OK so we went to
"Quilt Market" in mid-May and then a month got by us, just like that....
Quilt Market was exciting and frantic, as always. Melissa and I feel compelled to participate in Sample Spree, probably the craziest event ever. It makes Black Friday shopping look calm. I have to say for two girls that try very hard not to be aggressive and always be polite, we have learned that this event requires you to bring out the "fighten" side". Really tho, it's more that we know what to expect and we have a game plan. We stay focused and as hard as it is, we stand our ground.
Melissa and I both took classes. Melissa generally hits the marketing classes and this year I took the classes related to landscape quilting, photo quilting and memory quilting. I learned alot and this is an area I am going to explore. Ideally I should get experienced enough that at some point we will offer some classes to pass on what we know. We attended "schoolhouse" which are small quick sessions to introduce, new product, new authors, new pattern designers etc. Then we hit the market and put on more miles than you can imagine. Everyone from the quilting world is there and it is fun to see them as regular people and not faces in a magazine or on the television. We met alot of new people from some of our favorite states, Idaho, Utah and Nevada. We were wined and dined courtesy of the United Notions Company, more commonly referred to as Moda and when the weekend finally took it's toll, we loaded up and went out to the edge of the city and had dinner with the grand-parents.
June is half-way over and if that's the case then it means Melissa is running. Tomorrow she will again participate in the Gary Bjorkland Half-Marathon. This is the event she trains the hardest for and this year along with Deb and Jen, they will be joined by Melissa's mother-in-law, Julie. We will all be up there to cheer the ladies on but the big arguement is what time do we leave? If you have been to Duluth you know that the interstate is completely under construction. It is not pretty. Last year we also ran, not by choice. We barely made it to the finish line before the girls did. I don't want a repeat of that.
The photos show some of the projects we have going on here at Seams Like Home. The one that is just a note with web-addresses refers to my previous post. I put up a picture of those cute little dresses and then neglected to tell you about the project. The dresses are made from pillowcases and sent to countires where there is a need. Stop at the shop if you are close and we can give you a free pattern or look up the web addresses for information on what, when and where.
The "Circle of Life" wall-hanging is quick, simple and a great educational tool. I made one for my grand-daughter to give her teacher on the last day of school as a thank-you for a great year. My only wish is we had the fabric so I could have sent it the 1st day of school. So for those teachers in your life, that daycare that you trust with the best of your life or for your sewing room wall, stop in and pick up a kit. The fabric line is "Circle of Life" by South Sea Imports.
The super-cute flowers and crosses quilt is titled "Blossoms in the Breeze" by designer Linda Lum Debono. It is featured in the Feb. 2010 edition of American Patchwork and Quilting. We have kits here at the shop.
Final picture is from one of our new winter lines(yes, I know, I said winter). The fabric line is called Shivers and Company by Pearl Krush/Pearl Louis Designs.
June 25th marks the unveiling of what we have ordered for "Christmas in July". If you have been in recently you have seen the fabric case gift wrapped in the middle of the shop.
Upcoming is the "Sisters of Summer Sale" July 10th.
Quilt Minnesota July 30th through August15th.
Quilter's Yard Sale August 28th.
And then there's this: June 5th was the 33rd birthday of my son Mike. It is a hard day. At 9am I was in the chair of a Tattoo parlor. I made this appointment two months in advance and although they could have gotten me in earlier, it had to be that day. If you had asked my children the least likely person they knew that would ever get a tattoo, they would have said me. It was never about the pain for me it was more if you intend to mark yourself permanently the reason should be pure.
This is what I know: There is physical pain and there is pain of the heart, the head, the soul. The first does not remotely compare to the other. In the early days I remember my sister saying that in this country we don't mark ourselves to indicate we are grieving. She said there should be some outward sign. Something that when we looked at someone it would be apparent that their heart is broken. The buffalo and full moon that I had permanently etched into my hand represents Mike, his dreams, his courage. It also represents me, the broken me that needs this daily reminder that courage is a verb. It must be lived.
This is my sign.
Till next time!
