Thanksgiving in Key West

Key West Sunset from Sunset Pier

Thanksgiving in Key West was my husband's idea as a distraction for me since this would be our first year without my girlies.  It was a very sweet gift/gesture and we had so much fun.  About 13 years ago we lived there for one year and being back on the island was a bit like deja vu or having been in a dream.  Most of what there is to do we didn't do because we had small kids and no money.  This trip we were like kids ourselves bopping around from bar to bar and chatting with each other while people watching--a great free activity and lots to see.  We ended our trip with a wonderful Schooner trip out into the gulf at sunset.  This may be the start of a new tradition:))

Houston Market 2011

Houston in the Morning

The adventure of Houston Market 2011 began as I flew into Houston on Oct 27th to meet fellow vendors/room mates Susan Marth of Suzn Quilts and Celine Perkins of Perkins Dry Goods.

On Friday, Oct. 28th, the Schoolhouse Series started.  Susan started the morning at 10:20am and in the same room at 1:55pm, it was my turn to ask, "Does Your Shop Have a Niche I can Scratch?".  I design by what makes me happy and not by what all goes together as a style so shops and quilters will find applique, redwork, and paper piecing designs from me.

 Above is my booth and although I have been in business for 6 years now, this was my first time vending at Market.  The thrill of that is overwhelming until you get into the rhythm of talking to the shop owners and then it just flows....SO Much Fun!

                                               

This is Susan Marth of Suzn Quilts

and her collection of 12  'In Season' pieces.

 Here is Celine Perkins of Perkins Dry Goods

with her new goodies for Market shoppers.

Houston is a lot of work with Set up, Take Down, 8-10 hour days on your feet but the rewards are great as well if you like meeting lots of people and sharing memories with wonderful friends.  Spring Market is in Kansas City in 2012...Hope to see you there.

Juni the Great Lizard Hunter



Just above this caption you will see a small lizard.

Juni has been fascinated by the lizards here in Florida ever since we moved here.  Once she finally learned to catch them (mostly the smaller ones), many a lizard succumbed to her new-found prowess:)  Today something new happened--One fought back!  I saw she had something and then I saw her jump back and shake her head---She got bit!  There he stood all 2-1/2" inches of him (sans tail at this point) opening his mouth and hissing at her. I went out with my camera and sure enough he was attacking her nose every time she got close enough.  It still didn't end well for him but so nice to see one go out fighting!

Whirlwind Month and International Quilt Market

It has been a crazy whirlwind month (ok, September and October both were) and now I am home from International Quilt Market with stories to share.

First, this is a new design that will be released for sale in the spring but some shops were able to have it for free from my Schoolhouse talk. Hopefully they will use it as a Saturday Make and Take to get more people excited about redwork. I named it Spiral Trellis but there has been some talk of naming it DNA Daisies...What do you think?

As you will see over the next week, I am in love with redwork. The variegated threads available to us are just so luscious to use. So I have 2 new designs right now and 3 more coming very soon.

I met some very sweet shop owners this Market and I would encourage you to visit a few of them now carrying my patterns:

Jean's Corner in Livingston, TX

Austin Sewing & Vacuum in Round Rock, TX

STAY TUNED for booth pics, new patterns, and more stories.