I can’t believe it’s been almost 2 weeks since my last post. I’ve been a little busy – but there’s lots of good stuff to report! It’s a little long, but if you hold out to the end, there’s some really exciting news to report!
First, our trip to Washington was really nice, despite my 9 year old’s bout with car sickness on the way down. He’s OK in the car unless he’s really excited. I think he gets a little too anxious for trips to places he’s never been. He’s fine on the 12 hour car ride back and forth to Illinois.
We drove down on Thursday and came back Saturday night. We had beautiful weather. We just missed the cherry blossoms, but the capital was blossoming with other spring flowers everywhere. We managed to get tickets to the Bureau of Engraving, so we saw money being made. Unfortunately they weren’t handing out free samples that day! Of course we went to the Air and Space Museum and tooled around the Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln Memorials.
We spent a few minutes gazing at the White House from behind the south lawn fence. That is, until I saw someone walk out with the dog! In my excitement, I started quietly shouting “Its the dog! There’s Bo!” The next thing you know, the police are not only making us leave the fence, but wouldn’t even let us stand across the street on the Ellipse grounds. I can’t imagine they clear that much area every time the first dog needs some fresh air, but I also couldn’t tell exactly who was walking him. Bo was the only dignitary we saw on our trip!
The boys enjoyed themselves and there’s lots more to see, so we’ll be going back again, I’m sure. It’s wonderful to be back on the east coast where there is so much to see and do within a reasonable driving distance.
As for the quilting, I did manage to finish most of the quilting for Dandelion Wine before we left. But of course, I found a bit more to do on Sunday morning. I put the last stitches on attaching the label on Thursday night and it shipped to California yesterday morning. Have you ever shipped a quilt? It’s almost like sending a child away on a trip. It’s bittersweet. It’s going to have a good time where it’s going, but I’m nervous for the journey and after spending 3 solid months with it, it’ll be weird not having it around!
Thursday was a glorious day here, so I took the finished quilt outside, put it on the lawn and tried to take a picture with it among the real Dandelions. The colors were very striking against the green grass. At one point, I had turned the quilt over and the sun hit the back in such a way that the quilting was really visible. Of course the photo doesn’t do justice to what I was able to see, but I am posting the picture on the Dandelion Wine page on the website. Check it out! Sorry, you still have to wait a few more weeks to see the completed front! What a tease!
From cutting to attaching the label, it took me 1 day shy of 3 months to complete Dandelion Wine. Of course, if I didn’t have two children, a husband, and a house to take care of, it probably wouldn’t take quite so long! But it seems that for the past few years, 3 months is my average to finish a quilt. If that means I can finish 4 significant quilts a year in addition to everything else I need to do, I’m happy with that.
OK, now for the exciting news! Starting with the Pittsburgh Market in May (this is the wholesale trade show), my patterns will also be sold through The Pattern Peddlers, a pattern distributor to retail shops across the country! I’ll spare you the details, but after having met the owner in Houston last fall when I was just getting my feet wet, we reconnected a few weeks ago. She liked what she saw on the website and agreed to be my first distributor. It happened very unexpectedly, so you can imagine the excitement and panic that ensued all at the same time when I realized I really had to get my act together in time for spring Market (May 15). So, at Market, Dandelion Quilt will be hanging at the Island Batik booth and the pattern will be for sale at The Pattern Peddlers booth! I get goosebumps just thinking about it! I will also have the Christmas Candy wall-hanging displayed at The Pattern Peddler booth along with that pattern also for sale. To say I’m thrilled would be an understatement!
I’ve got a lot to do in the next few weeks, so posts will be be sparse I’m sure! Wish me luck in getting everything ready in time!
Helle-May