Hydrangeas – Seeing Double

Last week I shared a photo of Clothworks Hydrangea fabric being made into one of my favorite table runner patterns titled “Party of Three”.    Below is where I stopped and looked at it from afar (not a great picture but you get the idea).  This morning I excitedly talked to Laura about making it a full fledged flowers only quilt pattern for fall.  It’s so gorgeous!  The fabric, the flower design, oooohhhhhh, I am head over heals in love!  She laughed at me – you see, we made a pretty good plan last Thursday and I’m mucking it up already.  But oh, it’s so gorgeous – and I am so happy - she agreed – what a great business partner she is!  We will debut it at fall market.

As I was walking down to the studio with hydrangeas on the brain and my camera in hand, I was scanning the garden and look at my Limelight Hydrangeas – they are gorgeous too!  I think I have a disease called Hydrangea Fever!  I’m seeing double!

I was playing around with paper and check out my newest mat.  It’s a fun and zany design.

  The sunshine makes it look a bit distorted!

Dave was such a trooper this weekend, he cut out all of the mats we need for our fall projects and organized them in the studio.  He is the most incredibly supportive guy.  Lucky me!  We have many to do and it helps to be able to just grab and go!

One of those I’m about to get started on is a Cottage Dream floor mat out of Kikame fabrics – European Taupe – such a quiet and elegant grouping.  Here is the stack.  I will share pictures when I’m farther along.

I also had a brain flash Saturday early morning.  Look for a future website feature titled “Floor Mat Tips and Tricks”.   We have a hard time updating our floor mat patterns every time we have a new tip or idea (I drive Laura crazy!). So instead of always playing catch up, we will refer to this section of the website on all of our floor mat patterns, sharing all new ideas when they are discovered.  We are so excited about this.  Might take me a bit of time to get it all started but look for it soon!

We also enjoyed family this weekend, daughter Chelsea even connected with us for a brief time.  We have much to be thankful for, including our family…happy birthday again dad, 85, and still dancing around!  Great house Pam and Rick, and we are looking forward to the family gathering again this weekend for the last summer hurrah for Labor Day.  Just where exactly did summer go?

Off to work on all of these new ideas……………..have a great week!

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Back in the Saddle!

Has it really been twenty some days since I blogged?  I fully intended to start back last week but gosh, getting emotionally and physically ready to get your child off to college takes its toll.  Yesterday was the big move in day!  Here is a photo of my freshman college daughter – not a great shot but she was exhausted and having trouble setting up her printer when I took this – and, of course, I was no help at all!

I have lots to catch you up on.  First of all, in the studio I am working hard to get many exciting new projects going for fall market.  I am sewing a new sample of Party of Three table runner out of beautiful Hydrangeas by Sue Zipkin.  Check it out (and all of their gorgeous fabrics) at the Clothworks www.clothworkstextiles.com.  See the picture of a table runner in progress.

I am giving a lecture at Schoolhouse during fall market.  I am a little nervous – wait, a lot nervous, but excited too!  It’s my first time venturing into this world – market is already crazy for us – but hey, I can talk passionately about floor mats, so why not?  I may need a reminder about this statement 20 minutes before it starts!  Anyway, we are making give-a-ways during our gig!  I am not going to reveal what they are yet BUT it involves beautiful Clothworks fabric and multi purpose cloth AND you can wear them!  So I am sewing them like mad!

Laura and I are also working on more samples of dog leashes!  We are trying to have 100 samples for market AND we are working on a dog collar pattern too.  Stay tuned!

We are planning on fabulous new floor mats, quilts, and some other fun surprises too!   Oh, have we been busy planning during our time off!

We also had a little bit of non-work fun during this time.  I went with my family to Lake Chelan for a few days of r-e-l-a-x-a-t-i-o-n!  I tried wakeboarding!  If you blinked – you missed it because I was barely up before I fell again!  Here is proof of the quick moment I was bumping along!  Here is the rest of my family wakeboarding and knee boarding too – note:  they are all infinitely better at water sports than I am!

 Me - can't believe I'm publishing this!

 Husband Dave on Kneeboard

 Chelsea Wakeboarding

 Chase Wakeboarding - he can turn and jump and does all kinds of fancy moves!

Dave and I also followed Chase back to Wyoming and took the white water rafting trip and scenic trip he guides!  It was a blast!  Here are a few pictures to share of the glory of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

  The beauty of the Grand Tetons

 Chase as a guide on the Snake River

  Chase and I at the ski resort

 Dave in the saddle at a famous Cowboy bar - yes, you actually sit on saddles at the bar!  We didn't stay for refreshments though!

On our way back, we passed through Reardon, Washington and lucky me – we visited The Buggy Barn!  Janet and Pam were a delight to stop and chat with – we actually have a mutual friend in common and of course, I had to buy some patterns for my personal use – those girls are so darn creative!  And oh, the beautiful quilts everywhere and fabric!  I also bought Laura a mug – she has one and always uses it so I thought she could use another!  Got the last one they had in the shop!

Here are pictures of the adorable shop.  If you are ever in the Spokane area – you’ve got to make your way to Reardon and The Buggy Barn!

While I was at Lake Chelan and Wyoming, Laura spent time with her family on their boat!  They were in the Canadian San Juan Islands and enjoyed time with daughters Jen and Les and Jen’s boyfriend.  I hear it was very relaxing but I will have to bug Laura for some pictures to share.  So far, I have none.  I understand Laura took knitting along, bound some quilts and enjoyed reading and playing card games.  That sounds relaxing!

She was gone for a time this week, down in Oregon at a Young Life camp, taking care of the camper’s babies.  She and many friends sewed quilts for the babies to use while there, and they were gifts to keep after camp.  I haven’t seen Laura yet to hear the details but she was really looking forward to going. I’m guessing they had a delightful time and I am guessing they fell head over heals in love with the babies they helped care for!   When I get more details, I will share them.

Also while on hiatus, we had Asian dinner night with all of the relatives.  I made spring rolls – they were okay but I need more practice!  Phad Thai was a new adventure for me and it turned out to be quite tasty.  My sister in law made all kinds of wonderful treats too.  It was a very fun evening!  That is our last international dinner for the summer, but we’ve all vowed to do it again next year!  You should try it!  It definitely gets you out of any cooking rut you might be in!

Finally, Dave and I went out to the barn with Chelsea on Saturday.  We are leasing our beloved Dot to a very nice girl for the school year.  Tough on the ol' heartstrings but happy for the wallet.  Besides, Dot needs to keep working as she has much to teach with her kind personality and honest working attitude.  We found just the right match with a girl at the barn and we know Dot will be in good hands.  A few parting pictures were snapped and here is Chelsea kissing the horse she loves so much!

Off to the studio!  No kids at home so the day is mine!

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Where or Where Did Monday Go?

 Alas, it is Thursday and I am still trying to find Monday!  Where did it go?  Is it because I drove my daughter off to college for her first overnight in the dorms?  They call this “orientation”, but to parents it’s practice for the eventual empty nest!  Or is it because I’ve been working very hard in the studio all week?

It’s both of those things.  Check out the dormitory Chelsea will shortly be calling home.

Terry Lander, Dorms at the University of Washington.

Finished mat sent off to contest winner Bonnie, lucky girl!  It’s beautiful in Deb Strain’s line of fabrics titled Nature’s Chorus!

Finally, our third international dinner that was not international.  Hawaii.  We just had to come up with something that included Mai Tai’s and Chi Chi’s – many of them non-alcoholic, I might add, but delicious no matter what!  A few pictures to share!  The menu also included fabulous pork, rice, sweet rolls, chicken and some amazing fruit! 

Now I am signing off for a few weeks.  My husband and I want to spend some time with our daughter before college begins (hope this isn't one sided!) and I have much to do in the studio.  I’ll probably blog again around the 15^th of August or so, after all,  it’s now Thursday and I’m still looking for Monday! 

Have a great one!

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100 Friends and a Party or Two!

What a party atmosphere at Fabric Depot in Portland last weekend!  We had so much fun hanging out with Georgia and friends at their fabulous store!  This is a destination quilt, sewing, craft store and a must stop for anyone remotely interested in any venture into that world!  Check them out online at www.fabricdepot.com. We also had a visit with Michelle and Birdie from Busy Bee Patterns – we love those girls!  Check out Michelle’s beautiful patterns for quilts and aprons at www.mkquiltdesigns.com. It was fun to see them outside of market!  We can’t wait to go back and visit all of our old and new friends at Fabric Depot and vicinity soon!

AND THE WINNER IS..................VONNIE DAVENPORT FROM OREGON CITY!!!!!!  We will be contacting you Vonnie and as soon as we seal the beautiful mat made Saturday, we'll send it off for you to enjoy!  CONGRADULATIONS!  I'll post a finished picture next week.

We created some fun new props for demos on Friday – of course we were going to get started way before Friday but life is a little crazy right now!  Oh well!  Working late into the night – things always take longer than you think, we created new samples, a project board and drew out some mats for the next day.

We left the house at 6:15 am and arrived at the store about 10 am.  We were so impressed with how organized Georgia and Marge were with our set up.  It made bringing in the gear so incredibly easy!  We began before the 11 am start time advertised.  So here are a bunch of pictures of the day:

 Georgia with wonderful ribbons!

 Customers helping design!

 Customers gluing down the squares - so easy!

 More customers.

 Our newest information board

 Laura hard at work!

 More fun!

They announced our presence every half hour and we had a steady stream of fabulous customers and interested employees (did you know they employee over 150 employees?- doesn't that make a wonderful statement for home arts and this fabulous store?) all day!  It felt like one big party for sure!  Then we went shopping – boy, did we have a good time!  I bought lots of fabric, books, candy (you should see the selection – candy and fabric – does it get any better than that?).  We got home about 10:30 pm, tired and thrilled with the day.

The next day was another international dinner for my family and Jon, Laura and Leslie joined us.  !Mexico!  Pictures of the party that included fabulous food, a table of 12, dinner outside and a drinking game.  Mind you, non alcoholic for the kids and a just a little alcohol for the adults in the form of strawberry margaritas but loads of laughter and memory skill challenges that many of us failed miserably at – who needs alcohol for that?  Did I mention this was Jonny’s idea?  Thanks Jon for the fun!  The menu included fresh crab from Laura and Jon, rice, enchiladas, carne asada from Pam and a lime, chicken, cilantro salad from me.  If I could speak in the language – I might even include the translation for YUMMY!  It was!

We are having another food party next week but instead of international - we've decided to go Hawaiian!  So stay tuned!  In August we'll be featuring food from Asia!  This has been so much fun!  You should try it!

My roses are in full swing and I took a bunch of white roses to a friend’s house on Sunday before our party.  Here is a picture of them.  And here are some more I used on the extra table for food for the Mexico party!  Such fun!

Have a great week.

P.S. Just a heads up – Laura and I are going to take a few weeks off to play catch up.  So I'll blog next Monday before our break.  We have much to do for all of our fall commitments so we will be concentrating on stuff for market.  The ideas are spilling over.  Then look for the next blog in August – sometime mid-month.  In the meantime, we’ll take notes and catch up with you fully rested and brimming with new ideas!

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Running in Place 

Two hundred and twenty dog leash patterns and re-supply kits are shipping tomorrow!  A mention in the product review section of American Quilt Retailer and two sample mats completed and ready for shipping!  Oh, and my class on Children’s Illustration ended on Thursday.  Such an amazing week - we are running - faster than ever - and barely keeping up!  That is not a complaint either!

We are sending a floor mat off to Rockland Industries, maker of the fabulous Multi Purpose Cloth that we use for all of our floor mat backing and our dog leash innards.  Get this – it’s made entirely from paper! 

Not only can you make them from fabric but from wonderfully fabulous papers as well.  There are a few tricks to it, mainly be sure to use a paper with a good rag to it – thin papers such as wrapping paper can be quite tricky.  No priming necessary – think childhood glue and paper.  It works beautifully and easily.  Try it!  Below is our paper mat and another sample fabric mat made from Sweetwater’s delightful Pure line.

  All Paper!

 Morning Brew Pattern made up in Sweetwater's Pure Fabric line.

Another big order!  Laura and Jon spent time Thursday night preparing patterns – in 95 degree heat - and Dave and I spent quite a bit of the weekend stuffing the extra pieces so they were ready for shipment.  This is the part of our jobs that isn’t too glamorous but hey, we are not complaining one bit!  Got her done!  The endless strips stacked in groups of ten!

 Stacks of leash inneards!

In addition, I took more pictures of flowers from my garden – I know, I know, I do this every week but come winter, I will look these over and remind myself that summer will come around again!

 Geraniums against the red cabin wall.

 Rose outside the studio.

 Day Lillies - can't remember the variety but I love the color!

 A dahlia bloom nearly spent.  Beautiful even as it's wilting.

We enjoyed a family party on Sunday.  My dad had a milestone birthday and my sister has added two grandbabies in the last two months.  Here is a picture of dad and the next generation!  Laura and Jon were off boating this weekend celebrating their daughter’s birthday with Jenn and friends.  The weather was stellar and I am sure they had a great time!

I am working on some sketches for a children’s book idea and when I get farther along, I will share.  So stay tuned!

Next week we will have lots to report as we are heading to Fabric Depot in Portland, 700 SE 122nd Avenue, Portland, OR 97233

We are doing floor mat demos!  We adore Georgia and the totally terrific employees down in Portland so if you are in the area, stop by and say hello!  We love to talk about floor mats and will share tips and tricks.  Hope to see you there!  If you can’t make it, be sure to check out their website for pretty much anything you could ever need!  www.fabricdepot.com.

Portland, here we come! 

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