FACEBOOK LIVE with Mark Lipinski and Mr. Electric, April 2, 2017

If you missed our last Facebook LIVE live video, here it is!  Please feel free to leave a question or comment.  All are answered.  xoxom

If you missed Facebook Live with Mark Lipinski and Mr. Electric, on Sunday, watch it here! Plus here are the links to just about everything we spoke about. Also, try to win the NEW Lynette Jensen Thimbleberries book!

Here are the links to the subjects we spoke about in this episode:

Front, Back, and Middle

We talked a little about a question that phenomenally talented textile artist, Melanie Testa , asked on her Facebook page:

Which lead to a discussion on batting in our quilts:

Speaking of Melanie Testa, why not wonder over to her website and pick up a copy of her latest book?  CLICK HERE

Sticky Fabri Solvy is back in stock as are the Morgan No-Slip Hoops!

Sorry about the audio portion of this part of the Vidcast.  Mr. Electric had his hand over the iPad microphone.  Dear Jesus, the tortures I endure…

What you didn’t get to hear was that the stickiness of the project is strong, yet the hand of the fabric isn’t brittle (and the product doesn’t just peel off easily).  Most importantly, Fabri Solvy is easy to hand embroider through.  For the record, I was embroidering with 6-strands of DMC, and using a chenille needle.

Don’t forget to test your floss for color fastness.  I cut about 6 inches of floss, soak it with hot soapy water (like dishwashing liquid) and the, without rinsing the soap out and while the floss is still warm, pull it between 2 pieces of white cloth. If there is no bleeding (meaning if your white cloth hasn’t picked up any of the floss color), then it’s safe to use with Fabri Solvy.  I absolutely test every skein of floss I use on a project because the Sticky Fabri Solvy is water-soluble and after your needlework is complete, you simply need to agitate it gently in warm water.

Order yours here (and get my FREE Mermaid mandala design with purchase)  ORDER HERE

To order a 9-inch NO-SLIP Morgan Hoop (the only kind I would even consider using for embroidery) CLICK HERE

The FREE 20″ Mermaid Mandala (along with a Mandala that you can adjust to the size you like).  This design is not for sale but comes FREE with your purchase of the Sticky Fabri Solvy.

WIN THIS BOOK!

To find out how to win this book, you’ll have to watch the Facebook Live Podcast! For a review of the book, check out:  http://bit.ly/2nM7p7o

WHO BROKE THE VASE? LAUNCHES!

Mr. Electric’s book, Who Broke the Vase? finally launched and is available in bookstores (local and big box, like Barnes and Noble)  and other booksellers (even Walmart, etc) around the country!  If you would like an autographed copy of his book (personalized to you or yours) order yours here:  http://bit.ly/2nI6Rj6

    

Mr. Electric debuted the galley of his newest book (published in October 2017), Who Am I?

I showed another block in the Who Broke the Vase? quilt. Hopefully, the pattern will be available for the quilt and other things by the end of April.

I have found all of the colors that match the book so I may have kits available as well for those who bought the book!  It depends on interest.

The Kidney Search Continues ….

And oh, those wacky kidneys LOL …

Tim Latimer

Tim Latimer is clearly one of quilting’s most talented male quilters. What he can create and quilt on his various treadle machines, many couldn’t do on their super-duper multi-thousand dollar wonder machines (and that would include me).  Check out his website: https://timquilts.com   (you know he teaches around the country…try to schedule a time when he can visit your group).

Take a look at Tim in action

You can subscribe to Tim’s YouTube channel by clicking on the link:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNTBDLoJNpFUYxr6BgFJKcA

Kristi Mirocha

Mr. Electric’s going to busy!  I’m mean Mr. TWINKLE! And my Revere Ware will be blindingly shiny.

I met Kristi Mirocha after the poor kid kept trying to coordinate a visit with me at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts.  Beyonce (my kidney) just wouldn’t cooperate –  TWICE.  I was crestfallen.  I promised her that as soon as I meet Beyonce II, I’ll be traveling to Wisconsin and we’ll also plan an affordable slow stitching trip through her company,  Journeys and Gatherings.  Contact Kristi for some fun, or inquire about her upcoming tours!   http://www.journeysandgatherings.com/index.html

Desiree Habicht

Isn’t this silk thread sent to me by Desiree Habicht of Desiree’s Designs Studios delicious?  It’s from Leilani Arts, a supplier of exotic yarns, fibers, textiles, and beads.  Visit LEILANI ARTS by clicking on THIS LINK,

Also, don’t forget to ask your local quilt or fabric shop owner about ordering Desiree’s fabric line, Who Let the Hogs Out?, which should be showing up in your shops at the end of April.  Take a look at it on Desiree’s website.  CLICK HERE TO SEE IT

Susan Skuda

This sweet pillow came found its way to Pickle Road from North Carolina via my buddy, Susan Skuda. It was a total surprise. Become inspired by Susan’s example and surprise someone who is in your life — today!

 My Bonnie Project

I sure miss my dearest buddy Bonnie, who passed away on November 11, 2016.  It still feels like it isn’t true on most days.  Bonnie was in the middle of a project for a relative, creating a quilt from neckties.  Bonnie’s husband, Ralph, brought me her work-in-progress for me to finish. I shared it with you….

Bonnie’s work in progress…

This is the quilt pattern that Bonnie was making from the ties…

 The book Bonnie was using was Necktie Quilts Reinvented.  As it happens I reviewed it on my blog in 2014.

FLASHBACK:  My review (from 11-29-14)  

NECKTIE QUILTS REINVENTED: 16 Beautifully Traditional Projects

Necktie quilts have been around forever and so have necktie quilt books, but this book, Necktie Quilts Reinvented, by Christine Copenhaver, hits the concept out of the park.

Before we even get to the projects, the first 27-pages of the book are instructional basics — cleaning, washing the ties or not debate, deconstructing and lining removal, pressing and organizing your ties, along with lessons in color theory (I loved the breakdown of color and pattern meanings in neckties), pattern, scale, stripes, interfacing, trimming, and using other kinds of fabric along with the neckties in a quilt. There is so much more than I have mentioned and I hadn’t even gotten to the actual quilted projects book and I was impressed. A quilter would feel ready to move forward using deconstructed neckties in her quilting designs confidently.

Of course, that kind of instruction and breakdown is what is expected of a pattern book using different from the norm fabrics (and also what don’t often get due to cost cutting page counts), but what really strikes my fancy is the opportunity for quilters to move from their cotton comfort zones into more challenging-to-sew fabrics, like silks and even acrylics. I myself, am cotton weary so this comes at a great time (I may not actually make a necktie quilt but the book absolutely inspires me to move in a different direction).

The patterns featured are traditional but luscious. You can almost see the shimmer of the silk jump from the photographs. The wonkiness of some of the quilts only adds to their visual interest. The pattern instructions are very comprehensive, even as exact as to where to fuse your interfacing on your deconstructed tie, various ways to piece a Y-seam, keeping your interfacing straight, etc. Wow!

I tried, you guys, really I did, but I have nothing bad to say about this book. Nothing. OK, maybe that I have lived through the first trend of necktie quiltmaking — but is reinvention of a concept so bad? I don’t think so, especially if your reinvention of an idea rocks!

I love the 16 projects, the tutorials, and the layout. I appreciate all of the hard work that Christine Copenhaver put into her wonderful instruction.

Well done.

I suspect I’ll be seeing a lot more necktie quilts hanging as I travel the country next year.

 

I reviewed a digital copy of this book.

PHOTOS:  Nothing special flat shots of each project.

PATTERN INSTRUCTION:  Very comprehensive and thorough.

PROJECTS:  You’ve seen these quilts before but probably not created with satins and silks. Each is a learning a experience and visual treat.

I LOVE this Book!

• Author: Christine Copenhaven
• Publisher: C&T Publishing
• ISBN: 978-1607059585
• Form: Softcover
• Pages: 96
• $24.95
• Ask your local shop owner or independent bookstore to order your copy, FIRST. 
• Amazon link: http://smile.amazon.com/Necktie-Quilts-Reinvented-Beautifully-Traditional/dp/1607059584/ref=sr_1_1_twi_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417112225&sr=1-1&keywords=necktie+quilts+reinvented

Just something to whine about this week . . . 

Lousy Customer Service

Here’s my grouchy, cranky old man list of shame (all located in Mansfield, New Jersey)

1. PNC Bank drive-through clerk. Gee thanks, for your assistance — NOT! I remember when you begged me to open an account there.  There’s a bank on every corner in this part of the world…
2. Staples, I tried to spend money there. Twenty-plus minutes is too long to wait for help even after I asked for a little assistance (stock is kept behind closed doors for the item I wanted so I couldn’t get it myself and bring it to the cashier). I did get what I wanted — somewhere else. (Thanks, Amazon). Made me wonder:  Is Staples impending shut-down the chicken or the egg?
3. Weis Supermarket cashiers, please don’t repeatedly stop checking out my order while carrying on shade-throwing conversations with the just-standing-there cashier in the next aisle.   There’s a Shoprite and a Walmart grocery store within walking distance with much less expensive prices (just more crowded parking),
4. Walmart.  When your friends come in to chat while you’re working, please don’t forget that there are customers who need your help (idiots like me). Again, I did find what I wanted — somewhere else. (Thanks, Amazon)..  Just one word: Walmart.