For God So Loved the World!

Merry Christmas from the Kirkland family!  

It's Christmas eve, December 24th, 2013.  Our family has just settled down for a Christmas eve movie marathon starting with "The Polar Express."  As you can see by the picture, we've exchanged our family Christmas gifts and have all done pretty well.  I received a chocolate diamond necklace--this girl loves diamonds so it will get put to good use! 

Watching "The Polar Express," a movie solely based upon the premise of believing in something we can't see (Santa Claus, of course) makes me think about the True Meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ.  By Faith, God asks of us to believe in Him while we can't always see Him moving in our lives.  He asks us to believe in His plan for our lives when it seems He has gone silent and asks that we believe in His timing when we can't begin to understand it.  

But, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16

What?

God loves you, and He loves me and He knew we needed a Savior.  That Savior is Christ the Lord, The King of kings and Lord of lords. ---And He did it in His way and in His timing although from our human perspective, the whole scenario seems crazy at best.  

This afternoon at Christmas Eve service, the minister's message was on God's timing.  

God had been silent to the world for 400 years, His people waiting for The Messiah that had been promised.  They were sure that The Messiah would come in as King in power and glory and save them from the oppression of this evil world.  And so they waited...

"But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law." Galatians 4:4

What?

A baby?  Born in a manger?  Now? Are you kidding?!

But God wasn't kidding....and He knew exactly what He was doing, why, how and when He was doing it.  

Isn't it like that in our own lives today?  Isn't it sometimes difficult to understand when God is silent?  Then when we get our breakthrough, how many times is it not at all how we thought it would go or how we had planned it?  

But the reality is, He never leaves us and while we may not understand the method, He sees the big picture.

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55: 8-9)

Tonight, as I listened to the message at church, I could completely relate to this.  There have been painful life experiences that I couldn't understand the why or the when and I wondered if God was truly faithful like He says He is and questioned His love for me.  But after the silence, He would break through my darkness  and show me the ways He had been preparing both me and my situation, in His way and in His timing.  I just had to trust His truth and believe.  

Just as Mary and Joseph made their emotional journey through their circumstances, and then their physical journey to Bethlehem, so we are on a journey.  They looked to the One who guided them through the circumstances that He brought them to, and if we fix our eyes on Him and hold tight to the faith that His love is too strong to leave us on our own--- He will do the same for you and me.  

If you have been following this "Quilter's Journey" blog for nearly a year now, you have watched what began as a hobby to pass down to my daughter become something beyond what I could have hoped for.  As I reflected today, I took a look back and have seen the myriad ways that God was preparing me for this and continues to prepare my situation to pursue fulfilling this purpose that I feel that He has given me. I've even had small opportunities to see how He has used me to inspire others.  I am so humbled that these insignificant things I make and sell have found significance.  None of this has been accomplished by my own works--believe me when I say that December 24th, 2012,  I had no clue what would transpire over the next twelve months.  

....And I have no idea what happens over the next twelve months.  

I have the plans that I feel God is leading me to, but if His plans are different than mine,  I trust that wherever the journey takes me, I can believe in His plans and His timing and that's all I need to know.  

As "The Polar Express " is concluding, I leave you with a final thought from one of the great theologians of our time--the conductor on the Polar Express--

" Sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see."  

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.  God loves you, my dear friend.

See you in 2014!

Winter Wonderland

X

Good evening. It's a snow-covered Saturday night with freezing rain in tomorrow's forecast. If you're not familiar with the weather in Ohio, consider yourself blessed. I finally managed to get my catalog together after about five months of having it in the works.  The picture above made it to the front cover of the Winter '13/'14 Catalogue. It's definitely a low-budget catalog, but at least most of my products are in there and it gives me something to put in front of people.  I took the new catalogue with me today when I hosted a booth at the Asbury UMC Winter craft bazaar.  Sold a few items and did lots of networking, so just hoping to convert these leads into regular customers. 

The shop is all decorated for Christmas in preparation for the "Grand Opening" next week. 

Of course, I've been furiously preparing for the craft bazaar and grand opening as well as completing Christmas orders.  All in all, things have been going well--I'm just pretty tired. 

The class schedule is planned for January thru March and the Block of the Month project has been chosen. I'm feeling pretty accomplished at this time, not to mention my daughter and I have two batches of Christmas cookies made.  It can't get any better.  Well, the Elf on the Shelf could send out my Christmas cards.  I guess I'd have to buy them first! 

I hope this post finds you and your family healthy and happy this Christmas season.  This will probably be my last opportunity to post until after Christmas, so it is my sincerest hope that you enjoy a Merry Christmas.  The craziness of the season is part of what makes it all fun, but remember the Baby we celebrate who became the Savior of the world.  The Savior of you and me.  That's the true magic of the season. Good Night. 

Snow in November

It's Wednesday night and of course, the middle of the night. ;-). I haven't posted a decent post worth reading in several weeks, so I hope you haven't given up on me. 

Yesterday, it snowed here in central Ohio.  I'm not sure what that foretells for the rest of the winter, but it doesn't seem too good. Unfortunately, I didn't capture any great pics of the first snow, so I'll post some other pics of random things while I write.

Where did I leave off? Well, we were working on the studio/shop.  It is for the most part DONE!  Like an idiot, I don't have a good pic, but I can give you a before and after comparison:

Before

After

Before

After

I love everything about the new space.  I want to be in there all the time.  Sometimes I just sit in there (when I should be working) amazed at the transformation.  It is exactly what I had envisioned--it's gorgeous and I'm so thankful for the gentleman who helped me achieve it. My husband, general contractor extraordinaire (he's actually a CPA, he just happens to be handy--a quality that comes in handy! Ha!) , my electrician, Jim and my window and door go-to man, Mark. They have made me one happy little quilter. Blessed and humbled am I. 

We've had one class already in the new space, which right now, I can't find the picture I took of my sweet ladies, but it was a remix of the Virginia Reel throw pillow. 

This Friday night, we'll be hosting our first Quilt Store Next Door Sew-In and the shop will be OPEN for business! It'll be nice to just sit and sew with some friends and getting a little R & R in before the holiday madness begins. 

The Etsy.com shop has been CRAZY busy! October was a blockbuster month and November is right on its heels! I have shipped merchandise to California, Oregon, Washington, South Carolina, New York, Kentucky as well as Norway and Australia! Locally, Christmas orders have been rolling in almost daily. I'll be hosting a booth at a local craft bazaar on December 7th and this will be my last day to take orders for Christmas delivery. I have a long month ahead of me.  The goal being to have all Christmas orders delivered by December 20th. So, be sure to check out www.quiltstorenextdoor.etsy.com and www.quiltstorenextdoor.com to visit customizable products and available fabrics. 

Bowl cozies make a great Christmas gift when coupled with a nice bowl and yummy ready to make soup pouch. 

This beautiful table runner gets shipped to Virginia today. 

iPad wedge stands make great gifts. 

Cute little cosmetic/toiletry bags filled with soap and other sundry goodies are also fun to receive. 

Of course, none of these beautiful things can be made without gorgeous fabrics. This fat quarter bundle was created with our new Sapphire signature collection by Exclusively Quilters, RJR and Hoffman California. 

So, that's a bit of a catch-up as to what as been keeping us so busy. I think I'll call it a night with one last pic of our Quilt Store Next Door custom pillowcases.  

Thanks for reading.....and sweet dreams. 

I'll Be Back!

Hello! I am just taking a few minutes to let you know that I haven't abandoned the blog and as soon as I get a free moment, I will be posting some updates. Things have been busy working on the shop, the soccer season finishing up and school activities. But fear not, things here are going wonderfully right now. 

I pray all is well for those of you who follow.  Thank you for your time and we'll chat and catch up soon. 

A Perfectly Messed-Up Week

Hello!  It seems to be quite awhile since I last posted, but in reality it's been about two weeks, I guess.  It's just been a whirlwind two weeks!  The photo above was the view of the ocean from our balcony in Daytona Beach on our vacation last week.  Our original vacation plans had been for a five-day Bahamas cruise, but due to my daughter's soccer team making the championship game in their tournament the weekend that we were leaving, we left town about five hours behind schedule.  We missed our ship, but we were able to book an alternative cruise later in the week.  It was all good though.  The little girls WON their championship game, a first place win that was about two years in the making, we stayed in this fantastic resort literally on the beach thanks to my husband's company and still got to take our cruise.  Whew!  What a week that was! We had a great time and seeing the accomplishment these girls made, there is nothing I would have done differently.  There will be plenty of vacations, but this was one of those defining moments for my daughter and her teammates.  We chose the better thing and we were still blessed with a wonderful trip.  

When we arrived back home, we hit the ground running on my studio.  If you can remember a couple of posts back when there was a hole in the floor, before we left for vacation we got to this point:

Windows were in and hole was gone.  What you can't see in this pic are the 16 boxes of flooring that would need to go down, the four light fixtures and all the electrical paraphenalia.  Our electrician friend came over again this past Saturday and got almost all of the electrical completed minus the baseboard heaters.  My husband went head on that evening and FINISHED the flooring in about EIGHT hours!  It is gorgeous!  So, with electricity, lights and floors---I began moving in!

Things are still pretty rough, I am missing....well, let's see...WALLS! LOL! My husband has been such a huge help with this whole process and continues to be as he bought the insulation tonight and priced out the wall materials.  With the new windows, it's all just as adorable outside as well.

So, next weekend, I get insulation and heaters and my husband begins on the walls.  I still need a regular exterior door and I'm set.  It's surreal to see it all come to fruition.  

Meanwhile, I'm still working like a mad scientist, dyeing towels for Christmas soap gift sets and pouring soap.

I LOVE these and already the response has been great.  These, as well as many other items can be found on my website at

Quilt Store Next Door

I am finishing up the last of my lunch tote orders.  I have three more and a purse to finish this week and send off to Alaska and then begins the Christmas craziness....and I am READY!  Well, sort of...I'll be ready....or I'll just not be sleeping a lot over the next couple of months!

This past week, I also ordered the third of my signature fabric lines.  This line I ordered with my friend in Virginia in mind.  Her mother is purchasing a table runner for her for Christmas and it needed to be Americana in style.  Pics will follow over the coming weeks.

As usual, it's 1:00 am and I'm writing to you.  I ran across this quote on Pinterest the other day, and thought it was so fitting.

Good night and have a wonderful week.  As always, thank you for playing along.  :-)

It's so hard to say goodbye

Good Morning!  I know it's only been a few days since I last posted (I know, feast or famine, right?!) but I won't get the chance to post again for probably about two weeks, so I wanted to get a few things down.  I guess I am also feeling a bit sad.  Tonight, we finally had the Virginia Reel pillow class after multiple reschedules, and I received some sad news.  One of my first students, a nice woman I met at the first craft bazaar I participated in, will be moving out of state next week.  This was a move that she and her husband had been planning in order to get closer to kids and grandkids so we knew it was coming, but suddenly their house sold in 15 days and they found the perfect property where they had been hoping to relocate and now they're moving next Friday!  I'm so excited and happy for her, but certainly sad to see her go.  I know I'm still a Mom and Pop operation, but I don't think you ever forget your first.  She began as a stranger at a craft show, and became one of my most reliable customers/students.  As well, she formed friendships with the other students and was a welcomed addition to every class.  She will be missed.  We wish you the best of luck and blessings on your new endeavor Jodie!

So, while I taught my class tonight, my daughter attended her little sewing class (thank you so much to her BFF's wonderful mother!) and this is what she made.  This adorable quilted throw pillow was such a delight to me.  She made this entirely on her own and I could not be more proud!  Am I worried that she is already this talented at nine years old and is going to be looking soon to run old Mom out of business?  Nah....okay, maybe just a smidge.  :-)

The fabulous windows went in Wednesday!  They look fantastic and I could not be more pleased!  My electrician comes tomorrow and then a door, flooring, insulation and walls by the Hubby.  I can't believe this is coming to fruition and still every time I walk into the porch, seeing the windows throws me for a loop.  We had a snafu on getting heat ducts run, but looks like we have another good alternative, so things are still on track.

This knockout bombshell you see was the other big news of the week.  My brand new Bernina 550QE sewing machine.  She came with a big price tag and I'm not too proud to admit when she came out of the box Wednesday night, I was so intimidated that I considered putting it right back in the box and accepting that I'd made a huge mistake, and I was not woman enough for this machine.  But three days later, I have to confess, I am falling pretty hard for this pretty baby and I look forward to many beautiful years together.  

Lastly, a last minute trip to Amish country last weekend scored me this big monster.  I was in the market for another hutch for storage and display in my shop/studio and this big guy fit the bill.  Standing at about seven feet tall with cabinets and a roomy drawer, I think it will work out great.  It's not exactly the 'shabby chic' look I've been going for, but it definitely has charm in a big way.  Thanks to the Hubby for stumbling across this when I was close to giving up on finding something well built and reasonably priced.  

Things are slowly coming together.  I have two of my fabric lines in stock and need to order two more.  I'm still completing a large lunch tote order, a smaller lunch tote order and then begins the Christmas craziness.  Right now, I've got an order of 15 soap gift sets, two table runners, a purse and a lunch tote.  At some point, my daughter and I need to make something for her teachers too.  I'm thinking bowl cozies for EVERYONE!!  

Well, it is time for this old girl to go to bed.  Thanks for following along and I hope you have a wonderful week!  Talk to you soon.

The Black Hole

Good Evening!  Well, as usual with me, it's good morning!  I hope you've been well.  I apologize for the lapse in blogging, as you may have guessed, I've been preoccupied with life and new projects.  What you see above is the "Virginia Reel" 16" throw pillow.  My sample (which was actually made for my daughter) was made with a mix of Kona cotton in a winter white and bright geometric flannels.  This is a class being offered next Friday 6pm to 9pm.  Not only will students leave with a super sweet throw pillow, it's a pizza party too!  Only three more classes left in 2013.  Wow! This year has flown by-- but man!-- has it been fun!

The store website is DONE!! www.quiltstorenextdoor.com went LIVE last Sunday September 8, 2013. Not everything is up on there yet, but I'm slowly getting fabric and products up for the world to see! Be sure to check it out, and as I said, I'm slowly adding more and more so be sure to visit often!  Of course, I still have my etsy shop, and you can be directed straight to the etsy shop from www.quiltstorenextdoor.com  to see all my current fabric offerings.  The website probably isn't as nice as a web designer could have done, but let's face it, I'm still operating on a shoestring, so my little website in it's current state will have to suffice for now.  Honestly, I LOVE It!  It's so exciting to have something out there in the world not owned or supported by someone else.  It's very liberating and gives me a deep sense of satisfaction.  I know I'm a little overly excited about a simple website, but it's been one more way that I have been blessed as I follow this path I'm on.

Our hot tub is GONE!  The hot tub sunken into the floor of my screened porch, really the thorn in my side as far as the conversion from porch to room was going, is now gone and I have a floor and NOT a black hole!  We got the privilege of giving this hot tub to a special family with a special little boy who needs it more, and will most likely use it more, than we ever did.  God is good!  A win-win for two families--it couldn't get any better than that!  My wonderful and talented hubby built the floor in and now, I have a full-sized 240 square foot room to begin renovation from porch to shop/studio. Windows have been ordered, electrician comes next Saturday and heating/AC duct work (hopefully) goes in some time this week.  It's surreal to see it happen as I had hoped and to venture to dream of what could come to be in the future.  More to come on that! 

I am still finishing up a few stray lunch tote orders and then I think that frenzy will calm down for awhile.  Bowl cozies have been huge.  I made six of these OSU cozies and sold them in about 18 hours!  Here in the Columbus, Ohio area, our folks love them Buckeyes!  I'm currently working on a large Christmas order of bowl cozies that is really putting me through the ringer since I'm having a lot of trouble with my current sewing machine.  I am beginning to look at purchasing a newer, more heavy duty model.  I'll have more info about that next time.  

Next time.  I'm always so glad that there is a next time.  I'm so happy that someone reads this bunch of nonsense I post every couple of weeks.  I'm so thankful for the abilities that God has given me.  I love this zipper picture because it is a reminder to me just how far I've come---a couple months ago, I had no idea how to sew a zipper in anything and now, I do them all the time.  I'm also bursting with pride in my sweet daughter.  We have been attending sewing classes at the big box craft store.  I'd posted earlier in the summer the pillowcase that she learned to make, but last night she finished making a pair of pajama pants.  The best part was, knowing that I never learned to sew and make clothes she said to me "Mommy, you're teaching me to make quilts and I'll teach you how to make clothes."  Each time I write this blog, I am reflective, and quite honestly a whole lot amazed at this opportunity that I've been given and all the wonderful people who have been supporting me as I take each step.  A part of me sometimes wonders when people will get tired of my rambling and endless Facebook posts about fabric and stuff I've made.  I realize that those parts of this journey can be fleeting.  But this has also begun to build a bond of friendship and sisterhood between my daughter and I and that, is irreplaceable.  That's good stuff.   Great stuff.  The best stuff.  Have a wonderful night and I'll be back soon.

The End of One Road, But the Journey Continues

Where did summer go?  My daughter is back in school, Labor Day weekend is nearly upon us and her soccer season is in "Go" mode. It seems like I was just writing about the Niagara Falls trip that we took right after school was out.  Labor Day is bittersweet as it brings the end of summer, but signals the beginning of Fall in Ohio which can be a very beautiful time of year.  Of course, Fall is followed by Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day which right now NO ONE wants to think about!

This Labor Day weekend brings a little something else for our family;  the sale of the rental property that I had mentioned several posts ago, will be closing tomorrow.  I'm so happy to not have to go clean it for showings or have my husband worry about keeping up with the grass, but as I mentioned before, I wish things could have worked out differently for my brother in law and he could have purchased it.   It was not God's plan I guess, and we wait to see where He leads.

With the rental property gone, I can get my husband focused on finishing my shop/studio!  We are in the process of giving the hot tub away, my windows will hopefully get ordered next week and I've been amassing vintage antiques for use as fabric storage and display.

   As this picture shows, my cat assumes I bought a new kitty perch just for her.  She's got a surprise coming!  I mentioned in the last blog post that my daughter and I were trying something new...and yes it is an AWESOME new product:

No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you ---Quilt Store Next Door will soon be selling assorted soaps with gift sets.  Marketed as "Two Roses" for Quilt Store Next Door, these are shea better and goat's milk soaps in several colors and scents.  I already have about a dozen orders for the soap gift sets which will also include a lovely appliqued finger tip towel made by Quilt Store Next Door on this sweet baby:

Yes, I broke down and decided that I needed a 

serger!  I've contemplated buying one for years but couldn't justify it since I don't "sew."  Well, it will be a life saver when I'm making these towels, as you can see however, I am still afraid of it so it is still safely in the box until I can figure it out!

Getting time to figure anything out lately has been next to impossible with how busy my shop (and me!) is becoming.  I've made oodles of lunch totes and still have an orders for 6-7 more in my queue.  

I also made my daughter a class switch bag and the new item for Fall is a microwaveable bowl cozy.  These items have been flying out the door so hence, I never get out of my studio when I'm home!  I don't mind though, I LOVE what I do.  I realized this week that I think I finally know what I would like to be when I grow up, and this little humble business is it.  I have a lot more plans that you will be seeing solidify in the upcoming months, but for now, I am actually going to go to bed and get some beauty sleep.  Thank you for your faithful reading and God bless you and your family.  Until next time, good night!

I Spent Friday Dyeing

As the title of this week's post tells you, my big accomplishment was FINALLY getting around to hand dyeing some fabric! My daughter and I joked all day about "getting around to dyeing" or "after we run errands, we're going to dye" and in her words: "that joke never gets old!"  She's hit the age where she LOVES a good play on words! Nonetheless, I posted about six months ago that I had bought dyeing supplies and PFD fabric but then I didn't want to do it inside so as not to have proper ventilation and once nice weather came upon us---well, it's "August Already" and here we are. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm spending the last two weeks of summer break home with my daughter, and so we "dyed!" Ha! Here's the breakdown: I had read plenty about the process, but reading and doing are two different beasts. I had already gathered my armamentarium, so we set up on my porch (aka future quilt shop and studio) and from there, it was messy and a little nerve racking. Of course, the labels warn that you should wear a mask and gloves, as procion dyes are known carcinogens in the state of California (haha, I love labels written like that) and so I figured it was safe to assume that the powders were carcinogenic in Ohio as well. So, there was just a lot of care to be taken.  My daughter dyed and painted a little t-shirt as well. In the end, it was one beautiful mess. I dyed five yards of fabric and the results look like this 

You'll notice you only see four bolts.  I have another bolt of green that was too light and had too many blotches so that becomes part of our next project.  More on that next week! ;-)

These did not come out perfect for my first rodeo.  The fuchsia has some grains, the purple has one really light blotch, but the green and blue actually turned out nice.  These are available by the half yard on my website www.quiltstorenextdoor.etsy.com for $5.50 per half yard. 

Would I do it again? That would be a resounding YES! In true Shelley fashion, I am hooked on this--it was fun, a little stressful, very messy, but the results were worth it. I ordered more fabric today and some new fall tones.  

It was a great ending to a great week with my girl. Monday, she took her first sewing class that taught how to make a pillowcase.  We came home and made a second one for her full sized bed and they are gorgeous! I'm very proud of her.  We visited the Columbus Zoo, had lunch with my husband, dyed fabric and signed her up for TWO MORE sewing classes for September and October.  That was our first week! We have one more week and LOTS of plans....I'll tell you more later--I've got a sleepover to get to.  Bye all, and as always, thank you for reading. 

If you haven't already, you can "like" Quilt Store Next Door on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. 

August Already?

Good morning! It's a beautiful Sunday morning in Lexington, KY! Our family enjoyed another weekend getaway, this time to Lexington with my in-laws in tow so they could enjoy a visit to the Kentucky Horse Park with my daughter. If you are at all interested in horses, this is an amazing place to visit. You will learn about many different breeds and get to see several retired race horses, including Kentucky Derby winners. 

As we head home today, I begin a two week "staycation" from work. I'll be spending the last two weeks of my daughter's summer break with her before she heads back to school.  It is so bittersweet that it is August already. I have been looking forward to having this time off with her all summer, but I also know it means back to school is coming, followed by the end of summer.  But I am also amazed that it is August already because my quilting journey part two, that you have been faithfully following, started in January---seven months ago! It's been an incredible seven months! My online shop, Quilt Store Next Door, just finished a record sales month in July. It's only August 4th, and the shop has already had one large order on Friday that I will be shipping tomorrow morning. 

In my physical home-based shop, I'll also be working on completing four more lunch tote orders. This one below is the first completed order which will be delivered tonight to its very excited owner! 

The next tote is getting personalized. This allowed me to play around with my Accuquilt die cutter making letters and doing some appliqué. 

I'll post a pic next time of the completed lunch tote. This is going to be a cutie! 

As for progress on my home-based quilt and fabric shop, I got an estimate on windows which was a great price and we will be moving forward getting those installed hopefully around the end of this month. I've been checking flea markets for hutches, shelving and decor for the interior of my shabby chic/vintage look shop. More ideas swirling in my head. 

Next Sunday, is the beginning of August class season.  We will start with another throw pillow class, followed by a "Bring your own project" class that will allow students to bring that project that they either have no idea how to get started or, have no idea how to finish, and I will help them through it.  Later this month, my students will get to start their first applique project with some simple applique circles. I have a lot in store for them--now I just have to get started on the class samples!

My little one, upon asking for her sewing machine that reignited this whole thing, wants to learn to make clothes......well, I don't do that and I have no desire, or available time to learn, so tomorrow we head off to the big box craft store so that my daughter and her BFF can take their first sewing class.  They will be making pillow cases followed by a girl's day out lunch with her and her mother.  It'll be a great way for us to kick off our two week girly staycation and we're pretty excited.  I think I see some simple kit ideas coming out of this pillowcase class.  

Lots of work to do and I love it!  I'm not quite where I had hoped to be on some things, such as my catalog, but when I start beating myself up for getting behind, I have to stop and remind myself that this all began because I was following God's plan and still now, I have to leave things up to His timing.  Yes, it's August already....

Traveling to Mecca

Hello form the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY!  Well, actually, I'm not there anymore, I'm back home trying to keep up with this summer that seems to be racing by us!  But, my family did make the trip to Paducah--the Quilter's Mecca-- this past weekend.  The museum is absolutely amazing.  These are not your Grandma's quilts; these quilts are art in it's truest sense.  Beautifully imagined by their creators and made with the best of craftsmanship, each one is the creme de la creme of quilts.  I don't know that I'll ever be as skilled as any of the artists.  Even my husband, who had already relegated himself to boredom, was awed by what he saw.  If you get the chance to make it down there in the near future, they are currently displaying a Civil War Quilt Exhibit that is amazing. While in Paducah, we visited several quilt shops, including Eleanor Burns "Quilt in a Day" shop and the famous, and overwhelming, Hancock's of Paducah.  I can't even begin to guess the number of fabric bolts they have in that store.  By the time I'd left, I was in sensory overload!  The next day, we headed over to Louisville, KY where we attended a worship service that left me speechless at Southeast Christian Church.  It was a great weekend.  The best part was that prior to leaving on this trip I had completed my daughter's school lunch tote and once it went public on my Facebook page, I immediately received five orders.  I have to admit, it is SUPER cute!

After returning home from Paducah, we released the Painted Lady butterflies my daughter had been raising and I was able to get this amazing photo. 

Wednesday my little one headed off to church camp for 2 1/2 days.  She had a blast and even though I missed her like crazy, I know experiences like this are helping her grow into a stronger person and stronger Christian. As for me, I fully intended to really sew! sew! sew! while she was gone, but instead, I just hung out with my husband and enjoyed some time alone with him.  While I'm glad I made that investment, I now have A LOT of work on my plate for the next couple of weeks.  

Tomorrow is another class day.  A throw pillow class and a pattern reading basics class with my usual group of ladies who I just adore. 

I truly enjoy writing this blog each week.  I am blessed to be able to express myself this way, I am blessed by all the friends and family who have supported me from day one in prayer, sales, orders, promotion and by word of mouth.  I appreciate all the wonderful comments, compliments and feedback I have received that has kept me encouraged.  As always, you have my gratitude.

  

Spoiled Little Princess

Good Evening!  We made it home safely from our Virginia getaway and life continued on as usual.  Today I taught the first "Make Your Own iPad Case" class.  I'm only offering this class one time this year.  I have so many other projects I'd like to share, I am ready to move on.  I'm not happy if I don't have seven projects going at once and I guess I want all my students to be in that predicament too! Lol!  Nevertheless, these ladies did great and took home some beautiful creations.  A lot of fun was enjoyed, and I believe some new friendships made, as well.

As I mentioned last time, my online shop has been crazy busy! You won't hear me complaining, I love shipping new orders out to places far and near.  I feel like a little piece of me gets to visit all over the world!

My husband's truck decided it was wanting some attention in the form of some transmission work..no big deal...transmissions are cheap! Right! This new little expense now jumped ahead of the need to get the windows installed in my porch so construction can begin on my shop.  Pair that with the fact that our rental property still hasn't sold and of course, there are expenses incurred in carrying a property that is sitting empty.  I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I became discouraged---beaten down, really.  I began to question whether this "quilting thing" is really my calling by God and that maybe these things were His way of telling me that I just needed to grow up and work my nice little job like everyone else does and just be content with what I have.  I spent some time in prayer--a little ranting, a lot of pouting, really.  I let God know I was angry.  I behaved like a spoiled little princess---and you know what?  God showed up. Despite my ingratitude for a life already enormously blessed, He showed up.  That day we had three showings on our rental property and two offers--a multi bid scenario-- and it is now in contract for list price!  We're not having a party yet, there are still at least 45 days, an inspection and appraisal between us and "SOLD," but He did not forsake me.  He didn't let me give up on this dream.  I hope you realize, my friends, God loves you more than anything and He can handle your anger.  You're not going to spew anything at Him that He doesn't already know is in your heart.  He knows your innermost thoughts, He knit you together and knows you better than you know yourself.  You can't surprise Him, and if you let Him, He will show up in your life too.  As I said, my situation is not in the "happily ever after" stage yet--I don't know what will happen next, but God let me know that this dream is real and that maybe it isn't time for me to grow up quite yet.

Let Freedom Ring!

Happy Fourth of July! I'm writing today's post from the comfort of the home of our very good friends, Bill and Becki and their three almost-grown sons who live in Virginia. This sweet family used to go to our church where Bill served for many years as the Associate Minister and Worship Leader. My husband and I got to know them well singing with them in our church's worship team. About six years ago, Bill took a position at his current church in Virginia where he now serves as the Senior Minister. Since they moved, a Virginia vacation has become a yearly tradition for our family. Each year, we visit different peripheral locations for fun while we're in the area. This year was no different--we visited Washington and Lee University, historic Lexington, Va, Virginia Horse Center, historic Staunton and Charlottesville. I have recently decided that my new mission is to "quilt shop hop"--visit quilt shops in every location we visit to get ideas for my own quilt shop. I want to experience the elements of each quilt shop that invite you to return. The quilt shop pictured above is located in Staunton, VA. This was an adorable shop in an old railroad station that invited you in immediately with the sweet smells of handmade bath soaps. We went on to Charlottesville, VA where we visited the quilt shop pictured below. 

This shop, located in a strip mall, lacked the charm of the shop in Staunton, but was also a Bernina dealer (yes, I am in the market for a new machine) and had some very knowledgeable and helpful staff. After a nice chat, we moved on to our friend's house. Last month during a visit to Niagara Falls, I visited the next shop in a town called Niagara on the Lake. 

I have also used this trip as an opportunity to "clear my creative head," watch some online quilt classes and tutorials and get some new ideas for my upcoming product lines. It's so easy in my line of work to try to spread oneself too thin and make too many things in an effort to appeal to EVERYONE.  I believe it is necessary every once in awhile to "retreat," regroup and refocus. I'm probably not the only "artsy-fartsy" type of person whose head just sometimes swirls with ideas so it's definitely a good thing to get grounded. 

Things otherwise have been busy. The last beginner's class is finishing up.  Next Saturday I'll be teaching the first "make your own iPad" class followed by the "frame it up" throw pillow class in two weeks.  I've offered to my returning students a "class pass" to enable them to take unlimited classes through November. My online shop has picked up considerably this month and work is in progress on my home-based shop.  I'll be calling a window professional on Monday. 

"Frame it Up" 18 inch Throw Pillow

So, for now, I plug along, but after this trip, I do it with a bit more clarity and defined direction. I've made a list of 28 items that will be featured in my first catalog as I embark on my future home parties. I'm free of some of the confusion I was experiencing recently; but I feel fireworks inside my heart and mind when I think of the independence and freedom I hope to someday gain from this venture.