Sunday, June 28, 2009

100 degrees in KC!

I am currently sitting in the Kansas City Airport waiting for a plane back to Cleveland and hopefully cooler weather…below 100 degrees that is. Last Monday my fellow quilting ladies and I flew to Kansas City, Missouri for Primitives of the Midwest. A quilting extravaganza…filled with 3 days of classes, parties, and of course shopping and antiquing! The week started off with a wool appliqué class with Maggie Bonanomi an amazing artist who specializes in WOOL! She surprised us with the project to the right…the pattern was only designed for our class …you know exclusive! Maggie has a new book coming out this fall and I am really excited to see what she has come up with. I am hoping that she will come to the shop next year and teach classes! Oh and the coolest thing she loves to use your average sewing thread for her perfectly even stitches…what an idea! I love it...it turns out beautiful on your work.

My second class was with the AMAZING and very popular Jo Morton. I took her Lamoyne Stars hand piecing class. For those of you who don’t know what hand piecing it is the“old school” way of putting patches together! That means cutting it out and sewing with NO MACHINE…how about that. I thought it was really neat when Jo talked about her reasoning for teaching classes...she teaches hand piecing to keep the art alive. Us “young” patch workers really need remember that is where it all started. My patch is made with Jo’s, Joel’s and Amy’s fabric. My idea was to bring new and old patterns together. I need to get the other blocks cut out and put together. Oh and the fabric seen is a sneak peak of what will be in my shop this fall.

Last but not least “Red Clover” with Sue Spargo was on Thursday. A small wall quilt made of wool, cottons, taffeta and other yummy textiles and trimmings. I am so glad I got to take one of Sue’s classes… she is an inspiration. I think it is because of her color use and patience in teaching new techniques. Plus all of her amazing notions and textiles that she offers from her travels around the world! I so wish I could be taking her class in Sisters, Oregon in a couple weeks….Magnolia it is amazing. I forgot to tell you Renee Plains was in our class and of course the work she did was amazing! I have to remember to order some more patterns from her for the opening!

After this awesome week I honestly have fallen in love with working with wool… it’s very forgiving. Although, my mom pointed this out… why exactly are we working in WOOL when its 100 degrees (literally) out…well mom I guess that is why they call us crazy quilters! The last few days have been visiting near by neighborhoods of Kansas City. We visited a few quilt shops for inspiration, an art festival downtown and antique shops. The antiques are amazing out here and sooooo affordable. I wish I had a truck to take all the ones I wanted home.
If you are ever in the KC area check out a couple of shops...
Quilters Station in Lee’s Summit, MO http://www.quiltersstation.com/ and
Urban Arts & Crafts in Kansas City, MO http://www.urbanartsandcrafts.com/!
Those were my two favorite places along the way. What an incredible week of meeting new people and spending it with inspiring women from all over the country.

P.S. Unfortunately on this sewing trip we didn’t get anymore quilt patch tattoos but maybe next time…(oh and when my mom read this she told me to add that is was way to painful for her to do again but at least one thing is off her bucket list)!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Stuck in a Rut...Dig Yourself OUT!

I have decided that if you need to get frustration out or have more energy than you know what to do with get yourself a shovel and start digging! I planted a Winterberry tree in my mom's garden a few days ago along with many other plants... I never thought that I would be a Gardner but maybe I have it in me after all. My mom sat on the porch as I began to prepare the earth for my little tree. By the way It's kinda cool a Winterberry gets berries in the winter...hence Winterberry! Anyway, so as I begin digging the hole mom is giggling at me because she can't believe that I am actually shoveling dirt and making a rather large hole in the ground. I had to remind her that I was once a farm girl! Duh mom I can use a shovel...then she said I was a priss...ha well I showed her. I dug a perfectly round hole for the five gallons worth of roots. I impressed her my how precis it fit in its new home. Today I will be planting the rest of the pots for my porch and hopefully by the end of summer they will be picture worthy! The pots are really cool they look like patchwork... who would have thought...

P.S. I think that some of my friends at Cannon Design would be very impressed about how great that perfectly symmetrical circle came out. See I even used the skills you guys taught me in the garden.... Thanks NSU Team!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Twenty Seven

I turned 27 last Tuesday…I really wasn’t sure how I felt about being in my “Late Twenties” but actually this has been one amazing birthday! I keep telling myself that 2009 was going to be a great one…well it has proven it almost six months in. It was a quiet and relaxing birthday…at FIRST. Mom and dad took me up Geneva on the Lake for dinner and donuts! Yes that was my birthday request to sit by Lake Erie, have a famous Madsen Donut, and walk down the strip to the sounds or kids laughing and Harley engines roaring. Dinner was amazing! Lake Erie Perch… it doesn’t get better than that! Memorial Day was spent planting a victory garden in my back yard and spending time with family. You would not believe how many little cousins I have. Kids are amazing little humans they always have a smile on their face and eyes wide open trying to figure out something new or better yet when they discover something. I spent some time drawing animals with chalk on Uncle Ronnie’s sidewalk and let me tell you they were terrible I gave up after Gracie wanted me to draw a horse. My Christmas Catus bloomed which I had to share with you because that is a gift in itself only one bloom though...
Last but not least I spent my actual birthday with my two baby twin cousins Caden and Dane. As always they both tooted and drooled on me...that is the best birthday gift I have gotten in a long time! They are little angels. I don’t think that I could have asked for anything better…

Until yesterday… this is when all relaxation went out the door!

A few weeks ago my cousin Tiffany emailed me she asked if I was interested in going to the Country Living Fair in Columbus this September! She would fly up here from Alabama and we would have a girl’s weekend. So I looked up the website and noticed they were still accepting applications for exhibitors for the show. At first I thought anyone could attend… with further research I found out it was a juried show. So I emailed Tiff back and said “well yeah let’s go but I am going to send in a small portfolio and the application and see what happens”. I got a bunch of work together, made a little portfolio, sewed it together and sent it out. SOOOO after a couple weeks of waiting I found out some AWESOME news. I have been accepted into the 2009 COUNTRY LIVING FAIR. I will be taking my own designs and cool things I make along with things that will be sold in the shop. Like fat quarters, quilt kits, vintage notions, etc. I am so excited! I feel really honored… http://www.countryliving.com/ you can find out all the details there!

This is a great way to start out my business and it will be GREAT exposure for the shop! I am so glad that I sent my work in now. I felt like I had gotten a college acceptance letter…should I open it or not open it…and you kind of skim the first sentence for positive buzz words. What a birthday huh? I am so excited to share that with all of you… I have a lot of work to do! From getting the shop prepped to making a lot of cool stuff ...my SUMMER is full.

P.S. Next time you at your local mom and pop grocery store pick up a Country Living! It has been my favorite magazine since I was a little girl…that is the note I got from mom when I woke up!