A New Old One

Last year, at a quilt show, another vendor told me that if I was going to continue doing quilt shows, I would have to constantly make new samples. And she was so right.
I have had customers remind me, that they have seen my quilts somewhere else
where I was a vendor. Ouch!
They may like what they see, but they also want to see something new.
That means, not only do I need to work on new designs, each with new quilts, but keep going back and remaking the old.

So, in the interest of presenting something new and exciting, I made a new Scattered Leaves quilt this week. It came out very pretty.

The inner border is always a little tricky for me.
This time the quilt was getting a little too serious. Too matchy, matchy.
I found this beautiful stripe in my fabric cupboard that was a little woodsy looking and
I think it lightened up the whole quilt.

My daughter Carol is going to see this and want this quilt.
She loves these colors.

I wish I had made this for the last few shows. The time of year was just right.

I Found A Really Neat Blog

As a child of the fifties, (oops, I just gave my age away) I always love finding photos from that era. And I found the neatest blog today. It really brings backs lots of memories. Check it out: 1950 Atomic Ranch House blog. It is lots of fun.

Magazine Ad

I thought I would show you the add I placed in Fons & Porter Easy Quilts. It's in the issue that is on the newstand right now, the winter issue.

Adds are so expensive. This was actually the least expensive of all the quilting magazines.
The March issue of Fons & Porter Love of Quilting will show Stitching Lines on their
new product page.
Can't wait to see that. That's free advertising!

Another Little Quilt

I made this little quilt last week. Sometimes when I demonstrate my Stitching Lines at shows, I will show the quilters how easy it is to make flying geese rectangles. So, I planned ahead and used fabrics that would look good with this border print.

I call this quilt Mixed Up Geese, because the flying geese are flying in two directions. But it also looks a little like rick rack.

I quilted this with the built-in serpentine stitch on my sit down machine.
I have already washed it, so it is nice and crinkly.

I found a cute little kitty cat print for the backside. It had all the right colors.
And that's about as childish as I get when I choose fabrics for children's quilts!

One Sick Puppy

Before I tell you about my dog, I want to thank Mary, over at Quilt Hollow for posting a mention about my Stitching Lines. Mary, your photos look like still-lifes. I am a new Follower and can't wait to read more!

If you have followed my blog for very long, you will know that I am the proud owner of Tess, the one and only Perfect Puppy. That's not to deny any of you the same claim to ownership. But, I don't know your dogs.
Tess is 4 1/2 years old now, hardly a puppy, but still one at heart. She has been a perfectly healthy and lively lab retriever mix. She lives to play fetch. And this PP actually will drop the ball or stuffed animal at my feet. She has enough smarts to figure out that, that is the only way I will throw it again and again and again.
Well, two nights ago, she really threw us for a loop. I was upstairs at my computer. Tess was at the top of the stairs. She usually lays there when I am at my desk, kind of like a watchdog. I turned off the lights and headed downstairs with Tess. She acted a little strange, but even more so, when we got to the landing. She wouldn't come any further. It was like her legs just weren't going to take her all the way down.
Finally, she came down, with quite a bit of urging from me. We went out to the front yard, where a neighbor was walking her itsy bitsy little dog. Tess would only sit and watch the other doggy. This was very unusual. Tess loves to chase other doggys if they come to visit.
Anyway, as the evening went on, Tess sat more and more and would not get up and walk.
Dave gave her some Tylenol, to see if that would help her. She was obviously in some kind of pain, although, we couldn't figure where.
By 10:30, Dave and I were getting worried, so we took her to a 24 hour vet.
Of course, just like kids, by the time we got there, Tess was feeling better( probably due to Tylenol) and just walked in.
This was just another adventure to her, with more of her favorites..............people who liked her!
The doctor could find nothing wrong with her. Everything checked out OK. We left.
Andy slept downstairs on the couch, with Tess beside him on the floor. Tess wasn't going upstairs, that was for sure. And he was very worried about her.
The next morning, she was in bad shape again. So Andy and I took her to her own vet. Once again, all systems were up and running. Nothing could be found that was wrong with Tess.
The doctor gave me some pain medication for her and sent us home. One pill knocked her out for most of the day. When she awoke she was fine. And this morning she was out chasing toys again.
We have no idea what caused her the pain and probably never will. I'm just so glad she is feeling better.

Quilts From Demo Half-Square Triangles

I have been having a lot of fun these last couple of weeks making small size quilts.
As many of you know, at the quilt shows I go to, I sit and demonstrate my Stitching Lines ALL DAY LONG. So, now I come home, divide up the colors and have started sewing them into quilts. I just can't stand the thought of tossing all those half-square triangles away.
Below is what I finished up this morning.
I started out with a very different fabric for the stripe, but it was boring.
I found this beautiful leaf print on my shelf and it was perfect.
I had been saving it for just the right project.
Don't you just love it when your stash gets used up?

A couple rows of half-square triangles doesn't even start to use up my
ever growing pile of squares!

I quilted it with a simple built-in serpentine stitch on my domestic machine.
I still can't get to my quilting frame.
(A very messy offspring is occupying that room at the moment)!

I did have to buy some new fabric for the backing. I think this fabric is perfect.

It Can Only Get Better- I Hope

This is becoming a recording. "Quilt show is a bust...Low Attendance...Where Are All the Quilters".
Vendors are starting to become very discouraged at the quilt shows I have attended lately. I am surprised we even go to the trouble of packing up everything, unpacking, setting up a booth, and then packing up again a few days later. I hope it is just a reflection of the economy and that everyone's sales will get better. But....IT REALLY IS DISCOURAGING! Some vendors don't even make enough sales to cover their expense of the booth, travel fees and the cost of inventory sold. Luckily for me, I have been able to cover all my expenses.
I'm not ready to give this up yet. I am still new to this whole business and consider everywhere I go, as mere advertising. I still enjoy meeting new quilters and the camaraderie of the vendors. I like the networking and I love seeing all the beautiful quilts.
I just hope it gets better sooner than later.