Going to take a shot at loading another video.....

this one is definitely of the home video variety - I tripped over the new tiles that J.P. put in front of my frame so that I could reach the quilt (vertically challenged is all I can say!).  Then just as it was about to reach Hollywood epic status - the battery gave out.

So that appears to be taking a while, so in other news...

The last few weeks have been a little crazy and not much quilting has been done by me - but I think it is all beginning to settle down now.  The lovely Lindsay has wheels and time to do stuff for me - there is a brief video on the website to show how the PQ3000 frame works.  It's a fine line to draw with regards to putting up enough for everyone to see how it works and putting up too much for someone rascally enough to try to make a copy!  But I think I am getting a little more confident about making videos (I feel like such a ham!) so the video today was just a little practice to get more comfortable.  Still need to deal with the squeaky voice - does anyone else hate the sound of their own voice?

The kennel is beginning to come together.  The new drying cages arrive tomorrow and the old ones are moved, cleaned and out of the way.  The floor got a severe scrubbing and we are ready for the new stuff.

The landscaping is looking better and the sprinkler issues will be resolved on Thursday.  Both wells got fixed in the last week - rats had chewed through the wiring at the house and a part got jammed at the kennel - oh boy, well fixes are expensive, but at least neither was a pump problem.

J.P. is going to school, which makes us all students.  I started a course in 'Oracle' database software with the engineer and it is fun to be learning again.  I will still consider a degree in Accountancy (I would love to do Forensic Accounting) but time is the issue, especially with the possibility of putting a book together - watch this space, I will let you know how that goes!

The video is still uploading, so you will have to put up with more chatter!  Hah!

Uh, oh, now it's 'Processing Video' - we could be close......

Or maybe it will 'process' as long as it took to 'upload'?

Ok - done - I will get better at making videos, but don't you love the simplicity and clarity of digital and video cameras these days!

Back from Grand Rapids, Michigan....

you can probably tell that I am English because I am not 100% sure about the state abbreviations, so I have to put in the whole state name. 

We had a great time - and many, many thanks to J.P.'s family for their hospitality and kindness.  Without you all the show would not have been the success that it was - and it was a success.

Sometimes, coming back from a show is a real let down.  There has been so much energy surrounding the whole process, meeting customers, meeting major contacts, being upbeat and excited and keeping it up all day for 9 hours.  So getting home after a 14 hour journey the whole thing falls flat as exhaustion sets in and energy dissipates.

But I look back after a few days of rest and reflection and it was a great show.  We met so many wonderful people and they were so excited about the PQ3000 frame. 

And now it is time to expand on all the wonderful things that happened at the show.  There are PQ3000 frames that need to be shipped and one that will get delivered to Florida (FL - got that one!) on my way to visit my aunt.  Then there are the new patterns to design and write and the class portfolio to get together - so much to do but all of it exciting.  Also a number of PQ3000 videos to make, so I will endeavor to post them here as well as on the website once they are done.  My lovely assistant Lindsay and I will discuss the schedule tomorrow since her role in life has changed dramatically in the last couple of weeks.  She became the new kennel manager, but we are trying to work out time with a new girl (who seems to be doing well) so that Lindsay and I can still get together a few hours a week to get PQ3000 stuff done. 

So I am tired, well travelled, a little jaded, somewhat motivated and ready to get started on the next phase.  Once again I will attempt to blog on a more regular basis and get more pictures and stuff together.

So finally for tonight - I.D., your SID is ongoing (and ongoing, and ongoing....) and will take a while, but I am at least half way through that part.  But who knows how long the next part will take - watch this space.....

Tomorrow may not sparkle, but here's hoping for at least a twinkle!!!

Can I post a video?

let see......

This is a link to a website or video etc.

Ok - I think that works.

Then one of my videos:

 

Well that seems to be taking a very long time - but I'm sure it will be worth the wait.  Probably time to pour a glass of wine.  But at least I can type some more words while it is uploading.  It really is time to make some more videos to add to the PQ3000 education and support.  And I would also like to start the mystery quilt on a video.

 

Still uploading - wow!  May have to go read a book for a while......

 

 

 

 

Getting very excited about the show in Grand Rapids.......

and of course I am not ready yet.  Started (yes, started) work today in the small English Paper Piecing patterns to kit up for the show.  It's a fun project - I love E.P.P.- there is so much more to it than Grandmother's Flower Garden, although everyone has to at least make one flower for a GFG even if they give up after that!

I was going to give you lots of pictures to show you what it is going to be, but then I got mischievous and decided to tease this out for a while.  So the question is - did I go with this layout for this block??

 

Apparently not.......

 

 

 So this is the chaos on my cutting table today.  Little bits of fabric and paper everywhere.  It may be a late night tonight because there is a bunch of basting to do for the blocks but hopefully in the next two days I should have the finished kit.

 

 

So Caper has had a wonderful day - climbed onto the garbage cart and tore open a trash bag, got herself left out in the rain and needed toweling dry, ate the towel after it was laid down for her, chased a lizard, chased a bird, chased a rabbit, barked at the UPS guy, slept like a baby, destroyed another soft toy, chewed on her bone, ate some thread, ate some fabric pieces, chewed on a pin (oh boy!) and just had a really good time.  I had forgotten how much aggravation, delight and pure joy it is to be around a young dog!  But she is learning fast and today was taught not to cross the boundary of the studio door that opens to the road.  I don't trust it to be foolproof yet, but she did well.

 

I do have a slight head cold but, hopefully, it will have worn off by the time we leave for Grand Rapids.  I am also very excited that 'Ooodles of Sensations' has been accepted at the show so we can go see it hanging there!  I have decided that when she gets back home after the show I am going to put crystals on the back of the quilt (this was the quilt that got a Merit Award in the Asheville Show for 'Best Back').  So why not highlight that?  Since there are already crystals on the front I think that will really make it twinkle.

 

So I have a number of projects that I want to muse over and contemplate while we are travelling.  I have the 22 fabric quilt to design to use up a stash of fabric, the 'Bed Quilt Hanging' which has been in my head for over three years, the next series of patterns which will be six 'stash buster' quilt designs and two more English Paper Piecing designs.  J.P. will have to take notes at a furious pace to keep up - still it's a fourteen hour drive - we should get it done!

I will let you know when we are packed up and ready to leave - the kennel is doing well under a new captain and there are a lot of good ideas floating around ready to be implemented.  It's so good to be excited about that area again! 

My new close out line again - tomorrow sparkles with possibilities - so to sleep until it dawns.

Pictures and gratitude......

I have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and positive feelings from everyone following the changes made at the kennel.  I feel that I should apologize for taking so long to deal with the issues and make life easier for the girls that work for me - there were many references to communication during today and I hope that we can all keep that up and support each other.

So - moving on to much better places - things are looking up.  In the studio we finished piecing the quilt for the magazine and loaded it for quilting.  Other projects also were finished and we are on track with almost everything.  Caper loves being in the studio and is getting much better at greeting customers instead of eating them!

 

So here is the latest custom project.  Miss I.D. knows who she is and what this is all about.  I loaded it on Nora today and started work.  These are 4 3/4" log cabin blocks, so the strips are miniscule. 

 

 

See the little, tiny strips.......

 

See that the ruler is measuring the block at about 4 3/4" there on the left....

 

And see how many blocks there are - twelve across and I don't even want to count how many going down.  But on the plus side, the grass got cut!

 

I know I mentioned that the landscaper had a stroke and, really!, he was out there about two weeks later and mowing the grass on a riding mover and weed whacking the edges.  But it looks so good now.

 

 

This is the new design/blocking wall and R.H. is coming next week to use the wall to block her latest show quilt.  Very excited.

 

 

J.P. is still working on the Cathedral Windows quilt and has about 15 little squares left.  Since it takes about 15 minutes for each one she still has four hours of stitching left to do - but she has done a wonderful job of matching the work that the original sewer did - no one will ever know that the final work was done by J.P. - always the plan!

 

 

Fabulous.......

 

Just thought I would revisit the giant GFG which needs to be finished - two squares done and a few more to do....

 

And to finish tonight - very exciting news - the entry for the Hoffman Challenge has been accepted to travel, so will be out on the road across the country for the next fourteen months or so - a real result after the failure of last year.  Live and Learn!!

 

So for tonight I am thankful for my staff, happy with where I am with quilts and ready for bed.  I had a wonderful conversation with my son today and all is well with his world - not much more that a mother could wish. 

 

Sleep well and tomorrow sparkles with possibilities.

I have no pictures.....

but lots to talk about.  Caper is doing well and has relaxed enough to show a somewhat mischievous side.  More training I feel!  Still, she is truly delightful and we are getting closer every day.

I have been running, but I have a way to go - I am sad that I have let things slide so much, so I need to get back in control of losing weight and running.  Even though so much has been sorted out life still has a way of sabotaging things.  

There have been some changes at the kennel and that can only be a good thing.  And that sort of thing makes you feel that everything should be looked at and addressed.  And that also makes me feel that I neeed to address all area of my life.  I really hope that things can turn around and improve.  I believe in the people in my life who care enough to make it work.

So I am left with my personal life.  I believe there are two kinds of people in life - those that are happy alone and those that have to be with another.  I am the one that has to be with another - John and I were married for almost nineteen years when he died (and would have been married 23 years next week).  I loved it - and I know that he did too.  

We had a truly special relationship, as do any happily married couple.  I miss it, I long for it, and I will search for it again.  And I will never settle for anything less than the perfection of a beautiful partnership.  I will be alone rather than settle for less than the joy that I had with John.  Finally I understand why my lovely aunt never loved again after twenty years.  

This post is hard. I miss my partner so much.  It's my birthday and our wedding anniversary in the next two weeks.  Never marry near an important date!   I'm done.........