Oh, yes, the booth!

So above was my special little booknook where I sat happily on my duff for 3 days welcoming book buyers with a chat and a signature. Not one poor soul got away from me without a serious amount of giddy chatter risking overzealousness, I am quite certain. You may recognize the chair from my dining room, which literally had me feeling very at home. The dressform is wearing a dress length version of the Smashing Smock pattern from my book. The fabrics are from an upcoming quilt cotton collection, Good Folks, expected to deliver in January. More on that soon, naturally.



Here's a zoom out from that end of the booth (except without the flowers, dang). My pictures are somewhat stinky, and these are the best of them + some of them (the good ones) are courtesy of my pal Eva from my publisher. I have a really hard time concentrating on getting good photos once the whole shebang is put together. The final putogether always seems like seconds before the incessant chatter ensues. And there's practically no stopping me from that once it starts, for anything. If I met you, you know this.



Oh, look here I am doing just that! See, my European talking hands are a blur and even my earrings fell prey to swinging around dizzily at my ears. I know there's a picture around here somewhere in which my hands aren't moving or my mouth isn't open, but I can't seem to find it. That's husband Jeff talking to Westminster Jeff. I love my Jeff a whole lot, but I really like it when Westminster Jeff hangs out with us, cause he's taller than my Jeff, which I point out every time. Its just that at 6'5", every now and then someone should be taller than you, its healthy. And how about that gorgeous couch from Miss Caroline. I almost stole it and shoved it in the trailer but I am cursed with a small amount of decency.



The frame wall was a default project that was planned somewhat last minute due to assuming I would only have prints of the new fabrics and not actual fabrics. So this modular frame thing was like a conceptual quilt. I was relieved however that 3 days before we left, the fabrics indeed arrived, saving me some printing, and also providing lots and lots of last minute sewing chaos. Wouldn't be market without that.



I had lots of fun with flowers against this teal wall color, and naturally I wanted to echo the new collection's palette. A detail about booth planning which practically renders me psychotherapy worthy, however is how I labor over the candy decision. The color and the flavor and the wrapper and the taste and the mood have to be right. I went with butterscotch. It was warm and aromatic and glowed from the antique alabaster compote. (Free mind analysis anyone?)



Bloomy. Oh and a big thank you to my pal Val for helping me arrange the bouquets with minutes to spare on the bathroom floor. Good clean fun.



Oh blurry loveliness. This is the other end, where the concentration was on the upcoming line of sewing patterns. Lots of excitement generated for the patterns, almost enough to make me actually finish the final development and printing. Marketing your products is good for that, you should try it! Seriously, though, I will show you the actual pattern covers later this week, non-blurry-like.



Slightly closer up, the poster here shows the back detail of the Socialite Dress sewing pattern. This is my favorite shot of all the images I've worked on for the sewing patterns. I drove up and down every downtown Nashville street (3x) looking for a charming architectural relief detail of some sort. And wouldn't you know I ended up next to a Greek restaurant that I'd never heard of. It was serendipitous how much the building detail answered the fabric design details and made for a great shoot. Hm.

So that's mostly it, I suppose. I owe so many of you a huge amount of thanks for stopping by the booth and spending time with me, sharing the excitement of current and upcoming projects. But most importantly, sharing in our joy as we prepare to increase the love in this house. Through hugs, squeals, emails, letters, calls and comments, I am so honored that my happiness is also yours.

Thank you, thank you. From every last little one of us.
xoAM

Taking my time

These past few weeks I have been so conscious of the time that things take, to the point of wanting time to go away a little, or just retreat. I've been wanting it to not have any bearing on reality for a bit so that I can absorb what I feel needs to be absorbed and leave the rest. Even the extra hour this weekend didn't give me enough, as I'm still holding a grudge from Springing forward. Alas, it passes anyway, without permission.

There were many many hours spent preparing for market, obviously, which accounts for most of my absence from here. And sorry about that. But Fall Quilt Market could not have gone better. I am so thankful. Jeff and I drove all the way to Houston and back (28 hours round trip) with the only hitch being the one pulling a trailer containing my booth display. A booth display, in fact, that won first place (again!) in the double booth category. I couldn't tell you what the award criteria is, but I am very honored, of course, to be recognized. And it certainly doesn't hurt in patting the strong back of my husband who labored tirelessly on the construction details. Good man. I will share all the goodies with you that all the attendees got to see as this week rolls on, promise.



As wonderful and enjoyable as it was to meet up with all my pals in the sewing circle, and have some time away, there is never anything quite like the return. We both miss the kids an awful lot when gone. All the monotonous details of family care suddenly take on more appeal from afar and we miss the little things, like Eleni skipping out of a room.

The first full day back, Allie and I spent hours and hours catching up on orders and I am happy to say that we are caught up. All the books ordered thus far have been shipped! And that's sayin' something. Whew. I'm glad to be back in a more normal flow with the shop and can't wait to share new stuff coming soon. Thursday my parents came in to celebrate Joseph's birthday which we concisely took care of with a skate, a steak and a cake. All to his choosing. The kindest boy ever is 9 years old.



Having Mom and Dad here for those few days forced me to take it easier than I might have, which I'm mighty glad for. Mom worked on embroidering one of her quilts interspersed with baking and handwashing my dishes. She is so easy to love. Dad pondered the beginnings of what will be the first painting he's made in about 25 years. He is a beautiful painter, and I'm relieved to see him stir up the brushes again. He has saved the above picture from a summer spent in Greece for more than 30 years with wavering thoughts of someday making a painting from it. I'm the healthiest looking one between my sister Eleni and my brother George. My cousin Eleni is the one keeping that poor donkey humble by sitting on his neck. Anyway, his current plan is to rather paint a landscape of the gorgeous terrain and olive grove surrounding his home in Greece. So, I managed to get Mom to the local needlework shop to get her all the colors she needs to finish her quilt, and Dad to the local art supply store to stock up on all the colors of paint he'll need to get started, provided he doesn't spend another few years recomposing the plan.

I suppose worthwhile endeavors do take time. I've certainly managed to take enough of yours with all this catching up! So I might as well let you know that I'll be spending 29 1/2 more weeks bringing our little #6 into the world. Time well spent.

are we caught up a bit? best to you! xoxo, Anna

The Debate, Poll watching & the Vote

The BIG DEBATE~ Do I go with a magenta Sharpie or a black Sharpie to sign all the books that'll be flying outta here any day? Oh, the agony. The books are getting here sooner than anticipated, and some people are already getting theirs from Amazon and Barnes & Noble ahead of the official publication date. And not that I'm a poll watcher or anything (that would be my husband) but Seams To Me has been the #1 seller on Amazon in the sewing category for several days now. I can't believe it! Wowwee. N'kay, nuff book bragging, let me brag about something else....



The BIG VOTE~ A group from my Garden Party Home Goods collection has been nominated for Best New Color Story by Textiles Today TiA Awards. So power to the people! You can go vote for my collection here (or one of the other nominees if you so chose...but, come on).

So what debates, polls & votes did you think I was talking about?
(although, doesn't watching those other debates make you want to play with Sharpies!?)

good weekend pals, lots of sewing to do here!
xo,Anna

I can't believe it - it's just like a book

It's here. At least a few advanced copies. It's just exactly what I thought it would be, and then its a surprise all over again. I wrote all this? Seriously? Actually no, I wrote WAY more than this, and this is to represent the best of all I wrote. And drew. And photographed. And designed. And dreamed. And cried. And lived. For days on end, and nights alone in the dark in the studio with a quilt on my lap, a plate of something encouraging, and very often a beer, or two, keeping me company until 3 or 4 in the morning, until I started the countdown of hours till the feet would be stomping all over the house, and called it a night. Or a morning. The two or three hours of sleep left to me after a night of writing and rewriting, were never enough to warm my icy right hand that had to stay out of the warmth of the blanket, extended out on the desk and clicking on the mouse. My computer table is against an outer wall and above the garage which is not particularly well insulated, so its a risk to work late in the winter.

But today, the warm Autumn sun is rushing itself through all the studio windows making a sunny comfortable place for this little project of mine. So I sit and I flip and I flip again and again. And I'm terrified and thrilled that so many of you will do the same. And I hope that you know that through many of the struggles with this book, I thought of the collective you. I thought of how if I could just sit you down here and we could make all this stuff together over stories and shared experiences, then the risk wouldn't feel so great. It would feel like just having you here for a sewing day and so much more. And in the end, that's what I feel like this book became. Something I made for and with you and something that I hope warms at least your hearts when you take on any of its projects knowing that all of it is inspired by my desire to share. And to celebrate. And to teach. And to care for this gift that was given to me by the all the talented women in my family. Thank you for all the encouragement that you leave here for me everyday. Its proved to be a soft handknit glove that kept my little hand warm and clicking away.

All emotion aside (as if that's possible), what are you doing between now and November 14th? Well you could be entering your chance to win a sewing machine, the book, fabric, thread and so on! My publisher has set up a landing page for the book here, and it includes a gianormous sweepstakes thanks to Wiley Publishing, Singer, FreeSpirit Fabrics, Coats & Clark. And you can enter once a day and you don't even have to buy the book to do so. Exciting stuff!

Wishing you the best weekend, and I'll be sitting on the floor with that stack again now.
love from here, Anna Maria

Ahh, Shoot!

Lots of photo shoots to wrap up this week in prep for market, then on to lots more sewing etc. While the pace doesn't look just like above all the time, it certainly feels just like this. I always snap a few of my models entering and leaving the scene, and I always love how those shots end up.

This here is letting one little kitten out of the bag. I'll be introducing four new sewing patterns at market, and its been an awful lot of work getting everything just so. But in a lot of ways, after the book, one sewing pattern doesn't seem quite the work it once did, its just a different format altogether-one that allows a bit more space and explanation for a given project, so it feels luxurious as I write and illustrate.

Speaking of the book, I am overwhelmed at the amount of people who have pre-purchased a signed book from my shop. Thank you soooo much! You have no idea how much that means to me, especially when me and my small business can't offer the same price breaks as the big guys. Just knowing that you want to bring it into your sewing room means a great deal, no matter where you buy it! Oh and there is going to be a big publisher-size sweepstakes very soon that I can't wait to point you too!

More kittens escaping here soon!

xo,Anna

Whats gray & cream & pumpkin all over?

The newest instalment of my Quilt Market furniture is in progress! I'm sure you remember the fancy chairs from Spring Market, which I hope are still being enjoyed by their owner (hi, Rhiannon). It was so fun to connect with a fabric lover to achieve those chairs that I've decided to make it a market tradition.



This fall, however, as Houston is our market-hosting city, and with all that city and that part of the country has been through....it felt only a little odd to blog a title such as "Hey Houston I know you don't have power or anything but who wants to upholster a couch for me?" Yea, see, not so good or thoughtful, really.

BUT, it never feels wrong to bother a friend or a family member, so in that annoying spirit I called on my friend Caroline, a Houston native and the proprietor of JCarolineCreative.com. And might I say she rocks upholstery, and she does it herself!! Anyway, she scored this lovely traditional sofa (digital mock-up above) for 15 smackers at a garage sale, and had yet to decide what to do with it. I decided that for her and she was totally game. What a girl.



I went to my fav local fabric shop to find a posh piping fabric, knowing I wanted something pumpkin-ish, and was pointed to this fine wale corduroy, which I think is perfect. I love how light hits fine corduroys and matte velvets making them milky from one angle and deep and rich from the other. I think it will catch the light beautifully as edge piping for the sofa and give it a warm, cozy detail. Oh, and I did offer to cut the bias strips before I sent them, as I know most people hate doing that. Enjoying bias strip cutting is strange fact #241 about me.

One market couch, check. One husband on board for booth modifications (while I stand and stare), check. Lots and lots going on, and can't wait to share a few things that I've had up my sleeve for a while now.

Happy October, people. xoxo, AM

Dear Practicality,

Please accept my deepest apologies. I just couldn't help myself. Fall made me do it.

Sincerely, Anna Maria

Stockpiling Spectrums

There's a piling up of all manner of colorful goods as though a winter with no end were imminent and all that will pass the time is drawing and sewing in front of a log burning fire. Not at all for real, but sounds quite nice. I do think that I'm squirreling away supplies as a promise to myself, evidenced in my last post. (Oh, and I need to point out that the colored pencils did not produce the drawings laying next to them in the photos. Those are some marker sketches from the summer....the pencils were just lying there in jealousy, waiting for their chance.)



A long since sad willow finally laid itself down in our yard after the last storm. We felt a cremation was in order. We offered condolences by snapping, cutting, breaking and piling every last bit of it into orderly piles categorized by size. The kids flipped out when Leo carried a small/medium stick in his mouth and then actually dropped it in the small/medium pile. He's a genius they laughed. Then they got their wish of campfire hotdogs and I got poison ivy. The hot dogs were so much better.



The littlest girl staying home today, who has a bit of a cough and runny nose, was crazy pleased to pile up these new little spectrums atop our woodpile. She said it would make a beautiful rainbow campfire.



Oh but the thread, yes. While I would recommend only cotton thread for your machine and hand quilting, have you guys tried out the new & improved Coats thread? I am in love and went a bit crazy on colors, but it is hard to have too much, no? The quality is greatly improved, perfect for garment sewing (especially if you work with more than just cotton fabric) and I am a sucker for the fancy new wind-up at the top of the spool . Eleni fancies playing a sort of Jenga with them more than sewing with them, but we'll work with that.



Leo the genius dog sat guarding the small/medium pile the whole time we took pictures. Come to think of it, looking at these pictures I think he was waiting for his fetch command. Okay, now I feel bad. One or two throws won't put me too far behind.

enjoy your weekend friends! xo,Anna

Monday morning

Eleni had Nilla wafers and milk this morning and it made me wish I was little. In her typical kind manner she politely offered me a few from the pile on her paper towel. After responding with a smile and a nothankyou, I realized how far I am from being little. I was content with my coffee. Once Jeff joined us at the breakfast counter content with his coffee, Eleni began describing why she likes Nilla wafers so much, and it has something to do with how chewy they are.
"Oh, I think of them as crunchy," I replied.
"No! They are chewy," Jeff confirmed.
"Don't you remember that? That's what I've always loved about them." he added and then "when was the last time you had one?"
"I dunno, maybe a few years ago," though I couldn't say for sure.
The both of them took to getting dressed, while I savored my warm cup staring out the sunny window. I looked over to notice that there were two wafers and a swallow of crumb-free milk looking back at me. I took a bite. Crunch first. Then YES, chewy. Then the next I had to quickly dip in the milk before the little one who does not like crumbs in her milk ran in, almost completely dressed, for her last gulp. (Made it just in time. I do however still feel a ripe old 36.)



In maybe not so unrelated news, I cannot stop dreaming about scribbling around with my new colored pencils the moment that other priorities are swept aside. I can already see the little forms in my head that I want to play out which have been developing from one day to the next, and its time to get them on paper before they float off. The images are happy and charming and I don't want them to go anywhere until we've had a chance to talk. I've had the new pencils (and cute new inkwell sharpener) on my work table in the studio for precisely 4.5 days. I am growing very impatient to release some of their smooth hue onto a clean white board. I messed around with markers plenty this summer, preparing thoughts for new designs, and I'm ready for pencils now.
This will be the indulgence waiting for me today, whatever age that makes me.

xo,Anna, who encourages cookies AND coloring

It started innocently enough

This isn't what it looks like. I was only conducting field research whilst naming the new fabric stack combinations for the shop. I did find myself dreaming about all varieties of treats that were impossible to chew (until today). Its not like I went straight from dental work to chewy stick to your fillings candy. There were like 3 days in between.



And during those days, as evidenced above, I indulged rather tamely, thank you. It was quite fun and I have absolutely no business having any fun! There is work to be done. Which promptly makes anything more fun. I told myself it would just be a wee small bit of quilting, just for kicks. Then no one was safe from the sweet seduction of fabric triangles.



Even Isabela could not keep her hands out of all the goodness and spent a long while in front of the new design wall devouring one triangle after another in search of the perfect configuration.



And I have no idea who's composing that large-scale thing to her right. I certainly don't have the time for that.

(more candy corn fun here, 'member, from last year?)

xoAM

Meds, Movies, Mumbling & 'Moothies

This very, very busy week has ended this morning with the extraction of four teeth that, in the opinion of my good doctor, were not doing me a lick (or a bite) of good. And all I got was this lousy t-shirt. The nurse showed it to me right after the medication was slipping me into a silly state so I have more of an affection and a giggle for my party favor than I may have otherwise. I have loads to tell/show you people, but one pic of a not very exciting topic is all I can muster today. I have slept and mumbled an awful lot, but Allie has either been too nice to laugh or my numb mouth is actually functioning decently. Jeff and I brought home some movies to keep me occupied. I was able to keep my eyes open for Miss Pettigrew Lives for A Day (very sweet and fluffy, and I noticed that Jane mentioned it and me today too - thanks dear girl). And I'm looking forward to the Heartbeat Detector and The Counterfeiters once my knight in shining armour arrives home brandishing a smoothie for my dinner.

Nkay. The good news is I'm starting to feel my mouth a bit now. The bad news I'm starting to feel my mouth a bit now. So back to item #1 of that title, I believe. Are you ever kind of okay with a mild infirmary as a welcome chance to be still and comforted?

Wishing you health, happiness, and rest this weekend, xo,AM

For a deer girl

Well this little bundle made the 'would'a blogged it if I were bloggin' list and its getting blogged too. Do you remember how great 7 was? I can remember thinking that it was good to be a kid around then. Totally excusable if you wanted to play, and totally acceptable if you wanted to do something grown-up too. In thinking about this, I wanted to make something for Bela that would help her do both.



I mentioned that we have had a pair of does in the yard a lot lately (though we haven't seen them in a bit) and no one has wanted to approach their sweet speckled bodies more than Bela. They seemed not very conditioned to be afraid of us, and so she came rather close to them a few times. But each time there was just enough natural human fright for a gentle skip away, and I watched my girl pound her fists into her thighs gently in anguish. Nuts. Missed 'em again. She just wanted to help take care of them and be kind. Remember feeling that way? I do.



So for the sweet frontier girl spirit I see in her, I thought she would enjoy embarking on another of my own childhood favorites. I so vividly pictured all the scenes described in this book, and I know Isabela's little mind and I see her imagination painting it all there in the air as she reads to herself. Oh, and the doll bed, I just kinda figured out, but definitely knew it should have handles to carry along on adventures. The quilt is a small whole cloth quilt with this on the front and this on the back and this cut on the bias for binding. (I designed that fabric totally bc I wanted to see it as a bias binding. Joy.) I started it at the beginning of the summer (which is why its shown here) as a way to teach myself an improved hand-quilting technique, and I'm getting there. I've been playing around with different needle sizes and thimble combos to find what works for me....I'll share more on that soon. I did not stress too much about completely finishing all that I wanted to before giving it to her, because I know that one day she may thread a needle and do a little work on it herself. Which would be like a gift right back to me.



So for today's adventure of being both little and big, we practiced swaddling babies (twins, no less) and then she was off to the little house in our not so big woods.

One happy seven year old. Check.

xo,Anna

Involuntary Motion

Some things I might have blogged these past few weeks:

:*: Isabela welcomed 7 with ice skates on and sugar cookies cut in the shape of 7s instead of cake. So clever is she. I spent time making a babydoll bed and doll quilt for two little stuffed deer as her gift. The stuffed deer were given in lieu of the real motherless pair we continue to see munching clover under our trees.

:*: Martha sent me a thank you gift for sharing the stage with her in San Antonio comprised of a huge whisk, red and white dish towels, a lovely ceramic mixing bowl, number cookie-cutters and her Cookie book. (7-shaped cookies make sense now?)

:*: I decided to rest every time I got tired.

:*: During one of those afternoon easy-does-its, I heard the rhythm of our basketball being pounded into the asphalt which triggered a little kick in my heart to go swish a few with whoever was out there. I haven't felt that kick since I was about 11. I let Joseph spell HORSE with precisely 4 o's.

:*: I hosted supperclub like last year only this time all the husbands and children came too which amounted to nearly 50 people and great fun.

:*: I flew to Cleveland to tape a segment of Quilting Arts TV and enjoyed the company of my pal Melissa who was doing the same. I got to talk about color for nearly 10 minutes and everyone actually wanted me to. That was fun. (Airing in December, I think.)

:*: Allie was on vacation for a week and I'm never letting her do that again (kidding). I did not know that I moved at the speed of at least two people until I was one people again.

:*: Last night, we sat atop a very very high and luscious green hill in a grassy clearing overlooking a breathtaking view of our home town. Cicadas, crickets, sparrows, frogs and a few bats all sang summer off while my love and I inhaled togetherness and watched the grey evening sky become sapphire.


Just in case you were wondering. Thanks for the sweet hope-you're-okay emails.
better than ever here, Anna Maria

From my Garden

Well its not tomatoes, but the more flowery fruits of my own labor. I so enjoyed reading through the tomato love and all of your fancy ways of consuming them. I am thoroughly stuffed, and feel like we all shared a big meal. Food and love. It is something isn't it? I've been thinking about it for a few days now, how we have favorite ways to eat things, and the memories that a simple fresh vegetable can conjure. Its not just the memory of how you ate it and what it tasted like or how it was prepared, but more, its the warmth of the loved ones that grew it, cooked it or shared it. Its the comfort of being provided for in the most simplest form. Feeding the soul through the mouth.



I went out in the garden today to photograph this quilt and was entirely too distracted by the flowers and felt more like photographing them. I eventually found myself to be taking pictures of the same thing as the quilt, really. The palette was the same. And though this blessed Tennessee soil helped along these blooms, each frame was like another piece in the patchwork of my garden in August. And so I made a new quilt.



And in these thoughts of flowers, fabrics and foods, I found truth in this: offering one's work and toil is one of the greatest forms of love. And whether you are mingling oil and tomato in the kitchen, thread and fabric on your lap, soil and seed in the ground, the gesture of doing your best to provide is the same.

I recently read this quote from a Texas quilter named Mary White, that I think sums up the simplicity of making that is so dear to me:

"You can't always change things. Sometimes you don't have no control over the way things go. Hail ruins the crops, fire burns you out. And then you're just given so much to work with in a life and you have to do the best you can with what you got. That's what piecing is. The materials is passed on to you or is all you can afford to buy....that's just what's given to you. Your fate. But the way you put them together is your business."

good weekend, xoxo,AM

Toomanytomatoes

Seriously lets talk about this, cause its been foremost in my mind and my mouth for about 2 weeks now. After Mom and Dad sent a box to us about 10 days ago via a friend who happened to be traveling this way, they came themselves for a visit over the weekend. This time with a bigger box. The pride and joy of their garden by the river was overflowing with delicious potential.



Something that you need to understand is that my Dad giving us food, particularly fruits and vegetables, is a language of love. It's always been. You fell down and got hurt? Here, eat. You wrecked the car and I've already yelled at you for 3 days? Here, eat. Bad day? Here, eat. Lost the house you wanted to buy? Here, eat. Pregnant? Here, eat. Pregnant again? Here, eat. But the joy he finds in offering the fruits of his own labor is something all together different. I tried to get a quick shot of him with the glowing red beauties, but he barely let me get one before he invited anyone nearby to be in the picture with him. Then everyone makes like posing with the tomatoes is just what we wanted to do. Of course.



This little gathering went to the neighbors and likely I'll still need to take more to them later today. Our favorite way to eat them fresh, and the only way we ate them in my house growing up, is common Greek salad style. In most of Greece you would be hard pressed to find a leaf of lettuce served anywhere. The salad is always what some refer to as a village salad and no lettuce is permitted. Ours goes like this: fresh tomatoes peeled, cored and rough cut, large-chopped white onion, peeled & large-chopped cucumber, oregano (high mountain Greek is the best), salt, salt, salt, generous pour of olive oil (which lucky me gets from my dad's own olive trees near his home in Greece!-that's another post). Occasionally you would toss in a few Kalamata olives, and garnish with a large cut of feta. The most beautifully delicious part is the fresh mingling of juices and flavors at the bottom of the bowl which can only be eaten by the dunking of a (torn) piece of dense bread. Slicing even the best bread is completely missing the point of how to eat this. It must be torn, so that its a thick enough nugget to absorb the concoction at the bottom of the bowl. Bread has always been an eating utensil in our family.



Our tomatoes, however, have begun to outnumber the possible chances at fresh salads. So this morning once all the kids were off to their 3rd day of school, and the house was nice and quiet, I opened a window and began peeling, coring, chopping and cooking down. Maybe a soup. Perhaps just some sauce to freeze. Haven't decided yet. But the smell of the simmering sweet gifts coming from the kitchen and the song of the cicadas outside has me feeling pretty relaxed about the whole thing.

xoAM

Please and Thank You!

This gorgeous collage, made by my effervescent friend Stephanie Levy is my choice from the grouping that she made from some of my fabric scraps. Several months ago, we settled on a fun exchange where I sent my fabrics to her (in Germany) so she could do what she does best with scraps of things. (Look at more lovelies here.) Stephanie was so kind to offer me first choice for my birthday, even though it took me daaaays of looking, and thinking, and looking, and thinking to decide which one. Cause they're all so bea-yooti-ful, naturally. Don't ya love? I love. Stephanie and I go all the way back to art school where we were student contemporaries (high-faluntin for 'there at the same time'). Anyway, we both admired each other's work, equally, I think and both had a lot of interest in design and pattern in our fine art studies, though with refreshingly different results. I am so happy to have a piece that reflects both of us and points to how we've grown as artists. Our correspondence these days mostly consists of emails where she is asking mother-artist-wife-time-business-management advice which I rarely answer within one month's time because I so clearly have not mastered any of those subjects. But she knows that I love her, and she definitely seems to have it all under control. Quite beautifully.

In articulate promotional news, soon after reading all the glowing reviews of my new stickers I noticed that I have been sending out packing slips with my shop orders from someone named Anna Maria Horer. Yup.

xo,Anna

What is it about stickers?

After months and months of printing stickers on my desktop, I caved into a bit of professional help. Man. Can someone please explain the satisfaction one finds in stickers? Is it just me?
Can't be. Must be the residual pre-teen-Hello-Kitty-loving, note-writing, smelly-eraser-sniffing little punk leftover.

The nursery is red & white, you say?

So mostly I've been cleaning closets, giving away small kids' clothes, back-to-school uniform shopping, house-painting, studio reorganizing, and eating tomatoes from my dad's garden which are out of this world good. Nevermind that he and mom live 3 hours away. Where there's a quickly ripening garden of red juicy perfection there's a way. But yes, eating lots and lots of tomatoes with a healthy helping of the richest olive oil. Now that we've all gotten our antioxidants, look at the baby blanket I finished today!

I've had the fabric, 4" satin ribbon, and the bunny-softest flannel set aside for quite some time. My sweet friend Julie that I've known since 8th grade has given birth to her first baby and the nursery is white with bits of red and I am so glad. (AND I think I should overuse AND in some more sentences AND continue to run-on, you?)

The simple pairing of the already washed home decor weight fabric and flannel (with no batting) makes for a very practical not-too-heavy baby blankie that will only get softer and softer with each washing. I do love a baby quilt, but really wanted to give her something that she's not afraid to use. This was also the perfect opportunity to mess around with some freemotion stitching on my machine. When I came home from quilt market my mom showed me how to do this on the machine that I have owned for 8 years. (I just can't be bothered with learning such things immediately after purchase-immediately here means anywhere within 8 years.) The print of this fabric was ideal for making larger general shapes around the vertical bouquets without getting too fussy with it. I decided to use the pale pink thread to make any little mistakes less obvious on the flannel side. The stitching pattern on the cream side turned out really pretty, but difficult to see with a full size photo.

I folded the ribbon and treated it just like quilt binding but finished it with machine sewing instead of hand sewing which I think is neater looking on satin. Oh, and one little tip: before I pinned the fabrics wrong sides together, I pressed a few little 1x1" scraps of Steam-a-Seam scattered every 10" inches between the two layers then pressed them smoothly together. It's essentially like tacking the fabrics together with fusible. It was very helpful in keeping everything in place and prevented me from having to use a ton of pins that get in the way of stitching.

So right after I load our well-worn baby bassinet into the car for borrowing, finish wrapping the gift, pick up dinner and wine, I'm heading for a night with a newborn. Oh, and her mommy. I fully intend to let that munchie-pie have her way with this new blankie while Julie and I dine and have some mother chat. Wishing you as much fun, xo,AM