Wednesday, November 28, 2012

My Favorite Place to Visit

So, I got to visit my favoritest place on Tuesday....Hoffman Fabrics!!! They had huge rolls of fabrics straight from Bali, stacked on palettes ready to be wound onto bolts and shipped out to shops. There were so many options it was a bit overwhelming!

I met with my rep to pick out new fabrics fom the Fall Market groups, and I am super excited about them!  The colors are so crisp this year, with new yellows and blues that are bold and bright! Can't wait to sew! In the meantime, new designs are swirling in my head!

I've been beavering on with my compass, and it is finally almost finished, 3-4 more hours and I will be complete!!!  Hopefully we'll have decent weather this weekend and will get some good pics!

Happy sewing!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Website Sale

Well it's that time of year -- Cyber Monday!!!! And I will be doing my first ever sale on the website (so if it has any issues, email me at catherine@queeniequilts.com).

The details.....www.queeniequilts.bigcartel.com

10% off of anything in the store.....from midnight tonight (Sunday night/Monday Morning) until midnight tomorrow (Monday night/Tuesday morning).....I just uploaded some new stuff...so check it out....just use the code MONDAY2012 to take advantage of the sale.

Brown Sugar...

 Rum Raisin....

 
 Tiarmisu....



Happy Quilting.

The Sweat Shop

So, have you ever had that list of things that HAD to be done? That list with way too many items on it? And impending deadlines? On a Holiday weekend? And the last thing that you wanted to do was work? Well, that was me this weekend, and what I affectionately call the sweat shop. The petal to the metal sewing like crazy, while running errands, doing laundry and attempting to get all of my chaotic life under control all at once (what was I thinking?). Seriously, it was that weekend. Really, all I WANTED to do was eat, hang out, eat some more, avoid the football madness on TV, just a snack this time, avoid the mall (and Walmart/target/best buy), and maybe catch a showing of twilight. I was ready for a relaxing weekend, and yet I found myself in that inspired place, where you can literally get a million things done -- somehow. Affectionately termed the sweat shop. So in sweat shop fashion (with a little quilt OCD thrown in just for fun)......I.....

*finished arcs for my Forever Yours tablerunner. All of them. All 6 sets. Seriously excited about working on this one more this week. This is made out of the V&Co. line -- super modern printed cotton from Moda. Not my usual style, but the gray prints really spoke to me.  Loving it!!!

*did 6 loads of laundry -- all the tablecloths, curtains (shower and otherwise), in addition to the regular laundry.

*assembled and organized a new secretary (SO CUTE!!!). I really should have taken an interior pic, since I spent most of my time on that part -- but alas, I forgot!


*bought supplies at Staples (ok, so perhaps I didn't actually NEED them, but they were so cute, and necessary?). Yes, it is a sickness, but I don't want the cure, I love me some school supplies.

*sewed all of the rows on my 3 Ducks in a Row. Super bright! Love it! Now just need to sew the rows together and add the borders and it is ready to go!


*worked on my second Mariner's Compass (finally got papers). It is working out okay -- I'm not crazy about it yet, but we'll see. In this pic the pieces look red, in real life, they are shades of pink. Hot pink, but pink.


*uploaded new fabrics into the shop that came in last week (seriously, why did I get new fabrics the week of THANKSGIVING). What was I thinking? On a separate note, the new Bali Pops are fabulous. Tiramisu might be my favorite -- and completely out of my comfort zone, so we'll have to see what happens.

*Finished the placemats for my Cappuccino Party for 4 (the tablerunner has been done for months). These are all now basted and ready for me to get brave and quilt them. Myself. On my domestic machine. This totally scares me, but I need to get out of my comfort zone. Plus, I have had the walking foot for 6+ months and it is still in the box, and has started to mock me every time I open the drawer.




*ordered new stuff for the shop from Moda (yes, I ordered from Moda, strange isn't it), Robert Kauffman, Hoffman, Island Batiks, Judy Niemeyer, Thimbleblossoms, and CWI. My own little mini-market, at the house, in my pjs.

*Finished piecing Mini-Stars, and prepped it for quilting on my domestic machine, see note above. Perhaps I will do this one first, it seems more forgiving.


*Generally got life in order for the week -- you know, regular cleaning, picking outfits for the week, checking the schedule so I don't have an EMERGENCY POT LUCK. Yes, I had an emergency pot luck last week at work, because I completely forgot about it until I arrived at work. Thanks Pinterest for saving my life!!!!

So, that's the extent of the weekend....though I did manage to have a massive amount of turkey, dressing, cranberries, and pumpkin crumble at Shawn's on Thursday and saw Twilight on Friday night with the girls, so all in all, a productive and fun Sweat Shop Weekend.

Happy Quilting!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Things to be Thankful For

This time of year there are so many things to be thankful for! I am reminded of friends and family who I won't get a chance to see (the joy of living SO far from home), and those that I see every day. The guides, mentors, and challengers that make us into the people that we are. The new and amazing experiences that this year has brought, and the challenges that make us stronger individuals. In some ways I am as thankful for those that have challenged me this year, as for those that have supported me whole heart-edly.This is that time of year when I always begin reflecting on EVERYTHING, because, well that's just part of my over-thinking self.

I always find this a great time to look back on the business and where it was this time of year and where it is going....it's kind of that time where I start formulating the plans for next year...the shows I want to do, the patterns I want to make, the patterns I want to write, and finally my word of the year. It's funny that a simple word can influence so much.....and the importance of choosing wisely always weights on me for a couple of weeks before I choose.

Any suggestions???

Monday, November 19, 2012

Today I have.....

*had my heart broken. A good friend of mine lost her daughter last week, and she was laid to rest today. I can't help thinking how unfair it is. I know God has his reasons and all that, but I don't find that particularly comforting at the moment.

As a result, I've been working very hard to keep myself busy so as not to dwell.....which interestingly enough means I got more done that usual.

*managed to get to 3:00pm before I realized I hadn't had any lunch.

*inventoried a rather large order from Hoffman -- new Bali Pops, Snaps and Crackers. I will update these into the store shortly!

*interviewed several candidates for an open position.

*signed off on plans for a new building.

*prepped a few to many project kick-off meetings.

*not spoken to my mother. I tried, several times, but alas, I got her answering machine.

and tonight,

*I have a few meetings.
*I need to sew. In that strange place where sewing is not a joy, or an impulse, but a need. I think I need to sew up my broken heart.