Blue Nickel Studios

admin July 14th, 2010

well, if you follow me on Twitter, you know that I have been thinking and plotting to get this unique garment from a Seattle-based company.....and because Linda saw them demonstrated at a conference awhile back and has repeatedly told me that she wanted to get me into one…..

so she won…..I think that most of these pictures are actually horrendous, and that 5o pounds that I really wanted to lose has now turned to 70…but neither figure is probably super realistic…..and it requires more conviction than I presently possess….which I say because I just polished off a couple 3-4 larger scoops of vanilla ice cream

Some of my Twitter pals had alternate views on me getting it, but most were for it, okay most who said anything directly regarding this purchase——there is no accounting for those who followed their mother’s advice about things “nice to say” and silence, etc…...and Monica told me I must show them SOON….so I am doing so right now….fresh back from the trip to Seattle.  So there  you have it….and don’t call it a skirt, okay, or something like this may happen to you…..I’m just warning you that’s all…

But just so you know we did a little more in Seattle than this (though not much I must admit)  We happened upon a couple treasures I’m going to share with you.

Found these wonderful books for sale in an antique “paper” store…really neat shop, side street…I did not write down the name….sorry kindly shopowner…

I got them mainly for their covers and the inside art…and just their overall look…even the lovely old book smell…

I love Joe’s outfit on this cover….I think would need to lose half of me to pull it off though…and about 25 years… 

I liked the title of this one, and it reminded me of what I am trying to do in the world of textiles and quilting….the swim part of course is  the actual goal…

I liked all the bindings, but this one in particular caught my eye….

And earlier at the toy store, along with bacon lip balm and bacon soap for the boy’s Christmas stockings, I got this little guy….

  and his box    

and here’s this sad little guy’s story…I looked at the display model, and saw it work all wound up and all….and didn’t take this guy out of his box til I got home….when I did, his arm promptly fell off, and though we got him back together his arms don’t move, and I am pretty sure they did on the model, and he doesn’t really walk too good either….so goes the phrase buyer beware….

That’s it for today’s 2nd post…..(haven’t done two posts in one day in awhile!)

Oh, and I might even read those books….......eventually….....maybe…....

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admin July 14th, 2010

Welcome to the gardens at Shiloah Cottage….home of Blue Nickel Studios and Miss Mabel Studio, and a rag-tag fleet of teenagers, chickens, cats…...and a duck….

Here is your self-guided tour:

            
Also note how relatively weed free the gardens are here due to some meticulous editing weeding by the photoshop gardening staff…...yeah right….    

Well, that’s your tour for now…all of these pictures were taken back in May before Quilt Market, and yes, it has taken two months to get them posted here….there are actually a bunch more to post, so come check out the next installment of the Blue Nickel Garden weedfree tour…..  

hey two months isn’t too bad…I still have pictures of our 20th anniversary trip that I really want to share with you….and that was LAST October….

Peace out, Peeps!

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admin July 11th, 2010

    Happy 11th of July….exactly one week after the fourth…today is my sister’s birthday, but she barely goes online ever, so I won’t say Happy Birthday here…I called her, but she was out, likely celebrating or what not….

Anyway, I thought I would just share these few pictures of our bouquet for the day.  

       It was kind of a weird fourth of July for both of us. I had to work about 4-5 hours at my DayJob and Linda had to work her 2 hours at her NightJob so we saw each other in the middle of the day, and she got home in time to watch the neighbors blow up thousands of their dollars in the air….we burned up about $51 worth of fireworks.  It was windy and rainy at times…so I wasn’t too worried about fires and such…and glad to be able to celebrate all the freedoms we have in this country!!

 The week that followed the fourth was a lot of work for me at my DayJob, as my assistant was on vacation, and we had some of that high heat that the East Coast has been dealing with for sometime now.  In a word, I am exhausted from that week.  Today was my first full day off in the past 11 days, and I slept in really late as well as a long nap this afternoon…I think I may be coming back to life soon…

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Okay, totally off the subject….......

My friend Melissa has just done 30 days of Bikram Yoga and deserves your applause if you want to drop in and see her over here.  Yoga is something that I have been considering looking into for the health benefits….and that I could use the stillness and meditative time to just get closer to God.  I have been reading Melissa’s Tweets about yoga, and it has been in the forefront of my mind…I wonder if I could just do it on my own in the morning with a DVD or something….any recommendations?  I don’t really have the extra $$ for a class, but I think I could pickup a DVD to try it with….

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And here I veer topics again…  want to meet my new assistants in the studio?  Okay, they aren’t really assistants, but they did cost a bit of money, and they will be showing up here in the blog from time to time…..AND they will be the topic of an upcoming contest here at the Blue Nickel ….complete with a panel of guest judges….I am so excited for this contest because the following  fine ladies have agreed to be on the panel…Mary Abreu, Jennifer Davis, and Patty Young.....

okay, so do you want to meet these “assistants” ??

Here they are in their un-made up state fresh out of the box….please welcome the Blue Nickel Studio Prop Girls…. 

Stay tuned for their new looks when they get Linda’s wonderful doll-makeovers, the whole rest of their story, and the scoop on the contest…..

So besides feeling wiped out for a week, I am working on a wall quilt for a magazine with Laura Gunn’s   Poppies line and a doll quilt for the Doll Quilt Swap No. 9 ....and other stuff….like pretending to clean up the studio again…

Like that will happen, huh?

Anyway, I hope your summer is going great, and that you are staying creative….it’s at the core of every human being you know….Scientists may not be able to find it, but there is creativity in everyone….are you enjoying yours??

Peace out, my friends,

Scott

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admin July 1st, 2010

So I have been doing the Doll Quilt Swap for about 5 rounds now….this could be my last as the rules have strictly said if you are late on this one…You’re out on the next one….

and yes, I think they made that rule because of me…..I don’t think I was on time sending on any of them…I did great quilts, and my swap buddies TOLD me they loved them…but I was a bad swapper in regards to timeliness….I have til the first of September to get this baby done….I think I can do it…

The above picture are some fabric who have come to interview for the position in the quilt….the books are for inspiration….I get inspired by these two books a LOT….

Here is my sketch and some more fabrics….       The butterfly fabric is from Australia….and I do love it…my swap buddy loves purple and autumn and modern quilts….so I think somewhere in this we will find a good one, yes??
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I also just sent out a bunch of these  for the Siggy Swap set up by the fabulous Julie Herman!! 

Here are mine in the process.

Here they are waiting for their white middles….     I had to go specially buy it…I don’t just have plain white hanging around here..

and here with their mid-drifts…  

I did this swap just cause I thought it would be fun to have all these signatures from all these folks across the globe, in really modern fabrics, and just to have a simple quilt that is just for me to throw over when it gets chilly…..kinda like its been here in the NW this summer….seriously….my neighbor has a fire going tonight…on the first of July!!

so that’s it for today….
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then the upcoming news….

I have some quilts coming out in magazines again…about 4 this late summer and fall I think…as they get published I will let you know… I also have some more free patterns to post here, I just have to get my butt in gear and do it..I’ll let you know….

and this fall?? I hope to be getting some patterns available for sale at your local quilt shop or on some online shops….ok, it may be next spring…we’ll just see how that goes, okay?  One day at a time, right??

And if you ever want to have me come share my quilts and stories at your local guild, just let me know…I love to talk about this stuff ….just ask my wife and kids!!  I am a pretty cheap deal for the moment….until I hit it big-time...

And yes….. I did just put that last link in there….   I love the 80’s…...you’re welcome….  

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admin June 26th, 2010

I finally got all the past recent winner’s packages put together to be mailed….one step closer in actually getting TO the winners….some went out last week, and the ones I just bundled up should go out this coming week….

Soooo…..I think it is time to pick three more winners from this post....  

And the three winners are (from a random drawing).....

Evelyn from Use The Loot

Nanann from Nanann’s Woogies & Whatnots

and Believe it or not….Cherie from the Quilted Jonquil .....for whom I just packaged up a package for in the last round of giveaways, and it hasn’t left yet   ......  has won a second time!!   ....so I don’t need your address again Cherie, you lucky jonquil, you!!   Everyone rush over to Cherie’s place to pick up that winning mojo, ok?  

But Evelyn and Nanann, you need to send me your snail mail address  so I can send your Anna Mariaprize packs to you.  Send them to bluenickel5(at)earthlink(dot)net.

Hope you enjoyed the random garden shots juxtaposed with all the “info” stuff….

And here is a day or two ago showing the results of a fun day in the studio….it is cleaned up a bit not at all from then….it was sure a fun day in there!

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admin June 23rd, 2010

Okay to start with….yes I am very “kinetic”.....that is my PC term for my sporatic flow of information, blather, and prizewinning packs (which is to say they are still waiting by my desk to be mailed  in the mail…)   And no, I haven’t drawn for the Anna Maria packs yet….but probably will later today which mean that post should be following…

But this post does relate to the Delightful Mrs. Horner in some way.  I just wanted to quickly share these blocks that I made for Anna’s Rainbow Around the Block project. (and any of you who keep a blog know that “quickly” share is a joke figure of speech…taking pictures, downloading pictures, readusting and cropping pictures never goes quickly enough, but posts without pix=boring in my book)

 I had a great time playing with fabric on these blocks with absolutely no concern for accuracy or anything….just fun…and going to a great cause too…

I dunno about you, but I just don’t give enough back to the world I think…..

And it is such a beautiful world to not give back too….

Someone had to do it….

maybe you can make some blocks too…  

Just follow the link for more info…

And have a great day playing for a great cause….

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admin June 17th, 2010

Alrighty then, sorry it has taken me so long to get back here…my DayJob has been keeping me pretty wiped by the time I get home, plus I have a bunch of studio stuff I am trying to work on…all at the same time…

Note:  If these project were dishes I was juggling….we’d be eating on paper plates…..

Anyway….I could NOT just pick one entry for the bird stories I requested here ......and even with 4 prizes-winners that I eventually picked….there were still other wonderful little anecdotes and tales…and I truly loved reading them all…aren’t memories and stories fun??

So without further ado…...

here are the winners:

For the Main Prize…..Kelly Oletzke who talked about her Father-in-law with such love, I have re-read it a couple times, and it just warms my heart so very much….thank you for the loving picture of a great man and his love for birds.

Three runner up prizes are going to the following ladies whose entries also caught my eye…...

Ginawho also made me very sad with her story of when she was little coming to terms with the inescapability of death when she watched a bird die from being hit by her dad’s car…..I can just picture the sobbing and I really felt bad for you Gina!!

Denise who made me totally laugh out loud when she told of a “two-liner” she had heard about a mom’s love/hate relationship with birds….complete with a Ba-dum-dum for effect….

And lastly one of John’s Fly Girls whom I met at Market…. Kaye Prince shared some a beautiful poem by Emily Dickinson about a little bird…well Kaye being a librarian (if I am remembering correctly) must have remembered I was an English major in college and got me hooked in with the poetry (and no, I don’t really know or care too much if  it was supposed to be whom or who back there in that earlier sentence….I am not a copy editor!)

SO Kelly, Gina, Denise, and Kaye, please email me your snail mail addresses (to bluenickel5 (@) earthlink (dot) net…....and I will eventually get your prizes out of here into the postal system on their way to you!!  (and no, the last batch of prizes haven’t left here yet, but they are almost ready…they are in envelopes with addresses…but I want to add a note to each and whatever other little extras I can…I tend to throw little odd things in to make them not run of the mill….)

AND just so you know, I do have two more entries coming up regarding Quilt Market,  then we will be back to a more of the visual variety-pack from the world that inspires my Blue Nickel Studio Mindset. And since I don’t really want to leave you with another non-pictorial post….here is a little bit of inspiration from the studio and grounds to remind you that there is more to me than just fabric…..Not much more, but there is some….....

ALSO don’t forget….we need some more comments here  to get me drawing for those great little Anna Maria prize packs….

Later, peeps,

Scott

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admin June 9th, 2010

Okay so I am not very good at time management….usually that is because I am under so many time constraints, both real and self-constructed that I just buckle and find myself doing something just for fun to ease the stress…Last night it was playing around in Illustrator on something that I am not ready to show yet, but maybe someday….

And today’s post….has no pictures…I hate doing that, but I just am short on time this morning….

BUT I promise winners announced!  So this Am I went through my comments and using the Random Number Selector, I drew the winners for Post 224-226….I still have to read the bird stories for post 227…..

Winner of second scrap fabric pack on post 224 (no, we didn’t get to 50…but I am a pushover)...is Sarah N who thought she was the first comment, but really further in the queue because a bunch didn’t get approved ahead of her till later…

Next Winner is Cherie Moore from post number 225 who guess Valori Wells and Oliver & S....(the other two designers were Melissa Averinos and Verna Mosquera) won her that post’s prize pack.

Post 226 had 3 winners:  

Patty who loved Bonnie and Camille’s new line

Lynn D who also loved that line best (besides mine )

and

Sandy Allen who loved the Dresden plate quilt by Riley Blake.

Ok ladies…so email me at bluenickel5 (at) earthlink (dot) net to send me your snail mail addresses, and I will get those out of here soon (I hope).

Check back here soon, we still have winners from posts 227 and 228 to announce….and then some more prizes to give away here at the Blue Nickel….

(you will come back after the prizes are all gone, won’t you??)

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admin June 7th, 2010

Hey you all!  thanks for all the great comments here lately….it is good to know that I am not completely writing to the wind….  I think I actually do have some more Quilt Market posts to do…but I really needed to get things caught up around here….So I posting this post tonight and with it another set of  prizes.  And while I am typing this I am printing out all the comments from the last 3 or so posts that had prized attached and will be announcing them tomorrow or Wednesday in another post.  I don’t really have a lot of time tonite to post either, but I wanted to share with you some more highlights from Market…

First on the list are the Westminter Laminates….these are just incredible.  When I heard about them, I definitely thought of thick bulky oilcloth….These are NOT that material!!  They are very pliable and sewable it seems…       

 And to prove it…Look at this!!  Ruffles! out of Laminate!  Can you believe it?  I couldn’t ..even a rosette.  Everyone MUST try this now!!  Really….

Back over at the Seven Seas booth where all the fine Japanese Imports were….were these cool little kits….aren’t they the yummiest assortment??  

And little wind up felties…too cool! 

And Heather Ross’s newest Line with Kokka….Far Far Away II.... 

But the REAL highlight for me was meeting and chatting numerous times with Anna Maria Horner....  

This lady TOTALLY amazes me.  She designed all these fabric and these projects….and she has 6 KIDS!! From 18 to 1!  AND she is as sweet and genuine and thoughtful as she seems in her blog.   I would have to say that her blog is my very favorite for the way she mixes family and design and pain and laughter.  My heart is often stirred by her musings on parenthood.  It is such a wonderful and difficult and ultimately fulfilling and draining  life work…and Anna Maria captures it all …..surrounding it with beauty as she goes….including her now famous Quilt Market Spring ‘10 shoes!

Here she is smiling on the last day just as much as the first day!!     

Yeah, I really enjoyed meeting her here at Market.  My first quilt for Free Spirit was for her Good Folks line,  and then I did a Flannel Little Folks quilt  last year for Free Spirit too.  I have emailed her on numerous occasions, and generally made a pest of myself…and she was still nice to me here in Minneapolis!!

And then there were her equally charming and beautiful model/assistants…. Allie with her Incredible Red Locks and Charming Smile…

And Alexia with her Stunning Snow White features and Gentle Grace….

One more thing before I go to the prizes for this blog post.  Anna Maria lives in Nashville, and saw many of her neighbors lose much during the flooding they had there this Spring.  So she has this going on to help…I will talk more about it later, as I am psyched to help out on this project.  But I wanted to make sure you knew about it as well if you felt inclined to help with the effort.

And Anna and I put together these little gifties for 3 lucky winners….A free pattern from her newest book Handmade Beginnings and some of her flannels and prints….and two little notebooks…(the third prize gets a little extra flannel)...   

For this project why don’t you tell us all about your first memory of something that someone made for you as a child…not bought in a store, but made by hand or with their hands for you. And when we get somewhere between 30 and 50 entries, I will start drawing names randomly.  

And I promise I will get winners of all the previous prizes announced tomorrow evening my time (Pacific) so if you are on the East coast it may be later for you….

Are you still enjoying these market Photos??  I still have an SD card full of Floral pictures from around the Blue Nickel Studios here to share that I took before Market…so eventually you will get to see them too…

Thanks for dropping by the Blue Nickel…..see you soon!

Scott

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admin June 2nd, 2010

Yes, here are more Quilt Market moments via Blue Nickel….Here am I with Amy and David Butler….I barely met David, as I heard he was mountain biking the whole time and only came to take down the booth….yes, Amy is still smiling on Sunday at the end of this very busy 4 day event.  For new and upcoming peeps like me, its fun…for Amy, I am sure it is very hard (but fun) work…  

More Amy Butler beauty…..the pillows are a new pattern coming out…the walls and the paper flowers are her new line Soul Blossoms coming out later this summer…..I think August is when it will be available…  

and Amy’s cool shoes….yeah, I know  I’m a guy and as a rule we don’t care too much about fashion, and I must admit I don’t know much about fashion per se….but these were pretty cool shoes…even though I got them in transit….  

Most everyone has posted about the New Rowan Yarns coming out in ”Amy” colors.   I must also admit I  don’t now much about fashion….but I do know that my daughter squealed when she saw these legwarmers…call it the 80’s in me, but I thought they looked pretty cool too….

 Amy, deep in thought, probably about how long will it take to get all this stuff packed up…...    

My favorite picture I think ….I know I am going to love this line…..  

Here is Amy’s marvelous team  Mallory and Diane…...Diane pretty much runs the place so Amy can be…. well…Amy….(I can’t wait til I have someone take care of everything for me….and I don’t mean at the Nursing Home, okay??)   .......And Mallory, who was pretty quiet, is the new kid on the block I think….and as sweet as can be….

Since Soul Blossoms isn’t on fabric yet…they were showing it in paper on these great giganto flowers…....

I must say talking with Amy off and on during the  Market was just so wonderful…Truly she is remarkably unassuming and very “real”....  I could have been talking with her in the grocery store over the apple table in the vegetable department…not a discouraging thing about her….She was even giving me advice on some of the things I am striving to do…Not like a  Know-it-all, but like a sister sharing with her brother…..I feel like I could have gone to high school with her, and even though I really barely know her, Amy made me feel like an old friend.

And here is just another wonderful designer who just lives one state away down in Oregon….Valori Wells.   Valori has been designing for some time now, and was RAISED in the quilting business, so I love talking to her as she really KNOWS this world inside and out.

I just love the quilt behind her and these bags….      

Here is her new line Nest ….....    

And here is her gift to one of you!!   3 patterns and some Nest fabric…possibly before you and even get it locally….but I just read some of it is shipping out now….

So to win this Valori Wells prize pack….why don’t you tell me something you like about birds or a story or a poem or something else….and then when I get to 25 comments….I will start looking and reading and (here’s the tough part)....pick my favorite bird “moment”....so make me laugh or make me cry….the one that resonates with me most will win…..

Don’t forget that there are prizes to be won still on my last 3 blog posts as well…..and I haven’t drawn on them all yet….one might be over the 25 comments already, but you can still throw your name in the hat.  I don’t have the time to choose them all tonight or tomorrow….so I will see what the status is on Friday evening and see what needs to be drawn and who will win what….AND…don’t forget the next few posts will ALSO have prizes…so if you don’t want to miss them you can sign up  on the left under “Subscribe” and you can get email announcements when I post….I don’ t send out junk mail, and it isn’t linked to anyone else sending spam….so you only get stuff when I post…

I am really looking forward to hearing your bird stories….(oh, and did you notice, Amy had birds up in her booth as well)...so this was a good theme for the post, I think….

Cheers,

Scott

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