Friday, April 29, 2016

Desire to Inspire May Challenge - #Laugh Love Quilt


The Desire to Inspire Challenge starts today for May. 

1. YOU sign up below with your email or blog name to this post.
2. WE pick a random winner. 
3. YOU send us your address.
4. WE send you 5 yards of the "#Laugh Love Quilt" fabrics.
5. YOU make something AWESOME within 3 weeks, with pictures and your story.
6. WE post it. 
7. YOU keep it. 

All you need to do is give us your email address or blog name 
in the comments section below to enter... RIGHT NOW! 
(Your email will remain private)
We will choose the Challenger and send fabrics out on Tuesday! 
Your post will be scheduled for May 31. 

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

April Desire to Inspire Challenger Sherry Stevens brings in a harvest with Harvest Blessings

Our Desire to Inspire Challengers come from all over! This month our challenger, Sherry Stevens hails from Lake Stevens, Washington. This was a pretty special month for her since she was selected for the challenge on her birthday!
Fabrics arrived, I began planning my projects.

Sherry received the fabric; the Harvest Blessings collection pieces as well as a video greeting from designer Janet Nesbitt on nearly the same day, and went to work. Meet Sherry Stevens, her husband Patrick and dog Emmy on their favorite beach. 




Starting to layout the first quilt
I live about an hour north of Seattle in a small town called  Lake Stevens, Washington.  We are known for our rain here and we see a lot of gray skies but the trade off is green everywhere on a sunny day like today.  We see the Cascade mountain range to the east of us and the Olympic mountains and Puget Sound to the west.  On a clear day we can see Mount Rainier to the south when driving Interstate 5 and Mount Baker to the north. 

The first quilt top finished!
We have a large family, six children and twenty grandchildren.  Our family has always spent our vacations at a place called Ocean Shores, Washington. It  is a three hour drive from our home if we avoid the city traffic.  My husband and I still spend time there together when we can get away and we meet once a year with the kids and their families. We take our 13 year old dog Emmy with us whenever we can, she perks up when we get close to the ocean.

I started making doll clothes by hand when I was very young and learned to use a sewing machine at about 12 years old.   My mom gave me a sewing machine for Christmas when I was 13 and I haven't stopped trying new things since.  I sewed everything from wedding dresses to tote bags over the years and was not really interested in quilting.  I have enjoyed crochet, embroidery and cross stitch and love to work in our garden. One day in 2009 I walked in to a quilt shop in Coupeville on Whidbey Island while on my lunch break.  The shop was small but full of beautiful fabrics.  I saw a quilt on the wall made with a jelly roll that I was drawn to.  That is when I met Melanie, the shop owner.  I asked if she thought pattern would be a good quilt to try and she said yes it was a great place to start.   I bought the jelly roll that day, made the quilt very soon afterward.  I have been hooked on quilting since.

These fabrics were perfect for this pattern

I have not had the opportunity to join a guild but hope to have the time in the future.  I have been attending "Sit and Sew" days with a group of ladies from Whidbey Island as often as I can. They have taught me so much and are a great inspiration.  I think the person who has been the most inspiring to me when it comes to quilting is Melanie, owner of the Fabric Chicks quilt shop. She knows what fabrics I will fall in love with before I have seen them. I have also learned so much from online Quilt-Alongs and Blocks of the Month.  It is amazing what people have shared through blog posts and tutorials.

At work on the Bookmobile


I work full time for the Library on Wheels department of Sno-Isle Libraries.  I have loved my job serving customers through bookmobile and outreach service to homebound and childcare centers.  My husband has been the pastor of a church here in Lake Stevens for 27 years.  We have been married for 43 years and have a very busy life but I always find the time to sew.   I tend to get grumpy when I haven't been working with fabric so my husband fully supports my time and money spent on quilting. 

I knew I wanted to make this project as soon as I saw the fabric













I want to thank you for the opportunity to participate in the Desire to Inspire Challenge.  I love the fabrics I had to work with and would have used every scrap if I had the time.  I enjoyed every minute of the planning and creating process and I thank you again for this honor.  Thank you also to Janet Nesbitt for the message of encouragement.  It was fun to hear that we live in the same state, just on opposite sides.  I will have to try to meet her if I get to travel that direction. 


P.S. I have been blogging since about the same time I started quilting.  I do not post as often as I used to but have posted pictures of every quilt I have made and about other projects and sometimes family events. http://sherry-blessingsfromournest.blogspot.com/ 


Sherry is so generous that she is offering up these two items for a give-away to readers of the Henry Glass blog. Enter below by commenting on Sherry's lovely work! 








Desire to Inspire Challenge gives away her own Harvest Blessings

Monday, April 25, 2016

Let's Get Quilting 2016 - Tinsel Toes Bundle



Happy Monday! Ready to start your Christmas sewing? This collection is  Tinsel Toes by Dana Brooks.

Two ways to enter, one is to comment on this blog post about which new collection is your favorite! Link is provided in box below. Second, is to visit our Facebook page and comment there too!





Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Designer Spotlight - Meet Jan Shade Beach

It was not surprising to learn in my conversation with Jan Shade Beach, that she and Shelly Comiskey are friends. Of course! But then again, after talking to Jan and hearing her story about her life it wouldn't be surprising to learn that she has a gift for making friends.

Take for instance the story of meeting her husband, David. While traveling for business she happened to sit next to him on an airplane! After 4 hours, they found common ground in many aspects of their lives. Though they lived in different cities, in entirely different parts of the country, fortune had it that after being long-distant friends his business relocated to her area. Three years later they were married!

  

That's just the tip of the iceberg for the many styles of Jan Shade Beach's life. Here's a quick montage of her photos she shared, so you can get to know her too.



And you can see why it's hard to catch up with her!


We could also very well call her the Queen of all things Christmas as you might tell from her recent success stories with Henry Glass Fabrics with Holiday Frost (flannel), Holiday Magic, and Holiday Traditions.

She has stepped out of the holiday box with the latest collection called Moose Lodge, though you still notice scenes of winter in the designs.


So that's a little bit about whom she is, and what she does. Next the most anticipated question in any interview with a designer is "how do you get inspired?"

And of course the response is "from everything."  Jan is a true testimony of that statement. She recounted a tale of a recent trip (well 2 years ago, anyway) to New York where she was exhibiting at the Surtex show. While there she noticed a single tree wrapped up in what appeared to be a sweater around its trunk.

We know now that this is an example of the fine art of 'yarn bombing.' Though in its infancy at the time of Jan's discovery, she was immediately drawn to the unusual nature of this art form, and began to incorporate the design style into her own work.



When not designing fabric for Henry Glass, Jan is busy creating illustrations for other types of surface pattern use. Here is a picture of some recent projects - again - her favorite thing...Christmas! 


Jan's fun and notorious claim to fame is seeing her own designs on an episode of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" with Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon wrapped in the Holiday Frost fabric for a skit called "Bring it on down to Wrappinville."



And here she is in her natural habitat, in her home studio at her desk, with a view out the window. Friend of Henry Glass Fabrics, and now you... Jan Shade Beach:



To celebrate this introduction of you, our dear readers to our designer Jan Shade Beach, we are giving away this sweet little bundle of five, you guessed it... Christmas fabrics.


Monday, April 18, 2016

Let's Get Quilting - 2016 Give Thanks Bundle Giveaway Contest



It's Monday! Time for this weeks giveaway. It is time to start thinking about our fall sewing projects already. So we are giving away the "Give Thanks" bundle from the collection by Shelly Comiskey to one lucky winner! You remember Shelly. We interviewed her on the HG blog last month.

Shelly's collection Give Thanks features crazy turkeys and a beautiful fall palette. See the collection swatches here. Or visit your local quilt shop to get the line for yourself!

Friday, April 15, 2016

The healing power of quilts

Several long-time quilters who are well respected in our industry have been vocal advocates of the power that comes from joining beautiful fabrics together so that it is much more than how a simple piece of fabric began. 




Our patterns, pieces and patchwork is the means to the beautiful quilt which is the fabulous outcome. Yet in this magic, whether it's the sentimental expression, the artistic endeavor, or the beauty of the fabric itself, there is no question that in this woven testimony of efforts there is wrapped something much more. Much larger. 

It is the healing power of a handmade quilt. 

You, dear quilter, must have surely felt this same experience at some point? When a quilt was gifted and received with love and gratitude? The very art of creation makes a difference. The process itself is comforting. From the small to the large, our quilts give life and love from the mere journey from idea to completion. 

As illustration of the beauty and healing, I would like to share with you the "Natural Healing" exhibit of contemporary fiber art, presented by Studio Art Quilt Associates of New Mexico. 




The exhibit of 20 quilts will be on display at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD beginning in July, and will then travel to three other nationally prestigious health care facilities for the remainder of the year and into 2017. The exhibit showcases the plants and animals historically used for healing, as well as modern technologies that served as inspiration for these quilts.

Here, for your pleasure, is a link to the exhibit preview.

Please comment below if you too believe in the healing power of quilts.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Kim Diehl's Ric Rac Paddywack Darling Quilt Video Tutorial



Share this video of the Henry Glass collection, Ric Rac Paddywack by Kim Diehl with your friends!

Monday, April 11, 2016

Let's Get Quilting 2016 -



Get ready now for Halloween with these adorable "glow-in-the-dark" fabrics from the Frightful & Delightful Collection by First Blush Studio. Enter to win this 7 pc. bundle below, but if you don't have any luck this week, go to your local quilt shop and check out these cute fabrics. Every single pattern has a "glow-in-the-dark" embellishment. The shop favorite is the little skeleton print - THEY GLOW!  We featured First Blush Studio on the blog in March, if you want to know more about the designer. Here is a link to a free pattern created for the collection as well! And also one for a trick-or-treat bag that will "glow-in-the-dark."


Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Desire to Inspire Challenge is underway with Sherry Stevens!

Sherry Stevens from Washington has accepted this month's challenge to use "Harvest Blessings" by Janet Nesbitt. We can't wait to see what she does! She was so happy because it's also her birthday!

Here is a special video shout-out for Sherry from the Henry Glass designer, Janet Nesbitt.

Monday, April 4, 2016




Amy Hamberlin is a great designer for Henry Glass, and also the girl behind the brand called Katie Cupcake & Co. Today we are giving away a bundle from her most recent collection:  #Laugh Love Quilt.

Amy represents the new demographic in the quilting industry, she is young, smart, tech-savvy, and uses social media to reach her audience. (Found on Instagram as #amyhamberlin).

If you would like to take a few minutes to watch this demo on tote bag-making she did at Quilt Market last fall, check this out.  In the video she shows off some fine-tuning skills to finish off your bag.   She is making her pattern Mamma Mia. It's so darn cute!

Today, you can enter to win this bundle from the #Laugh Love Quilt line, which is available in quilt shops now.


Friday, April 1, 2016

Desire to Inspire - April Edition with "Harvest Blessings" from Janet Nesbitt of One Sister Designs


The Desire to Inspire Challenge starts today for April. 

1. YOU sign up below with your email or blog name to this post.

2. WE pick a random winner. 

3. YOU send us your address.

4. WE send you 6 yards of the "Harvest Blessings" fabrics.

5. YOU make something AWESOME within 3 weeks, with pictures and your story.

6. WE post it. 

7. YOU keep it. 

All you need to do is give us your email address or blog name 
in the comments section below to enter. 
(Your email will remain private)
We will choose the Challenger and send fabrics out right away! 
Your post will be scheduled for April 30. 

**If you are looking for these fabrics to make something for yourself, this collection will be shipping into your local quilt shop during this month! Go get some!