Fall Quilt Market 2013 and a Book Hop!

Hi everyone,

I should be packing. No wait...I should be done packing! I should be making pumpkin muffins - and cuddling with my girls tonight since I leave first thing in the wee hours of the morning to my home state of Texas. But I'm not done packing, I'm not done sewing, and I'm just not ready. I need another week despite being beyond excited, scared, nervous, pumped and all other things relating to this trip!

I wanted to let you know about a few things before I go...I've been really busy in the studio - so here goes....

If you are also going to Texas - come find me! No really! I want to meet as many of you as I can and take pics to share!  Here's my schedule:

Saturday - 3pm F+W Media Booth for a book signing!

Sunday - 11am Dritz (Prym) Booth for some Demo's and a book signing!

Saturday, Sunday and Monday - I will also be hanging out in the Sizzix booth demoing throughout the show.

If you want to keep tabs on me at Quilt Market as I refrain from drooling all over the gorgeous new fabrics, sewing notions and all the other eye candy...keep an eye on my Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook feeds!

When I get back from Quilt Market, there will only be a few days left before the biggest (ok - only) Sewing Tales Book Blog Hop will start jumping! I'm so excited to share this news with you all and am so excited for, and grateful to all to all the participants! My husband made this awesome infographic, including a list of all the sponsors (Dritz, Fiskars, Bosal Foam, Fairfield World, and Free Spirit).

They were all such generous sponsors, not only did they provide product for the bloggers to put together one of the projects, but guess what?!....they gave me more to give away to you guys too! I had one giveaway on my facebook page last week, but I'll have a giveaway weekly for the rest of the year! That's 12 weeks of giveaways total! Watch this weekend for the Quilt Market Trivia giveaway!


Thanks for stopping by and have a great week ya'll. Giddy up!

A Sewing Tales Giveaway with SarahJane Studios

This day has been a whirlwind of errands, which consisted of getting a bathroom light fixture, towel ring, bathroom mirror frame, groceries, lunch and my karate class...and that was just until 1:00ish. When I got back in my car I was excited to see an email alerting me that the book giveaway was up and running on the SarahJaneStudios blog! Can I get a *squeel*?! I took some fun pics at the beach one evening, so she'd have some pics to post on her blog. I had so much fun and think I need to go back and take more.

If you want a signed copy - hop on over there and enter your name to win! I will be doing some giveaways here too - starting in October. If you don't win, don't worry, just keep checking back here! If you can't wait until it hits shelves in October - don't worry....you can pre-order a copy of Sewing Tales to Stitch and Love: 18 Toy Patterns for the Storytelling Sewist from Amazon and it will ship right to you as soon as it hits their warehouse (which could be sooner - you never know)!

Do you have a favorite pic or pattern so far? I'd love to know! I'm so grateful for all the wonderful feedback and sweet comments I am reading. Thank you so much for the love and support! Good luck everyone, and please sign up for my newsletter below for all the fun news from my studio!

(If you click on that Amazon link above - they say I have to tell you it's an affiliate link and I may get a few pennies from your purchase).

Oh Happy Weekend Glamping Style

I'm always so excited for the weekends, aren't you? I'm excited because the house is quieter without all the hammers pounding in my brain, the bench saws running, and the guys coming in and out all day long. The smell of the paint fumes lessens dramatically as it dries and we get to spend a weekend together as a family trying to put our home back together, moving things back to their normal place, unpacking boxes and clearing more dust from the renovation storm that lingers over head.

Now that I have all my samples back from the photographer - it's been so much fun taking my own pics. Good ones - not the grainy phone snapshots taken at one o'clock in the morning the day I had to ship them out, with poor lighting on my living room floor! Tonight Sherbert and Pistachio (from my book Sewing Tales to Stitch and Love) are getting ready for their glamping weekend of fun with their trusty Traveler Companions, Happy the Trailer and Kitty the Wagon.

Without a kitchen I truly feel like I'm camping in a more glamorous way in my own home. It's amazing how creative one can get with a crock pot, microwave and toaster. It's equally amazing how much I miss my stove and oven. I'm so grateful to get my kitchen back in the next week or two. It will be a dream for sure. What should I make or bake first? Cookies? Brownies? What would you miss most, and make first?

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

What will you Cre8time for?

As I walked around the CHA show floor back in January - I was struck by all the Cre8time signs everywhere. It was awesome to see this huge campaign that the Craft and Hobby Association developed as a constant reminder to cre8te something everyday.

When I returned home from the Winter Show, I began seeing Joann store flyers with the Cre8time logo and kept seeing all the "Keep Calm" images. I decided to play with this idea in my head and made a few "Keep Calm and Cre8time" posters.

Growing up with my mom being an art teacher, we were always cre8ting something, always crafting in one way or another. Now I am a "sewist" (a sewing artist). I love that I get to do something creative and something I absolutely love everyday. I equally love giving my girls the same opportunities I had, to dive into their imaginations and cre8te something tangible from it. What will you Cre8time for?

Feel free to share these on your social media sites or hang them up where you can be reminded to Cre8time too!  Thanks for stopping by and happy cre8ting!