UPDATE...

Hi everybody! It has been a very long time since I have blogged and a lot has been going... I really just want you all to know that my SHOP IS OPEN here in Fowler. I am having some technical difficulties changing things on my website so I just wanted to let you know my hours and new phone number.

Studio Hours

Closed Monday

Tuesday- Friday 11am to 6pm

Saturday 9am to 4pm

Closed Sunday

ring the shop @ 330.637.0800

Here is a lil picture of dad and scooter putting the shop sign up the other night!!!! Like I said I have a lot of blogs to write be patient with me!

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)!

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!

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!

Serendipity

Serendipity is defined at dictionary.com as phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for. I think that this trip has made that happen in more ways than one…

So for the last eight days mom and I have walked our little feet off and our last stop was a little place called Serendipity 3. Yep you probably all have heard of it know for their frozen hot chocolate! Girls let me tell you it is one of the best chocolate experiences you will ever have! AMAZING it is a must when you come to New York City…. Oh and just so you know this was not a relaxing getaway.

So here is how I break it all down…
May 14th through 17th:
Mom and I started off the Spring Quilt Market in Pittsburgh with a day of seminars hearing Valori Wells, Amy Butler, Carrie Nelson, Sue Spargo and many other amazing designers speak about their fabric lines and patterns. As well as getting many ideas for developing business and being creative. Friday and Saturday were like a whirl wind (kind of how this blog is going to seem… I am apologizing now). Friday the official day of buying started off very interesting…as mom passed the Westminster Fibers booth she noticed and pointed out Joel Dewberry’s new fabric line. “She said look Kor (pointing) Joel Dewberry”. The next thing I know I am shaking Joel’s hand and we begin to chit chat! I MET Joel Dewberry! How cool is that…Thank God for mom and her “outgoing personality”! BTW Olive Grace will have his new line of fabric! I am so glad I knew exactly what I wanted and had a defined vision of what I want the quilt shop to look like. If not I would have been thoroughly overwhelmed. Hence Friday we looked and noted, Saturday was the day for buying and Sunday was finishing up odd and end business! In conclusion I have about 2000 yards of fabric coming to the shop!

May 17th: Trip on AMTRAK to NYC nine hours sitting on a train. I should have listened to a friend of mine… he told me it was a trick to take the train (I will listen next time). It may seen romantic to ride on a train but not so much…it’s not like in the movies. At least I can say I got to experience it…on the other hand I think you need to do at least once. Oh the engineer does wear O'sh Gosh Bi gosh pinstripe bib overalls minus the bandanna and they throw in an "All a Board" to annoy the crap out of ya!

May 18th through today
This whole trip has involved getting up at six in the morning and going off to dreamland around one or so. Monday we decided to start off the day late. Mom and I got the much needed rest we needed and headed to the National Stationary Show. Unlike the quilt show it was a bit more intense. All the beautiful stationary designs made it tough to narrow the selection of greeting cards as well as some gifts I wanted in the shop. I really was and am on the quest to give my dedicated quilting customer a nice selection of products for themselves and to give as gifts. My other goal is to not only have products for quilters but for folks who don’t sew. So ladies who want to give a unique gift to a special friend come this fall and check out all the goodies. Oh and for all the husband/ boyfriends who need an awesome gift for that special lady come in!!!! I have a lot of nice gifts coming with that being said I am really excited to share them with you all! That was a bit of a side note but honestly the stationary show really helped me in that area. Our trip to NYC was like the city in its self…BUSY!

Mom and I are on our way back home. I have a million and one things to do (literally)! Keep and eye out on the blog to hear what is coming in and what is going on with the shop progress. The word of the trip really is serendipity… with not knowing what to expect out of this trip a lot of great things have happened….

P.S.: I apologize for not have many pictures. I was sitting in a seminar went to get a picture of Amy Butler and her new fun things and realized I had forgotten my camera! Dad over night-ed it… so I only have some shots of NYC. Plus no pictures were allowed to be taken at the show. I guess you are just going to have to come see the shop when it opens…

This little Piggy goes to Market!

It's only fitting that I title this blog this way! I grew up on a pig farm and my little shop is only a stone throw away from the piggy's themselves. So without anymore introduction...I am off to Spring Quilt Market in Pittsburgh, PA then taking the Amtrak to New York City for the National Stationary Show. It is going to be a long eight days of buying and choosing product for the shop and many seminars on the quilt business. I am taking my sidekick Mom with me for all her business sense! She thinks of all the stuff I don't plus she is truly the one who has made all this possible (Dad too). The two of us buying yards of ric rac may be very dangerous so good thing we have a BUDGET. The last few day I have had this on going headache...I believe it is a combination of excitement, fatigue, anxiety but I think the true culprit is I can't believe this is actually happening. I am finally here I finally get to make the ideas in my head a reality. I honestly have to say following my heart was the best thing I have done in a long time. I know all the missing puzzle pieces will start to fall in place. I can't wait to see how it all turns out! Mom pack your comfy shoes because we got shopping to do...

P.S. Auntie H (Cathie) says "it's going to be the biggest most awesome shopping spree of your life Kori"...I think it may be the most overwhelming shopping spree of my life!

PanCan

My mom and I volunteer with a group of amazing people…PanCan. PanCan stands for Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. The non-profit organization raises funds for Pancreatic Cancer and for the last four years we have put on a bowl-a-thon. The purpose of our event is to raise awareness about the horrific statistics of pancreatic cancer so that we can get the much-needed funding for research. Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the U.S. and has the highest fatality rate of all cancers – 99%! With no early detection methods, symptoms appear too late and the average life expectancy for a patient with a metastatic disease diagnosis is just three to six months. Despite these statistics, the research spending per pancreatic cancer patient is the lowest of any leading cancer.

The reason why it is so close to my heart is that I lost my grandmother Sharon four years ago this August. She lived courageously with pancreatic cancer for fifteen months. She was unable to have a very important surgery called “the wipple” that can add on many years of living to a pancreatic victim. Unfortunately she was not one of these candidates. Even though we lost her, she was a true miracle. People look at us funny when we say that but when you are sitting in front of an oncologist that literally says, “go home and get your affairs together you have weeks to live”…well she showed him. In fifteen months she experienced this… a trip to Vegas, a grandson was born, the most special Christmas a family could have, a grandson graduated from high school and not only a celebration for achievements but for life.

So last weekend we honored survivors and remembered our loved ones we have lost. I have to share this with you though… Shelia- she is a 9 year pancreatic cancer survivor who gave my grandma hope that she to could survive. Janice- is a 5 year survivor and our event coordinator/queen bee. Last but not least Ginny- a 6 year survivor who is a quiet inspiration with an amazing smile. These ladies are what I call hero’s women to look up too. They celebrate life so much that they haven given me my faith back that we can beat this disease. My mom says all the time that we do this because we have to make people aware and raise money so nobody has to lose someone they love to this awful disease. I encourage you to research pancreatic cancer read about the symptoms so you can help educate your friends and family.

Our faithful leader Janice emailed her team last week to let us know that we raised $10,000 dollars this year! That in it self is a small step to beat out this mean disease. As my mom said at the bowl-a-thon “we are here today to STRIKE out Pancreatic Cancer”! Hopefully one day we can.

P.S. it is an amazing feeling when we find people that help us heal. Please check out http://www.pancan.org/!