love for 44 cents...

simply beautiful discovery

at the post office today...

.

so lovely in fact

i bought a sheet to share

and a sheet to display with

my collection

of all things purple

they remind me

of the

lovely lavender flowers

a top our wedding cake

almost twenty four years ago

if life is a bowl...

of thread...

i am one

happy woman

.

are these little bowls adorable

or what

thanks to my new friend kate

i was
roaming the aisles of

crate and barrel

looking for loire

when i stumbled upon them

perfect to display threads

i decided

in the kitchen of our new house

cross-pollination...

...moving right along

to our next

project with frolic

.

cross-pollination seems

appropriate for this

2010 spring season

of extreme high pollen count

i wonder what sandy had in mind

when she named this pattern

i'm curious about those little details

this will be a first for us

utilizing a jelly roll and

turnovers

in the same quilt

should be fun

all pinned up...

and ready to go

to the

quilting machine...

.

the fabric is

frolic

the verna project sheet from moda

is the pattern referred to

so perfect for sarah to stitch
with straight lines and

little pattern matching necessary

we plan to use a

large flower as our guide

wish us luck

scarlet & gray...

sarah and i have been

pasting up color cards

for the store

.

we will be referring to them as we

purchase

bolts of basic fabric

today we were inspired by the

annual spring game

scarlet and gray

is a favorite combination of ours

looks like it is for
her majesty Queen Elizabeth II too

.

photo courtesy of yahoo

oh how I would love

to have that hat

it would feel so regal

walking into

the horseshoe for

tj's graduation

in june

and then displaying

it with our buckeye themed fabrics

this fall

p.s. isn't she just beautiful at 84

bedazzled...

everyone in life

deserves

a cheering section

.

click to enlarge

a fan club

someone

or even a group of people

who sings your praise

who supports your passions

someone who reminds you that you are

appreciated

i am lucky enough to have such friends

and lately one has been emailing me

often

she loves the concept of the quilt store

how i have tied it all together

with sarah

but in your history

you missed

a major component of who you are

she wrote

then on tuesday

i posted a picture of tj sewing

and when she blew up the photo

there it was

the story board from bedazzled

she wrote again

joyce, you must show us that collage

please talk about your years as

a development officer and

how you included your talents as a seamstress

in each event

while raising millions of dollars

for the good of cleveland

ok so there you have it

a story of one event

for the cleveland institute of music

and one custom ensemble

which i was still hemming

as my husband drove to the event

cherish nature...

robin eggs and

butterflies

and honeybees...

.

and vines

tiny leaves and polka dots

damask in chocolate

aqua blue and olive green

the window's cracked

i hear the birds chirp

and feel springtime warmth

through the glass

as i stitch with this earthday treasure

designed by fellow ohioan

deb strain

purple passion...

it should come as no surprise

that i wish to have

a grand selection...

.

of purple

in jellen's house of fabric

for some reason

i don't often find it in quilt stores

so i got to thinking

maybe i will strive to have the best

collection of purple

in the midwest

so i started going through all the

moda basics

to see what they have

i'm happily off to a good start

speaking of happy

can you imagine my excitement

when i viewed

the post by kate spain today

guess you know where i'm headed tonight

do real men sew...

as i have been spreading

the word

about my new quilt store...

.

the most frequently asked question

so far is...

will you have classes for men

of course

i reply

i've been teaching boys

to sew for years

above is my own first born

when he was seven

i've discovered a few blogs you must check out

quilt dad

and be sure to go here today

i'm just a guy who quilts

for a great giveaway

button,button...

who's got the button...

i'm searching

for the perfect...

.

...buttons for

two adorable little

bluebird eyes

i think i see them

third row

box four

a quick find

now that i've organized

the button stash

frolicing freely...

...all night long

by morn...

two little

.

bluebirds are born

i seriously covet all

charm pack patterns

designed by sandy gervais

easy peasy to make

and

charming as ever

soul mates

her charm creation for

frolic

love it

now i need to search for

two eyes

if i had a million dollars...

remember that song?

if i had a million dollars...

i wouldn't do anything differently...

because the excitement I feel

each time a box arrives

from the

fat quarter shop

is worth a million dollars

...today

mostly frolic

with a few coordinating cuts

from other

moda designers

like

me and my sister

and

pindots from american jane

and seven bella solids

it's going to be a busy weekend

the promise of spring

oh how i need...

the blossoms

the beauty

.

the sunshine

the reminder of all things good

when there are so many

who try to render me

hopeless

who spew forth

poison

and fill time with

lies

and tend voids with

evil

i turn to the heavens

and i'm reminded once again

of the

promise of spring

a frolicing we'll go...

...a frolicing we'll go

high ho the merry oh

a frolicing we'll go...

.

frolic...

to behave playfully

and uninhibitedly

to engage in merrymaking
describes me perfectly

the past few days

as i stitch

and romp about with this newest line

by sandy gervais

in with the new...

softer and muted

on trend

includes...

.

the 2010 color of the year...

turquoise

the new line up will have

40 core colors

25 from the former color families

10 hip and fashion forward

returns from in color lines

and 5 brand spanking

new debuts

out with the old...

yes, it is true

it's time

to say goodbye...

.

to some of my favorites

color is such a

fickle thing

in one year...

...out the next

it's big this go around

shelli and crew

have termed it

a color renovation

although shocking to some

i rather enjoy the

freshness

of change

like fine wine...

the deep beauty

and the

richness of tone

.

elegant eggplant and perfect plum
have kept their place
and will be permanently
joined by
in tone color
rich razzleberry
to complete a perfect trio

parting is such...

...sweet sorrow

i just can't imagine

life without you...

.

goodbye

orchid opulence, lovely lilac

almost amethyst

and my treasured favorite

...lavendar lace

it will be so hard letting go...

quilt beginnings

our spring break

shop hop

is about to end...

.

one more stop at

quilt beginnings east

on broad street

not too far from the capital building

i've been here a few times

always find something i like

it's also my columbus connection to pfaff

i've been a pfaff lover for many years

mostly because of their

integrated dual feed
perfect for bridal fabrics

even more suited for quilting

.

sarah found two more bolts

for her project

marble swirls in royal

and

marbles in flag red

i think she is fast becoming a moda girl

she told the sales associate

she would like 1/2 yard of each please

you know at that moment

i was proud as a peacock

calico cupboard

in our quest to discover

quilt shops

in central ohio...

.

...we hopped on I-270 from grove city

heading east

way east to a place called pataskala

the further we drove

the more i wondered

if we truly needed to go this far

we finally arrived

at the rural shopping center

to find calico cupboard

inside...

a charming collection

displayed in crisp white shelving

just like our plans

the store helper seemed friendly

we shared typical quilt store chit-chat

then she told me she is retired

from the

state office of mr/dd

where she started her career in

one of ohio's

former institutions

for the mentally challenged

a place where

some would have wanted to put my sarah

not that long ago

i can't imagine that

i told her what the services

were like today with the cuts in funding

and that sarah and i are opening

a quilt store in cleveland

to create an opportunity

for her and her friends

she told me of another mom

in southern ohio doing the same

for her son with Down syndrome

by opening a small machine shop

i felt empowered by that

knowing i'm not alone in this

journey

as sarah ages out of the school system

.

while we were chatting

sarah went to look for fabric

she picked a red and a blue

for her stampin' for america project

we talked of using fabric this year

her selections were right on

moda marble stars

and one I did not recognize

it is by cheri strole

dinosour skin in royal

.

i'm so glad we made that drive

to pataskala

always in stitches

it's day three

of our shop hop

across central ohio

.

our first stop is in grove city

at the

charming, charming, charming

always in stitches

sarah immediately took to the book corner

sew hip by shannon mullen

caught her eye

i love when she finds something

that really interests her

it is an awesome sewing 101 manual

with some great projects

that will be perfect for her stitching level

.

we continued to mill

around the store

finding fun samples and displays

tucked here and there

i discovered a pattern line

little scraps from this and that

i had not seen before

it was a shame we had to move on

i could have stayed in this store

all afternoon

and i should mention it is connected

to an equally charming

scrapbook store

happy easter

hyacinths to feed the soul

if of thy mortal good thou art bereft,

and from thy slender store two loaves

alone to thee are left,

sell one, and with the dole

buy hyacinths to feed thy soul

gulistan of moslih eddin saadi

.

franklin park conservatory

columbus, ohio

quilt trends

at first glance

it's pure

eyecandy

.

like sugar cane sweetness

the best collection

of contemporary fabrics

i've ever seen

gathered in one place

you can see over my shoulder

the entire line of amy butler

located right off of I-71 on 161

near historic worthington

quilt trends is a must visit

if you enjoy fresh and funky

or simply to expand your vision

glass thimble

if one is patient

the rewards

in life are priceless...

.

back in 1982

while working on a masters in social work

i often came to this store

to purchase fabric

to take with me to my job

as a midnight to 8am case manager

at the battered women's shelter in columbus

quilting kept my hands and mind occupied

while waiting for the next call to come

in the middle of the night

from a terrified woman

seeking refuge and safety

i found on more than one occasion

that once she arrived

my fabric served as a distraction

to the evil lurking in her life

i began to teach a stitching class during the day

to give the women pained by violence

an outlet

for peaceful thought

and now

here i stand with my daughter

in the same glass thimble

working to share the same sewing skills

with her

for the very same reason...

peaceful thought