Archive for February, 2008

Books are done!

Thursday, February 28th, 2008
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The books are DONE! And this year is caught up so far, too. One of the things I love about this time of the year, is when I tally all of the numbers and get to see the totals of the patterns sold. It is always gratifying to see the end of year figures, especially on Third Weekend In October. It was released in 1997 and has consistently been INNOVATION’S best seller having sold a total of 27,396 copies in the 10 years that it has been available!

patterns.jpgThose other patterns are still waiting to be folded, here they are, waiting for me. That’s my quilt storage bed in my studio storage area next to the patterns along with some unused hanging rods, and stuff. I need to load the tax program on the computer so I can carry on with that chore, and I still need to come up with a new pattern idea! No rest for the weary.

Update for February

Monday, February 18th, 2008

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Nearly two months gone already this year, but I have three works done and quite a few entries made, two acceptances in with the quilts shipped, one rejection and the rest pending. Not too bad!

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This photo shows a portion of the nasturtium piece, I’m loving how the hand dye worked in the leaves! I see there are still some threads to clean up, though……

Today I must get some more entry forms, etc. off, as time is quickly running out, then on to the books to prepare for taxes. Last week we had one of the patterns reprinted so they are waiting to be folded and packaged as well. If only this business of quilting was only the fun stuff, but alas that is not so!

Whoops!

Friday, February 15th, 2008

Checking in this morning, I see that the post I thought I posted yesterday didn’t get posted! I’m still struggling. I hope you HAD a great Valentine’s Day!

Chocolate!

Friday, February 15th, 2008

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

Yesterday I finished the Nasturtium top, put all of that fabric away, and then went to town to run some errands, do lunch and see “Charlie’s War” with a friend. It was good, I figure anything with Tom Hanks in it will be good!

Now I need to go find something for the backing, do the layering and get started on the quilting! I try to think about the quilting during the piecing but I never know exactly where it will go, so this step is always fun and exciting! Can’t wait!

But first, maybe some chocolate?
Chocolate

Using Fabric

Friday, February 8th, 2008

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Are you scared to cut into that special piece of fabric? Me, not so much! Sometimes I get that twingy feeling, but I remind myself that I bought it because I loved it and wanted to find a special place to use it, so when I find that place, I go for it! This photo shows my workspace with a wonderful piece of hand dyed fabric that is proving to be great for nasturtium leaves. It’s starting to look sort of Swiss cheesey, and I’m glad it is finally getting off the shelf. Mostly I use commercial prints, and it’s always a thrill to find just the right one, but sometimes hand dyes are just the thing that’s needed..

Using fabric

Catching Up

Thursday, February 7th, 2008

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It’s been a time for catching up this week. Time to send “Lady Godiva” off to her gig at The Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival and to prepare more entries. My acceptance letter arrived for “Just Dandy” to go to IQA’s Celebrate Spring in IL. Only a month ago it was in the process of being made!

Yesterday we got 9″of lovely fluffy snow so it was a perfect day to stay inside and update my website. Being new at it, it was not without it’s frustrations, but now you can see “Just Dandy” in the Gallery.

The nasturtium piece is coming along nicely and I finally got photos of the finished “Burlingame Fire” so you can see what a difference the quilting makes!
quilted fireman

Moving On

Monday, February 4th, 2008

“Burlingame Fire” is finished right down to the last hand stitch, and it’s time to look at the next deadline, which must be “In Full Bloom”, Feb 29. I’ve had a piece in this exhibit since it started, so I must try again! Nasturtiums have always intrigued me with their unique shapes and bright colors. A happy little flower that will do well even in poor dry soil. I have a photo that I took in 2001 in the files to work with, so I pulled it up and converted it to black and white for the design process. You know and I know that one should make a copy to play around with, but did I do that? No. Of course not. When I asked it to print, the computer quickly saved it. The color is gone forever and it was my only copy. Oh, well. I will color this piece guided by memory and my available stash. Could be a good thing!
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