Catch up!

Well, the quilt I made from Urban Art will remain mine, well, I'll finish it and most likely offer it for sale on Etsy...maybe. I may love it too much and find it perfect to hang in my quilt room:) Stephanie loved it and initially offered to purchase it from me. But then she talked with Camelot and they've decided not to reprint the fabric...sad as the fabric is wonderful, but that's that. She did ask if she could use me in the future and of course I said yes. Overall, great experience and potential in the future for something...who knows what.

I made a purchase yesterday. A new table for my quilt room for cutting and whatever. It's an L-shaped counter height desk perfect height for working on (my current rigged system is about 2.5 inches too high for good body mechanics and may be adding to some back/nerve pain in my right foot). But, as I went to bed last night I had the worst case of buyer's remorse ever...I never spend that kind of money on such things when I can rig something from whatever I have around to work with. I was awake and freaking about the money spent, what am I going to do with the furniture pieces I have been using (we've outgrown our house with all my stuff), I should have done something less expensive...on and on I went. I'm calmer today and I believe it was a great purchase and it will work beautifully and I'll deal with the rearranging and make it all efficient. It will be delivered on saturday and I am excited, although still a little anxious...I'll get over it and for once I'll have something that is good and sturdy and looks nice and will last for a very long time. Just thought I'd share my crazy thoughts...I'm sure none of you have ever done anything like this! Ha! We all do it now and again, right?

I spent yesterday working on cleaning out my garage for winter car storage. I recently retrieved some boxes from my brother-in-law which have been stored in his basement for 15 years. Going through those things was like taking a trip to another life! I found some wonderful things from my past and I realized I've always been into crafting and fabric and design ... I guess I've known that but finding an entire box of books, supplies, crafting and such it hit me that I've always been headed right where I am today. We all live what I think of as a series of lives which in retrospect often seem very disconnected...but threads weave through these lives connecting each one to the next. It's very good to feel this connection; to see that each choice leads us to becoming whatever it is we are and will be. None of it is a waste as it all is part of becoming. I love where I am now and have learned to love all those past lives also. Everything that felt awful at the time is gone now; unimportant within the whole. I guess that is enough philosophizing for now...it's one of my habits:)

New pics of quilting space coming soon as I redesign to incorporate a 6x6 foot 'design center'...room for my laptop, space for so much!! But first I must finish that darn garage...what to do with loads of yucky chemicals I've fought my husband over for years, maybe finally tackling that workbench filled with his poorly maintained tools that we can't even use since we can't find them. Ahhh life....it really is so very good!!!

I met Stephanie Brandenburg!!!!

I went out of my comfort zone at the Des Moines AQS quilt show and introduced myself to Stephanie Brandenburg!!! Pic here:) I had spoken to her a couple years ago at another local show but this time I actually approached her and told her how much I love her designs. She is soooooo nice and she actually said if I came up with any good designs maybe she would take it to quilt market??!! Did I hear that right? Maybe it was my own hopes, but I came home and was inspired to create a quilt from my urban art fabrics ... this is what I came up with.

These fabrics are so rich and beautiful. Turns out this is not a difficult quilt to make, but writing a pattern would be challenging because of the fussy cutting. It can be done; I just need to think it through. It uses a load of the focus fabric...4 yards I think...with lots of leftovers so I'm thinking I need to come up with smaller projects to use up the remains. Now I have to get out of my comfort zone again and email her to see what she thinks...whoa...that is a tough one for me...putting a design out there for someone elses approval? But then, what do I have to lose, right? I love it and that is good. Maybe she'll like it too? I'll let you know after I swallow my fears and reach out...wish me luck!

I really need to clone myself!

Help! My house has been taken over by quilts!! Wait...that's a good thing! I've been taking photos, listing and relisting, sewing custom quilts and pulling out partially completed projects and getting them finished up...if only I didn't need to sleep! My first big custom project is completed, shipped, and happily received:) It's so great when I get such wonderful feedback from buyers for this 'work' I love so much:)

It's time for a new computer now ... part of my sporadic communication on this blog is my frustration with my current computer. I bought it back when I did little more than check my email but now I've outgrown this and plan to upgrade very soon to a much faster processor and graphics card. That will eliminate my frustration with slow loading and untimely shut downs. I will however have to finally take the time to understand just how this technology works and to use it to my advantage. Time for that...well, I'll find it as we always find the time for the things that are important to us...right?

I'll have some more new listings soon for the holidays, but first we'll be heading to Chicago's American Girl store next week for a birthday celebration for one of Meg's good friends. We leave next Wednesday and when we return I'll be refreshed and filled with sewing plans for October...and a new computer too!!

Off to work!

Another rainy day

Once again it is raining here in Des Moines. We just got back from a wonderful walk in the rain and splashing through puddles! I'm not minding the rain but I really needed some sunshine to take some photos today. Ah well, there is always tomorrow and another day of unlisted quilts won't hurt. I'm working on a king size custom quilt today and enjoying the process. And I have another custom quilt that needs more design work...so boredom isn't part of my vocabulary:)

I got my new Fabric Trends magazine yesterday. My fav quilting personality has taken it over ... Mark Lipinski... and as expected, it is wonderfully improved!! I read it from cover to cover and am so excited about all the new fabrics arriving soon. But then I started feeling overwhelmed since I have so very much fabric (one day I'll take pics of my stash so you can truly comprehend what I mean here), what am I going to do with more??!!! But we all know I'll buy it anyway and after some brief guilt, enjoy it thoroughly even if it sits on the shelf for 10 years!! You only get one shot at buying a line of fabric you know:) Rationalization is a skill most of us quilters have mastered:)

Okay, I'm not getting any work done here. Tomorrow, one way or another, there will be 3 more items on my Etsy site. Maybe 4 if I get a binding completed on another table runner. Yeah! Then there will only be about 35 things remaining in my closet to quilt and about 2000 on the shelves awaiting inspiration!! Hehe. What a life!

Life with Cats!

This is what happens when I'm working and I go to answer the phone! Some days as I move from the sewing machine to the cutting table, Cuppy takes over my chair, I toss her off and she goes to the cutting table...then to the chair and so on...heavy sigh:) But they are so cute, aren't they? :)

Shopping:)

Wow...shopping justified! I have a woman who is wanting a custom quilt like another on my site and so I got to go shopping for fabric...and I HAD to buy enough to give her choices, right? I love blues and greens so this was just the excuse I needed to go nuts! Of course I have enough here to make 4 quilts:)

My daughter and I drove to the amana area yesterday with the goal of hitting fern hill gifts and quilts. It was much fun and a great store. This is where Stephanie Brandenburg works/designs...her design area is so tiny but so filled with wonderful inspiration. She wasn't there though I'm sure I'll see her at the big quilt show here in Des moines next month. Darn me though...I forgot there was a second quilt shop in the amanas so didn't get to that one. Oh well...next time.

I have much to do so I'd better get to it!!! First up though...muffins made in a really cute halloween muffin tin we found yesterday. I'll post pics if they turn out as cute as I think they will!

Working, working, working:)

Can I really call what I do work?? I'm not so sure I can...work has such a negative connotation in our society. It's something we complain about, tolerate, wish we didn't have to do...I know, I was in there for a very long time. But now, not so much. I love sewing. Well, I love quilting...yesterday I made my daughter another sleeping bag for her other american girl doll and I must admit I fussed and complained a bit about that. Zippers! ugh! She is happy now though and it is off my list of things to do...and if I do say so myself, it is very very cute:)

Back to quilting. I've always heard people talk about working at what you love. I understood on a logical level but until now I couldn't relate. I had good days when I was a Physical Therapist. There were days when I didn't hate it. But overall, given the choice, I'd have stayed home on any given day. Now I can 'work' all day long and never tire of what I'm doing. I can move from one task to another happily and so far I look forward to all of it. Vacation isn't an escape from work and I cannot wait to return home and sew. I just have to take care not to work too much as I still have a family out there:) Granted, I'm not making the $70K plus I made as a PT, but thankfully I don't have to either. I can build this as long as I choose and have a great time in the process.

Ok, enough on my awesome life! I'm working on getting things quilted! 3 off the last entry are on my site and I'm binding a 4th. There are just not enough hours in a day and I still have so many quilts to finish for customers (I've long-arm quilted for 8 years now). My goal is to get those all completed by the end of september ... kind of a tough goal since my self-proclaimed quilting ADD gets in the way and I'm forced to comply and start a new project regularly:) Then of course there are those quilts I want to make as gifts...there simply isn't enough time for everything swimming around in my head...but I'll get as much done as I can and give myself a break on the rest.

Okay...I'm off to quilt a friend's quilt and get one step closer to returning to my fabric to create something else new:)