I met all my deadlines, everything was shipped in time, and tomorrow morning my husband and I drive to Pittsburgh for Spring Market.  Of course, I’m excited and nervous all at the same time.  I’ve heard from several different sources that despite the economy, the quilting industry is doing well.  So hopefully quilt shop owners will be there in force ready to stock their stores with new fabrics and patterns (mine included!)   We will be back Sunday night and I promise to have pictures! 

Having experienced Market only once, I can tell you it’s a vastly different experience from the retail shows put on by Quilts, Inc.  Essentially, the space that houses the retail vendors is filled with wholesale vendors.  In Houston it was vast.  I don’t know exactly how big the Spring Market is but I have to imagine it’s still pretty big.  Whereas Fall Market is always held in Houston, Spring Market is in a different city each year.  The biggest, noticeable difference is the noise and crowd level.  Much quieter and much easier to navigate the aisles!  There is just as much eye candy – but there’s the rub!  There’s very little cash and carry, but there is a lot of money changing hands!  A survey in 2006 found that approximatley 26 million million people participate in the $3 billion industry!  That’s billion with a “B”! 

Keep your fingers crossed!  Back to report on my experiences in a few days!

Helle-May

Whew!  I did it – I made all my deadlines! There were some really late nights this week as I worked to finish the pattern for Dandelion Wine.  I had flashbacks to writing papers back in my college years.  Ony this time, I had a computer instead of a typewriter.   Remember those things!   You don’t even see them at garage sales anymore!  Computers sure make editing a lot easier – I used to hate those white out cartridges!  OK – I’m dating myself now!

My kids experienced a new side of Mommy – a bit more stressed than usual – a bit more lenient than usual – due to standardized testing at school they had no homework – so “sure, you can watch TV until Daddy gets home, just don’t bother Mommy!”  I reassured them it, hopefully, wouldn’t happen too often.  I think they mixed feelings!  They managed and as a reward we all went out to dinner on Thursday night and had a very enjoyable evening.

In any event, there’s nothing like a deadline to get things done.  With the help of my husband and two dear quilter friends who agreed to edit and proof during the last 48 hours prior to meeting the printer’s deadline, I got it done!  I’m pretty confident that the directions are clear and that we caught any errors.   I dropped off the files on Thursday and much to my surprise picked up the pattern on Friday!  I have to give a plug here to my printer – Cornerstone Printing and Imaging in Flemington, NJ.  www.cornerstone-print.com  They have become a wonderful partner to this novice entrepreneur, dealing with my inexperience when it comes to printing related software issues as well as understanding a my business concept.  I highly recommend them for your printing needs if you are in the area.

I will ship the patterns to The Pattern Peddlers on Monday so that they have them in their warehouse for any orders they get next weekend at Market.  A lot, I hope!   Then I have a few days before driving to Pittsburgh on Friday to attend myself.  Maybe I’ll get lucky and pick up another job!   The pattern will also be available from my website by the end of the weekend.  Yeah!!

One last thing – Hope everyone enjoys a Happy Mother’s Day!!  I’m glad that mine will be stress free.   My mom and I will enjoy our annual tradition of going shopping!  I’m not really a shopper, but for as long as I can remember, Mom and I have gone shopping and bought each other something new to wear on Mother’s Day.   Afterwards, we’ll come home and enjoy a relaxing dinner with my husband and the kids.

Enjoy your weekend! 

Helle-May

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter or Passover.  Although it was a bit chilly here yesterday, it was still a beautiful day.  We hosted Easter dinner and enjoyed the company of my husband’s family as well as my mom.  Lots of food (ok, maybe too much food!) and good conversation. 

The kids have off for spring break this week and we are planning to take them to Washington, DC for a few days.  They are very excited to see the nation’s capitol.  Maybe we’ll even catch a glimpse of the new first dog!

Before that, I have lots of work to do!  I’m in the process of quilting “Dandelion Wine.”  As usual it’s taking a bit longer than expected.  Ironically, as much planning as I do for the piecing, I am not so good at planning the quilting.  I did better than usual and did plan a good portion of it, but then there’s a lot of ad hoc quilting as I decide that certain areas need more quilting.  I will admit that it’s also my most challenging part, as I do not feel as confident as I am at piecing the top.   Professional long armers would do a beautiful job, but, I prefer that the quilt be 100% my work.  On most quilts, whether it’s by hand or by machine, the quilting is what literally adds that extra dimension that truly makes the quilt a quilt.

I know there’s a lot of quilters out there, for whom the actual quilting is the most daunting part.  Sort of ironic, I think.   Machine quilting on a domestic machine can be quite intimidating, especially on a larger quilt.  Dandelion Wine is 65″ sqaure.  However, I have to say that there is no magic pill. Practice is the only way to gain confidence.  A fantastic machine quilter I knew in Illinois would always say “practice on something you care about, not just a practice sample.”  I believe she’s correct.  Baby blankets and charity quilts are great quilts to do just that. 

I am pushing to get the quilting done before we go to Washington, so I can relax and really enjoy my time with the boys!  I have to get the quilt to California by the end of the month, so that Island Batik can plan on where they will display it in their booth at Market in Pittsburgh.  I can’t believe Market is only a month away!  Shortly, I will have some exciting news regarding Helle-May Designs.  Let me dot a few more i’s, cross a few t’s,  and I’ll give you the scoop!

We have a loose plan for our time in Washington.  We’ve learned never to plan too much or too tight when travelling with kids, but any suggestions would be greatly welcomed!

Helle-May

In 24 hours, two things touched my heart in a similar way so much so that I just had to write. 

Yesterday, I was truly touched by the reception that our first lady has been receiving in London.  Between the queen’s gesture and the reaction of the girls’ school, it is so wonderful to see how the rest of the world is embracing our new leaders.  I don’t get involved in political debates, but I did follow the election and events leading up to it.  Somehow it didn’t really sink in that our new president and his wife are my contemporaries.  President Obama is only 3 years older than I.  Circumstances having been different, I told my husband last night, I could easily see myself having become friends with Mrs. Obama.  She is not unlike many of my friends – a well educated, confident career-woman, good mother and a wife in a mutually respectful and loving relationship.  She is real to me.  I liked how she put it yesterday in her talk  at the school, “…nothing in my life’s journey would have predicted that I would become the first lady of the United States…”  None of us really know what lies in store, but look how beautifully she has accepted her new role at the same time being true to herself.  I think that’s why she is being so welcomed- she appears genuine – what you see is what you get.   How refreshing!

The other thing happened when I dropped off my 9 year old son at school today (he normally takes the bus).   Last year as he started his new school, he nearly instantly befriended a girl in his class, with whom he has remained close.  She was being dropped off at nearly the same time this morning and I watched as she hurriedly ran to catch up with him with a big smile on her face.  I couldn’t see, but I guess that she was probably greeted with equal enthusiasm.  This little act may seem trivial on the surface, but it appears to me, as I’ve listened to how my son talks about his friend, that it is true friendship at its best – full of mutual respect and admiration.   In the life of a 9 year old boy, where playground friendships seem to come and go, as a mother I am just touched by the fact that he has made such an enduring and genuine friendship.  It gives me hope that he will be able to foster these types of relationships throughout his life.

I’ve said this in an earlier blog – be true to yourself  – it has to be a key to living a good and fulfilling life.

Thought for the day!  Now back to quilting!

Helle-May

March has been on heck of a month!  Every member of our family was sick for at least a week, including me.  We had our last big snowfall of the season on March 2nd.  I managed to get the shop up and running that day as well.  Managed to  attend two quilt shows in the area.  Helped to run the Cubscout Pinewood Derby Races.  Hosted 2 dinner parties and finished piecing the top for Dandelion Wine. 

Last week I even snuck in my annual physical.  I started this routine ( including my annual mammogram) when I turned 40, in hopes of catching any mid life issues early on.  Until this year, I went to the doctor with no issues to complain of.  This year I went with a list!  After a thorough examination and bloodwork – all the tests came back perfect – the diagnosis “you are just getting older.”  I turn 45  tomorrow.  I guess this is my midpoint year – is it downhill from here?  I hope not!  I am still waiting for the onset of menopause, but I can feel my body is starting to act a bit different.  As long as I am medically fit, I guess it’s a matter of mind over body!  I have to work on that!

I hope April is kinder to our family.  The kids have spring break the middle of the month and I am tired of being cold.  I am ready for spring!  The squirrels ate my tulips that started coming up, but the deer have left the daffodils alone.  Maybe I’ll go buy some pansies for color.  Do groundhogs eat pansies in pots?  I guess I’ll find out!

Helle-May

The last time I lived in New Jersey, the thought of attending a quilt show in Manhattan would have been very foreign.  Having discovered quilting in the midwest, the heart of the traditional American quilting world, I am still amazed at how much quilting is going on the NY metropolitan area.  As quilting began its resurgence in the 80’s, I’m sure it was here when I last lived here, but somehow I was oblivious to it, even though I thought I was aware of any sort of fabric store within a 100 mile radius. 

Anyway, on Saturday a couple of friends and I drove into NYC to attend the Empire Quilters’ “Urban Inspirations 2009 Quilt Show.”  It was held at the Fashion Institute of Technology in midtown Manhattan.  (I volunteered to drive because for some strange reason I am one of the few people who actually like to drive in NYC.  It’s my one risky behavior, I tell everyone!)

I have to say it was the most colorful quilt show I have ever attended.  It was great!  Much to my friend Linda’s chagrin, there wasn’t a traditional quilt to be found.  On the other hand, the quilts weren’t at the other extreme of avant garde art quilts either.  They were mostly in the middle – transitional, I’d say (right up my alley!) with a healthy helping of color.  The lighting was also very nice which accented the quilts beautifully.  There were probably 250 – 300 medium to small size quilts. 

As part of the $10 admission, there was an hour long  presentation by Paula Nadelstern on her quilting journey and her beautiful kaleidescope quilts.  If the quilts weren’t enough, that was definitely worth the price of admission.  Of course there were vendors – with quite a large array of imported fabric from all over the world -just what I’d expect from a NY quilt show.  If my weekends weren’t already full with family activities, I’d definitely consider joining the guild which meets once a month on a Saturday afternoon. 

Here are a couple of picture I took at the show to give you a glimpse.  Check out their website: www.Empirequilters.net

Happy Quilting!

Helle-May

It’s been a busy week!  Last weekend my son’s cubscout pack had their annual Pinewood Derby Race.  His den leader was in charge of the event, so needless to say my husband and I were involved in helping to run it Friday night and all day Saturday.  It’s a lot of fun for the kids and parents.  Even my 6 year old made a car.  This pack has what I think is a pretty elaborate set-up with metal tracks hooked up to a computer to capture the time and speed of the races to the third decimal place!  It’s like watchingthe Olympics!  The times and speeds for each race were even projected on a screen as the cars finished.  Pretty cool stuff!  Stephen did not win a trophy, but he was quite proud of his car – which he made by all himself.  Unfortunately, I can’t say that all of the cars were made entirely by the scout, as they should be.

Hubby left for Chicago the next day for a 3 day business trip and as usual, that’s when children get sick!  Stephen came down with a stomach bug on Monday and didn’t go back to school until Friday.  This was a lot longer than usual for him when gets a stomach bug.  So watch out – there’s something funny going around out there.  I was told that there were quite a few kids out last week

On a quilting note…  somehow I did manage to get the quilt top finished.  I am very pleased with “Dandelion Wine” – but you will have to wait just a little longer to see the final result!  Cross my fingers that everyone stays healthy this week and I can finalize the quilting design, get it basted and start quilting! 

When he was feeling a little better, Stephen also worked on his quilt.  This is his first piece made on the machine.  Not bad for a beginner!  I gave him free reign over my stash – obviously he is influenced by Mom’s color preferences!   He still wants to put a border on it and then I will show him how to quilt it.

Don’t let the stomach bug bite!

Helle-May