Neglectful Quilter

I know, I know, no one has to remind me how incredibly neglectful I have been about posting new Threads. One would think by peeking in my drawers that I would have enough Thread to last a lifetime.  Wrong Thread....

Oh well.  It is not for lack of thinking about writing.  We arrived home around 2 a.m. Thursday morning.  We actually hit snow on the way home.  I was freaking out.  The last time I drove through snow I was innocently driving, slowly, I might add, and suddenly, without warning, I slid off the road into a ditch.  Now, I am pulling a trailer???  GULP. Luckily, all went well.  We actually got a kick out of seeing everything white.  Like a bride's dress, it often makes the image before you the most beautiful it can be.

Our lecture at the Hattiesburg Guild was delightful, at least speaking for myself.  The ladies were very complimentary and supportive of my jokes.  Always a good thing.  My fears always include, am I boring, am I talking too much, (hmmm, that is a given), are they sorry they asked me to come???  As long as the answer to those questions, is, "no," then I am good.  I hope they enjoy the items they bought, can understand my directions, and they are interested in having me come, again, in the future.  Time will tell.

Speaking of telling, I have some exciting stuff happening.  One of the machine companies is getting ready to produce luggage with my fabric designs on them.  Does it get much better than that?  Don't tell anyone but I would almost pay them to do this, heh heh.  The fabric is being printed as we speak.  Hey, you guys might just need to buy one of these machines just so you can get one of the pieces of luggage, right????  As soon as I get the "go" I will share the company's name.  They might just be one my of new BFF's!!!!!

And, with any luck, my fabric company will be officially "with fabric" (right now it is more like "with child") by the end of April.  I know that I mentioned this before but for me this is good enough stuff to be mentioned more than once, so brace yourselves.

Tomorrow, we head to Ohio so we can tape the segment for Quilting Arts television.  If it turns out all right, I will post when the show airs.  Otherwise, you will not hear a word from me...silence will be my middle name.  yeah, right.

And, finally, if you are near Schaumburg, Illinois, please come see me at the Original Sewing Expo, the weekend after this one. I need my hugs and kisses.

I am sitting in the marshaling yard in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as I write.  Not only is it friggin' freezing cold but I have been sitting in this line, waiting to load up the trailer for one hour and I might have moved 50 feet in that time.  Now I just found out that the freight elevator is broken and they have no idea when we will get moving, again.  And, I have to peeeeeee.

 The good part is the fact that this show set a record "best sales," for us for the second year in a row.  And I did not have to pull anyone in off the street to beg them to buy.  Yippeeee.

Also, I gave the "go ahead" to print, so, say a little....heck.  Say a HUGE prayer that all goes well and that my fabric arrives before the end of April.  Send all those good vibes, all the good karma, all the positive thoughts in my direction.

Just a Peek...

A quick peek at just one of my "irons."   Feedback, folks, I need feedback.  Double click on the image to enlarge.  Hugs.

Where-O-Where has this little Quilter Been?

For the most part I have been here.  It is just that I have waaaaay too many irons in the fire and too few matches.  Since I last wrote I have been invited to present a project on Public Television for a show called Quilting Arts. Dang, if this goes well, I am gonna be in the market for some new hats 'cause my head is growing just by the mere thought of an invitation, let alone the actual invitation.  Then, I checked my schedule and realized that I leave for Birmingham and the estate sale on the 7th.  Then, I head straight from there to Lancaster. On the way home, stop at a friend's home for the evening, then drive down to Hattisburg for a Guild Meeting, then zoom home for prep for the Public Television thingie.  Get in the car,again, and drive to Ohio for the taping then head from there to Chicago for another show.  In the meantime, I am making quilts, wedding gifts, trying to work on a book proposal, etc etc. Shoot, I stayed up for 48 hours and still did not get enough done that day.  Throw in all of these dang check up's at a bazillion doctor's offices and my minutes, seconds, days, nights.....all used up.  So, here I am, again, thanking you patient lovely folks for checking in on me.  Oh, did I mention that I am still working on fabrics?  I changed printers... I forget to check emails...I forget to eat, well, real food, anyway.  Somehow I manage to squeeze in a few cookies. ....I still gain weight.....great, that is probably why my head is bigger.

Houston, Here We Come

I have a wonderful friend who is very ill.   I promised myself that I would do my best to set my priorities in their proper order.  Well, in the order that I, personally, considered proper.

1.  Shopping.
2.  Playing with Tom.
3.  Shopping
4.  Eating.
5.  Playing with Tom.
6.  Shopping....

Oh wait, that was the old list.  My new list starts with anything that involves family and friends.  So, here I am in Houston visiting both friends and family.  Such a good girl.   Like this is hard.   The truth is that the hard part is not thinking about what I have facing me when I get home.  Gulp.  Think I will go play with Tom some more.  Amazingly, he can make me forget and smile all at the same time, heh heh.

Good Times for this Quilter

One might not think that beginning your Saturday with a memorial service would be a good thing.  However, the service was really nice.  It had an overall military theme with a male quartet singing patriotic songs, the flowers were red, white, and blue, and the eulogy honored not only on the deceased's exemplary military career, but honored those who served in the military during WWII, in general.  It so reminded me of my father.  That is definitely a good thing.

Afterwards, we were invited to the family's home where we enjoyed gumbo, red beans and rice, and cheesecake.  But, more importantly, we enjoyed getting to talk to friends and neighbors that we seldom get to see.  Again, good times.

Next, we headed to Shreveport for shopping (need I say more???? heh heh), dinner, and finally, we went to the opera.  This was my gift to Brandy for Valentines.  Watching her, watching the opera, was my gift to myself....the best of times.

Woo Woo for this Quilter

You know, sometimes it is difficult to not believe in Woo Woo.  I have a friend all the way from my High School years who I have kept only sporatically in touch with over the years.  She never calls me.  If we are going to get together, it is I who initiates the contact.  In November, when I was in Birmingham for Mother's memorial, I started trying to call this friend.  The phone simply rang and rang.  Then, over the last three months, I have called several times to no avail.  The answering machine never picked up, nothing.  Now, today, she called me...just to talk.  She was completely unaware that I have been calling her.  Like I said,  woo woo......

Now, I hope you will say another kind of WOO WOO when you see my latest work.  Whatchathink?  It is called Sweet Tooth

Another Quilter's Duh Moment

Dianne's and Brandy's schedule:
1.   On Wednesday, completely empty the trailer.  Go to the storage shed and get the sofa.  DONE (Remember, this is two girly-girls lifting a huge leather sofa alllll by themselves)   Load/pack Red Car for the lecture.  Pack/load Black car w/trailer for Arkansas and Alabama.  DONE
2.   Thursday:  Get up at 5 a.m. so we can depart by 7 a.m. for Texas for the Lecture.  DONE  (O.K., so we are 30 minutes late.  Remember, by our definition, we are ON TIME !!!)
3.  Lecture:  "Taking Quilts to Another  Place"  (Photograph them and make your own Notecards, Make your own Gift Wrap, Make your own Wallpaper,  Design your very own cell phone covers, IPad covers, computer covers, etc.....Totally FUN stuff that uses your quilts in a whole new way.  Clap, clap, clap...) 
4.  Drive back to Ruston; change vehicles and drive to Arkansas to deliver the sofa. 
5.  SOFA DOES NOT FIT THROUGH THE DOOR !!!!!  Duh, duh duh.   Could it have been a good idea for Tom to have mentioned at some point that he had to ram the existing sofa through the door?????  Perhaps he could have measured to be sure this new sofa would not have the same issues?  Sigh.
6.  Keep driving to Birmingham....second DUH.  We actually thought we could make it to Birmingham all in the same day as the Texas Lecture......

 Light on, Light off, Light on, Light off, Light off, Light off...... 



So, how about a peek at my newest item that is keeping me awake at night...it suits how I feel in the middle of the night when everyone else in the house is snoring -- all wonky and tilty, half awake, half asleep, kinda leeeaning towards the bed.....how to describe what I am doing in a pattern is gonna keep me up for days, gulp.

Quilter and Who Knows?

Emeril and Dianne at the Napoleon House Bar

There I was, having a nice quiet drink with my husband at the Napoleon House Bar when in comes the press, cameras and all.  Sneaky little guys, they tried to pretend they were not there to catch me in my daily routine so they focused the cameras on some guy in a white shirt.  His name was Emeril La....something. I think he is a cook. Who knows what could happen to this guy with exposure like this.  Someday he might become famous, have his own cooking show, signature cookware, ....the works.  All because he was in the right place at the right time.  Now I know how Lady Di felt, not a moment to myself. 

Mardi Grab

Mardi Gras in a Tree

Our trip to New Orleans was great.  We had incredible food, surprise, surprise.  We ate at the Bon Ton Cafe, at Antoine's, PreJean's, Cafe Mes Amis, and August.  I gained three pounds....sigh.  Why is is so much easier to find pounds than it is to lose them?  I mean, I lose everything else.  Remember, I am on cell phone #8 in two years....Perhaps if I draw a picture of a phone on my hips?

The Ravens and the 49 ers were in town, ready for the Superbowl.  Raven fans were delighted with all of the Purple.  It almost looked like home to them.  Check out the Mardi Gras Tree.  This is something new to me and is quite delightful to see with the sun shining on the beads.  

We actually went down to New Orleans to join friends we made while in grad school lo' these many years ago.  I was amazed at how old those folks looked.  Oh, wait, that is I in those pictures.  I knew there was a reason I hated cameras...