Blue Nickel Studios

admin August 11th, 2010

For the winner of the  Jelly Roll from the Quilt-a-long post we have

Janet who wrote…..

I am really enjoying the quilt-along. I am using a Blush jelly roll and having fun with this line of fabrics. I love brights and enjoy all the wonderful blogs that are on line.

And on the Name Game…it was not an easy task for me or my panel of guest judges…In fact, the race was so close for this sweetie,

that I am giving her a middle name and a little scrap bag to the giver of that name as well.  Her first name will be Wren, and I had two entries for that name, but Mr. Random came to help and picked my friend John as the winner.  And Wren’s middle name will be Olive given by Nancy. 

and Girl #2

 will now be named Suki by a near unanimous final vote…This name comes courtesy of Kaye Prince....who by the way also won something from me not too long ago…In fact, I met both Kaye and John at Quilt Market, and feel rather guilty of some sort of rigging the contest because Judge Jennifer is a Fly Girl with Kaye, even though no one really knew who submitted what name, and I didn’t even remember that info.  

The stories that you sent in surrounding these two girls were WONDERFUL….I think I am going to give all your stories to my daughter and have her create a mashup of our favorite parts.  These Blue Nickel Assistants are some amazing individuals….

So winners please send me your snail mail addy’s (and yes, John and Kaye, you two…because I probably lost both of your addresses since the last time I sent you something…I am bad that way, I need but can’t afford a real intern!!)

...and just so you have a little new inspiration and a tiny bit of color…here are the flowers that were planted on the front porch of the beach house we stayed at two weeks ago…

I loved this little spot of color on the porch.  Flowers are always a nice touch anywhere….Beauty’s where you find it…

and now work mixed with beauty is waiting for me to found in my studio….and you in yours as well..

I just want to thank all of you who stop by and visit me here on the blog….I love hearing what you have to say and all the great stories you share!  Keep your chin up, and have a great week….

Later Gators,    Scott

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admin August 1st, 2010

you know I should have mentioned this a long time ago, but quite awhile back, Konda of MooseQuilts asked for peeps to sign up for her Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt-a-Long, and I made it aboard the Jelly Roll train.  But I was the last block on the journey, and well….all my other projects “helped” me forget about it…..But the last block is showing on Konda’s blog this coming week, because I got it done just in time…  Here are the three versions I did up for the Sampler Group.        

I had so much fun doing these actually, that I came up with 3 different layouts in 3 different color schemes within 2 days, and I have decided that they will be among my first PDF patterns to come up for sale in online shops this fall/winter….all three layouts in one pattern, pretty good deal, yes??

So part of the deal is that there are prizes involved with this Quilt-a-long, and Konda is offering prizes over at her site, and I am offering this prize of a Hello Betty Jelly Roll in the same colors as the middle picture. 

 Just drop a comment here and tell me what your favorite new fabrics or patterns (or whatever quilty thing you love) are this year.  I will do a drawing on the 10th of August from all the comments.

Thanks for stopping by, and don’t forget the Name the Prop Girl Contest here....Contest entries will be closed on the 5th of August Midnight Pacific Time.  Great prizes to be had on that entry as well!!

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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 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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admin May 31st, 2010

First I want to start out this post by announcing the winner of my first round of prizes from this post  AND THE WINNER IS …..

eileensideways who said….

one of the quilt patterns above look like mail slots and the border surrounding looks like ribbon weaving in and out. such talent, such creativity.   

Susan (eileensideways) already sent me her mailing address cause I let her know via Twitter that she won.   I have another prize to give away on that post but it needs to get up to 50 comments,  so if you already commented send someone else, or if you haven’t please do and you can win the second of these two prize packs:      

Susan will have coming her way next week, and I would love to send another one away.  And don’t forget there is still a different prize to give away at THIS post....LOTS of giveaways here peeps…share the news cause sometimes, there will be a certain number of comments required to give any of it away! 

Now on to more quilt market photos….again no particular order on these, and if you are really bored with these, you can scroll down to the end where the prize for this post is waiting.

Patricia Bravo at Art Gallery Fabrics....wonderful stuff!  With yummy new things coming up!

       
A cool runner I saw done up in Moda Odyssea ....wonderful…

Here is Bonnie and Camille’s newest stuff….love the red and aqua combo’s!!

and from Riley Blake Designs:

And then something completely different—— Terrie Mangat and her booth…just love the riot of color here!!  super nice lady! I missed the class she had been teaching that I had hoped to get in on, and she gave me the pattern and some hints and a few supplies..I will show you when I make it…it is somewhat of a soft sculpture project….She has another colorful line coming out this fall with Bees!!  I love me some bees…especially non-stinging fabricy type bees!

A nice little origami type shirt display of some new Japanese fabrics distributed by Clothworks...

Of course I was delighted to see my quilt so prominently displayed at the Robert Kaufman booth…and I HAD to take a picture, didn’t I?

Okay now for today’s prizes…..yes, I said prizes….I have multiple….

One of these:      with surprises inside….

A set of these:   

And for you vintage lovers a set of these gems:      

So you know the drill by now…comment here on THIS post about whatever you like best on this post….and when I get to 25 comments I will start drawing. for the above prizes…..I have a goal here people…and it really isn’t too big of one I don’t think….cause I just love giving stuff away…and these were all given to me to do just that so they are here for the taking…I mean I could keep them I suppose, but I want to share …..

Don’t forget to keep checking the past couple posts too and the next ones coming up…I have a great little package that Valori Wells gave me, and some Anna Maria gift packs, some other doodads,  and even a book giveaway coming up as well…so stay tuned…okay??  And if I am really boring you already PLEASE tell me….I will move on with things here….

I really had a great time at Quilt Market, can you tell….tomorrow I have to go back to the Day Job….sigh…don’t think it will be nearly as thrilling for me…just more of the same…but don’t get me wrong.  I am very happy to have a Day Job that can help pay for things for now…these quilting career goals of mine don’t just happen overnight. They take time….thanks for hanging out with me, while things unfold. I really appreciate your visits…..

Much quilting/fabricy love to you,

Scott

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admin May 30th, 2010

I decided to paint the bench that I refurbished….uh 2 years ago….and well do a little quilt market prep at the same time.

hmm…blue spray paint…..a bunch of nickels…..what can be done about that??

Dots!!

And a bunch of Blue Nickels to giveaway (and switch out in the concession stands at Market! if you happened to get one of these at Quilt Market from the concession stand contact me at bluenickel5 (at) earthlink (dot) net…and I will tell you how you can win a fabric-y prize! )

And now onto the show:

We’ll start with these Moda Ringleaders!  I saw this red tutu from miles away, and I had to grab a photo for my daughter who is into the gothic lolita look…  I did not catch these lovely ladies’ names in person, and I had the “cheap” camera with me, so I can only tell by closing in that on the right in all black we have the Lovely Erin, and on the left in the red tutu we have the Lovely Someone ending in “y”    Corrections are gladly welcome at anytime!  This booth was all the Moda finished goods and as always they had great stuff! 

  I met the lovely Kathie Alyce who has a new book out with AQS….neat stuff…I have more pictures of Kathie’s work….next post okay?  Kathie used to work for the post office, she told me.  She also told me that they told her she smiled too much….uh..yeah, I can see that good thing she got outa there!

Here is my friend Patty Young in her booth….she won a second place prize for it…I really don’t pay that much attention to that, but I was happy for her and her husband Jon, they build this booth together….I think she is talking to another famous designer, but I am not sure. Didn’t meet her…..Patty’s new line includes a bunch of knits…knits don’t do much for me personally, but apparently they are really good quality knits from everything that I was hearing there.

And then here are some more random shots in no particular order….but all drew my attention multiple times over….but notes taken?  uh…well no, not really….so I leave  others  to tell you all the detail stuff …..  

AND here is the first prize pack for the quilt market giveaways that I scored for you…BUT I still don’t have enough comments on the previous post giveawayto give that prize pack away….and I have more to give away in the next couple posts….so come on, my blogosphere buddies!!..help get out the word on these prizes.  This prize includes what you see here, plus a surprise fabric pack that has yet to be made up.  To win this prize identify as many of the designers represented here in this picture.  The more you identify, the higher your chance of winning.  I will do this drawing next weekend (June 5th or so) or when I get 25 comments whichever comes first.  And don’t forget, if you commented on the last post, you can’t win one prize until I get 25 comments or the second chance prize until I get 50 comments….so to help yourself win, you have to give others the same chance.       

  Here is another picture of this prize in a less glorious setting with the fabric bundle going with it: 

   and yes, I am giving away Scissor fabric…that is big for me, I love that print, and it is not easy for me to share, but I will      ...so I hope you enjoy…

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admin May 26th, 2010

I cannot believe it has been 25 days since I posted….I think that is a crime in Blogland, isn’t it? At the very least a misdemeanor. I am freshly back from Quilt Market, and had a marvelous time meeting some people for the first time and some all over again, and some of the people I met for the first time I had know for years here in the blogosphere…

For an excuse, I offer the following pictures of what I was working on for Quilt Market…3 quilts …didn’t I say I wouldn’t do that many at once LAST Market?  Yet I succumbed…  one I didn’t have to deal with the quilting or the binding, and so I did that one on top of the two I committed to earlier in the season..yet, they still came to be done all at the 11th hour…I think it was that real life thing cutting into my time, and oh yeah, a slight bit of procrastination on my part?

Here are the quilts and their pix in no particular order:

the line Free to Grow by Nancy Mims for Robert Kaufman fabrics…..

And The line Brady Bunch by Michael Miller Fabrics:

And then the Boys Will Be Boys quilt by David Walker for Free Spirit Fabrics...(that direct link may not yet work as I don’t think it will be available for a few weeks still?)

and yes, in this last picture, that is a skeleton peeking in on the left….my doll-maker wife  needs things like that for proper proportions you know. 

The patterns for these quilts should be available online for FREE eventually. I will post links here when they are, and I would love it if when you do one of my quilt designs, if you join the Blue Nickel Studios group page on Flickr and post a picture of your creation there.

And now that I have got you caught up on what was happening around here before Quilt Market ..... tomorrow I will post about my time at Quilt Market, who I met, some actual pictures at Market, some upcoming news (although pretty much everyone has posted about it by now!) and you’ll like this part…some giveaways…quite a few actually…

And so let’s start things off right for the end of May here at the Blue Nickel….with Giveaway #1…..when I get up to 25 comments here on THIS post (that’s 25 comments for 25 days), I will give away a scrappy package with a little bit of all the fabrics in these quilts….okay you twisted my arm, when I get up to fifty comments I will giveaway two scrap packs!! 

Come back tomorrow for some more of my ramblings, pix, and giveaways too, okay??  see ya then!!

Scott

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