The turtle and the hare

It's a race to market and for once I'd like to be the turtle, slow and steady. I can't see it happening in the near future but I can dream. So I'm the hare and I'll try and be happy about it. I work last minute, I'm always playing catch up and hey, if I remember right the hare is supposed to get a good nap! None of that happening around here lately. Maybe I should go munch on some carrots.

Only the select few get to see the studio right now. It's in chaos. Yesterday I couldn't find the pattern I was working on and I had to stop and look everywhere. In the end I finally found it, right where I left it, under all the other pattern folders. It's a good thing I'm not in charge of the check book...oh no, I am! They should make check books bigger then they'd be easy to see.

And in all this chaos, a little miracle happened today. "Postcard Cuties for Angels" is on it's way to the quilter! Created in a two week period, thanks to my own little angels, Heidi, Robin, and Melissa! Everyone worked and worked to help me get this quilt done. Oh ladies, this hare loves you!

And to show you all that I am smarter than the average turtle, listen to this...We (me and the above mentioned angels) have created TWO of these Postcard Cuties for Angels! Two samples of the same quilt for quilt market. One for the Henry Glass booth and one for the Bunny Hill booth. Just in case you walk by and forget what it looks like LOL! I know, I know I'm one nutso, I mean smart hare. And none of the above mentioned angels even questioned my request. They must think I know what I'm doing.

So many things I can't talk about.

There's so many things I can't talk about yet it's killing me. Everyday I think, "oh I should blog about that" and I realize I can't yet. I can't show you the new patterns because we're still working away, I can't show you my new fabric line because I'm not supposed to talk about it before market, I can't tell you who the new Henry Glass designers are because they have to tell you themselves, I can't talk about my booth and market plans and I can't remember why, but rules are rules everyone! I could just leave you a big blank blog post and you'd get the idea.

Here are a few things I can talk about, kind of. I saw the American Patchwork and Quiting Magazine photos that they took at my house. Chelsea, Bitsy and Mooch made the cut. That's magazine talk for they are in! And boy are they excited! Wait until you see them. So cute!

Yesterday the above mentioned stars got a new pink pampered pooch bed. It's from Moda Home and if you think you have to have one for your special pet, ask your local quilt shop to order one. It has a removable cover and a pillow insert. They LOVE it. Now it's fights for the bed and I think it's because it's pink don't you? Bitsy hasn't made it to the bed yet. Or at least not when I had the camera in my hand.

And then in the mail today came the sweetest surprise from Stephanie over at Loft Creations. She sent me something blue right out of the blue (pardon the pun on blue). It's a beautiful blue bag (bbb) and it's for ME! I absolutely adore it! Made by her, for ME! Thank you Stephanie!

Stephanie's in some fun swaps, and she has lots of fun things going on over at her blog. She's on her way to meet Amy Butler! That will make for some beautiful pictures. Wear your high heels Stephanie! She's gorgeous and tall and really nice.

So in another month I'll be able to chatter on and on about who knows what. I hate having to keep quiet. It's not normal for me.

Little Miracles

It's market crunch time and it gets really crazy around here. Really crazy! But little miracles are happening every day thanks to my wonderful friends and assistants. EVERY DAY!

For example, this little miracle came from my assistant Robin. She's a genius. I needed to make these secret little "things" for one of my patterns and I couldn't figure out how to make them. Well Robin suggested fusible web and ta da...these wonderful little "things" were born! And you, my dear readers will see these wonderful "things" on a Bunny Hill pattern very soon. Nope, can't tell you what they are but I bet you can guess.

And this fabric?

It's from Lakehouse Fabrics. These little pretties are going into another "secret" project from Holly that you'll get to hear about next week. See that tiny little pink elephant fabric? Isn't it darling? Tiny little elephants about 1/4" in size. This will be in stores soon so make yourself a little elephant quilt using this fabric and the free pattern on my web site for the miniature quilt! So where's the miracle in this? Well it's a miracle I got the project done! Done and off to Holly today. Signed, sealed and soon to be delivered.

And here's another miracle happening right now...my friend Anne finally has a blog! I'm so excited! She's a wonderful quilter and such a talented decorator. You will love her new blog, Cottons 'n Wool. Hop on over and say "hi". She'll be so excited. She's working away on some new Bunny Hill patterns (that is if she's not busy posting) and you'll be seeing her at market with me very soon. I'll be taking pictures of her buying wool. Why, I bet she'll buy some cotton too! Her blog name fits her perfectly!

And for those of you loving spring in Australia, did you know that Autumn has arrived here? Yep, we're into Autumn and so excited!

Angel Inspiration!

Quilts Inc has posted a notice that Quilt Market and Festival 2008 will proceed as planned. I never doubted them for a minute! If anyone can do it, they can!

I however, am not nearly as organized as they are. I need at least 8 more hours in a day in order to finish in time for quilt market. I would take 8 more hours or another month. Either one will work. It's only been 4 months since our last market so I don't think I'm asking too much LOL!

The quilt I'm designing for my angel fabric uses both applique and embroidery. Let me show you where the inspiration for one of the blocks came from! Several weeks ago, my grand-daughter Michaela, drew a little flower for me...

Pretty cute don't you think? Well, I loved it so much I turned it into...

...a block on my angel quilt! Inspired by my little angel, Michaela!

And remember that photo class I told you about in my last post? Well, our assignment was to go outside and take a photo of something we might walk past 100 times and never notice. Something that we get so used to seeing, we forget it's there. Our front yard has lots of roses that look a bit ragged right now. The flowers are still pretty, but the bushes are showing signs of getting ready for winter. I used my 50mm lens and focused on the rose. The camera must have known that the rest of the bush wasn't dressed for photos, because look at what it did!

The world through the eyes of a camera...

Hugs all! It's back to work!

Take the camera off auto!

I know I'm not alone. Those of us who are scheduled fly to Houston in five weeks for quilt market are all wondering what will happen. Everyone I've talked to thinks that Texas will show it's strength in amazing ways and Houston will be back to normal. I have a feeling they might be right. So we wait to see what happens.

And I can't help but wonder if any of those beautiful houses I showed in my last post are still standing. My heart and prayers go out to those who have lost so much.

Holly from Lakehouse has something fun planned and you'll be seeing this little logo popping up on designers blogs right about now. It means they each are doing something special that I know you'll enjoy! Everything Holly does is fun, so get ready!

Today I took my camera off "auto"! That's right, no more auto can you believe it? I've signed up to take an online photography class from Jessica Sprague. I really want to learn how to use my new Nikon camera and I read about her classes on another blog. It just looked like so much fun! I waited and waited for the next class to open and when it did I signed up right away. So here you have my first photo taken without a flash, and a very low shutter speed. I tried all different settings to see what would happen. Never would have tried this without a class! It's so much fun!

As for the little bundles of my angel fabric, they are going to Karen in Sunnyvale, California. She's been waiting a very long time for this fabric! Angel Houses is due to ship to the shops sometime in December. Seems so far away, but it isn't! And of course I'll be doing some fabric giveaways soon.

Hugs to you all.

Anne

Galveston

I've been thinking about this area all day. Working on applique has left me with lots of time to think.



All those beautiful old houses, and large old trees...

The Houston area feels a bit like home, like an old friend. A friend in comfortable clothing, who's easy to embrace. A friend I can picture in my mind long after I leave. One that I'll visit again as early as this October, God willing.

I hope and pray that the storm will spare this wonderful friend.

It was 3 years ago last October, when we made the trip to Galveston after Quilt market. It's a short drive from Houston, maybe 1/2 hour. It took almost a half day to get there because we had to stop at all the quilt shops along the way. The Galveston area has a lot of old, historic houses. The kind that take your breath away. We got out of the car and walked the streets of Galveston taking pictures. It was so inspiring!

Now that the people from this area are evacuating, fearing for the worst, please remember them in your prayers.

And say a prayer for all the little animals...

And the people who have made this beautiful area their home.

UPS Box

Usually a UPS box is exciting, but when it contains your newest fabric line it's better than ever!

I opened the box and look what was in it! My newest fabric line, "Angel Houses"! 50 lbs of fabric in a UPS box! My advance yardage is finally here!

I was going to post this last night. I took the picture, but then I decided it had to wait so I could show you a sneak peek of a little surprise.

"Angel Houses" sounds so sweet,and feminine and it is. Yes, there will be some little girl quilts coming for sure, but I've also got other plans for it. Some things you might not be expecting...

This little critter is for the boys!

I just can't help it. Little boys are angels too!

Back to work or I'll never get done (:

Bunny Cereal!

Look at the cereal my son found at the grocery store! Annie's bunny cereal! How cool is that? Made right here in California. Yup, they're pretty "with it" in California so I've heard.

Then yesterday in the mail arrives the sweetest little gift and note from Heidi over at Hen & Chicks. Isn't this the sweetest thing? A thank you to me for sending people her way! Thanks Heidi!
And just a minute ago, my very favorite UPS driver pulled up...

and left me this surprise box...
I'll show you what's in it tomorrow!

Hugs,

Anne

P.S. I deleted a post accidentally. If you get one from your blog subscription, it's gone now. Oops.

Applique in the works

Do you wonder where I've been? I'm feeling lost without all of you! Wish you could all come over and help me!

I've been working on my new applique block of the month and It's consuming all my time. I swear I've replaced fabrics, redrawn the patterns, and changed my mind at least 20 times. I'm impossible to live with when I'm working on one of these, and until it's finished I live, breath and dream the quilt.

Some applique quilts go together easy and others take a bit more time. I've come to expect it... "I Believe in Angels" was one of those quilts that just fell into place...

...and "All Things Christmas" took a LOT of work...I swear my friend Anne almost quit being my friend when I was working on this quilt! The stories she could tell!

From start to finish each quilt has it's own personality.

After many hours spent at the computer writing the pattern, and endless hours of work, maybe, just maybe, I'll have another quilt to show for it!

And see this little gem above? Well, it just didn't work in the quilt and I couldn't use it. Even after sewing together all those little 1" squares. If at first you don't succeed...

...so stay with me! I'll try and make it worth it. (:

Hugs,

Anne

Two more hair cuts until Fall Market!

Who knew getting your hair cut could be so stressful? I was fine until I went to make my next hair appointment and realized it's almost October. Can you stand it? Only two more hair cuts till Fall market!

And here's where I'm at today...

My studio is a mess and this stack of fabric doesn't even resemble a quilt yet...

does it?

(Thanks Brigette for letting me try your Best Press)

I have scribbly (gotta love that word) drawings and notes to my self all over the studio...

...and you trust me to put together a quilt and a pattern? A readable pattern?

Ha! Ha! Mooch says...she could care less...she got a "Bad Kitty" pillow case from my friend Robin and she's pretty happy about it...

...and my friend Anne is busy finding new and funny blogs for me to read... http://thestonerabbit.typepad.com/

With a little luck and LOTS of help from my friends, I'll have a few new patterns...maybe!