The car is almost packed. I'm hitting the road again. First I'm driving to Spring, TX for a class at 3 Stitches. Should be lots of fun! Pam, the shop owner, really knows how to have a great time. Barb isn't able to come to this class as she couldn't get away from work. (Darn it anyway!) But she stitched the project so she will be in Spring, TX. in spirit. The pincushion above is our class project. Love the long bird legs!

My van is full of everything needed for our booth at quilt market. So, after a quick visit in Spring, I'm driving on to Houston. Barb will be driving down on Friday. She's bringing the quilt books. (We really need those or we won't have anything to sell.)

Couple of quick answers to questions:

1. A couple of people have asked about the above quilt. It will be in our new book Garden Club.



2. The above needle roll will be in the book too.

3. Although Barb and I are taking a break from teaching next year, we are not taking a break from doing books and patterns. We will continue printing quilt and cross stitch books and patterns and maybe even add a rug hooking booklet.

I'm taking my camera to quilt market. Hope to have some good pictures for you when I return.
Will be back in about a week.

Until later dear friends!

Alma

Barb and I are just about ready to go to quilt market in Houston, Texas. Our book went to the printer today and we should have copies by next Monday. I am thrilled to say the least. I'm always glad to make a deadline. This baby is 84 pages! (Being an old labor and deliver nurse I feel like I can call this project a baby....lots of labor and at the end of the process you are thrilled with what you take home...or in this case, what we will take to market.)

I had my first baby the "natural" way. By the time I was almost done with the labor part and ready to have the baby, they could have thrown me off of the top of the building and I wouldn't have cared one bit. I would have screamed, "thank you!!!!!" all the way to the ground. (Luckily, this project wasn't that painful.)

When Barb and I go to market, we stand in our booth and look like we are smart, organized and very creative. But it's a lie.....we have the help of many wonderful people to get us anywhere. WE could never make our deadlines without them. Edie McGinnis, our editor is one of the people that makes us look and sound good. I know I've written a small paragraph about her help in our books....but really, it seems inadequate when I think about what she does for us. Her creative writing skills add much to our text. It was her idea to replace my subtitle "Quilts and Projects Inspired by Our Love of the Garden with her catchy phrase "A Bouquet of Quilts and Projects". Much better, right?

Jane Miller does our technical edits. I'm so grateful for her. No one wants me to do a technical edit and no one is calling Barb and asking her to do one either. Plenty of people are calling Jane though.

Jeanne Zyck our quilter....we really don't know why she answers the phone when we call. (She has caller ID too!) She gets the quilt from us in the evening and has it ready the next day for us. And it looks fabulous! She quilted 5 quilts for us in 5 days so we could make our deadline.

Eric Sears does our drawings....he was up until all hours last night getting the final drawings done. And he never complains. (You are probably wondering where we find these folks!)

Alissa Christianson charts all of our cross stitch patterns. She never fails to get them to us quickly. We wouldn't have any cross stitch patterns without her. Barb and I don't have a clue how to chart a pattern on the computer.

Barb's Mom is in her 80's. She works all hours of the day and night trying to get the applique and sewing done for Barb. Barb couldn't get it all done without her mom's help.

And many thanks to our printer. You have no idea how I abuse those folks. I've been working with Kelly Shanks and Terry Ward from Boelte Hall for about 11 years. Terry even offered to drive the books to Houston if they couldn't get them done in time.

And last but certainly not least....we thank all of you for your readership, suggestions, support and for sharing your projects with us. We are inspired by your work and grateful for all of you!

More about our fabric line in the next couple of days!

Until later,

Alma

My car pulled into the garage last night around 9:30pm. The leaves were just turning while Barb and I were in Spring Green, WI. What a wonderful trip we had!!! We really enjoyed Jeanne Horton of Country Sampler, her shop gals, Maggie, Stacie and all of the wonderful women who came to the retreat. Just wish we could have been there longer!!!!

I've been taking some pictures for our new book Garden Club. I went out into my yard to see what has gone to seed and what's still blooming. I found my last two roses....I can hardly believe that summer is over and winter is fast approaching. (The small orange fruit are rose hips. My husband and I picked them earlier this summer from roses at our local movie theater. We get them when the movie is over and it's dark outside. I pretend I'm helping them by removing the hips so the shrubs will bloom again. I hope the security guards don't get us for picking them....I would hate to see Dave spend time in jail. I need him working in the garage! hahaha...you know I'm kidding right?)

Thought you might like to see the latest Anniversary of the Heart pattern. This one will be at the printer tomorrow...so will be in the shops in 2-3 weeks.

Barb did this one for her grand niece J.J. I love the puppy and the moth. Perfect for a sweet little girl!

When I got home there was a couple of boxes waiting for me from Moda. Our newest fabric line has arrived ready for us to begin making some samples for market. I can hardly wait to begin working with this line! Will show you some pictures soon.

Wanted to let you know that we are going to release a book in Feb. with all of the cross stitch patterns from our class projects....so not to worry about missing out.

Thinking of you all and hoping you are saving a bit of time to relax, stitch and enjoy the weather.

Until later,

Alma

My car is loaded up and I'm almost ready to leave for Country Sampler in Spring Green, WI. Barb and I are teaching a quilt and cross stitch class. We will be gone for 4 days.

I wanted to write a quick note and say don't give up on this blog! I know there hasn't been much excitement here on-line but I will have more time to post after quilt market. (Oct. 30)

Barb and I had a great time in Park City, UT. We were there for the Shepherd's Bush retreat. The small sewing tray pictured above was our class project. Just the right place to keep your scissors and other small sewing items. The frame is from Sharon Crescent's line. (Crescent Colours) The silk floss is from Thread Gatherer.

The small quilt above is one of our Country Sampler projects. It's perfect for a winter table or hung on the wall. We also give a sewing guide for a much larger quilt.


The small sampler above is the cross stitch project for the retreat.

Hope you are enjoying this lovely weather. Great time to get out and walk and collect acorns and autumn leaves!

Until later,

Alma