Meet the Quilter/Artist

Talk about feeling special. A local quilt shop, Hannah's Quilts and Crafts in Choudrant, LA, is having a "Meet the Artist" function, today. It is always a little embarrassing to have the focus placed on moi, but, I have to think, there are two kinds of embarrassing, good...and bad. This is a good one. Definitely good. My grin is still there.


Wanna see the chair I did last night? I still have to add the trim to the seat cushion, but, I cannot wait to share, so....whatchathink? And, be kind about the photography. Remember my photographer is out of town, ;-( Hmmmm. Let's see. Whose fabrics are those??? No hints (Timeless) of the company (Treasures) or the designer (Dianne), heh heh. (Springer)

"Treasured" Quilter

At least I feel like a treasured quilter. Timeless Treasures has a blog and today, I am the featured designer. How cool is that? Check this out http://sewtimeless.net/?p=75 and let me know what you think. I seem to be having a harder and harder time getting the smile off of my face. My cheek muscles are even getting sore. Wait, don't sore muscles mean they have been exercised? Doesn't exercise mean weight loss??? Double cool.

CBS SUNday Morning Quilt Business

My husband's favorite show on television is CBS Sunday Morning. He has been recording it for years hoping to watch all of the shows, eventually. The image used for transitioning from one segment of the show to another is a sun. Some of these images are reallllly cool, everything from sculptures to paintings, to photography. I contacted CBS. They told me that they get the sun images from every conceivable source. Sometimes the viewers send them in. Can you hear my head whirring with ideas? I had just recently gotten into quilting and, so, in honor of my husband, I got the idea to make a quilt square with a sun design incorporated into it. I sent the quilt square image to CBS and they wrote the nicest note, which follows:

From: Frank, Jessica A. [mailto:JAF@cbsnews.com]
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2007 3:24 PM
To: d.e.springer@att.net
Subject: Your sun art

Dear Ms. Springer,

Thanks so much for sending me the print of your sun quilt square. It's absolutely delightful, and definitely something that we might very well use at the end of one of our pieces. I've forwarded it on to our graphic artist, who will record it in our still store system. As you know, we are constantly looking for suns which complement the end of our pieces either visually or contextually, and yours could definitely do both.

I will try to let you know when and if we use your sun, although sometimes we choose the suns until right before we air. If that's the case, I'll be happy to send you a copy of the show.

Our sun collection grows larger and more varied every day, thanks to the talent and thoughtfulness of our viewers.

Thanks again for thinking of us.

Sincerely,

Jessica Frank

Sun Coordinator

CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood

As you can see from the date on that email, I submitted the block image four years ago. When I received the email, my first thought was, "Nice letter but they probably send a similar one to everyone who submits a sun design and it actually ends up in File 13." Well, to my surprise, they used the design almost immediately afterwards. To date, the quilt image has appeared on CBS Sunday Morning on at least a half dozen occasions that I, personally, have seen. What inspired today's blog -- it appeared, again, this morning!! What is amazing is that there is no contact from CBS, no advance notification, no credits, nada. Do I care? NOT. Am I amazed? surprised? delighted? honored??? duh. YESSSSSSSSSSSS.

Zippity-Do-Daisy Quilt Square

Are any of you aware of the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks? Well, I just submitted my block for the potential inclusion in the November issue. We will see if I need to thicken my skin for rejection, or, if I get the opportunity to make a fun announcement. So, just in case, I thought I would give you a peek at the block. Shhh. This just might be one of those secrets that I am supposed to keep. When in doubt, post it. By the way, anyone recognize the main fabric? Perhaps soon, many folks will be able to say, "Yes! it is Dianne Springer's fabric from Timeless Treasures. Brace yourselves, these shameless references to my fabrics are becoming more and more frequent and I sense there will be more in my future. Please bear with me.

(Does this look anything like the Mousepad Kits I am supposed to be assembling? Hmmmm. It is not really my fault. It was officially on my "ToDo" list and we all know what happens to those items....)

Quiltie Secrets

Dang, I cannot keep it straight--what is a secret? what is O.k. to tell? Just to keep it simple, I usually just tell....everything. Afterwards, when the ka ka hits the fan, I just say, "Oh. Sorry, I did not know that was a secret." Then, if you are a BFF, you forgive me. If not, you don't.

Don't you just hate the vagueness of this blog? It is because I am trying to keep secrets. I suck at it. I hate it. So I am going to stop talking and just show another picture (taken by D. James Dee of New York, by the way) of one of my products with my new fabrics in it. Thanks for stopping in to read about, basically, nothing...

More Quilt Fun

At least, fun for me. We are supposed to be assembling those kits that were ordered but, of course, I am playing on the computer, designing more fabrics. I must have at least 10 years of designs in the works--an how many are in print?? One? Thank goodness my daughter is a good worker. wink wink. How about more samples? Our kit: Hooked on a Quilt. Our Fabric: I Dream in Color. Your dreams can also come true--the kits are on my website (www.diannespringerdesigns.com ) and the fabrics are at your local quilt shop. If not, please spread the news !!

Promises of a Quilter

I am honestly trying to be good. I promised I would post more images of my samples that I made for Timeless Treasures. So, voila, here is a Quilt in a Cup as well as a Quilt on a Rack, both conveniently made using my new fabrics from Timeless Treasures. Aren't you impressed? Even if you are not, just say, "Yes," and you, too, can become one of my BFF's. The rewards are endless. ;-)

Busy Busy Quilting, Really

I actually have gotten some sewing in lately. The clock was made using, of course, one of my kits and my new fabric from Timeless Treasures!! Woo Woo. In the next few days I am going to publish several items that I made using my kits and fabrics. These were all sent to New York to be "officially" photographed by D. James Dee.

The second image was photographed by D. Springer, me. It is a quilt block that I designed for Fairfield using their wonderful batting, my fabrics and, again, one of our kits, the Quilt on a Roll. Now to go write the directions, yuck. I keep thinking of high school and term papers......

By the way, this blog is the closest I have come in a while to "shameless hints" aimed at my business and my products. Does this mean I will have a huge spike in orders, that I will have to hire new help, and perhaps move to a larger building? One can only dream.......

This Quilter is Bizzzzzie

Hi Guys. Just a quick "hello." Need I remind anyone, it is the weekend. My weekends are always BUSY. My husband works out of town during the week....need I say more? Gotta go, busy, very busy...night night. Oh, is it still daylight? who cares. like I said, busy.

A Day in the Life of.....

Well, to be honest, this day is kinda boring. It is absolutely GORGEOUS outside and here I am inside. It is actually, a good thing. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, we have gotten the largest order we have ever had, to date. In fact, I called the company and asked if there was a typo. To our delight, it was legit. So, we are working madly trying to get this order in the mail so we can then head to see my Mother who fell last month and broke her femur. Why she cannot break her hip like all the other old people, I do not know. No-o-o. She cuts to the chase and breaks the largest bone in her little body, for the second time, I might add...Both times it has required surgery to put pins in. All of her local haunts are asking about her. She loves to shop and they love to see her coming...

Changing subjects as abruptly as a person can--do you ever watch "Criminal Minds?" OHMYGOSH, is there a better looking human being on the face of this earth than "Morgan?????" I hope his parents patented their genes and did this earth a favor by having more than one child. I mean, I do believe in being reasonable with the number of people brought onto this planet, but, I begin to question that when I look at this man. Can there ever be too many who look like that?????????????????? Sigh.

The Missing Quilter

Nah, I am not really missing. I am just missing the mark when it comes to writing on my blog. The last time I wrote, I mentioned that we, meaning my daughter, Brandy, and I, were leaving early, early in the a.m. for the Dallas Quilt Show. Well, to begin with, we did not go to bed at all on Wednesday night. We worked all night and finally drove out of the driveway around 6:30 in the morning. The intention of stopping by her house on the way turned out to be a bad idea since we were already departing an hour later than we had envisioned, so we continued straight to the Big State. Everything went pretty smoothly as we drove into Dallas. That might be the problem....everything went pretty, um, pretty, um....smoooothly? Those must be words straight out of the "Never-and-I-Mean-Never-Say-or-Even-THINK" book. You guessed it. For some reason, speeding down I-35, I (Finally??) glanced down at the gas gauge. HOLY COW, we need gas!! Brandy said, "Don't worry, Mom, I have several miles of reserve when my gauge says empty."

"Honey, we are so far past reserve, past empty, past the light, we are talking fumes!!! Hit the GPS, hit FUEL. Oops, we are not in the proper lane, for the gas exit....quick, take the next exit....nada....no gas stations in sight...Right in the middle of downtown Dallas, we ran completely out of gas. I hopped out of the car to let folks in line behind me know that we were not going, anywhere. What luck! The guy immediately behind us? a policeman. He was very helpful, called for someone to bring gas, and stayed with us until that help arrived. He also said, "You know, you have me worried. As I got to work, the light on my car came on. The first thing I am going to do when I get off work is go to the gas station." See what a helpful person I am???? I very likely kept that policeman from running out of gas. I am here to serve.....

P.S. See the pretty picture? What on earth is she doing?????

Quilters on the Road, Again

It is definitely that time of year. Quilt Shows, everywhere. We are heading for Dallas very, very, very early in the morning tomorrow. We have at least three days of stuff on our "list" to do before we leave. I am presently doing none of them.....

To complicate matters, we just got the largest single order we have ever gotten and are busily trying to get parts ordered so they will be here when we return so, we can then, cut, print, fold, package and ship in a timely manner, like, when the customer needs it?!

I hope to see you in Dallas. If not there, at any of the other shows throughout the year. We are trying to get into the Road to California show as well as the Puyallup show so if you have any personal, business, or any other connections to these shows, please HEEELLLP. Foreverly appreciative, in advance, or any other time. Dianne

Hey Girlfriends, a.k.a, "Quilters"

Check this out !!! ( http://www.ttfabrics.com/cgi-bin/fabricshop/designer.cgi?designer=63 ) How exciting. I am "official." That is my story and I am stickin' to it. Why-oh-why did I not discover the "world of Quilting" earlier in my life? I have no idea but, better late than....well, you know. My cheeks are getting sore from smiling. Is that a bad thing?

Heritage Quilt Guild

There is the sweetest guild in Jonesboro, LA, called the Heritage Quilt Guild. They were kind enough to ask me to do a Show-and-Tell, yesterday. The best part? I got to see their show and tells. What lovely quilts, what delightful, fun gals. Thanks to all who were there. Thanks for letting me share in your quilting fun.

Today was Primp Day. My daughter and I got haircuts and manicures. Talk about feeling decadent...sit in a chair, head back, get shampooed without moving a finger....LOVE it. Then, stick your hand out and get it back all polished and pretty. LOVE that, too. Hmmm. what else can I do in the way of self-indulgence??? I got it....go sew. Hugs and thanks for the support of checking in. I have not said that in a while, but I still think it every day.

Exhausted, Not so very Cleansed, Quilter

Much to my chagrin, I am admitting I am exhausted. I do not like to admit frailties for some silly reason. Like I am not human??? Like I am not friggin' old???? We, meaning my daughter and I, drove to Shreveport, yet again, to meet with the builder and a realtor. The builder, Mathie, is the wonderful guy who we contracted with to build Brandy's home five years ago and he still comes to help out with sticky doors and other minor complaints. How incredible is that? and he does not charge anything. And, we get hugs.

In the meantime, we spent the rest of the day doing more cleaning, packing, and driving and unpacking and loading stuff in the attic....so ready for this to be over! ready for the house to be sold. To make matters worse, we will be losing $$ on this ordeal making me a not-very-happy-camper.

On a lighter note, speaking of human frailties....I actually have an abundance of them. How about a little proof? lets discuss "stupidity!"

The other day my daughter showed me several items she had ordered. She must have been feeling chubby that day because most were bottles of herbs that had to do with weight loss. At least one of the other bottles contained herbs for "colon cleansing." Fun stuff. I am looking at these guys and thinking, "Everyone can probably use a good cleansing now and then. Why not? The instructions said take three to five capsules. Like a good girl, I decided less was more, so I took three. Hmmm. I did not notice anything remarkable the next day so I took four on day two. Again, not what I would consider a "sparkly day" in that department. So, on day three, I decided, go for broke, take the five! I reached down into my overnight bag, grabbed the white bottle and sucked down five of those guys. Now, do not ask why, because I have no answer for it, only afterwards did I reach for my glasses, thinking, "exactly what is in these pills, anyway?" I start reading. First, the directions. "1. Do not take later than FIVE hours before bedtime. (It was midnight!!) "2. Each of these capsules contains the equivalent of three cups of caffeinated coffee. " I had just sucked down FIVE of these time bombs. Now, I not only do not drink coffee, EVER, I avoid most things that even look like they contain caffeine because I have very serious issues with RLS. (Chocolate does not count, by the way -- BFF's do not remind other BFF's of the myth about caffeine being in chocolate)

Turn the bottle over. CRAP. This was one of the bottles of weight loss pills!!!!. Needless to say, I did not have the most restful of evenings, UNDERSTATEMENT. Not only that, I felt like crap, without much cr###pping" allll day the next day. And, NO, I am still not cleansed, and will probably never be cleansed, or desire to be cleansed. In fact, the very word "Cleansed" will very likely go only my list of "four-letter-words-that-should-not-be-used-in-polite-society".....need I say, Stupid, again?