Anyway, Jackie Marsal of Havel’s Scissors and Notions had big bags of lots of scissors, rotary cutters and blades for ALL the guests in the green room that week:

Yep – she gave me all those pink scissors and purple rotary cutters! I KNOW, aren’t I lucky??? I haven’t had much of a chance to use them yet, but I love the feel of the rotary cutter, it fits nicely in my hand. Havel’s has a cool story – the company is a big manufacturer of surgical instruments, and the wife of the company was a sewist, and she asked her husband for some really sharp scissors, and lo and behold, Havel’s Sewing Notions was born!

Also in the green room was Terry White. She’s an amazing thread painter, and she came bearing boxes and boxes of Star Thread (a Coats & Clark division). The moment she saw me, she dragged me over to the pile of thread boxes and she said “You NEED this thread!” and proceeded to pull out every colorful variegated thread and push them in my direction. She’d watched my Mod House Ornaments segment on QATV and new how I liked to work with COLOR! Who was I to say no?

I know, I am such a lucky duck! I’d love to try out this thread, but it’s going t0 have to wait until I’m back from the funeral.

Teri, Jackie and Jo Leichte, (who was the awesome Bernina rep that spends the entire week in the green room, helping us set up sewing machines, figure out the best foot/needle combination, and all around trouble shooter) were so much fun to have around. Always ready to chat, they always had a positive word after a taping was done. I was glad to have them around, and the four of use had an awesome celebratory dinner when I was done taping. I’m sorry I didn’t take pix of it, I was too busy drinking a celebratory cocktail and saying “I’m Done!” every 37 seconds!

A few more pictures of prettiness for the road:

Return from QATV Part 3 | The Loot is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern

Without further ado, the winner is:

And that is….GINA! Gina is a blogger who blogs about both dyeing and clay here at her blog “Clay and Fiber”.Gina, look in your inbox! If its journals you want to make, I got you covered! And I’ll be tucking a piece of hand dyed fabric in the package as well!

And, speaking of giveaways, here’s a doozy you may want to check out: There’s a contest offered by Cashier Live, a point of sale software company, at Indie Biz Chicks. This caught my eye because my local Art Association uses a computerized POS and it gives people fits. I’ve sent this info on to the person who’s trying to simplify ours – maybe Cashier Live is the answer! For more information, go here: http://www.indiebizchicks.com/wp/win-an-apple-giftcard/

That’s all for now. I finished what I was working on here late last night, and hope to have a photo session and show the finished results later today.

Winner of the Quilting Arts Gifts Giveaway! is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern

1. Where are you located globally?

I’m in central Connecticut.

2. Where are you found online?

www.perideaudesigns.com/blog

www.twitter.com/perideaudesigns

www.flickr.com/perideaudesigns

www.facebook.com/perideaudesigns

www.perideaudesigns.com

3. What is your favorite thing to make?

I really enjoy making invitations. Just the thought of knowing these will be distributed to people who will celebrate someone’s special day that will only come once, makes it the most rewarding. You only get 1 first birthday and knowing I had a hand in helping make that day special validates why I started this business.

4. When you’re making it…

a. what do you love most about it?

Knowing my products are going to good homes and great people. There are quite a few repeat customers who return for the next birthday or next holiday and that makes me so happy. My goal is to establish a relationship with each customer to not only better understand their needs but to differentiate myself from chain stores. My business is me, not a facade I hide behind.

b. is there some part you really can’t stand?

As I’m sure most entrepreneurs would say, the business side is more daunting and time consuming I had ever imagined. It has paid off two-fold but it can wear on you which is why I’m working extremely hard to find a balance.

5. Do you consider yourself process or product oriented?

Interesting question…I would say process because without a solid process in place you will not have a great product.

Thanks so much Bridgett! I just love to see you grow your business on twitter! Every time I turn around, you’re giving back to the handmade community in another way! Her latest venture is a really cool free printable: a blog topic worksheet. Not only is it beautiful and useful, but she’s got some awesome tips on blog post prep and some really simple SEO tips from Tara Gentile (aka Scoutie Girl).

I was lucky enough to win one of her blog scavenger hunt prizes about 2 months ago. I won some personalized notecards and a really cool modern initial art print. Now the notecards – those I had made for me me me! BUT neither of my boys would have gotten a thrill over the print, but I do know a little girl (here are some pix of the gifts  I made for her when she was still being grown!) who just turned two who loves pink, so I had Bridgett personalize it for Miss Maren!

Makers Must: Bridgett Edwards of Perideau Designs is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern

which is………Vicki Welsh! Who has  kicked down all sorts of doors which is leading up to the biggest door ever – RETIREMENT! In fact, she’s just 3 weeks away from retiring, and she’s having a giveaway of some fabulous hand dyed goodies to celebrate (go enter, and tell her I sent you, if you don’t already follow her!)

And because no post is complete without a picture:

Here’s some quArt of mine using my windows and doors motif.

Winner announced! is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern

Are you familiar with the work of the photographer Jennifer Squires? She’s a fellow artist over at Art Wall Online whose work is peaceful & still. SHe works with a very subdued color palette and natural images that are so much more than yet another outdoor scene. Katie Stephenson described Jennifer’s work perfectly in her interview as “quiet simplicity”.

I’m a big fan of Jennifer’s blog, she does a great job of featuring other photographers work, and she creates a fantastic free downloadable computer wallpaper each month. She also has a shop in Etsy. I’m a lucky duck, once again, last month she was looking for people to send a review copy of her newest photograph to – and she chose me! So I now own my very own Jennifer Squires, this beautiful photograph called “Elviage Pearl”:

There is an incredibly subtle horizon line that I don’t truly see on my monitor, but is perfectly just barely there in the print itself. There is a subtle shimmer to the whole print that keeps this work from being just a stark black and white print. My frequent readers know how much I struggle with photography – what Jennifer does with a camera is so much more than photography – I don’t even bother to ever wonder if I could ever take a photo like that – this is her art, and I’m so glad she’s shared some with me. Thank you Jennifer!

Inspiration: Jennifer Squires is a post from: Candied Fabrics New in the shop: Versatile Messenger Bag Pattern