A Mystery . . .

It was a dark and stormy night, lightning split the air  as the thunder rolled, rain slashed, wind howled and  the body lay face down . . . . .


Don't you love a good mystery?  Reading is another of my favorite pastimes.  I love to curl up somewhere with a good book & I have a hard time falling asleep at night if I don't have anything to read.  Mysteries are a favorite but I like a good smut book too.  My friend Betsey refers to them as beach reads, since we used to read them at the beach, I think the publishing industry calls them something like more dignified like contemporary romance.  I'll pretty much read anything except Science Fiction and stories where the woman lead is a wuss will make me put a book down without ever finishing it. (don't you just want to smack women in books who can't make up their mind?  Get on with it already!).  

Right before Christmas I loaded up on mysteries.  One is a series about a knitting shop on Cape Ann where I grew up.  I like the references to places I know and the whodunits are pretty good too.  





Another was the first in a new (for me) series about a quilt shop in northern NY.  I liked the first one and will be buying others in the series.  (Although I had a moment where I wanted to smack the main character.)


And the third one was about a stitchery shop in Washington state.  I like to stitch, like mysteries, why not?   (Although if the owner of that shop doesn't get more customers, she'll be going out of business soon - I know I don't have as much time in my shop to sew as she does to stitch!)  I'll be waiting for the second one in this series to come out.


So I am eagerly awaiting the new online quilting mystery "Quilting Is Murder".  I was really excited when asked to be one of the Killer Shops! And even more excited when I discovered two of these authors will be posting on the QIM blog!   Three more days and the mystery will start and YOU can be a detective!

Who Dunnit?

You can join in the fun by reading along and becoming a Quilt Detective. As each mini-series unfolds in weekly chapters, you can collect clues and register to win quilting prizes. We have 15 "Killer Shops" all wondering who the killer is. They'll be furiously blogging and posting on facebook to keep everyone in the loop. Watch their posts and read the clues: they are also offering special deals to our quilting detectives!

At the end of the series, we'll be awarding some of our lucky Quilt Detectives Drop Dead prizes. Take a peek at our "Deadly" Sponsors here.

Finally, we've recruited some of the quilting industry's most popular personalities to help find the killer – follow along on our Facebook page and our Blog to see what they have to say.

Will you be one of our Detectives?

Click here to sign up!

Till next time.

Christmas Eve

I think this is one of my favorite times of this holiday season - Christmas Eve morning.  The craziness, noise, hurrying here and there will start soon but right now - dare I even write it? - it's quiet.  Cookies are baked, kitchen is clean, presents are wrapped  and there's five minutes to sit down and enjoy the peace.


Soon the kids will start to arrive with all their presents, noise and cheer.  Sir Nathan will arrive with all his various paraphernalia, noise and absolute glee.  Then there will be no time to sit and count blessings, I'll be too busy enjoying them.


My wish for all of you is that you are surrounded by the noise, the confusion, the cheer, the glee and the joy of family & friends.  And also that sometime during the next hectic week or so, you'll find time to sit, enjoy the peace and count your blessings too.


Merry Christmas.

Book Give Away!

Time for another book give away!  Leave a comment here on the blog before December 31st & we'll randomly pick three people to send this book to!


Book includes three quilt patterns, pillows, duvet cover, table runner and more! Projects can be made from  cotton or flannel. 

Goodies for NJ Soldiers

Jim & I traveled up to the Armory in Toms River this morning to drop off a carload of goodies to the Support Arms group.  In the car were 50 grocery bags of goodies!














We drove behind the Armory to a pretty blah building that totally disguised the beehive of activity within.

A large group of volunteers were sorting donations into boxes on assembly lines.















The bags we brought were quickly emptied and sorted.

Jim schlepped while I took pictures.

It's a pretty organized production!

And here are donations boxed, shrink wrapped and ready to go.  I'll put a bet QP's donations were boxed & ready to go by the time the group left about 1pm!

I'd like to thank everyone who donated to our NJ Soldiers Collection this year.  There was a woman who sold her handmade items, took the money (about $300) and went to the grocery store where she purchased 25 bags of items to donate.  Someone else sent a box full of travel toiletries. And still more of you dropped of an item or two.  You all did a great job and I thank each and every one of you!  The generosity of quilters is amazing!

I'd also like to thank the volunteers at the American Military Recreation Services organization for donating their time and skills to send a little bit of home to soldiers overseas.  You can still donate to this fine organization, they're at the Toms River Armory Tuesdays from about 8:30 till 1.  Or you can donate monetarily by going to their website for instructions www.supportarms.org

Till next time

December 1st!

Let the count down begin!  The passing of time quickens everyday it gets closer to Christmas.  I feel like I should get that Hallmark ornament that counts down the days, hours, minutes and seconds till Christmas Day.  I haven't shopped hardly at all, my kids haven't given me their wish lists and Sir Nathan doesn't need a thing.  Hmmm, that sounds grinchy doesn't it?

I have been working on the schedule for the shop and the calendar is pretty much set through the end of March. Fern and Lori are going to put some classes in there but my part is done.  Phew!  Here's a few things we have going on in December.

December 10, 11 & 12th is PIN IT TO A GUY weekend!  Pin your wish list to your guy/child/friend and send them to QP to shop!  Free gift wrapping for them this weekend!

Twelve Days of Christmas   Celebration! 

Each day we are open from the 7th to the 19th, we''ll be running a special deal on SOMETHING!  You''ll need to check our Facebook page or click the Santa on the front page of our website - the same one you see to the left.   We can ship your purchases or hold them in the shop until the 19th for one pickup or shipment!  Just let us know when you order.  Everyday will be a surprise deal - we don''t even know what we''re going to do yet but we know it will be great! 

We'll also have a display of pre-wrapped gifts going up soon too!

Don't forget to fill out your wish list when you're in the shop.  We keep it in the computer and then when your gift wanting relatives or friends come in, we look and see what exactly is your heart's desire!  

So it seems like I have the shop covered, I guess I'd better get going on the home stuff!

Till next time.

A Weekend of Blessings

Tomorrow is our last day to take donations for the NJ soldiers and for the woman's shelter.  Our baskets for the soldiers are overflowing and the panties, well let's just say the donations are getting there!  We're hoping for more tomorrow.

Twenty five bags of goodies in the trunk of my car!

We've been collecting non perishables and other things off the ARMS wish list for a couple of weeks and today had our biggest donation yet.  A woman called and wanted to know if she could drop off 25 bags of donations today?  Could she?  Was she kidding?  OF COURSE she could.  She came while I was doing a class so I didn't get to see who it was, hopefully Debbie or Holli got her name!, but she told Jim that she'd had a fundraiser and had taken the money, gone to ShopRite and purchased 25 bags of goodies with it.  That is truly amazing.  

Two baskets overflow by the cutting table.

Here are the baskets full of more stuff waiting to be donated on Tues.  

Pantie Raid donations as of Friday night

This is the Pantie Raid basket on Friday night when we closed.  It was a bit more full when we closed today (Saturday).  The fat quarters behind the basket are waiting to go home with donors.  Stop in tomorrow!

We thank each and everyone of you who have donated to the ARMS effort for NJ soldiers and also to the Pantie Raid for Dottie's House.  We appreciate your thoughtfulness and caring for those in need.

Till next time.

It's A RAID! Drop Em!

A pantie raid that is! And you can drop the panties off at the shop! 12 quilt shops across the US counted their blessings and decided to give thanks for their bounty by sharing with others.  Starting today, Nov 23rd through Sunday, November 28th, everyone who brings in a package of women's or children's underwear will be able to a fat quarter from a special group brought in just for this!  Each shop chose a organization dedicated to helping women and we chose Dottie's House www.dottieshouse.org.    I'll post pictures of the pile as it grows over the weekend on our Facebook page.  Click here to see. 

If you live somewhere else, here's the list of stores where you can drop your panties!

Batiks Etc and Sew What Fabrics ... Wytheville VA

Sweet Home Quilt Shop ... Conyers GA

The Quilted Kitty ... Lincoln NE

Rosebud Cottage . . . . White Bear Lake, MN

Wish Upon a Quilt ... Raleigh NC

Keepsake Cottage Fabrics ... Bothell WA

Kelly Ann's Quilting ... Warrenton VA

Cotton Patch Quilt Shop ... University Park Fl

Log Cabin Quilt Shop ... La Vista NE

Shiisa Quilts ... Bloomington IN

Clever Quilter ... Newfield NY

We all have so much to be thankful for, let's spread some of that bounty around.

Happy Thanksgiving!  We at Quilting Possibilities wish this holiday finds you surrounded by your blessings.

Till next time.

It's A RAID! Drop Em!

A pantie raid that is - and you can drop packages of new panties off at the shop! 


12 quilt shops across the US counted their blessings and want to give thanks by sharing with others.  Starting today, Nov 23rd through Sunday, November 28th, everyone who brings in a package of women's or children's underwear will be able to choose a fat quarter from a special group brought in just for this! 


Each shop chose a organization dedicated to helping women and we chose Dottie's House www.dottieshouse.org.    I'll post pictures of our pile as it grows over the weekend on our Facebook page.  Click here to see. 


Can't make it into the shop this weekend?  You can donate online by clicking here.

If you live somewhere else, here's the list of stores where you can drop your panties!

Batiks Etc and Sew What Fabrics ... Wytheville VA

Sweet Home Quilt Shop ... Conyers GA

The Quilted Kitty ... Lincoln NE

Rosebud Cottage . . .White Bear Lake, MN

Wish Upon a Quilt ... Raleigh NC

Keepsake Cottage Fabrics ... Bothell WA

Kelly Ann's Quilting ... Warrenton VA

Cotton Patch Quilt Shop ... University Park Fl

Log Cabin Quilt Shop ... La Vista NE

Shiisa Quilts ... Bloomington IN

Clever Quilter ... Newfield NY

We all have so much to be thankful for, let's spread some of that bounty around.


Happy Thanksgiving!  We at Quilting Possibilities wish this holiday finds you surrounded by your blessings.


Till next time.

Time To Count Blessings

Thanksgiving is a time when people can be cynical and say it's all about food and football, and that could be true if you just look at the surface of things.  I love this time of year, I love the colors, the holiday with it's food, (ok, I tolerate the football) but my favorite part is the meal, not just the food but also the people sitting around the table. I'm a lucky parent in that my kids have turned into people I like and am blessed that they feel the same.  So they'll all haul home for Thanksgiving again this year, the boys and the Steph(f)anies from PA and Sara, Brian and Nathan from here in town.

Thanksgiving at my house is rarely a dignified affair, shirts and shoes at the table is a rule for any meal, but a little more dressy is appreciated, no ties or dresses required, no linen tablecloth and just the usual cloth napkins.  I tried using the good china one year but the middle one told his girlfriend I'd kill anyone who broke a piece & everyone was so nervous about breaking something, a huge sigh of relief went up when it was all washed and safely put away.  Now we look at it sparkling in the china closet instead and are more relaxed during the meal.

Dignified isn't a word anyone would use to describe any meal at my house.  My children do have table manners but teasing your siblings, parents, in-laws, grandparents, anyone who happens to be at said table is a given.  We have the poke someone before the poke you mentality and "loving" insults fly. And no one, absolutely no one, can give you a loving poke more than a sibling.  Now that they don't live together, my children must store them up.  Nope, not dignified at all.  It was a bit of a culture shock for the three my children brought home but they've all managed to slide right in and get their own pokes in.  You know they've slipped right in to the family when they are comfortable enough to poke Jim and I!  (There is one unbreakable rule to this "loving exchange".  No meanness allowed - ever.  And if you think your poke is hilarious but the pokee does not, an apology is in order.)

Being so far away from our families, I tried to instill our own traditions in our children so they would have wonderful memories of holidays like Jim and I had.  I now realize how seriously they took these traditions every time I try to suggest doing something different.  My ears are still ringing from the protests that greeted my suggesting we have ham for Thanksgiving dinner instead of the usual turkey (my children really don't even like turkey!).  I was informed that not having turkey on Thanksgiving would be "unAmerican".  So, be careful of what you instill in your children, it stays instilled!

We'll be doing a few things at the shop during this time to share our blessings and we hope you'll take part.

From now until the 28th of the month we are collecting supplies to send to NJ soldiers serving overseas.  We'll bring all donations to the drop off point for www.supportarms.org in Toms River on Monday the 29th. This group will make up care packages and ship them overseas.  Please see their website or the posters in the shop for their wish list of supplies.  Any help you can give, will be appreciated!

And starting next Tues the 23rd and going through the 28th, we'll be having a panty raid!  For every package of women's or children's undies that you bring in, you'll get a free fat quarter!  We'll be bringing all the donations to Dottie's House, www.dottieshouse.org also on Monday.  Dottie's House mission is "empowering women to become self-sufficient and free from violence."




Count your blessings and share them if you can.  Our Thanksgiving wish is for you to be surrounded by your blessings this holiday season.

Till next time.

Samples, Ideas, Fabric - OH MY!

Since I'm just home from Quilt Market - the mecca for quilt shops world wide - I'm filled to the absolute brim with ideas, new patterns, new fabrics, new everything.  While I know I can't possibly throw out everything in the shop and start over . . . . , nah, can't, I'm already thinking about samples for winter and spring.

Thangles & two fabrics - honestly how long could it take?

Thanksgiving you say?  Christmas you say?  Like most retail, I'm at least one season ahead.  It's too late to make a sample for Thanksgiving for the shop unless it's a quick quickie one, you all wouldn't have time to take it home and make it in time for this Thanksgiving.  Now if you're one of those organized type people, you'll be looking for projects for NEXT Thanksgiving, or if you're like me, you're going to remember next week that your sister-in-law, friend, mom, someone! dropped broad hints about wanting a new table runner for the Thanksgiving table . . .  well don't panic, we have some pretty nice projects for Thanksgiving for you!  Christmas on the other hand, I still have time to do that!  Hence the fabric sitting on the kitchen table that will be made into a Thangles Tree skirt today, hopefully!


So while I'm sewing the tree skirt and finishing up my Cookie Time Pillow, I'll be dreaming of stitching a flannel quilt from a pattern I designed and machine appliqueing flowers for a class I'm planning for after the holidays.  Fern, Holli and Mary Ann BEGGED for some wool projects and I found some really neat ones at  market.  Bug them to get going on the samples!  My friend Sandy also showed me a company that I'm going to look into that has bright, colorful wool patterns and kits.

January Mini Wall Hanging

We'll have a new Mini Wall Hanging block of the month starting in December - so you can work on January's wall hanging and get it done in time.  The picture is of the designer's sample, ours will have our own colors and as soon as the patterns get here and we get ours made, I'll post it.  You can click here for details.


We'll have a new class starting in January that will teach you how to use a new foot each month while you're sewing a block for a floral quilt.  Very neat!  Any brand of machine is welcome.  We're still working on the details and I'll post when they're ready.  I'm thinking I want to do mine in batiks!


I brought home redwork patterns and have this great pattern for an applique vehicle quilt for little boys coming, an HQ weekend seminar in the works, some long armers who want to teach, and on and on and on.  The mind is spinning!


My trusty office assistant is due in shortly.  He wasn't a big help last week, needing lots of cuddling time.  I like to to think he was making up for all the cuddling we missed while I was in Houston.  I thought I was on over the top Grammy showing my Nathan pictures to everyone.  I had 3 little wallet ones of Sir Cuteness.  I THOUGHT I was over the top, until I chatted with Eleanor Burns who showed me an EIGHT BY TEN INCH picture of her newest granddaughter.  I felt much better standing in the aisle talking to Nathan on the phone after that!  :0)


Till next time.

Book Winner!

Belle's Mommy is our book winner!  Email me and I'll mail your book out.  Congratulations and thanks everyone for reading the blog and becoming our Facebook Friend!

It's That Time Of Year

I love fall, I really do.  I love the colors - crisp reds, oranges, golds - I love the cooler temps, and the trees!  How do those of you who can't watch the trees change colors mark the passing of the summer season?  This is the time of the year I really miss New England.  I don't miss the leaf peeper buses but I do miss that gorgeous spread of color across the hills.  We have the trees changing here at the shore, but not the glorious abundance of it like home.

I love to decorate my house with gourds and pumpkins - what makes those minature pumpkins so addicting?  All the different shapes & sizes.  Same with the gourds - the freakier the shape and colors, the better I like them!

Fall also brings a busy season to quilt shop owners and sewing machine dealers.  Life picks up the pace a notch and we hustle to keep ahead of it.  Sewers and quilters are now thinking it's time to get ready for the holidays and make gifts, the hall table needs a new runner, my sister-in-law is hinting she'd like a new quilt - you know the drill.  You're all thinking fall and I'm thinking Christmas!

So I'm decorating with pumpkins, gourds and fall table toppers.  Jim is churning our homemade pies with the apples we've picked.  The fall quilts have come out.  The sewing room however, looks like Santa's workshop three days before Christmas!  I think I need some elves!  I have three table runners in various stages of progress strewn about the room.  I'd show you pictures of my room but then I'd have to admit how messy it is . . . .

It's fall, the air is crisp and it's quilting time!  Put the soup in the crockpot, fire up the bread maker and sew.  It's that time of year and I'm glad.  It's one of my favorites.

Till next time.

Book Give Away!

Anyone who comments on our blog AND is a Facebook friend between now and November 1st will go into our drawing for a FREE book!  We'll draw on November 2nd.


This is a great book and would make really nice gifts for the holidays or make yourself one!  Flannel or Minkee for the winter - or how about terrycloth for the summer?  Flannel and a pretty cotton? 

Pattern includes an Envelope Travel Bag for your robe and a Ruffled Laundry Bag!  Sizes include XS-XXL


Here's the link to join us on Facebook.  Good luck!

Quilt Market is coming!

Quilt Market is the wholesale show for the quilting industry and every fall it's held in Houston.  This year I'm leaving on Thursday the 28th and coming home - brain fried and exhausted a day earlier than usual, on Monday.  My traveling companions, Barry and Nerma Springarn, will be on the same flights.  The first year I went to fall market, I got on the plane wearing my Jacket Jazz jacket and a man asked me if I was going to Quilt Market?  When I said yes, he introduced himself as my new Hoffman rep and offered me a ride to the hotel to save me the taxi fare.  Since I was with my friend Ann and we had NO idea of where we were going, we accepted.  I've been on the same flight with Barry, and his wife, Nerma after she retired, ever since, missing one when I decided on an earlier flight I think.   Now we email each other the cheapest flights when we see them and always seem to end up on the same plane.  Barry's generosity saves me a $40 cab ride.  Thank you Barry!  This year we're on the same flight home too.  


At this market I'm taking part in a dealer's panel where the audience will ask questions that we are supposed to have brilliant answers for.  I'm a little nervous about the whole thing imagining myself drawing complete blank after blank.  I'll be on stage with friends who also have shops so I'm hoping one of them will ride to my rescue if I need it.  Then again, here's hoping they're not hoping for the same thing!  


I have a list of things I'll be looking for at market - new patterns, a new block of the month (I can hear Lori shouting NO all the way from her house as she reads this!  LOL), new fabrics and any new trends so I can figure out what the heck I'm doing for the next 6 months.


One of the best things about market is seeing friends who I chat with every day by email and only actually see twice a year.  This year a few won't be attending market though and we'll miss them at our dinners, breakfasts and lunches.  The biggest plus of owning a quilt shop (besides getting to buy all that fabric!) is being friends with a group of amazing women, who firmly believe they can do whatever they set their minds to.  It inspires me to believe the same.


Till next time.

NJ Batik Challenge!

Last year I worked with a designer from Hoffman to make a QP exclusive batik fabric.  This is the result - three NJ lighthouses, Barnegat Light, Absecon and Sandy Hook.  It came out better than I had ever dreamed and we are absolutely thrilled with it!  We still have some left and you can purchase it at the shop or on the web by clicking here.

When the fabric arrived in June, I challenged you all to design something with the fabric and while we only had seven entries turned in, they were really something!  Check out this video of the challenge hanging in our lobby.  Voting is over and the quilts are now gone BUT

The challenge winners are - drum roll please!

$100 QP Gift Card - Janet Perry's NY Beauty
$50 QP Gift Card - Taffy Spaloss' Lighthouse Trip Around the World
 $25 QP Gift Card - Mary Simpson's Mariner's Compass

And Barry, my Hoffman rep, chose Janet Perry's NY Beauty to receive a Hoffman batik FQ bundle!

The other entries will receive a $15 QP Gift Card!  Thanks for participating and showing off your gorgeous quilts!

Till next time.

Fall is coming!

One of the first signs of fall for me are the local guilds holding their quilt shows.  I love to drive out to the shows to the west, I pass the sod farms, the Mum farm, the pick your own veggie farms, apple orchards, horse farms, the blueberry farm and the wineries.  All within 45 minutes to an hour of the shore - I'm sure that's not the picture you get when you think of NJ!  But that's my NJ, I live 5 minutes from the ocean and 40 minutes from farmland and in between the two runs the Pinelands, the largest stretch of public owned land on the east coast.  How about that!  Certainly not the picture most non residents get of NJ.  I certainly didn't think so before I moved here.

No color in the trees here yet.  It's coming, I can see hints of yellow in some of the maples but because of the heat and the little bit of rain we had, I don't think it will be a banner year for fall color this year.  Bummer.  We had rain this weekend - lots of rain on Wed night, Thurs and Friday thanks to a tropical storm that blew up the east coast and drenched us.

The show I went to yesterday - Jim is there today - is on the Delaware River in an old mill from the late 1800s.  The ambiance is great - big old beams, wooden floors with cracks you can see the water through!  The Courthouse Quilters Guild does a great job of decorating with mums, cornstalks and pumpkins.  It's just a really nice weekend, if the weather cooperates!

Back view of the mill.  

We've always been downstairs in the mill where the wheel used to turn.  This year we moved to a new section and good thing, they had to move the vendors in the basement up and out because the Delaware River was overflowing and so was the Raritan Canal that runs right outside the mill.

Look at the size of that swan!

I stood on what I think was an old train trestle but is now a gorgeous walking/biking path and took these pictures about 5pm last night.












I also took a video.  Remember, I'm not a professional videotographer. It will give you an idea of just how much it rained.

Till next time.

Crazy, Crazy Weekend!

Why does it seem like you have nothing planned for weeks on end and then EVERYTHING happens the same weekend?  With really no family local except Sara, Brian and the baby, we don't really have family things we run to all the time so we enjoy them immensely when they do pop up but usually we have to travel somewhere.  Not this past weekend, everything happened here.

The start of the walk

Sara arranged for a family team to walk in the Memory Walk for Alzheimer's research in memory of my Dad on Sat.  She rounded up her brothers, the Steph(f)anies, Brian, my Mom, Nathan and Jim and I. Nine of us hit the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk on Sat for a three mile hike on a beautiful fall day. It ended up Stefanie, James' Stefanie, had to work but she was there in spirit.










 

Waiting to begin

Jeremy pushed Grammy, Brian pushed Nathan, and the rest of pushed ourselves!

Starting out

My Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease when he was 65 years old.  The hardest moment of that whole time besides the original diagnosis was the first time he looked at me and didn't know who I was.

We finished!

It was a gorgeous, fall day.  A little hot but the breeze was coming in off the water.  We were all happy to make it to the end!  Dad, we were thinking of you.

Sunday was Nathan's christening - a perfect cap to the weekend.  A smiling baby, who seemed a bit disappointed he wasn't going to get the usual head massage when his hair got wet, the kids all home, good food, good company - yup, it was a good day.

The kids.

Looking at these pictures, I'm now wondering why we didn't take a picture with all the kids and Jim and I?  Hmmm.

Brian, Sara, Nathan, Debbie & Jim

Nathan and his great grandparents.

Another wonderful family day. And a great weekend.  Nathan and Mom took multiple naps on Monday to recover and I admit, when I rocked Nathan to sleep in the late afternoon, I woke up about an hour later! 

Dragging Myself Into This Millenium = QPTV

I decided it was time to join this century and put videos of the shop up online. About a year ago, I put the cable ad we run up on YouTube, had great intentions of doing videos of the shop and then promptly forgot about it.  I took a couple of classes on social media last year at Baby Lock Tech in which all the 20somethings told us how we needed to get more interesting/interactive things on our websites.  I had the ad up there already so I thought, I'm ahead of the game.  I also watched Mark Lapinski doing little spots with this tiny little camera as he walked around chatting with people last year at Baby Lock Tech and he didn't look like he was doing anything complicated, I mean, I can point, shoot and talk right?  That seemed to be all that Mark was doing . . . .  HA!

I've discovered, through the taking of a couple videos, that it's not easy to walk, film and talk intelligently at the same time.  Pointing and shooting is easy - ok, there was that one video that I thought I was filming a new trunk show but the camera was off until I was "done" and then there was this gorgeous video of the side of my pant leg and the carpet as I walked back into the shop . . . but that's another story!  The hard part?  Talking intelligently about something while remembering to not move the camera fast, or talk too fast, or say "Ummmm" too many times while remembering the name of the book or pattern you're filming a sample of - all the while trying not to walk into or trip over anything.  Phew!  Mark made it look WAY too easy.

I'll admit it - the first couple of videos - including the one of my pant leg and shoes - were deleted.  I decided I needed to get my act together so I posted one a couple of weeks ago of a trunk show we have in the shop and received less than stellar reviews from my staff - too short, to jerky, too something else I've blocked from my mind. I can count on my staff to tell me the truth whether I want to hear it or not!  It couldn't have been too bad because some of you out there in cyberspace went to the website and ordered the book.  Thank you one and all for the encouragement!  :0)

I've posted a few more since then.  Visit QPTV to see them click here .  Be gentle with your reviews, I'm thinking anyone who does really nice videos has been at it awhile, was born with a video gene I'm lacking or took a class somewhere!

Till next time.  Enjoy!

Life is interesting isn't it?

Just when you think, ok, I can take a breath and sit back just a little -WHAM - life just smacks you upside the head.  We had pretty much gotten in a kind of routine with the shop, Sara back to work and us having Nathan three days a week - who by the way is still THE cutest office assistant in the world, even with his frequent sleeping on the job, one on one mentoring requirements, bottle breaks and wardrobe malfunctions - and all the other requirements of life, when the call from FL came, you have to come get Mom. 

I woke up Sat morning and had all these plans of things to get done in the shop, breakfast with the middle son & his Stephanie, maybe a quick trip to PA to see the oldest son & his Stefanie - was that God laughing I heard?  Probably because the day found me scrambling to find a flight and then watching the sunset somewhere over northern FL. 

I've found out just how many changes of clothing you can get into a bag that will fit under the seat and still get the laptop in - that number would be three with the knowledge that you are going to a house with a washing machine!  To be totally on a different subject - really SpiritAir?  $25 per carryon?  $15 per bag checked?  I only paid $135 for the flight!  Obviously, this is not as cheap as it used to be, Continental isn't much more and my bag is free . . .  but Atlantic City was closer so I booked on Spirit. 

So Mom is coming home with me tomorrow.  I'm moving classes and clubs around as much as possible for the next two weeks.  This is why the calendar is ALWAYS done in pencil.  Who knows what life is going to serve up at any given moment?

And in the end, I thank the heavens above I have a career/job/lifestyle whatever you want to call it, that allows me to drop just about everything at a moments notice and go. 

Baby Lock Tech 2010

Baby Lock Tech - the dealer's convention - is held in St Louis (closest big city to the home of Tacony, owners of Baby Lock) every August.  It used to be held in Union Station in St Louis, but outgrew that hotel space two years ago and moved across the street from the arch.  This picture was taken out the window of one of the classrooms.  You can't see it but the Missouri River flows just past the arch.  Jim and I actually rode in tiny little cars up to the top of the arch a few years ago.  The view was gorgeous but it's one of those things if you don't like heights - Jim - or are slightly claustrophobic - me - done it once, probably not going to do it again!  The car that takes you up holds 5 people with no personal space.  Interesting, glad I did it, but the other four people were sucking all my oxygen!

Play music really loud, get people clapping and pass out the balloons!  It's opening session!

We get a peek at what's coming. . . . . 

Updates us on what the spokeswomen are doing . . . 

El showed us what her sewing studio REALLY looks like and had us roaring as she shared the start of her sewing room makeover.  Look for the final pictures in Koala ads coming soon.  She promised me a copy of the video so I could share with you.

Nancy shared a new program that QP will participate in.  Look for details coming soon!  It's going to be exciting!  Did you know Nancy can crack a blonde joke at the drop of a hat?  

And opening session also entertains us so we laugh till we cry.  That's my rep Tano on the drums, the president of Baby Lock on the left and the VP of Sales on the right.  Tano told us three years ago there was no way he was getting up on stage - HA! How they get Ray Queen to do half the stuff he does is beyond me, Steve Jeffrey has a really good voice!  


And that's just opening night!


I'll share more photos next time.