UPDATED: FEB. 09

Well, chalk it up to a beginner blogger’s mistake. For some time I had meant to clean up my computer so I went ahead and deleted a bunch of pictures because, after all, I had put them in my Flickr file. Low and behold, some time later I decided to clean up my Flickr account, because, after all, they were forever on my blog. Huh, guess not. So, that is the reason you don’t see all the pictures…. they were deleted and are forever more floating around in cyper space. Now when I think about it it makes sense… duh! Guess I won’t do that again!

Merry Christmas from my house to yours.

Come on in….

A little peek at my home.

May we all rejoice in the glory of our Savior’s birth!


Best wishes.

Well, it’s been awhile so I’ll just share bits and pieces from the world of NLS.

Market and Festival were just wonderful. Sales were way up and I received great feedback on Fall’s Finery (cover quilt) and the Clearly Perfect Angles. In fact, Alex Anderson will be demonstrating the CPA on an upcoming episode and McCall’s will highlight it in their March issue.

I was able to use my husband’s Suburban for the drive to Houston. It was so nice not to haul a trailer. We even had a little space when we headed south. This is a picture of what it looked like on the ride home. Go figure! It was stuffed… hmmmm, I think Miss Karen did a little shopping at market. Make sure to check out her online store to see what she brought home. Farmhouse Woolens

Karen was a wonderful assistant at market. I couldn’t have done it without her. She has done this enough now to know just what needs to get done, and knows me well enough to keep me on track when the stress level is rising. She has a wonderful way of saying things that just makes one laugh.

We were able to have dinner with some of Karen’s blogging friends one night. It was just a hoot. Check out these blogs for some great laughs and ideas: Red Geranium Cottage , Nancy No Blog Blogs, Cottons n Woolens.

I had the pleasure of teaching three classes at market. They were very well attended and the shops were able to take advantage of some premarket deals.

Here is a view of market from an upper level. This is only about a quarter of the show floor. My booth is actually right in the middle of this picture. Can you see it??

Festival! Wow! I have never vended or even attended. It is a whole different ballgame. There were literally bus loads of people. Those of you that have gone to market know some of the get-ups that quilters wear. Well, let me tell you, being there on Halloween was really a treat. My husband had a great time just people watching.

Even as busy as we are, I always try to see at least some of the art quilts. What wonderful artists they are!
.

Car(r) Rides:

We put some long hours in behind the wheel and at times got a little punchy. One of my favorite things to do is quiz Karen on songs and artists. I would cover up the info on the XM radio and ask her trivia. I am not kidding, that girl knows just about every song. At one point we were reminiscing about old tv shows (Carol Burnett, Wild Kingdom, The Wonderful World of Disney, Ponderosa- you get our era). Anyway, I said my friends and I used to sing Marie Osmond’s “Paper Roses” into our Bonnie Bell Lip Smackers. Now I knew she liked Donny, but my jaw just dropped when she listed off all the Osmond family, oldest to youngest without missing a beat. How many people do you know that can do that?

The GPS, affectionately known as Rhonda (“Help, Help me Rhonda”) provided a wierd sense of entertainment. After a very long day of driving we broke into giggles as Rhonda said Iowa (Eye-oh-aye) over and over. Maybe you had to be there…. Rhonda was really a big help while driving in Houston. When my husband was driving one day he took a wrong turn. I asked him why he didn’t do what Rhonda said. He quickly replied that he could only listen to one woman at a time. Was that a hint????

I am very thankful that everyone made it home safe and sound. The best part about being gone for that long is realizing how nice home and family are!

’til next time….

Life before market is always a little hectic and this fall it seems to be a little more so.

About a month ago I reinjured my shoulder and was told by the doctor that sewing and computer work was out of the question. What??? Was he kidding? Try to tell a quilt pattern designer not to do those things with market looming. (Actually, I couldn’t lift my arm to even brush my hair).

So I told myself I should do some blogging because writing is suppose to be a stress reliever. (I know it’s computer work, but hey!) I was so proud of my second blog and then I went to post it and poof, it was gone. Well, I will tell you that the stress went up even higher and I found that chocolate was even better for the soul than writing! Yum, that KitKat bar was good!

A few weeks ago, my father-in-law passed away. And even though it wasn’t unexpected it was sad and emotional. Hmmm, he always had M&M’s for the grandkids. Yep, I still like those too!

Running errands for market took me right by McDonald’s and I discovered it isn’t just chocolate, but those darn starches. Yep, had a medium Mickey D fries and enjoyed every last bite. I knew I was in trouble when even my husband commented on my turning to those “comfort foods”. Okay, so get all that stuff out of the house!!!!

Travels

I said I would post some pictures of the Buggy Barn trip that Karen (My Yellow Farmhouse) and I took this last summer. It was quite a sight to see all those beautiful quilts outside!

For those of you who read Karen’s blog, here she is doing her thing with Little Silver.

Only a few Peanutbutter M&Ms were consumed on this trip….

I was reminiscing about market and came across some of these pictures from past markets.

Here I am trying to get the last of the booth items into the SUV. This one was absolutely packed to the brim.

There were 3 of us to set up the booth in Salt Lake City. Carri wasn’t the only one resting, but the only one who had a picture taken. Of course, we said it was the altitude that was doing us in, not that we were out of shape (or ate ourselves across the Rocky Mountains).

We flew to Portland last spring before the airlines started charging for extra baggage. This is called “a booth-in-a-bag”!

The poor guy who checked baggage was so patient to let us rearrange to make the #50 weight limit. In fact, the last bag weighed in at 52 pounds and he slapped a tag on it and called it good. I think he couldn’t wait to get rid of 3 giggling women!

Okay, back to the present and packing up for the trip to Houston. I need to thank my dear husband for his patience. We have been married long enough that he knows when I need my space, but more importantly, when I need a hug. Thanks Hun! (but please don’t go looking for that bag of chocolate chips!)

As I left my beautiful Minnesota home I had to stop and wonder what I would come home to in a couple weeks. Here is a picture of the front of my house.

I’m pretty sure all the leaves will be gone when I get home. I am blessed to have some great windows and beautiful views. My plan is to share those with you in future post, but before that look for some tales from market.

‘till next time….

After lots of encouragement I am taking the leap into the blogging world. Truthfully, I am rather a quiet person and have thought I wouldn’t have enough to say… I guess time will tell.

New Leaf Stitches has been such a blessing. I have gotten the chance to be successful at something I like to do and have had such great support from my family and friends. I hope you will enjoy checking in from time-to-time.

Why start now? Well, some pretty exciting things have come my way and I would like to share them with you.

Way last winter I found out a quilt was accepted to be published in Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting. I was so excited and set to work refining the quilt. A wonderful quilt retreat in February was the perfect place to work on it and get input from some very talented quilters. Finally the quilt was shipped to Iowa and I didn’t think much more about it. About a week before the September issue was set to hit the news stands, a friend emailed to say I was on the cover. COVER!! Wahoo!! What an awesome surprise.

Since the publication of “Fall’s Finery” there has been a lot of interest in the fun and easy “frame border” technique. Check out the website for all the patterns that use the technique.

You know the saying, “When it rains it pours”? Well, September has been “raining pennies from heaven”. Quiltmaker’s Quilting and Embroidery magazine highlighted my new notion, Clearly Perfect Angles. I am so very pleased with their review.

More Musing:

In August I went on a road trip with “my friend Karen” to the Buggy Barn show in Washington. I will share some of our trip in the next post. I need to thank Karen for her encouragement (and patience) in getting the NLS blog going. If you get a chance, make sure to check her blog: My Yellow Farmhouse for great decorating ideas, wool/quilt projects, recipes and stories. You won’t be sorry you stopped in for a visit.

Market is coming up in a month and I will try to share some of the behind-the-scene preparations. Don’t forget to keep saying prayers for the people of Houston and Galveston.

You know what? I’ve surprised myself with the length of this first post! Maybe I’m not as quiet as I thought I was…..