Sandy has never let me down – her fabric colors, designs and patterns just hit me right in my quilted heart. I can’t help it! She lives in Algona, Iowa – where 2 of my brothers were born. Close to home, of course, for me. I think it’s that she has that midwest charm that I (hope I) have. Her design business is called Pieces from my Heart – which I think perfectly fits her personality and where she’s from. Here’s a photo of she and I, as well as pictures from her booth at market. LOVE her fabrics!
Monthly Archives: October 2009
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s Off to Quilt Market I Go!!!!!!!!!!!
Except for getting a shower and getting dressed, packing my clothes, packing my gear, packing my computer and camera … and loading up the auto – I’m leaving in less than two hours for the GREATEST PLACE ON EARTH for a quilted heart – Quilt Market in Houston! Whoop!
Inspiration.
Creativity.
Smiles.
Genuinely nice people.
Fabric.
Notions.
Thread.
Hugs.
Who could ask for more, all packed into one great big convention center???
This, my friends, will totally be Tammy-time. And after burning the candle at both ends AND in the middle for the past month or so, I’m SO ready for it!
Toodles – I’ll see ya after the stars in my eyes have faded!
Quilt Group meets Science Class
A few weeks ago, the middle school science teacher asked my daughter (because she knew I sewed) if I would be able to design and make some chair back covers for their classroom. Seems she wanted to remove the desks from her classroom and just have the kids work at tables with chairs, to facilitate more space and group scientific learning.
I made the executive decision 😉 that this was a job for our local quilt group – as I wasn’t sure I had the time to put them together.
So, last month at our meeting, I explained the idea to my quilt pals, and they helped me develop a pattern for the chair covers. Then, we set about trying (and some tried harder than others!) to sew up some prototypes for the classroom. I took them over to the school and tried them out – one fit great, but was too tight to hold books. The other was perfect – still trying to figure out how we got two different sizes from the same pattern, though!
Anyway, with some fabric donations from the group, as well as help sewing some of them from a local friend, we delivered and installed 20 chair covers for the science classroom.
Yeah for the quilt group and their community service call-to-action! Yeah for the teacher, who can help protect the kids’ textbooks! Yeah for the kids, who have a place to put their notebooks while they are becoming mad scientists!
More Work?
Times are tough and the economy is sucking the life out of my business. Don’t get me wrong, I have work – just not enough of it to care for my family of six. I was fine until March & April, when a couple of my clients went from a monthly retainer to a per-hour basis – killed my checkbook, for sure.
I do web hosting, am a webmaster, do desktop publishing, online advertising sales, have a number of my own websites that I work with … and my husband helps me with audio and video files. There’s just not enough money filtering down from the top for folks to hire me!
So, I’ve started assisting a restaurant in town with their catering jobs. It’s not a lot of work, but to me – any paid work is better than none. And I worked in food service or a bar for 10 years before marrying, so I’m well-suited to the job and the owner is wonderful to work with (we share the same derm, so she even knows and works around my skin allergies). The work is mainly during my coveted nap time and weekend evenings – I will just have to work smarter so I can get a decent night’s sleep … so I can live without the nap, I guess!
Gotta do what you gotta do, to survive!
Houston Quilt Market … Here I Come!
This coming weekend is my family-free time for the year. Notice I didn’t say Tammy-Time – because it’s WORK to go to Quilt Market!
As you may (or may not) remember, last year I met the lovely Pat Sloan:
The fun and (not) naked cupcake, Mark Lipinski:
The petite and sweet Sandy Gervais (who is from my brother’s hometown of Algona, Iowa):
And a ton of other designers, fabric manufacturers/reps and found some marvelous products for Linda at www.AbbiMays.com. Wonder who I’ll run into this year – and what I’ll find to share with quilters everywhere?!! You’ll need to tune in next week to find out – I’m leaving THIS FRIDAY for Houston!