Continuing the Celebrating of National Sewing Month! Fall is in the air literally since last week found me by the pool and this week wearing a long sleeve sweater by the fire. With the change in weather comes the anticipation of fall leaves to enjoy, Thanksgiving and family, holidays ahead. New designs, a book proposal to finish, Halloween costumes to create, (I have a Halloween enthusiast in my life now), gifts to make and a Holiday show to prepare for. My sewing machine will be so very busy! The cool air is invigorating and inspiring!

If you want to be inspired to sew or craft, Creative Homearts has pages of free projects to choose from. The photos and instructions are given for each one. I have several there along with many from other talented designers.

Since Fran & Freda were upset about missing Fowl Friday I am reposting their fall version of themselves. "You too can have your very own pair of cute chicks to decorate with this fall" (Fran dictates, I just type!) Instructions and photo courtesy of Homearts. Follow the JOY! Debra, CEO!

Today we pause to remember, September 11th. A day each of us remembers exactly where we were during the unreality of what happened. I remember being in a department store at the age of twelve when it came across the speaker that President Kennedy had been assisinated.

On September 10th I was travelling home from an international design conference. I did not arrive home until early on the 11th, just a few hours before the terror began. I remember my oldest daughter calling so concerned knowing I was travelling home and scared something might have happened to me.  Many friends were stranded. Some were from New York and one dear friend had her husband a New York fire fighter with her. They lost many friends and colleagues. Our discussion group was filled with frantic messages, is everyone okay, how can we help?

What I remember most beyond the terror, the loss is the remarkable courage that people everywhere responded with. So many planes were diverted to this part of Canada, people were put up in every available space including many private homes. Friendships formed, even many romances and people return each year since that terrible time to reunite with those they met here in Atlantic Canada.

I remember those lost with honor & love. May each of us hold a prayer in our heart for peace, for understanding, for love to prevail. Debra 

September is National Sewing Month! I have been sewing since I was five so every month is a sewing month, if I added them all up that would be a very scary number! I can't imagine my life without sewing, all the doll clothes, the high school fashion statements (yikes), baby clothes (sniff), Halloween costumes, toys, home decor and published designs. My daughters would probably say how much they would miss the matching mother daughter dresses or the infamous "little Bo-Peep" costume with the voluminous bloomers and stuffed sheep!

Today everyone is sewing which is wonderful! Paper artist and scrapbookers are adding all kinds of fabric and stitch embellishments. Sites like Burda Style showcase easy wearable patterns and the sewers of all ages who create fashion statements with their own unique take on a pattern. At Spoonflower you can have your very own fabric design made into yardage to sew with. If I didn't sew I would not have any excuse for buying fabric or having a stash to lovingly peruse for inspiration! That would be very sad for me and my favorite fabric store too. This month I get to play with fabrics designed by some very talented artist friends and share the projects with you!

For an easy fast sewing project, prefinished items like a tea towel can be whipped into all sorts of things very quickly. These tea towel baskets I designed for Creative Homearts Club are pretty and simple to sew. Instructions for these baskets and many other projects are found here.

(photo courtesy of Homearts Club)

The therapeutic benefits of sewing and crafting are well documented. For inspiring stories visit Kathy & Barb's site Crafting for Health, it is their 1st Anniversary! Congratulations! I have been honored to have been featured twice this past year.

Have a creative week, sew something! Follow the JOY! Debra, CEO!

Fran here for Fowl Friday! Well it is about time! Debra has been promising us our own page forever and now it looks like it is going to be a reality! She has been updating the website and we got a sneak peek at the link boxes. There we were "Fran & Freda" although since she is making the frames square my feet are cut off! Why she couldn't have cut off Freda's head instead I don't know. Freda as we know doesn't always use her head anyway. She never reads this so no worries...So by the next Fowl Friday our page, lots of pics and our incredible story will be revealed!

We were getting a little concerned as Debra has another cutesy type bird hanging around way too much! Apparently another whole blog is coming for that bird called "the empty nest chronicles". Anyway we are of the opinion cute is way overrated. I would much rather be "interesting looking & highly intelligent" and guess what, I am! Freda has half of it although she sees herself as the cute type. Anyone looks cute after a bottle of wine especially to a rooster!  There is a long weekend ahead, enjoy all, barbecue (just not c-h-i-c-k-e-n), swim, hang out with your peeps! Follow the Fowl, Fran & Freda!

One of my favorite products to work with is Fairfield's Nature-Fil TM bamboo batt. It is so soft plus strong and a delicious creamy color. It is wonderful used as a batt but great as the main fabric. This month I am Fairfield's featured designer and have created a special project along with instructions available on their site.

The Feathery Friends Stocking combines Nature-Fil with a recycled wool sweater, reclaimed buttons and needle felted birds. I wanted to create a soft vintage feel with a touch of whimsy. I definitely have a thing about birds lately! For step by step photo instructions for needle felting check out my How To page. What you don't see is how I managed oh so very awkwardly to hold the tools and the camera at the same time! Another thing about now living alone is I do not have a model anymore for my wearables or someone to hold the camera.

This leads me to my next addition to the site, a second blog "the empty nest chronicles". The "ceo blog" will be for the creative, crafty happenings and "the empty nest" for a light hearted look at this new stage in my life. as always Follow the JOY! Debra, CEO!

Deadlines! Much of my work is defined by deadlines, which is a great motivator. They help define and determine my weekly schedule. Giving myself deadlines does not always work as well but with September and many new things on the horizon I have been busily working away on updating and revising my website. Today will be another full day working away behind the virtual scenes. So short & sweet until tomorrow!

Follow the JOY! Debra, CEO! 

       Fran  & Freda hereit's Fowl Friday!

Apparently we have been kept in the dark regarding many things lately. It is not a good feeling at all! My intuition has been saying over and over something is not right, something smells foul, pardon the pun! Well with a little late night snooping some things have been revealed that Debra was keeping from us. Her reasons we can only surmise, we try to give her the benefit of the doubt. (At least Freda does, she is much more trusting than I am but then again look what happened to her and that rooster from Cape Breton incident.)

What we (I) have uncovered!
1. Debra has said no chocolate allowed. Yet late at night the aroma of brownies is in the air. Apparently someone is allowed to have them!

2. Absolutely no alcohol (apparently the result of Freda's slight indiscretion involving dancing, an empty wine bottle, a certain rooster who still remains nameless & Freda's getting knocked up to put it bluntly) yet often there are two empty wine glasses visible in the morning.

3. WE are not allowed to walk on the counters, the tables, the mantel or any of the furniture yet there is a whole flock of new birds who can apparently perch anywhere the choose. The pink ones sit everywhere, they do not even speak to us, their so perfect beaks are always up in the air as they twitter away or preen constantly.

We could go on forever about the injustice of it all! Yet we will rise above the indignities, pull up our big gal panties and get on with it! Happy Fowl Friday Peeps!

Fran & Freda were correct in their Fowl Friday post, I do love birds and bird cages. Birds have been and still are a popular icon trend in everything from wall coverings to dishes. I have created many birds of all kinds from the saucy Fran & Freda to elegant wedding doves. My latest birds are for a project reveal next month. A sneak peek....

This litte one is needle felted with wool over a foam ball. Painted quilt pins inserted make great eyes. Eye placement is very important, spacing them wide gives that endearing look along with chalk blushed cheeks.

In my apartment I have added paper birds I cut out to my sunroom over a mirror. There are several large windows and a high ceiing so a flock of flying birds seem called for!

On one of the neat angle walls I added some adhesive birds and branches above my storage shelves.

My youngest daughter is here for her first visit and so we are off for a couple days to have fun. Enjoy your day! Debra, CEO!

Fran here for Fowl Friday! Freda & I thought living here in this loft feline free would be so relaxing but no not at all! Debra loves to decorate, has a thing about birds apparently and is sticking them everywhere. It looks very painful as she applies it with sticky paper and then rubs over it very hard with this little flat thing.

On the way by with the ladder she stopped and looked at us with that "hey I just got a great idea look". That was a very scary moment as she looked closely at our feet. I know she was thinking we would be perfect hanging from the sloped ceiling over the stairway. How we would be stuck there I cannot even imagine.

Also it is not well known but Freda is afraid of heights. Being a bird it is something that has haunted her since she was a chick and she was thrown off the feeder into the dirt. So hanging above a two storey stairwell could send her into a lifetime of therapy.

Luckily Debra's attention was diverted and she went off to hang more birds above the storage unit. We are hoping she is finished "feathering her nest". Seems to enjoy it way tooo much! Anyway we were lucky this time! She is just way too happy these days and full of ideas.

Till next time, Follow the Fowl, Fran & Freda and we intend to keep our feet firmly planted on the ground!

One of the most delightful and talented people I am so fortunate to have as a friend is the marvellous Margot Potter. She has a new book out which is getting rave reviews Bead Chic and she has stunning excerpts from the book on her popular blog. I love the "Chaos in Pearls" Necklace. Margot has written several books and whenever I meet up with her at a tradeshow she is always wearing one of her fabulous creations. She inspires me in many ways and one of these days I am going to seriously try some beading. For now I admire at the artistry and beauty of her pieces!

Today another very talented friend Kathy Peterson of Crafting for Health sent me a link posted to my Facebook page. They have posted today my piece I wrote about the Kids Craft Club I organized in my daughter's school. Such fun, this picture says it all!

 Follow the JOY! Debra, CEO!