Pittsburgh PA at last

I had a warm welcome coming into Pittsburgh, PA for the International Spring Quilt Market. Our flight was nice and even though it was no non-stop - we make a short stop in Chicago Midway to change planes - it seemed like a short but sweet flight.

We got in and went straight to the hotel to unload and then it was off to dinner Pittsburgh style. We ended up getting dropped off by our hotel at "The Incline". This is basically an old wooden trolley system that take you up the side of a cliff that runs along the "Three Rivers" that converge in Pittsburgh. This was a bit scarey for me as I'm afraid of heights but we made it up and it was a wonderful view of the city. Once at the top, we ate at Monterey Bay Grotto. This had to be the best seafood ever eaten. I had the lobster stuffed shrimp and bites of my friend Dian's crab cakes. WONDERFUL!!!!! It was definitely on the expensive side, but when works paying who cares, right?? The view was spectacular as well as the restaurant sat on the top floor of a high end apartment complex. NICE!!! I would definitely recommend this place if in Pittsburgh.

Wednesday was all about setting up the booth. We were so busy - no pictures of it really and the ones I took us us out the night before did not turn out well due to the darkness. I'll post them anyway. I only have my camera phone. My digital camera is out of commission thanks to my stupid lab Jack who chewed through the cord.

Today I will get pictures of the finished booth - including all the new patterns, fabrics, etc that are displayed. Over the next few days I will take some pictues of fabrics and patterns of others if they permit and get them posted. Tonight is sample spree - which basically is where 10,000 women come to buy our patterns in samples. In other words, this is there chance to buy single patterns instead of our regular minimums. This is a four hour mad house of flying patterns and cash. I can't even begin to guess how much money exchanges hands this night. It's where I spend all mine. I will be buying fabrics and patterns; vintage jewelry and more. Will post pics of these. I probably won't post more until Friday night because I won't be back to the hotel until after 11:00 pm tonight and since I'm starting at 8am I have a long day ahead. I'm definitely excited for today.

Bye for now!!!!

Fashionable Friday

So I'm going to start a new special Friday posting called Fashion Fridays. This post will contain new patterns, fabrics, or trends that I find online - sometimes I will include links to purchase said products (so lots of eBay and Etsy postings) - that I find interesting, beautiful or I just plain like.

I know it's Thursday, but I know I will be super busy tomorrow. I have two dresses and a top to make this weekend for the Quilt Market which I will leave for on Tuesday. I hope to post some exclusive pictures from the show in Pittsburgh - maybe even one with me in it!!! You might see new fabrics and designs that won't be available in stores until the Fall. It's a true sneak peek!!! Lucky you and lucky me. I love seeing all the new fabric lines, quilts and new patterns.

Okay so here's my pick for this Friday!



This fabric is from designer Amy Butler from her Belle line called Gothic Rose in Burgundy. It also comes in a beautiful turquoise. You can find it at lots of stores on eBay and Etsy.com so I didn't post a single link. Click here to view all of her Belle colors and fabrics. She is definitely one of my favorite designers of fabric for purses and clothing. While you're there check out Olive Lacework from her Lotus collection. I'm making Indygo Junctin's new pattern Audrey's Afternoon Dress out of this for the show. I'll definitely post pics of this one. I got the yardage for a steal on eBay.

Keep checking back this weekend for pics of the dresses and top I'm making for the show and next week for your exclusive pics from the International Quilt Market. Post some comments of what you'd like to see: new patterns, new fabrics, quilts, what's your request?

Later,
Cheryl

He's Growing Up Too Fast

So today was the day. Today was the day that I realized my little "baby" was not a baby anymore, but a boy, little boy still, but a growing up boy. As I dropped him off in before school care he ran over to the little group of boys building with blocks that he always hangs with and as I came over to give him the same hug and kiss I've given him for 6.5 years good-bye - he said, "Mom maybe just a hug in front of the other boys."

I was crushed! I took him aside and said Let me give you a kiss over here where they won't see. He didn't like it but humored me. It was hard enough when he switched from Mommy to Mom about a year ago, but NO KISSES IN FRONT OF THE OTHER KIDS!! Next thing you know I'll have to drop him off a block away from school.

Now I can deal with the gray hair and the added weight and the creaking bones, but now I'm baby isn't a baby anymore. Tonight he's getting the lecture that you're never too old to kiss your mother...even if we have to do it in the car before we go in!

Anything But Paper Swap and New Patterns Now Available

Okay after much debate and a phone call to my mom - of course - I finished my Anything but Paper ATC swap cards this morning. They are not exactly perfect but I did my best and they are made from my favorite Amy Butler fabric (which I used to make a great dress from the Dayshift Dress pattern from Indygo Junction - I'll post some pictures of that later).



They are simple, but I like that about them. I guess I never figured how hard it would be to be creative on a deadline or maybe it's because the "theme" was too broad for me. I think if the theme was more specific and not just a materials limit I would have been more inspired. I don't know but since I have the big International Quilt Market trade show coming up in a week or so I had to get them done like now. I have too much to do at work to get ready for the show - although no sewing has to be done this weekend.

I did buy some fabric - also Amy Butler - on ebay this week which I will be using to make a dress/tunic/top out of this week. It's going to be out of one of my new Indygo Junction patterns - which are now available for viewing at the website just click on New Arrivals from the home page. I just put them up on Friday. They are not available for purchase yet, but you can see them. I'm thinking of making either the Audrey's Afternoon Dress (if I have enough fabric) or the top for the Boudoir Basics (plain sleeve version) making it longer and chinching it with a belt!!

Anyway, Maggie's Blanket update - still working on the lap blanket that is full of my memories. It will be the first donated blanket. I hope to really get this going after the show - so probably early June. Again, please email me at cpinkman3@kc.rr.com if you are interested in donating yarn, yarn scraps or knit/crocheting for the cause.

Thanks,
Cheryl

Cherish those Traditions - And the People Behind Them

So this week the mother of one of my best friends died. She was 83 and he was the youngest of ten children. It really called to mind the importance of family and made me face the fact that we don't get to be with our loved ones forever. Peggy Wheeler was a great woman whom I only had the opportunity to meet a few times. I will always remember she was a great cook. She was a true matriarch of that family. It was so obvious that family meant everything to them - which has made it difficult this week for many people mourning her passing. Peggy reminded me of my grandmother - Maggie. She had that feisty attitude, she was proud and strong. My grandma was like that too. Well, that's how I remember her anyway. She told me on more than one occasion as a child I was "cruisin' for a bruisin'" and she always had things her way. She smoked til the day she died. But she was also sweet, accepting - sometimes too much so, sometimes family members seemed to do no wrong.

Grandma was very loving and she loved animals. Most of all I remember her telling me I was "special things" She told me I was her favorite...now let me assure you (especially those of you in my family) that I think she probably told this to more than one person. Every Christmas she would ask me "What'd I get you?" I knew she gave mom and dad money to buy my present so it really was a valid question - but it's still one of my favorite inside jokes in my family. She told me I had a handsome husband - she'd lean over and whisper in my ear...now your married to that handsome fellow right? She had a hard time remembering things near the end of her life. I didn't get to see her right before she died and I'm kind of glad because I get to remember her from all the other moments and not the sick ones, the Alzheimer's ones. I remember her just as she looks in the picture below.

I wanted to share a picture of grandma - Maggie - which btw is not what I called her - I always called her Grandma Woods (even after she was remarried). It's one of her last and is with a cat she loved that belonged to my aunt Ruth. I love this picture. Grandma - I miss you and I want you to know that I loved you and I will work very hard to make Maggie's Blankets into something you would be proud of.



If you want to learn more about Maggie's Blankets, please email me at cpinkman3@kc.rr.com I'm collecting donations of yarn scraps to create blankets for the needy. I won't be official starting my "campaign" until end of May because I'm so busy at work getting ready for the big International Quilt Market Trade Show in Pittsburgh, PA. Check out my previous posts for more details.

Thanks!

God Moves in Mysterious Ways

So I've started on my first Maggie's Blanket using the scraps I have. It's funny that my first instinct was to not use some because I remember what I had used them for - the one I used to make a blanket for my boss for Christmas, the scraps from the blanket I made for my sister's baby when he was born, the blanket I made for my friend's wedding...I kept wanting to keep them and not use them - they were too "good". I kept reminding myself that this is for those who have nothing - what am I keeping these pieces for. It was as if God was trying to tell me to let go of the past and more forward - He has a purpose for me and my skills.

I sewed all weekend to work on the new kid's PJs pattern we are coming out with. It's totally different to make something for fun and to make something for money. Didn't like that feeling of sewing because I had to. I also worked on my ATC card swap Anything but Paper. I made the background out of linen fabric scraps with melted crayon bits on them, then I stamped them and used some micro-beads to create an Earth. I'm not totally have happy with them. I'm thinking of trying something a little more fabric scrappy. Not sure. This is turning out to be harder than expected.

Please pass on the word that I'm looking for yarn scrap donations. If anyone is interested in participating or donating (yarn only!!), please email me cpinkman3@kc.rr.com or leave me a comment. The more yarn I can get my hands on the more blankets we can make. I have another person working with me to knit/crochet up scraps to make blankets for the needy. If you would like to make some blankets for donation, that would be great too. I should soon have a group selected and get more information on where the blankets will go.

Thanks so much for all the encouragement. Please also feel free to pray for this mission of Maggie's Blankets and any church participation is appreciated and encouraged. Thanks!!!

Starting a Charity - My Earth Day Work

So I've thought about doing this for years and since it's Earth Day I'm going to put this out there and see where it goes. I've always loved knitting and crocheting ever since my grandmother taught me. When you create something, just like in sewing you always end up with "scraps" of yarn - sometimes a lot and sometime a little - and like the fabric scraps I keep them all. I've always thought I'd figure out what to do with them.

I've finally figured it out - I'm going to knit or crochet them all together - whether they match or not - into blankets to donate to needy people. It's going into Spring and Summer here, but somewhere in the world people are cold and need a blanket. I know there are many people out there that have these scraps of yarn too! I want to put out the call to people to collect those scraps and hang on to them, stockpile them because I'm going to turn them into help for the ones who need it. I have the big trade show in mid May and will be way too busy to organize this until after that, but it's important to me to put these little scraps to good use.

I call this new (hopefully official non-profit group someday) Maggie's Blankets. Maggie was what many people called my grandmother - I never did, but I always loved hearing it - her name was actually Mary Magdalene. I have already collected many balls of yarn from my own projects, but I have also had many full balls of mismatched yarns from co-workers. I'm going to be working on my own blankets, but after the show i would love to coordinate a circle of women (and men!!) to knit or crochet blankets of all sizes, colors, and shapes to send to the needy. I'm going to contact my pastor at church because I know they work with mission groups around the world and might know of a specific need.

Maggie's Blankets are labors of love and it doesn't matter what colors or how many multi-colored and multi-textured yarns go into them. Warm is warm. This is for you Grandma - you taught me to be strong and use what I got - I'm going to do just that and pass it on. I miss her and I hope to keep her memory alive with this project. Won't you help me? Step 1 - collect that yarn and get others to do the same.

More to come. Please email me if you would like to get involved. Thanks!!!