2015-04-02



YOKE DU YOUR



Two policemen call the station on the shortwave radio.

“Hello. Is that you Sarge?”

“Yes?”

“We have a case here. A woman has shot her husband for stepping on the floor she had just mopped clean.”

“Have you arrested the woman?”

“No sir. The floor is still wet.”

ARTspiration

Artists or art that turns me on and feeds my muse! Like it or dislike it, what about this art inspires your own art or creativity?  “High Surf (Warning ) 1” (2013), oil on linen by Claudia Waters, is part of “New Jersey Isn’t Boring,” an exhibition at the Arts Guild New Jersey, 1670 Irving Street, March 22 through April 16. A reception will be held on March 22, 1 to 4 p.m. 732-381-7511; agnj.org



DESIGNspiration

Look around you. Design is everywhere! How can you incorporate the beauty that surrounds you into your art or craft? Hotel La Montana Magica – Huilo Chile

IDEA I LOVE

I love this little sewing case tutorial.  Here’s how you make one (make one for your friend, too):

http://www.thetartankiwi.com/2012/11/sewing-case-tutorial.html

IDEA I LOVE

The Slow Stitching Movement Getaway: SPRING 2015

is opening up our enrollment to allow for 2 more participants!

This event sold out in roughly 6 hours!

But we were lucky enough to be able to offer 2 more spaces!

Come and join us!

FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED

CALL Mark with questions at Pickle Road Studios:  908-876-1208

or register your information on THE WAITING LIST NOW!

For the last several months, Meg Cox, Liza Prior Lucy and I have been working on putting together an event to celebrate your creativity and how to enrich our lives and fiber art through The Slow Stitching Movement.  I can’t tell you how excited we are to invite you to  the first ever . . .

APRIL 21 -24, 2015

This intimate, inspiring retreat will include 3 full days of skill-building tutorials, lectures, trunk shows and more, but most of the time, you’ll have a chance to work on your own projects in a stunning, relaxing setting that encourages your unique slow stitching journey and sharing your time with like-minded old and new friends.

Our retreat will be held at the picturesque Lambertville Station Restaurant and Inn, situated on the banks of the Delaware River, where the food and service are as outstanding as the inspiring views from our glass-enclosed ballroom retreat space.

Located in charming Lambertville, New Jersey, you’ll find a wide range of restaurants, world-class antique emporiums (amazing for patchwork inspiration), welcoming art galleries, unique shops, and parks. Just a short walk across the The New Hope-Lambertville Bridge is historic and artsy New Hope, Pennsylvania, full of boutiques, galleries, one-of-a-kind stores, cafes, and restaruants. Be sure to bring your camera!

During the retreat, international quilt teacher and designer, Mark Lipinski will give his lecture “The Slow Stitching Movement: Creating, Promoting, and Sustaining a New Vision in Quilt Making”, why he started The Slow Stitching Movement, and how retreats such as this one can help quilters slow down to deepen both their creative skills and satisfaction levels.

Mark will also share his secrets to daily process journaling for increased creativity, developing your legacy project, and will share the current projects he’s working on, and resources that inspire him.

Author/journalist/teacher Meg Cox will share her slow-stitching projects and inspiration, and give a humorous but practical slideshow on how to take better photographs of your quilts.

Renowned crazy quilting guru and author Allie Aller will join us on our retreat as our special guest teacher, offering multiple tutorials on making fabric flowers and combining both machine and hand-stitched embellishment. Allie will also give a trunk show sharing some of her prize-winning quilts. She’ll be selling and autographing her two books, as well as selling “squishes”, special bags full of silk, velvet, ribbon and other scraps so you can practice some of her embellishing techniques.

Nationally known teacher and author Liza Prior Lucy will be on hand as well, offering a tutorial on paper-piecing hexagons. And, she’ll be selling Kaffe Fassett fabric, and special kits for an optional retreat project.

THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES FOR THEIR SUPPORT:

YUMMY DISH!

SLOW COOKER FRUITED HAM

INGREDIENTS:

fully cooked smoked boneless ham

pepper

fruit chutney

dried apricots

onions

balsamic vinegar

FOR THE FULL RECIPE, CLICK HERE:  http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/slow-cooker-fruited-ham/6c9b9ea5-9f31-4b51-96ac-ad1a7ad4d253/

IDEA I LOVE

What a nice way to take a pie to your Easter dinner!  Leave the holder as a hostess gift!  Here’s the tutorial:

http://ex-scapes.com/2013/10/28/sewing-tutorial-pie-carrier-tote/

omg!

Antique Carmelite Catholic Detentes

SO DRINK, CHUG-A-LUG CHUG-A-LUG

CARROT MIMOSAS

Ingredients:

100% pure carrot juice, chilled

Prosecco or other dry-ish champagne or sparkling wine, chilled

or simply

carrot juice

Prosecco

For the Full Recipe Click Here:  http://www.kitchentreaty.com/carrot-mimosas/

IF YOU HAVEN’T SUBSCRIBED TO THIS BLOG YET:

Several months ago, Facebook, without warning, had implemented a new business model. As a result, the vast majority of “LIKErs” who have been faithful readers of this Fan Page have been blocked from receiving my posts, time and time again, from getting all or a few of the postings onto their timeline feed.

The reason is, Facebook would like pages like, Mark Lipinski’s Fan Page, to pay money every day, and on every post, in order to advertise and lure readers like you, onto the Fan Page.

With out “BOOSTING” a post, only about 5% of people who clicked LIKE on MARK LIPINSKI’S FAN PAGE are actually seeing anything I post — and it could be random – sometimes you get a post, and sometimes not. Basically, it sucks for all of us. I am finding that we are all better served if I posted my tips, ideas, links, and jokes, etc. to this blog. You can subscribe to this blog (only if you want to) to get an email each time I post a grouping of ideas, links, etc. and never miss a chance at inspiration.

BREATHLESS INSPIRATION!

These minimalist wire sculptures are by Lausanne, Switzerland based artist, Gavin Worth.

IDEA I LOVE

Carrying a water bottle is a drag, but carrying a water bottle using this carrier? Divooon!  Here’s how:

http://www.pinkchalkstudio.com/blog/2006/07/10/whiplash-challenge-water-bottle-carrier/

WORDS TO LIVE BY

VISIT ME IN BEAVER DAM, WISCONSIN!

http://www.nancysnotions.com/category/store/sewing+weekend.do

MAY 9:   If your well of quilting inspiration has dried up, or you haven’t had a good quilting idea in years, fret no more. Mark will guide you through new places to turn for amazing quilting ideas, with practical examples that will give you motivation and inspiration for better quilting and a happier life. This lecture will open your mind to sources of creative inspiration you may have never considered. Bring along a notebook to jot down every last suggestion you hear.About Mark Lipinski:

International quilt teacher, fabric designer, and creator/former Executive Editor of Quilter’s Home magazine, Mark has been called the “bad boy of quilting” by industry press. His seminars are half quilting, and all stand-up comedy.

Register now and get a free 2015 limited edition Sewing Weekend souvenir pin. Limit one per order.

MAY 7 and again on MAY 9In our busy, multi-tasking world, the words “quick,” “fast,” and “easy” are the ones that capture our attention, but the can be fatal to the enjoyment of creative pursuits. If you’ve hit a creative wall, if you have more fabric and notions than inspiration, if all of your quilts arestartingtolook alike, or if you’ve been quilting for years and feel you have nothing truly unique to show for it, The Slow Stitching Movement is for you!About Mark Lipinski:

International quilt teacher, fabric designer, and creator/former Executive Editor of Quilter’s Home magazine, Mark has been called the “bad boy of quilting” by industry press. His seminars are half quilting, and all stand-up comedy.

Register now and get a free 2015 limited edition Sewing Weekend souvenir pin. Limit one per order.

MAY 7:  If you’ve ever wondered why a successful television producer would give up a hefty salary for poverty wages to quilt, this lecture will surprise you. Travel with Mark from his boyhood home in Pittsburgh, to San Francisco, Miami, New York, Chicago and New Jersey to learn how each of these places led him to become the quilt master he is today.

From his first quilts to his most recent work, see how he transformed from a duckling to a swan – and feel better about your own quilting transformation. He’ll bring some of his UFOs and explain why he lost interest in finishing them. Hear what inspires him, and allow his life experience and outlook on the creative process to inspire you.

About Mark Lipinski

International quilt teacher, fabric designer, and creator/former Executive Editor of Quilter’s Home magazine, Mark has been called the “bad boy of quilting” by industry press. His seminars are half quilting, and all stand-up comedy.

One evening event attendee will win a Baby Lock Melody and Ott-Lite Marietta Lamp—a $1,894.98 value. No purchase necessary to enter and win.

Register now and get a free 2015 limited edition Sewing Weekend souvenir pin. Limit one per order.

IDEA I LOVE

Sew a dozen pretty fabric eggs and be the hit of the weekend!  Here’s how you make them:

http://retro-mama.blogspot.com/2009/03/easter-is-in-air.html

MAN CAN LIVE BY BREAD ALONE!

GREEK EASTER BREAD

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

active dry yeast

all-purpose flour

sugar

milk

unsalted butter

salt

eggs

ground fennel seed

almond extract

hard-cooked eggs, dyed red

Vegetable oil, for rubbing

FOR THE FULL RECIPES, CLICK THE LINKS: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/greek-easter-bread-recipe.html#lightbox-recipe-image?oc=linkback

MEMBA?

Fold open honeycomb decorations

And now a word from our sponsor . . .

COOKIES!

EASTER SURPRISE COOKIES

Ingredients:

Cookie

sugar

Butter

1 Land O Lakes® Egg

salt

vanilla

flour

jelly beans

Glaze

powdered sugar

milk

sweetened flaked coconut

Food color, if desired

FOR THE FULL RECIPE, CLICK HERE:  http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/10/easter-surprise-cookies

JUST BECAUSE, I SWOON

Collector Rare Thierry Mugler Brocade Medieval Gown, $14,000

IDEA I LOVE!

You still have time to knit this little chick and egg combo for those special little someone’s in your life. Here’s the pattern:

http://www.alandart.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/chickandeggknitpattern.pdf

BE DAZZLED!

Egg Necklace by Marie E. Betteley, $5,200

Designed as a classic gold link chain suspending nine hand painted egg pendants from St. Petersburg, Russia. In colorful porcelain depicting a Romanov double-headed eagle, a fairy tale dacha with thatched roof, a pine cone in cobalt blue, and a landscape of Russian churches, among others of mostly foliate, mask or anchor design, each egg may be detached from its gold spring ring and worn separately on a chain.

PATCHWORK, BABY!

Isn’t this table topper pretty?  Yeah, I know it’s Thursday, but shop your scraps and get to the machine and stun your family and friends when you lay this sucker out on Sunday!  Here’s the pattern:

http://www.amandamurphydesign.com/Easter_Table_Topper_AMD.pdf

SHOEspiration

Sophia Webster Amazona Leather Flower Sandal,  $795

GARDENspiration

Personalize your garden with creative DIY garden stones.  It’s an easy process.  Start here:

http://www.prettyprudent.com/2012/02/entertaining-food/seasonal/get-creative-with-the-lorax-how-to-make-cement-garden-stones/

IDEA I LOVE

If you can crochet you can whip up a bunch of these little Easter brunch favors.  The hard part is finding the time to go shopping for candy.  Here’s the Spring Basket pattern:

http://craftsanity.com/2012/04/springbasket/

MUST HAVE

Let the joy of going to the circus have an extended shelf life. Based on the classic art of balloon animal making, this Big Top Bookend is shaped like a top dog – but it won’t pop or deflate!

Made of resin. Available in four colors-purple, orange, teal and red.  $58

http://thegadgetflow.com/portfolio/big-top-bookends/

IDEA I LOVE

Just follow the photos to create the perfect bunny napkins for your table.   All you have to do is fold!  Check it out here:

http://thecoolestcupcakes.blogspot.com/2009/04/cute-cottontails.html

DESSERT!

EASTER BUNNY CREAM PUFFS

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

Cream Puffs

water

Butter

all-purpose flour

Eggs

Filling

white chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix

cold milk

Land O Lakes® Heavy Whipping Cream, whipped

Decorations

Large marshmallows

Decorator sugar

Toothpicks

Vanilla-flavored candy-coating (almond bark), melted

Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Black string licorice, cut into thin 3/4-inch strips

Small round pink candies, such as mini candy-covered chocolate pieces

Powdered sugar, if desired

FOR THE FULL RECIPE, CLICK HERE:  http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/3091/bunny-cream-puffs

IDEA I LOVE

This technique couldn’t be more simple.  As a matter of fact, you might want to incorporate this idea (not the bunny) into your original mixed media work.  Take a look:

http://cutesycrafts.com/2014/04/eraser-stamped-easter-bunny-shirt.html

SLOW STITCHING

A Slow Stitching Journey Focusing on the Enjoyment of the Process Without the Anticipation of Moving on to the Next Thing.

GUEST BLOGGER, MARY HOOVER of Fourth & Sixth Designs

Mary and her sister, Barbara Persing, are award-winning quilt artists, and their quilts have been published in many quilting magazines.  Born the fourth and sixth children in a close-knit family in south New Jersey, their mother taught these Jersey girls the art of garment sewing at the young age of ten.

Mary began quilting in 1992 when she moved to upstate New York. As a stay-at-home mom, she needed a creative outlet and immediately knew quilting was the answer. She began teaching quilting classes in 1993 and opened a quilt shop in 1999.

Despite living 300 miles apart, Barbara and Mary began collaborating shortly after the start of their own businesses. This collaboration quickly became a partnership that has grown into the pattern and design company, Fourth & Sixth Designs. Check it out at www.4and6designs.com. Take a look at their book titles and patterns and their new fabulous batik fabrics for Island Batik, too!

CLICK HERE TO VISIT MARY’S BLOG ON SLOW STITCHING

ALSO, CHECK OUT THE SLOW STITCHING MOVEMENT PODCASTS

The Slow Stitching Movement Podcast’s are sponsored by

Aurifil and GloriousColor.com

IDEA I LOVE

Isn’t this the cutest embroidery pattern?   Go for it.  You still have time (it’s not that big or difficult).  Start here:

http://www.red-brolly.com/2015/03/easter-stitchery/

MARK’S IN ALBANY, NY!

JOIN MARK’S SLOW STITCHING INTENSIVE!

APRIL 17 & 18, 2015

LECTURE:  In our busy, multi-tasking world, the words “quick,” “fast,” and “easy” are the ones that capture our attention, but the can be fatal to the enjoyment of creative pursuits. If you’ve hit a creative wall, if you have more fabric and notions than inspiration, if all of your quilts are starting to look alike, or if you’ve been quilting for years and feel you have nothing truly unique to show for it, The Slow Stitching Movement is for you!

CLASS:  This is a class of Mark’s Slow Stitching workshops!  How to write morning process pages from the inside out!  Learn several of Mark’s slow machine sewing techniques.  Practice finding inspiration all around you. How to plan, develop and create your legacy quilt.  Plus, more!

CALL FOR INFORMATION AND RESERVATIONS:

The Joyful Quilter

19 Glenridge Rd

Glenville, NY 12302

Phone: 518-399-0128

IDEA I LOVE

Now that you’ve mastered the little Spring Baskets (above) you can move onto crocheting this big Easter Basket!  What a legacy and heirloom piece.  Here’s the pattern:

http://www.jammade.com/crochet-easter-basket/

If you’re liking this blog Please tell your friends about it!

I’d really appreciate it!  xoxom

Just cut and paste this into an email or post on your Facebook and Twitter pages:

I LOVE this blog and think you will, too! Check it out:  https://marklipinskisblog.wordpress.com

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