A Place in the Sun and Accreditation up date

Robbie and I have been up at our beach retreat Toowoon Bay, doing photography for our next book - even though it was winter the sun was out and the surf was up (but the wind was cold)! Honey and I were all rugged up against the wind!

In case anyone is under the illusion that photography and styling are glamours, thought I would share a couple of candid shots, Robbie took when we were doing the photograph for A Place in the Sun!

Our latest quilt - A Place in the Sun has just been finished by Robbie. It and the designs will be in our next book of the same name so this is something to anticipate as it is another brand new technique, Magic Quilting, that every machine embroiderer will absolutely love as the whole quilt, blocks, sashing, center medallion, and borders are all done in the hoop - including quilting (and it is a double sided quilt as well) - it is simply Magic!

I will tell and show you more next blog!

My girlfriend Sue Armour emailed me this picture (that she took many years ago) she found of my darling little boy Simon - and thought it only fair that I share it with everyone!

Simon is in the US at present! No he is not working ratherB he is playing in New York - I am working at home and sick also so the above photo is pay back! Here is is around six/seven wearing clothes we brought back from our first trip to Hawaii ! He was such a tiny child and his pants are short, because I had to get small size much less than his age so they would stay up on his tiny frame!

By the way Simon will be at BU, next week so he will be doing a little work, so if your are going look him up he has heaps of new things to share with you.

Now about our Academy - it is full to over flowing - all the Accreditation packages have been sent! This has given Laurie a bit of a challenge and many hours at the post office, but they have all gone. You should have recieved email advice that your packages have been sent. In Australia I would think everyone has recieved theirs by now as they went by Express Post. For the US the packages went registered airmail post - they Aussie on time, but alas the US post is a 'tad'slow so usually it takes around two weeks from the date of postage! As for Canada, it is in God's hands! So as soon as you get everything, you have homework to watch the videos, power point and read the directions for the eight accreditation projects! You will turly be sick of the sound of my voice by the time you have watched four hours of videos! We are all excited over here in Aussie and I have already had feed back on the packs with some students staying up until the fell asleep watching the vidoes!

Perfect Bliss Video is Live! www.jennyhaskins.com

Glorious day today - the sun is streaming in my office window - and yes it is Saturday and I am working!

As promised the Perfect Bliss Video is live: www.jennyhaskins.com click on the more button which takes you to the Perfect Bliss page. Scroll down to the bottom o the page and click on the Download Perfect Bliss Video.

This is a zipped file; you have a choice to save it or open it to view it on your computer. Make your choice and if you choose to unzip it and view it on your computer, then select this option. It took around three minutes to unzip (it is a 42MG) file. The video is around 20 minutes and not only does it show you how to embroidery Perfect Bliss but also gives you great stabilizing tips.

So sit back and enjoy our presentation.

I am on Twitter (@jennyhaskins) and CE 31 is finally out!

CE31 is finally out! It is worth waiting for and you will just love, love, love it! Here is a sneak peak at the contents just to wet your appetite!

Can you believe it - I am on Twitter! Trying to keep up with the latest technology. So if you want to follow me you can on Twitter by searching for @jennyhaskins. I would love to hear from you.

Speaking of technology, you all should have received your flier about Perfect Bliss, the response has been simply amazing. Also if you are a consumer and have not had an invitation to Maragaret's webinar with Simon on the June 21 then email her: margaret@margaretmoorehead.com and get registered, Simon always has amazing things to show you and talk about. On June 27 we have a wholesale conference webinar and if you are or looking at becoming a Jenny Haskins retailer or are already one, then you must attend this webinar, Simon and I will be talking about our latest products, designs and up coming quilts, along with marketing techniques and fun ideas to help keep your customers coming into your store. Email Paula: paula.bramwell@googlemail.com to register.

Simon is busy working on our Academy Videos - there are four hours of them, so this will keep our registered participants busy once they get their academy package. (This is longer than War and Peace!) The Power Point presentations for each project is Simon's project for next week.

Also on June 24 we should have our Perfect Bliss Video (around 20min long) up on the web site for you to download. In this video I guide you through the use of templates (using Template Magic Printable Sheets) and Block Layout Diagrams for the combination embroidery in Perfect Bliss. You will learn how easy it is to achieve wonderful large embroidery designs even if you have a smaller hoop - but wait till the June 24! We will send out an email blast once it is up.

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How good am I, this is my second blog for the month!

It is my task to answer product enquiry emails and I must confess most of them are about how to use products and techniques. Although domestic hoop embroidery has been around for at least 20 years now, we are constantly getting new converts to this amazing craft. Gone are the days when we consumers were happy with boring 'place and plonk' designs, rather creative machine artists are looking for more exciting and challenging techniques and this is what Simon and I specialise in! If you are one of these artists then the Jenny Haskins Online Academy of Accredited Tutors is for you! Simon and I will cover all our techniques, products and creative ideas in this amazing opportunity to work directly with us. We have a detailed step-by-step PowerPoint presentation for each of the required accreditation projects as well as a video with Jenny guiding your through each project, not to mention webinars (which will be recorded should you not be able to be on line at the time of the webinar). The stress of keeping up with a class and perhaps learning a new machine are removed as you can use your own machine and complete your projects in your own time in your own sewing studio - Simon and I are just there as your personal coaches! Add to this there are special discounts on products for those who register for the Academy as well, what more could you want? So make sure you check out: www.jennyhaskins.com/academy_rego.php to see what you are missing out on!

And yes I am in trouble again - I let my blog followers know about Simon's amazing new quilt Perfect Bliss - I now know you love this as much as I do and Peaches who he made it for - she is a totally pink person.

The exciting thing about this quilt is that because of the inclusion of the Block and Center Medallion Layout Diagrams (included on the CD) for you to print in actual size to be used in conjunction with Template Magic Printable Sheets it is like having the actual quilt in your studio to position you placement templates over for perfect placement which can be used for the 200mm x 360mm and 200mm x 200mm hoops for perfect placement for these glorious designs. For those who have the 350mm x 360mm the designs can be done in one hooping (how lucky are you that Simon has already combined and color sorted these designs to fit your large hoop.

Next week we will be having a Video on our web site showing step-by-step how easy the above is to do, so make sure you check out this video.

So till next week your have plenty to think about and plan.

Perfect Bliss - Latest Quilt and Academy!

Well here it is the first day of June, and first day of Winter for us in the southern hemisphere and wonderful Summer for those in the north - lucky you, Summer is my favourite time of the year.

Well as always we have been working hard on Simon's Perfect Bliss quilt as seen above. It is absolutely spectacular and was made as a gift for our friend Peaches' 40th birthday - she just is such a pink girly girl.

Simon has literally spent over a month perfecting the designs which he has made for the 350mm x 360mm, 200mm x 360mm and 200mm x 200mm size hoops, so everyone can make his Perfect Bliss quilt. Not only has Simon created the designs to fit these three hoop sizes, but he has created 'actual size' PDF's of the designs for each block and center medallion which can be printed (in black and white or colour) and then the pages stuck together to form a design placement graphic, in actual size, to be used as a guide for placement templates to be accurately placed over. This ensures that you have accurate combination templates to be placed over each block to be used as embroidery placement guides.

Once again as with all our Special Editions, we have all the directions and pictures to make Perfect Bliss as well as 180 designs (adaptable to the three hoop sizes) on the CD along with lots of step-by-step pictures so it is easy for anyone to follow. How wonderful is Simon sharing his talent in such a way as anyone can achieve glorious large embroidered blocks in such a user-friendly way.

Hi to all our registered 'Accredited Academy' ladies - we are so excited and happy that you have chosen to do this course on-line - we are all in for a fun time. I will keep you posted on special offers and things to do prior to the first webinar by personal email as well as in my blog - yes I know I will have to do it more frequently than at present!

By the way, CE31 is running a bit late (especially in Australia) and we are expecting it here in the next week and in the US before the end of June - thank you for your patience, trust me it is worth waiting for.


I am now off to work on my next project - A Place in the Sun quilt - this quilt will make it possible for everyone to not only embroider and applique like a pro, but quilt as well - this will be our next book!

Academy, Wins at Paducah and more!

Oh boy am I in trouble - little did I think when I mentioned the up coming Jenny Haskins on-line accreditation, did I think anyone would read it let alone click on the link! I awoke the next morning (after posting my blog) to a frantic email from my web master saying: 'Please tell me you did not post the link for the academy - the web enquiries has just gone off and I am not ready.'

On top of that both Simon and I have received emails as well as the Jenny Haskins products web site in the US. Whoops sorry everyone and thank you also for your over whelming interest.

The link will be active on the 20th May and you will be able to register at that time until the 15th of July, at which time registrations will close as we have limited space. We also have to allow time for everyone to receive their JH on-line AAT package and to do all their homework before the opening Webinar on 1st of August.

We are obviously as excited as you are and look forward to sharing all our knowledge with you in the up coming months. So thank you for forgiving me and you will receive an email blast once the registration link is active.

Congratulations to Frieda Grischowsky on her third place award in the longarm/midarm machine quilted class in Paducah this year with her Sharman's Vintage Garden Quilt and also to Ken Berg for an honourable mention for his Summer Wine quilt.

I believe there were only four machine embroidered quilts accepted into this prestigious quilt show and two of them won awards - this is just fabulous and the two quilts look glorious. The work in these quilts is quite amazing (and Simon, Robbie and I are only too well aware of the time, effort and talent it takes to complete them) - this is quite a feat in itself, with the awards being the icing on the cake.

Incidentally both of our books, (Summer Wine and Sharman's Vintage Garden) are still available, so if you have not purchased these books (which include all the designs to make the quilts plus much more) you are missing out on a treat, they are real value for money.

The May Webinar with the Jenny Haskins Educators was held this morning and it was great to talk with Paula and her team. These amazing women are some of the most talented and creative in their field, (machine embroidery and quilting) in the industry, being trained by Paula (along with Simon and myself) in the many uses of stabilisers, battings, threads, embroidery and quilting techniques. In a time when machine companies are pulling back on education, the Jenny Haskins team are forging ahead keeping avid machine artists motivated, educated and inspired with fabulous new design CD's, projects, products, techniques, threads, books and magazines. Email: bramwell.paula@gmail.com for more information on up coming presentation chedules so you too can be part of the ever evolving world of machine embroidery and quilting,

Trusting I am now forgiven,

Jenny

Where did April Go and our first On-Line Academy

Where did April go - it just seemed to be there and then over and when I check my last posting I noticed that I totally did not recognize April at all. Our major project in April was getting everything ready for our first JENNY HASKINS ON-LINE ACADEMY OF ACCREDITED TUTORS. This has involved days of video taping, elaborate Power Point presentations, printing, photographing and heaps more - this has taken up most of our time in April. How great is it going to be for you to be able to become an Accredited Jenny Haskins Tutor and not have to travel or work under pressure - and not only that all the teaching preparation for your future class will be done for you - all you will have to do is keep the class in order!

April is one of my busiest months with over six family and friends birthdays, and this year in Australia we had an extra long Easter as ANZAC day holiday was tacked tacked on giving us nearly a week off. Simon arrived home from his six week tour of the US, Zoey turned one - how quick that year has gone, my nephew Niki had is 30th birthday, (he has just returned from Cambridge England from a three year scholarship and Sam (my daughter turned 32.

The most important birthday however was my dad's he turned 98! That was another long week-end out of April. I went up to Brisbane to see my dad, sister, Niki and Cri (my two adorable nephews) and Katherine - Niki's beautiful Canadian girl friend. This is my sister Sue and my beautiful Dad - 98 years being the most perfect person I know.

Another exciting thing was that Harvey had his first sleep over with Simon (Dada) and me - we had a fabulous time up at Toowoon Bay, and my gorgeous little friends Britt and Kyle looked after Harvey like little guardian angels.

Robbie, Simon and I have been very busy in the studio also with three new fabulous techniques on their way - you are just going to be blown away by them - will give you some teasers in my next blog - and yes we all will live that long!

More news in my next blog - promise it will be this month!

My daughter Sam is in Boston US at present, (having just been to Vegas and then she is off to NY - all shopping stops. She is having a ball and getting some well deserved R&R.

Robbie and I are working on CE 32 - due out Aug/Sept - and then it will be Christmas - and me another year older - won't talk about that it is too depressing!

Well that catches us up a bit, and will promise to have pictures for my next blog.