Insider Baseball
October 31, 2012 First an update.
I use a company called Squarespace for my blog. Fabulous company. Love them. As I mentioned yesterday, my blog was going down temporarily due to flooding in NYC. Because of the committed and tireless efforts of the folks at Squarespace, this hasn't happened yet. But they cannot continue their Herculean efforts indefinitely so you may lose me yet. Then again, maybe not. No way of knowing at this point.
If you're interested, you can read more here about what it's like to be a business in NYC trying to keep things going in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Pretty incredible if you ask me.
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I sat down just now to write my first post from Quilt Market (industry trade show). It was such a busy weekend. SO much fun. I'm still recovering. And my sewing room is in terrible shape. Seriously bad. I really should be cleaning it up right now. I made a ridiculous mess in here during the weeks before Market getting things ready and now I need to find a home for all the stuff I brought back ... so ... you know where this is going, right? ;)
Yep. I'd really rather talk to you and share some of my favorite stories, starting with this one about the cute, funny, smart and TALENTED Angela Walters.
(This picture was taken first thing in the morning on the last day after a late and somewhat sleepless night for me and I could NOT have looked worse, so ... that's why I cropped most of me out.)
I met her online almost a year ago when I was in the middle of a serious book deadline crisis. There are two quilts in my book and I needed them longarmed. But my favorite local longarmer (Hi Laura!) had just taken ill and couldn't do them. Oh, and did I mention my deadline to have all my book projects to the publisher was DECEMBER 18th?! I know. What was I thinking? Note to self - NEVER agree to ship time sensitive things during the Christmas rush.
I managed to get an extension, but I still needed to find a longarmer. So I asked C&T Publishing if they could recommend someone. They sent me to Angela who had just written her first book with them. If you've ever tried to hire a longarmer you know that the really good ones are booked up months - sometimes a year - in advance. It's not uncommon to be put on a waiting list. Angela already had an amazing reputation with international customers. So I crossed my fingers and called her up. As a fellow author, she was sympathetic to my plight and kindly took pity on me.
I didn't see the quilts again in person until this past weekend when they were hanging in 2 different booths at Quilt Market: the girl quilt with C&T ...
(needed to include that cute embroidery hoop mobile!)
(sorry for the lousy photos ... I was literally running up and down the aisles of Market an hour before I had to leave for the airport snapping pix.)
... and the boy quilt with Lecien ...
... because I used all COSMO embroidery floss in my book. And all Lecien fabric too. I know. Shocker, right?
You know, there are so many seriously cool and lovely people in the quilting industry and I need to give huge credit to those who made my book look so much better than I ever could on my own. Angela is one of them.
I met her in person the first day in Houston when she was giving a talk on her newest book. (I won a door prize!) It was so fun to finally thank her in person as she handed me a copy of her book.
So that is just one of the highlights of Market for me. I'll be back with more.
Reader Comments (6)
I bought Angela's book a few weeks ago and I love it! I'm not so comfortable with my FMQ and this book is a great help. Happy Halloween, Hildy
I can not WAIT to hear all about it! Yah, you! If you need any help making room for your new fabrics, you know who to call =) Oh, and yesterday, I finally got the pincushion you made me. It is perfection, and I am in love with it. Oh, and yesterday was my bday, so the timing couldn't have been better-I'm sure Kate planned it that way =)
Hi! So glad you are home safe and sound... wasn't sure what the weather was going to do to your travels! Looking forward to getting her book - never heard of it - will check it out now!
very cool! Maybe Angela will share more pics of the quilting ..
Hah! That picture is so 'you'! Love your pretty quilts and am so glad you had a special time in Houston. Hope you warmed up.
How did I miss this post yesterday???!! Oh, yeah...more dr.'s appointments. :b The quilts look adorable! I can't wait to see all of your Market posts! :)