lots of adventures. My "Within and Inch of my Life" continues to grow. I have been having lots of fun with these. It's really fun seeing what I'm inspired to stitch each day. Most people can't believe I'm keeping up. I think that is the fun of this personal challenge. To see what 365 of these look like all together will be amazing.

Next, Beth, my Best Friend of 38 years met me in Asheville, NC in the beginning of April. We wanted to have a little BFF friend getaway as she too is turning 50 this year.

Asheville is amazing! It's full of art, nature and incredible restaurants.This fella was at the visitor center.

Beth and I both love to hike. We hiked all over the North Carolina Arboretum. It was incredibly beautiful even though it was chilly. I love this photo of Beth under a fallen tree.

If I lived in Asheville, I would totally be a season ticket holder for the Arboretum. The gardens were magical. They even have a quilt garden! Every year they pick a quilt block and then plant flowers to form the block. It wasn't ready yet, but the block they picked this year is a tulip block. Cool!

I took lots of nature photos. I thought this was interesting with the ball of moss next to the hole on the stump. I decided it was a doormat for the fairies who live there. ;)

This color combination of green, white and grey captivated me.

This year will mark ten years of me being a vegetarian. No, I don't miss meat at all and no, David is not a vegetarian. I cook different food for us. However, he is no fun to go out to dinner with. He has the taste buds of a toddler! Beth, on the other hand, will try anything. This vegetarian and vegan restaurant was our favorite. The flavor of everything was to die for!!

I saw this sign and Beth and I joked about getting tattoo's for our 50th birthdays. Not! Chickens we are. Her more so than me. ;)

When I left Asheville, I went to Concord, NC to teach a class and give a trunk show. I'm not sure what happened to my photos, but I can't find them anywhere on my phone. Poo! It was a great time though and I had lots of fun with those gals.

Next, I arrived home and went to a local plant nursery with my pals, Babs and Molly. We met this handsome fella there. I love his hairdo! He also had a look on his face that said, "People please. If you don't have any snacks then be off with you!" LOL! I do love Alpacas.

Next up, I traveled to Marietta, GA to teach a class and give a trunk show to the guild there. I was so excited to be able to stay with a long time blog friend, Heather Kosbab. Yes, she made that quilt behind us. Pretty huh? Heather's son Kevin is also a quilt designer and teacher!

Here is some...yes just some of her stash!

Here are her design walls. She loves applique, especially applique from the Aussie designers.

This is the other side of her studio with her long arm machine. Yes, the place is ginormous. Are you jealous yet? LOL!!!

I had a super fun time with my students. This bubbly lady is Angie. She is just so cute and I loved her unique style. Her pincushion and bee matched her outfit right down to the pearls.

I did have one sad thing happen while I was there. A long time customer/blog friend was suppose to come meet me and take my class. She probably owns every single design I ever made. We were both looking forward to meeting each other. Instead.... she lost her battle with cancer and passed away the day of my class. It was just so sad. Sending you hugs in Heaven Karen Mayhem. This was the inchie I stitched that day.

This month, David and I also celebrated one year in our cottage. Here is how the front yard looked when we moved in last year.

Here is how our cottage looks now. Funny how the sunlight makes it look yellow when it isn't.

We do plan on having the exterior painted this year. The cottage is 17 years old and it really needs painting in addition to some repairs.

Here's how the inside is shaping up. We got rid of all the icky grey paint and now it is a soft warm "aged white." I just can't do grey. It makes me depressed.

This is the guest bedroom. My friend, Jade, made the afghan at the bottom of the bed. It is alpaca yarn!

The elf on top of the bookcase belonged to my grandmother. It was made in Germany. I have always loved it and have fond memories of it in her house. I thought he looked perfect there as he is reading a book.

Our cottage is small. It looks big on the outside, but it really isn't. It's about 1800 square feet which includes my 300 square foot studio above the garage. It's cozy and warm and super easy to keep clean. ;)

What I love most about it is the light that floods in from every direction. I can't live in a dark house. I love the light.

Speaking of light, I got these new buffet lamps. They have gorgeous linen shades on them. Squee!

I also got some linen curtains for the living room. I still want to change out that striped chair. Saving my pennies for that.

Here's one view of the back yard.

Here's the other view. I'm so excited that we have bluebirds living in the house back there!

My dear friend, Lydia came to visit me too. It was so much fun spending time with her. As usual, we didn't get a photo. We did laugh that we both have the same hairdo though. Should length, strait bob. This is Alexander. He was at a local garden and home shop near me. I kept saying, "If he is still there when Lyd comes to visit, I will get him." Well, you can see he was. :)  Mr. MacGregor has moved to the back porch.

I also finally got around to organizing my curio cabinet. You know how much I can't handle clutter. I'm really happy with how this looks now.

I'm also really happy with the built in cabinet we had made. It looks so much better than that ugly hole in the wall that was there.

Steve and Val, my friends who purchased my New Bern house, also stopped by for a quick visit. It was great to see them. Val and I are kindred sisters for sure.

Sabrina says hello. Silly puddy tat just loves bath towels! "They're mine...all mine!"

Tomorrow, May 2, marks Hannah's seventh year with me. I can't believe it has been that long. She is also somewhere between nine and eleven years old. I'm not really sure as the rescue I adopted her from didn't know for sure. While she has some arthritis, she is doing really well. She is just as sweet and loving as she has always been. She is the oldest bunny I have ever had and she has been with me the longest out of all my bunnies. I'm soooooooooo incredibly lucky to have her sweet self in my life. Happy seventh "Gotcha Day" Hannah bunny!

Tomorrow I head back to Georgia to teach again. So until next time, I'll see you somewhere down the rabbit hole.

Hugs and friends,
Michelle

Remembering the Dream - The Houston Quilt Festival

Well hello there!

Another Wednesday has arrived. Time is hop, hop, hopping by. I've been doing a lot of "remembering" lately. I remember how nervous and scared I was to embark on this journey of making The Raspberry Rabbits my full-time job. Can you believe it has been five years now? It went by so quickly.

There has been much this little bunny has had to learn about running a creative business. Much of it learned the hard way. Nobody handed me a manual with a ten step system to success. Nobody explained to this extrovert, people loving, soak er upper of creative energy, how hard it would be to work alone day after day.  Nobody told me how much I would have to struggle with my inner artist and my own creative voice against what the "industry" expects and considers the right path. Also, to be totally honest, nobody told me how much of a huge financial struggle it would be and how it would, at times, drain the creative energy right out of me.

There were many times I thought about throwing in the towel and just plain giving up. I mean if one can't make a simple living at something, isn't it just better to keep it as a hobby? Why would anyone want to work so hard and not get paid, when doing a hobby is fun and enjoyable? But then, the little voice deep down the rabbit hole in my mind whispered and reminded me of why I decided, at the fork in the road five years ago, to take this path.  I remembered  that the gift I was given to share with the world is the gift of teaching and inspiring others. I remembered my dream to, one day, be a teacher at the biggest quilt festival in the world.

I remembered that if I believe in myself and believe hard enough, my dreams would always come true. Well, this year they did. It is with extreme joy and honor in my heart to announce that...

                          


My "Beekeeper" class is being offered on Tuesday, October 31st. Yes, I will be wearing my bunny ears to celebrate Halloween!

I will also be teaching at the Sampler on Friday, November 3rd in which you will receive a demonstration and pattern to create my Dove Postcard.

In addition, if you are in town on Monday, October 30th, my friend, Catherine Redford, has invited me to be on her Iron Quilter Challenge team. Oh what fun that will be!

HOP OVER HERE to the Festival Class enrollment page.

Even if you are unable to take classes, but are still attending the show, I would love to meet you! I will be at "Meet the Teachers" on Thursday, November 2nd, from 5:30 - 6:00. Of course you may also see this little bunny and her ears hopping about this wonderful show. What a privilege it is to be among so many talented teachers who inspire the creativity in all of us.

Remembering the dream that came true.

Hugs and see ya next week!
Michelle