Joanie Hoffman: Stitchie Swap!

From Joanie in MD, 3 wonderful stitchies flew into my mailbox today, yay! I'm quite partial to the stitching & beading that Joanie did, great job. Wow, Joanie has participated in my creative swaps since 2007 and this is her 10th swap!!

Thanks so much Joanie!! 

ATC Swap: Love gone wild set #28: Joanie Hoffman, Maryland

From Joanie Hoffman in Maryland, 4 delicious Love gone Wild fabric ATCs have made it to my post office box in Florida, despite 26" of snow one day and another 10" of snow a few days later, where Joanie lives in Maryland!  (no, i do not miss the snow!) Thank goodness yesterday was a Holiday and we had an extra day for arrivals, as I love the beading and WILD colors on Joanie's ATCs! Thanks for playing in another one of my creative swaps, Joanie : 0 ) . . .  p.s. Joan wrote me these notes about creating her ATCs that i just found: The front & backs are made from fabric from Africa, and almost all of the beads are African Christmas beads (3 at each corner are Beadazzled beads).  The photo of Tarzan & Jane was printed on printable fabric (commercial) and then hand colored in places with my Inktense watercolor pencils, working directly from the pencil itself.
wow, thanks!

Sunshine Quilties

Joanie Hoffman sent in this wonderful quiltie as a trade for one of Fiona's quilties that arrived a little too late to be included in the swap -the quilties had already been swapped and sent out. Thank you, Joanie! I will send one of Fiona's sunshine quilties off to Joanie in Tuesday's mail (it was a holiday today in the states!)

Left to arrive is just one more quiltie from Barbara Roberts in Florida, and then I can send all 4 quilties to Fiona in Scotland. Barbara has already mailed her package to me, and she sent a link so we could see her sunshine quiltie, here. It's gorgeous! Thanks so much to: Barbara, Joanie, Sue and Joellyn for stepping up and making an extra quiltie to trade with Fiona. Wonderful!

Row House Swap: Joanie Hoffman ~ Maryland

From Joanie Hoffman in Maryland near the Chesapeake Bay, we have the most delightful little houses, with such details! I love all the bricks and tiles on the roof, plus the doors and windows you've created are fabulous, Joanie. The colours are great too!

Thank you : ))

Itty Bitty Collage swap: Joanie Hoffman ~ Maryland

Joanie Hoffman's Itty Bittys are really very creative, don't you agree? I have never seen any Itty Bittys like this before! Joanie created a grid on the back of her 3x3 collage that described what summer means to her. Then on the front, she illustrated her descriptions. My fave: "Something from the Chesapeake Bay" on the back and on the front, she has a shell or a rock from the bay, tied to her collage - ingenious! Joanie finished this by covering the front of the Itty Bitty with a piece of summer inspired fabric and tying it on loosely . . . very fab!

Thank you Joanie!

I am so very happy to have one to add to my collection!
You can view Joanie's post on her Itty Bittys on her own blog (which I just discovered) HERE.

Click on any photo for a closer view!

Shades of Spring/Brown + Blue Quilties: Joanie Hoffman

From Joanie in Maryland, a sweet set of brown & Blue quilties. Joanie always comes up with something different - I love it! She has also included a treat for me of an extra quiltie and some embroidery thread, thank you!

Joan also enclosed a note saying she hoped my dad is doing well, and yES! So sorry if I have not written about that - life seems extra busy lately. My dad is doing well. He has come leaps & bounds after his illness(s) - a pacemaker, stint, angio seal, arthritis in his back, an ulcer, a stroke, a cancerous tumor in his colon, 2 infections and tons of antibiotics all in 4 months -sheesh. Fortunately, he got through it all and is recovering and getting stronger. Physical Therapy is helping a lot. I talk to my parents often (they are in FL - I am in CT). Thanks for asking, Joanie! I hope you don't mind I wrote my answer publicly as I am sure I have forgotten to update others who are also wondering! My dad is purchasing a new computer (with help from Steven who is a senior level tech/computer system architect) and he really seems well, considering. Surgery for my dad in the future (reverse the colostomy) but nothing is a rush; when he is stronger. Thanks!

Altered by Design ATC swap: Joanie Hoffman

Wow! So many beautiful and varied sets of ATCs for this swap! Right now you are looking at 2 different sets from Joanie Hoffman, who is from North Beach, Maryland. Both sets that Joanie did are created on a fabric base and are nice & sturdy with a good amount of padding. I think Joanie took her images and copied them onto transparencies to give them the ethereal quality that they have . . . just beautiful!






The "red" set as I call them are difficult to capture with a scan because of the rich color and the fact that the images are on a transparency. I tried scanning (the single ATC) and then photographing the group so you could see them better. Click on the photo for more detail.

Really lovely work, Joanie -thanks so much!

White Quilties! Joanie Hoffman

From North Beach, Maryland, Joanie Hoffman sends 5 Shades of White Quilties with an explanation! Her tag states, "White is the combination of all colors of the visible light spectrum. ~Wikipedia. So my SHADES OF WHITE Quilties had to have some color. I just couldn't make them any other way. I hope you enjoy yours! xoxo Joanie Hoffman"

: ) I think your Quilties are just great, Joanie! This is a "shades of white" swap and the theme is open for interpretation. I personally LOVE seeing everyone's take on the themes. It really is refreshing and keeps me thinking creatively.

Thank you for the extra quiltie, Joanie. I love the backs of your pieces. Wow, I think I am going to be able to make a wall hanging or a book with the extras that participants have generously sent! Now please do not worry if you did not send an extra. This IS always optional and I realize sometimes time is a commodity for you. I appreciate what comes my way and I certainly don't grovel if a package has only the required swap pieces --that is okay!!! Click on any of the photos for more detail on Joanie's excellent workmanship.

Alpha Stamp/Tallulah's Swap: Joan Hoffman

From Joan Hoffman in North Beach, MD we have received 6 beautifully stitched fabric postcards. Joan used images from the Tallulah's sheet, Cleo #1 available at Alpha Stamps. I am not sure if Joan was working with a fabric sheet or if she copied the papre images onto fabric herself for this project. However she accomplished this, her postcards are great! Thanks, Joanie.

Garden ATC Swap - Joanie Hoffman, MD

WOW! The LAST arrival for our summer Garden ATC swap came in from Joanie Hoffman in North Beach, Maryland. Joanie's ATCs are really different. When I picked the package up, they made a noise like there were seeds inside the ATCs! I later discovered they were small, clear, hole-less beads that she somehow got in-between the base and the outside clear layer. Very ingenious!! : ) You can see them a bit when you click on the scan for more detail.