Ahhhhh. Bare-armed + warm = happiness.

 

I finally spent some time gardening over the last couple of weekends. You should see my hilarious sunburn from today. On my upper back, I have a perfect triangle from where the straps of my overalls meet into a V. Kinda like a widow's peak. Widow's sunburn?

We used to have the ugliest lamp post. It was this matte black with a broken and corroded (not in a good way) lantern- just depressing. We found a copper-colored lantern for 10 bucks and spraypainted that and the pole a glossy white. Then my honey took a wooden dowel and painted that, stuck it through the hole and put  round wooden drawer pulls on the ends. And now look:

 

Isn't it cute? The hanging planter is by Madelyn Macedo. 

 

If you feel that you must have one, Maddie will be at the Boston Handmade Marketplace on Saturday, June 28th. And I may just be with her!

The birdbath is a couple of yard-saled items put together. Got the cement  top for $2 and I don't even know what that bottom thing is, but it was rusty and cheap so I had to have it. 

Here, you can see it better in this shot:

 

Got some annuals last week, as well as a bunch of veggies.

 

I usually have a hard time spending money on plants that are just for show and don't come back. I just buy the cheapie six packs, it's not like I get the 25$ hanging baskets. But still, it adds up. (Yeah, yeah, I could grow them from seed, but I am just not diligent enough to water the poor things everyday, which is sad for all concerned.)

This year, though, I've  been thinking of it a little differently.  For the holiday season, we buy a tree and lots of people buy wreaths and swags and holly. And that stuff is out for a month at best. Annuals will be making me happy with their flowering-like-mad ways for 5 months or so. Totally worth it!

Did I help you justify any recent purchases? I hope so. That's what I'm here for. You can count on me, baby.

 

 

You see this silver mound artemesia, on the right?:

 

Well, it started off last year as  just a piece that broke off of the main plant when my dogs were using my garden as a wrestling mat.  I am a scavenger and save everything, so I took the broken piece and stuck it in one of my  flower pots, just to give it a chance to survive if it wanted to. It did and now it is its own whole plant! I love that.  You can use a rooting hormone and be all fancy about it if you want, but usually I'm too busy with the task at hand, or you know, yelling at the dogs.

 

Mmmmm. I love it when the neighborhood is perfumed by flowering shrubs. The last few weeks have been violet, this week is honeysuckle, Yum!

But for me, the  winner of the Smell of Summer Award is privet, which I am looking forward to. My honey doesn't share my feelings about this.  He thinks privet smells like cat pee.

But then again, he doesn't like pie, so what does he know?

Hey, how is your weekend going?

I went to bed really early  last night (9 pm!) and then this morning I went to yoga for the first time in 3 weeks.  It felt great. I hate it when I miss class for that long, though. I am going to be a hurtin' puppy tomorrow, that is for sho.

As promised , some of my fabric score from last week's estate sales:

 

 

 

I am not usually crazy about blue paired with yellow, but I like this:

The metallic gold which looks great with the blue, don't you think? While we're on the topic,
how do you feel about metallics on quilting fabric? You know, just curious...

I really like the thick outline on this one:

 

 

I absolutely love this:

 

>>>>Oh, hey, don't forget to leave a comment on my 200th post- and maybe some of these fabrics will be yours! I will randomly choose the winner of The 200th Post Giveaway on the morning of Friday, June 6th.<<<<

So, can you believe my score from last weekend? All those vintage patterns and the fabric- and this is just the blue fabric! Actually, it is just some of the blue fabric!

Plus, there was other stuff, like this:

 

That brief-case-toting (???) running baby is from this:

 

 

Yeah, I don't get it either, but I do love it.

Ceramic rooster, plastic deer, and in the background ---a bacon press:

 

I don't eat bacon, but damn, it does smell good.
I may be  overusing this rooster, but I don't care:

 

Instructions on how to make a sock elephant:

 

And a sock monkey!

 

Do you see that in the upper right there? It says "optional hats."
I don't think that fez is optional at all. That fez is necessary.

I haven't told you about our thing for fez-monkeys yet, have I?

Oh, we have a lot to talk  about.

Did I ever tell you that my honey has 3 kids? 

Zach is 11, Camille is 15, and Meredith just turned 17. They live with us on the weekends and come over on Wednesday nights. We've all been living together for almost 7 years now. Last night, my honey and I went to the kids' mom's house to take pictures of Meredith as she got ready for the prom. The freaking prom! I met her when she was ten and now she has a car and is going to the prom.

In case you're wondering, I get along very well with Bonnie, the kids' mom. Her whole family was there and I get along great with them, too, which is a good thing because I was all up in everyone's grill as I snapped away with my new Nikon D40. (got it just before market, woo!)

Mem, as we call her, was just hanging out in her pj's when we got there:

 

I love the contrast between the reality of the  teenager  and the fantasy of  the prom.

I  really don't like posed shots, so I just kept taking tons of pictures, hoping some of them would be good. This looks posed, but actually wasn't!

 

Ok, fine, a posed one now:

 

I felt so bad for her date, Ryan, having to withstand  all of the fussing and picture-taking  in front of the whole fam damily! He handled it well, though, poor thing.  

I like this one a lot:

 

When I saw Ryan heading for the passenger door , I scrambled to get to  the back of the car  and got this shot:

 

And here's my honey:

 

Dad had to give her a kiss on the cheek before they drove away.

Good morning and welcome to those of you stopping by from Anna Maria's post! If you want to read about Quilt Market from my perspective (which includes a heck of a lot of Anna), I piled them all up nicely for you here- just make sure you start at the bottom!

I  hope you will stick around and hear about my adventures in designing my first line for Free Spirit Fabric, read about my meltdown (in a good way) when I got my first strikeoffs, and while you're here, you might as well leave a comment on my 200th post and have a shot at winning a bundle of goodness from Yummy Goods!

I'll be back to kick it later with my killer fabric score from last weekend. 

 xo, m

Yes, really. Twice in one day.

I couldn't wait  to get started with showing you the awesome stuff I scored  last weekend.
At a church sale, I spied a couple of boxes of sewing patterns and started rifling through them.

I pulled out these first:

 

Followed by a couple of others:

 

Then one of the ladies who was working the sale excitedly said,"You sew?? Oh, I'll make you a great deal on these! How about 3 dollars for that whole box?"

Sold! And a smaller box for 2 bucks.

And look at what I discovered when I got home and emptied the boxes onto the lawn:

 

Vintage kid's clothes patterns!

 

Love those illustrations.

 

 

 

And how about these:

 

Oh yes, vintage apron patterns!

 

Some little pouches and smocking instructions: 

 

And a full shot of this one, wow:

 

Hey, if you haven't already, don't forget to leave a comment on the 200th post for a chance to win a Yummy Goods  Prize!
What will it be? Well, I'm still working on that, not sure. So far I'm thinking a bunch of fabric, maybe a little painting, jewelry supplies, cool rusty bits... Perhaps a vintage sewing pattern? You know, if you're into that kind of thing.

xo, m 

Good morning and welcome to my 200th post! It is 5 am and I am blogging. Don't I have anything better to do? Like, you know, sleep?
Well, I was just tossing and turning and the damn dogs kept barking so I just thought I'd get up, ok? 

That little pile of random words above is from the index of that children's book that  I mentioned I found over the weekend: 

 

A Treasury of Games, Riddles, Mystery Stunts, Tricks, Tongue Twisters, Chanting, Singing. Say that ten times fast. Heck, say it ten times slow! Um, slow-ly.

Written by Carl Withers and  Illustrated by Garry MacKenzie, it is awesome!

Ok, I think it is really just called A Treasury of Games :

 

The endpapers are covered with a Where's Waldo-esque scene with lots of little details to catch:

 

What's that called?  Wheelbarrow races?

It seems that it is winter in some parts of the drawing, and summer in others:

 

I would like a dress like that one above. Puffy sleeves and giant strawberries. Wouldn't that be cute?

Is this guy playing a harmonica?

 

What do you suppose this couple was doing behind all that hay?

 

Are they supposed to be kids?  Oh, nevermind then.

Guy peeking:

 

You know, now that I am looking at all of these little bits of the scene, I am reminded of this plate I picked up a few months ago:

 

Aren't they incredibly similar?

 

Big scene, lots of little detail...

 

 

You'd be tempted to think it might be the same artist, right? But you'd be wrong: 

 

 I love that little double upside-down pretzel symbol.

And this:

 

.......................................................................................................

Hey, I just want to thank everyone who commented on my last post. I am honored that you would open up and be so vulnerable and real. I really want this blog to be more of a conversation than just me yapping, so thanks for that.  Aside from being touched that you would take the time to comment and be so open, just having comments to read on any post really helps me get through the day. Thanks for keeping me company. It really feels like that.

You guys are awesome. Blogging wouldn't be as much fun without you. It is now 5:40 am and I am still here typing away.  I hope you're not thinking I need to get a life! I do have one, thank you very much. Writing to you has  become part of my morning routine and I enjoy it. So there.

 

So, it is my 200th post and all, so that means Giveaway, baby!

I was going to wait to post till I had figured out what exactly I will be giving away, but that could take a while and I would miss you. So just trust me that it will be good.

You know how this works: leave a comment and I will randomly choose a winner in , I don't know, a week or so? Yeah, I'll leave it open for a week, but I will keep posting if you don't mind.I was going to have it be only for people who have linked to me, as a gesture of appreciation. But some people don't have blogs ( I know, hard to believe) so that didn't seem exactly fair. How about this: if you have linked to me, let me know (just because it will make me happy). If you haven't linked to me, well why the heck not? What am I , chopped liver?

And if you don't have a blog, let me know that, too, so I can try to convince you to start one. It's really fun. Gives you something to do when your damn dogs start barking at 4:30 am.

 

Good morning. I'm so sleepy.

I will have some Quilt Market Post Scripts later in the week. But for now, since it's fitting to today's topic, please enjoy this image from The Game of Happiness(tm):

 

Do you ever  cringe when there is a new entry in your blog reader from one of your favorite bloggers? There are blogs that I have  to stop reading from time to time because I can get so jealous of people! It sucks! I know a lot of people go through this same thing, so I wanted to address it.

I remembered over the weekend that if I hadn't been at the Quilt Market , I would be reading all the reports and pretty much quietly imploding with envy.  So I just want to check in with you and see how you all are doing.

I truly hope that YummmyGoods will not be one of those blogs that you ever have to stop reading.
I purposely include my challenges because I want this to be real. Pretty, yes, but real too. And often , for me, that includes struggle with depression, self-doubt, and yes -jealousy.

I invite you to talk about this in the comments if it rings any bells for you. It's totally normal- just don't quietly implode! Trust me, the yucky feelings dissipate much quicker when we talk about them! 
If you have no idea what I am talking about here, then congratulations: you are a much better person than I am! 

................................................................................................................................................................. 

A preview of what's to come this week here on YummyGoods:

 

That's right, my weekend haul from etstate sales, including 2 boxes of sewing patterns:

and 2 bags of quilting fabric:

I will leave you with this adorable illustration from a book I will share later:

 

xo, m 

Saturday afternoon:

Over the past few months, Sandi Henderson and I have emailed and chatted on the telephone a bit, so I was really looking forward to meeting her in person. She is a great girl.

Her booth, built by her sweet husband Dustin, was beautiful, as were her fabrics for Michael Miller.

 

Love this bench:

 

 

Sandi won second place for Most Creative double booth!  

Wow, huh?

And now some random bits that I am too tired to string together into a cohesive storyline. You like me for my honesty, right? 

...In the lobby, Gina from Quilter's Buzz and I recognized each other immediately! Did you guys see that post on Sugar Snap a couple of weeks ago? (ok, we actually saw each other for the first time on Thursday but I'm putting it in the Saturday post. Ok?)

...Back in the Westminster booth, check out  this quilt featuring Buddha Party fabric by Terrie Mangat.

 

...Denyse Schmidt and her assistant  Lilli were at market for just the first couple of days .  I just love her new home decor weight "cheater cloth", seen here on the left:

 

A few DS products (including a Steve): 

I was hanging out at one of the sales tables with Jeff P., when quilt artist Susan Brubaker Knapp stopped by. That link takes you to a  picture of me that I actually like (you have to scroll a bit to get to it.) Susan had just found out that one of her quilts will be in the Quilting Arts Magazine Calendar! Woo hoo!

ooh, that was a perfect segue and I didn't even have to try:
Pokey Bolton- the editor of Quilting Arts Magazine and Cloth Paper Scissors - and I were equally excited to meet each other! What a cute bundle of energy she is! I look forward to working with her on some future projects.

Saturday late afternoon, market winding down...My last night in Portland. 6 am shuttle to the airport.
I look at Jeff P. and say, "Take me out to dinner."
Jeff P. looks at me and says, "Come with me to a vendor appreciation party at Fabric Depot." 

Leaving the convention center, Jeff P. and I walked and talked with Heather Bailey , her friend Beth from epbdolls, and Maureen (Mo), Heather's sister-in-law, who I just fell in love with immediately.

At the party, I got a chance to connect some more with Patty Young, Paula Prass and Caroline Devoy, all of whom I first met at the Fabric 2.0 gathering I mentioned a few posts ago.
Mark Lipinski was there, but I didn't get a chance to talk with him. Next time.

Jeff P. and I headed out, trying to figure out where to go for dinner when Heather  called and invited us to meet her, Mo, Anna Maria , Jeff H. and others for dinner at that place we got lost trying to find. Only this time they were there already and could give us the exact name and location. NostraNa, not NostraDa - as it turns out. 

Yummy dinner and conversation. Seated next to Mo, I was so happy to get a chance to hang out with her some more! Gorgeous , funny, down-to-earth , very sweet. Love that girl. 

To end the evening ,  a trip to Pix for dessert. Cool, cool dessert place with a garage door fully open allowing in the unseasonably warm night air.
Do you ever have those moments when you feel like you're watching yourself in a movie? Sitting there... eating dessert...looking at  red lanterns stirring with the wind...overhearing the conversations taking place at our cluster of little tables pushed together ,  I felt like that.
It was a  really good movie. 

---Fin---

Ok, trying to finish up my market recap here...
Friday night... Hmmmm, hmmm, ok... Tai chi guy, lost in a van.... ok ok. (If you are just joining us, take a look at the previous post to find out what the hell I am talking about!)

So  we decided to go somewhere else for dinner, since we couldn't find the place we were looking for. I'll spare you the details  except to say that though we didn't officially vote on it, I am quite sure I won for "Most Embarrassing First Concert." If you can guess what it was, I will send you a prize.
Here, I will even give you some hints: It was 1986 and the concert venue was small.  Have at it.

Saturday:
More hanging out in the Westminster block. Got a chance to sit down have a great chat with the lovely  (and surprisingly glamorous and funny!) Heather Ross. Her new line is just awesome. I want to eat it.

Dammit. Now that I am trying to speed through this to finish up, I feel like I am just name dropping! But I just don't have the energy to write it all out in story form! Forgive me.

Joel Dewberry was just lovely , as was his booth: 

 

Those frames display  line drawings of his new quilt patterns.  

I loved the 3-d butterflies in his booth:

 

It is so odd to me that many of these designers are about the same age as me, 33. I try not to compare myself, but I do feel so behind everyone! During the years that everyone else was going to college and following that with building their careers, I was just trying to scrape myself up off the floor and learn how to live in the world. I am just happy that  I'm here now. There is plenty of time to do what I want to do. (Right?)

Tina Givens was just adorable. And yes, elfin! She even had 2  pairs of the cutest elfy shoes! And her booth, well, take a look:

 

So crisp and professional. Wow.

 

 

A shot of the quilt made with her new line: 

 

Do you see what I see on the lower left there? 

 

Bees! Amazing awesome bee fabric! I want a dress made out of that fabric.

I know you are waiting for me to show Heather Bailey's new line, but guess what? This is the only shot I have! 

I'm sorry! She didn't have a booth, and it didn't occur to me to take pictures of the swatches. It is ,of course, amazing - as you can see in the little dress there at the bottom. The quilt was put together by Heather and her mom in a ridiculously tiny amount of time- and it was beautiful. 

Jennifer Paganelli was so sweet. We had a bunch of mini chats and she was so down-to-earth and easy to talk with.  Look at these awesome quilts made with her fabrics:

 

I love that tunic! I went to the fabric store last night looking for a tunic pattern, anyone have any suggestions?

More people I kept bumping into:
The lovely Michelle Freedman and Violet Craft (of Kung Fu Bambini). Yes, that is Violet's  real name, she married into it. Isn't that just the coolest? ( not that Freedman isn't cool, Michelle, but you know what I mean.)

Ok, I'm sure you are sick of hearing about it, but I will be back later with the wrap-up of Saturday and Saturday night.  Sorry to end so abruptly, but it is Memorial Day Weekend on Cape Cod, and to me that means  estate sales!

Bye for now.

xo, m 

I had better hurry up and finish my market report before I forget stuff!

(the links take you right to people's Market posts if they have them)

Let's see, Friday... 

First I had a little meet-up planned with Amy Schimler of Red Fish Circle. She is so cute! Is it weird for me to say that and follow it by saying that I think we look alike? We really do have similar features. Plus she has great style. So we have that in common. Ahem.

 After having emailed back and forth over the last few months, it was awesome to finally meet Amy in person. I love her work and she just was a really warm and engaging person. She is so cool. And isn't her fabric just  great?

While I was standing there in the lobby chatting with Amy and her husband Charlie, I had the bonus of meeting the adorable Lizzie House and her mom Cherri House of Cherry House Quilts, and  Julie and Eric Comstock of CosmoCricket . I know I keep saying that everyone was wonderful and lovely, but they just really were! I am so grateful that I found my way into this business - the people are amazing.

Some quilts from Kaffe's booth:

Most of Friday I just walked the show on my own, checking out the other fabric companies, pattern-makers and publishers. Over the course of the day, I kept bumping into and chatting with some wonderful women of the ebay boutique world that I have recently had the pleasure of getting to know a little bit, thanks to new designer for Michael Miller, Patty Young of modkid . (wow, that was a long sentence.)

Many of them were at the fabric 2.0 party the night before, so seeing them repeatedly around the place gave us more of an opportunity to connect. Check out these ladies I met:  Eva from Fresh and Vintage, Jona from Fabritopia, Chelsea from Vintage Chic Boutique, Myrinda from Fabric Hound, and Jen from Fabric Bliss who had her adorable and sweet husband Michael with  her.  ( I will add to this list as I remember everyone! Please forgive me!)

Another group I kept seeing was Daria from Boutique Cafe  along with her assistants Megan from Brassy Apple  and Amelia from Intimate Photography (that last link takes you to some of the best Amy Butler photos I've seen.) They were telling me a bit about some of the interviews they still had left to do when Patty said, "You haven't interviewed Melissa yet!"  I swear if we were on a sitcom the girls would have elbowed Patty in the ribs. (Laugh track)

Details of Tanya Whelan's booth:

 

Isn't that just so beautiful?

 

I visited her booth a lot.
Exhausted and still sick, I just wanted to curl up on this bed of pillows! 

 

After the show, Jeff P. ( I will now call the Sales Manager Jeff P. to differentiate him from Jeff H., Anna's husband!) and I  wanted to go to Bolt for the meet and greet with Heather Ross and Denyse Schmidt which was from 5-7 pm. By the time we ( Leann was with us , too) finally arrived though,  it was exactly 7! Heather and Denyse were still around with  a good handful of people , including Heather Bailey, Anna Maria and Jeff H.

I perused the fabric boutique and selected some Kokka - yum!
I didn't learn till the next day that Heather R. designs for them in addition to Westminster! ( Thanks Lizzie! )

I just could not resist this print:

 

or this one:

 

At the  cutting counter, I had the pleasure of meeting Leisl of Oliver and S, along with the adorable elfin Megan and Leisl's mom. Such sweet people. Wow.

Having barely eaten a thing all day, Jeff P., Leann and I decided to head out to dinner and Anna, Jeff H., and Heather B. joined us. Turns out that GPS works great when you have the correct name of the restaurant. Not so much when you are just a letter off. So there I was being driven around in the back of a rented caravan with Leann, Anna and her husband in the next row, Jeff P. driving and Heather B. riding shotgun. Eventually, we pulled over in the residential area that so clearly was not where we were going to find the restaurant we were looking for. (that was a bad sentence, but I am too tired to fix it. These posts take a wicked long time.)

I was sitting there looking out the window at a basketball court where a man was practicing tai chi. I said it out loud, "I am in this city alone, lost in this van with all of these people that I just met, watching this guy practice tai chi." 

Jeff H. said, "I know, isn't it great?" (or something  to that effect)

Smiling, I said, "Yeah. I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."
xo, m

More Market report.
Thursday lunchtime till bedtime:

I had emailed Amy Butler to introduce myself shortly before Market. She was just a doll, telling me she'd keep on the lookout for me and not to be nervous, that everyone was so welcoming.

Around lunchtime on Thursday, I was sitting with Sarah and Leann from the Westminster office, and  in the next aisle over I saw Amy walking toward her booth with her husband. She had already passed us but turned back for just a second and  I shyly waved, not quite sure if she was even looking at me. She stopped immediately and turned  around, "Is that you, Miss Melissa? Miss Yummy Goods?" I got up to meet her halfway where she gave me a big hug and introduced me to David. What a sweetheart. So warm and generous.

 

Amy went  out of her way to make me feel comfortable and cared for. Each time I saw her, she would ask me if I was feeling any better and tell me I looked great.

 

Amy's office manager Diane was just lovely and friendly as well, inviting me to return to the booth and keep her company when Amy had other engagements.

I went to Amy's Schoolhouse - standing room only! (A Schoolhouse is a 15 minute show and tell, essentially.) I also attended presentations  by Erin McMorris, Heather Bailey, and Anna Maria Horner.  It is kind of hard to believe that I will be doing a Schoolhouse at the Fall Market!

At 5:00 it was time for Fabric 2.0 - a bloggers party, which you can read about ( and see pictures of) at JCaroline Creative. I grabbed a cab from the convention center with Sandi Henderson and Shawn and Masha (Marsha?) from Michael Miller Fabrics. After mingling, posing for pictures and eating appetizers at Oba, I caught a ride with Heather B. back to our hotel for the Westminster party at 7.

( Just so you know, I was thinking about adding a new blog category called Name Drop Soup just to tag these Market posts. )

One of the most surprising and wonderful things about my experience at Market was getting to know my new friend Jeff, the Sales Manager for Westminster Fibers.   We had some great phone chats back in the fall, so I was looking forward to meeting him in person. I had talked with him a  few times earlier in the day, but sitting together at the party allowed us some time to really talk and we became fast friends.

About mid-evening,  Jeff invited each of the designers with new collections to come to the front of the banquet room and talk about the inspiration for their new lines. This was such a treat! I kept looking around the room: Kaffe Fassett, Amy Butler, Denyse Schmidt...Tanya Whelan, Jennifer Paganelli,Valori Wells, Erin McMorris...... Anna Maria, Heather Bailey, Tina Givens, .... Joel Dewberry, Donna Dewberry,  Verna Mosquera, Heather Ross... and... me? Actually, the weirdest thing about it was that it hardly felt weird at all. But maybe that's just because I was so sick; I didn't have enough energy to be nervous with!

After listening to the wonderful stories behind the new fabric lines, Jeff and I grabbed some of the yummy food and sat down for more talking until it was time for me to head off to bed, exhausted but happy.

More booth photos and tales of dinners and parties next time!

xo, m

Ok, it is a little overwhelming to really try to recap my trip. I will probably end up bouncing around, but I gotta just jump in.

I was seated next to a fun and stylish woman on the flight to Portland - turns out she was headed to QM, too. Janet is a stylist for Quilting Treasures. We had a great time talking for the entire 7 plus hours we were on the plane together! Also seated next to me was this lovely older woman. She said she had tried quilting (patchwork) but she couldn't get all of her seams to match up. Her friend who was teaching her ripped out all the seams to re-stitch them together! The woman was so disheartened, as she had really enjoyed it but felt that she hadn't done it "right!" I told her that I never match up my seams that that I like it better that way. I suggested she give it another try and see if she could let go of the need to have it be perfect and just do it for the pleasure of working with her hands. Relieved and excited, she vowed  to try it again! What a sweet lady. I hope she does get her hands on some fabric soon.

I was so happy to get out of the plane and into the Portland air, which was downright balmy at 10pm! Just a  short hotel shuttle and I was unpacking in my room. The next morning, Thursday, I walked the couple of blocks  to the convention center. I had on my new trouser-y jeans (which I hemmed for heel height), my new eggplant suede Danskos  and  a  pretty new dress.  Makeup on, hair all messy and bedheaded - in a good way. And man, was I sick. Head foggy, nose stuffy, throat hurt-y. Yuck.

Got to the  place, got my name tag  and waited in line at the Starbucks for a venti soy latte, which I did each morning after.  Made my way into the main space where the first booth I saw was Westminster's, which was more like a block of booths! A neighborhood. And it did feel that way. Lots of energy, people unpacking shipping crates, quilts everywhere. I sought out the office people that I have spoken with and emailed for the last year, finally able to meet them face to face!

Next, I walked around the  block and found Anna Maria setting up her gorgeous booth with her gorgeous husband. Seriously, this couple is just  beautiful. I told them so, and Jeff ( Anna's husband) said "We never hear that. Our kids never tell us that!" I really enjoyed talking with Jeff - he is a very welcoming and friendly fella who is  interested in getting to know other people.

Ok, fine. I'll start showing you the pictures of Anna's award-winning booth!  I am pretty sure she won for Most Creative Double Booth.

 

Anna was just as adorable as you would imagine. Pretty as hell, funnier than I expected and all that talent. Wow, she is a force of nature. I spent quite a bit of time with her that first morning, hanging out on the floor of the booth as she finished  some stitching on that quilt hanging up on the right.

One of Anna's new fabrics behind a row of her finished needlepoint pillows (manufactured by Peking Handicraft): 

 

I want a dress like this in my size, chicken sash especially:

 

The famous chairs and a giant cover of Anna's forthcoming book:

 

Painting by Anna:

 

Garden Party:

 

 

I know, you want o see pictures of Anna and Jeff. I'm sorry! I  hardly took any pictures of people! 

Ok, next up: Schoolhouse and Amy Butler. 

xo, m

Just a quick lunch-time post of some Quilt Market pics.

The first thing I saw when I walked onto the floor of the market was huge wooden crates marked "Westminster Fibers." I didn't get a chance to get shots of those, but here is one that I saw that made me happy: 

 

I love that they painted those offset polka-dots on it!

A corner of Valori Wells' booth:

 

I chatted with Valori for just a little bit -  she was adorable and sweet, as was Carolyn, the co-author of Life Style - Valori's newest book.

 

I love these:

 

More later!

Ahhhh.....It feels so good to be home.  I arrived home from Quilt Market last night.

Remember how before I left I was fighting a bad sore throat? Well, it didn't get any better in time for the trip and of course travelling from Cape Cod to Oregon didn't help! I had a miserable cold  the whole time.  So when you see pictures of me out in blogland, just remember that I was a sick puppy.

I jumped right back into a full workweek at my day job today, so I am still in  need of resting up.  I'll just start off my market report with some simple shots of things that made me smile every day as I was walking from the hotel to the Oregon Convention Center.

 I was enchanted by this house with its giant rhododendron:

 

I don't love the foliage of rhododendrons, as you may recall, but I do love when they are in bloom.

Look at those crazy giant clusters! I just marveled at it every morning.

This is the little garage that goes with the house:

 

I don't know what kind of tree that is behind it, do you? It was huge!
The whether was unusually wonderful for Portland! It was so warm.  And sunny! What a treat that was.

Some mossy shadowy stairs that I loved: 

 

Ok, ok.  A couple of shots of the show:

 

In the fall, my name will be on one of those banners!

The Westminster Fibers booth is huge.

It includes tons of sales tables and is backed by (and somewhat faced with) the individual booths of many of the Rowan/Free Spirit Designers. (I have a bunch of pictures of those to show you later.)

 

Next time I will show a bunch of booth pictures. I hope you won't be too disappointed that I didn't get many shots of the designers.  When we were all together we were too busy socializing!

It was fun getting a chance to meet everyone and see how the whole trade show thing works. Of course, I would have preferred to be healthy for it. Next time I will shop for cute outfits well in advance so I don't get so run-down right before the show!

More to come. 

God morning,

ha ha I just realized I typed God morning!  I am going to leave it because I think it's funny.

>Ahem.<

Good morning to you. I am trying to quickly heal a sore throat and fever situation before I leave for Quilt Market ! Drat! I think it was the marathon of shopping that did me in.

For today, just a few more images from The Game Of Happiness that I love so much:

 

And when you overcome a 'hang-up for love,' you 'win love key':

 

I leave for Oregon on Wednesday! I am  excited about meeting everyone and getting a feel for the industry.
I will  be reporting back with every detail I can remember.

In the meantime, I am taking good care of myself so I can heal this sore throat.

 

Yay, I love pink.

xo, mba 

Hey, lookie what I found at an estate sale a couple of weeks ago:

 

Yep, another one!
Actually, my Honey grabbed it for me. (Tee hee - my honey.)

Another game I scored:

 

Mystery Date!

 

I love this illustration:

 

and this:

 

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Last week, the leaves finally sprung!

My heart flip-flops for that light yellowy-green of baby leaves. Driving down scenic route 6A on Cape Cod is such a treat at this time of year. I always keep an eye out for when the 'canopy' appears- the trees from either side of the road extending their offerings of frilly new growth, creating a verdant  canopy  over the street.

>sigh<

I'm in love with spring.

And now we conclude this morning's post with your daily installment of The Game of Happiness:

 

 

xo,
mba

(pink robe, pink living room, soy coffee)

Got this cute mug thrifting the other day:

 

Isn't it pretty? It has a chip on the other side, but do you think I care? No, no I don't.

 

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Yoga newsflash: I did my first headstand last week! All by myself, no wall, no spotter. Held it for 30 seconds!

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I don't usually give a rat's ass what is "in" or "out" but this is one trend worth following: 

 

You heard it here, Phoniness is Out! 

 

Yay! Sincerity is In! 

(From the Game of Happiness, featured in the previous post.) 

I have been stressing a little about what to wear to Quilt Market. I mean, I will be meeting a lot of people and I want to feel comfortable and look good, of course. Part of me wants to really plan outfits and be all decked out and professional-looking. But then I remember that Phoniness Is Out!

I am sure I will still wear heels  at some point, which I rarely do in real life, but that is because I am pretty sure that most of the designers are Amazons, and I am ... well... more elfin.  And I do love heels. But I am also thinking I will wear jeans, multiple times without washing- because that is when they fit best. And  hoodies, since I pretty much live in them. I need to remember to present myself as who I am, not who I think others expect me to be.
Sincerity is In!   And thank god, because I am a terrible faker.

A little affirmation for your day:

xo, mba 

Good morning.
I am sitting here  curled up on the couch in my pink robe ( in my pink living room!)

I am drinking my soy coffee. I think I have mentioned it before, but this is what it is: I take a little bit of water and mix it with Maxwell House Bold instant coffee. Then I add plain soymilk and microwave it. It tastes just like a soy latte. I do eat dairy, I just am trying not to have as much sugar - that's why I have this instead of regular coffee with cream and sugar.  The soymilk has enough natural sweetness that it doesn't require additional sweetening up. Yum. Plus, I'm sweet enough already, right?

Some little bijoux from an estate sale a couple of weeks ago:

 

Again, sorry for the blur, but you know I had to include the cat feet.

Love these yellow clip ons. I think they might become pendants.

 

And there was only one of these, but it is so darling:

 

This will definitely become a centerpiece for a necklace, after it gets a good scrubbing with a toothbrush! 

Oh, and this, because there is never enough:

 

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I noticed this morning that I am nearing my 2ooth post! Funny, It took me nearly a year to go from 1 to 100, but only 4 months to go from 100 to 200! Guess I finally got into a groove.

Speaking of getting into the groove, I must admit that I love Madonna. I don't want to, I mean I feel like I shouldn't for some reason, but I just can't help it. There, I said it.

Ok, back to the topic- my 200th post. You know what that means: giveaway, baby! I think I might put together a  one big one and use my little bundles of bits as extras so there can be more than one winner.

As for the big prize, I am still figuring out what it will be. Of course, I don't have my fabric to give away yet, so it will have to be something else. Maybe some other Free Spirit designer's fabrics. Maybe some of my vintage fabric stash? Maybe some estate sale goodies? Jewelry made by me or supplies? Artwork? Maybe all of the above? Any suggestions?

As a thank you to the people who are kind enough to link to me, I think I will have the big prize be available to them only, with the smaller goodies available to anyone. Does that sound fair? So now that I've given you a head's up, it's fine with me if this spurs you to link to me, I mean, you were just about to anyways, right? I won't feel like you're doing it just for the prize. I promise.

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I found the most awesome old game at the same estate sale where I got the jewelry above. The Game of Happiness! Yes!

I had never heard of it, have you? 

This made me chuckle: 

 

Happiness is trademarked!

And this, well I just love this: 

 

The Rainbow of Happiness!

This is so good that I am going to have to parcel it out and show a bit each day.

 

A little happy thought for your day, courtesy of The Game of Happiness (tm): 

 

xo, mba

The living room isn't quite ready to be shown off yet, but I did want to show you something cool.

I am painting the radiators like I did in the bathroom - from a dull uneven silver to glossy bright white. Look at what we found behind one of them (after spending 45 minutes poking through the slots with the handles of wooden spoons):

 

We'll probably frame some of this stuff and hang it in here. 

This little bit of wallpaper reminds me of some we had in the house I grew up in, same colors.

 

Did I ever squeal when I pulled these out:

 

A hoodsie spoon wrapper! Someone's life insurance policy bill: One dollar a month!

Photographs!

 

( Did you notice that I am experimenting with  my backgrounds ?)

A few more bits:

 

The crucifix pouch was empty, unfortunately. 

But check this out:

 

A scrap of a girlie mag!

 

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Got ready for work yesterday, and when I walked into the living room, I realized that my sweater was the exact shade of the new paint color.

 

Sorry for the blur, but it was the only picture I liked enough to show you. (Yeah honey, I know, it's a little forehead-y.) Sweater hoodie from Old Navy - gift from my Honey for Valentine's Day. 

I am a little self-conscious about showing pictures of myself, so be gentle.

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Listening to:
Priscilla Ahn

Melody Gardot 

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Ok, show of hands: who is going to Quilt Market?

xo, mba 

We finally decided on a new color for the living room. Yes, we have been living with the walls just primered for a month or more!

When we moved in, (after scraping off the seventies wallpaper and repairing the walls) we painted it a warm mocha brown which we loved. But this room gets very little light, and it was just too dark and gloomy during the day. Cozy and warm at night, but still really dark. And kinda, well, serious and traditional.

At first we thought we would go super-light. Like maybe even (gasp!) white or ivory. But we wanted something that would contrast more with the white trim. We live in an old old house and the window casings are really nice, so we wanted to highlight them. So then we thought  we would do something that was very light with some color in it, for the contrast. Of course the problem with that is that  very light+some color= pastel. And that wasn't gonna do it for us. 

We finally realized that it was  the boring-ness that bothered us more than the dark-ness of the room. So then we thought we would do more of a deep color, just not dark. The only color that I could imagine painting it was pink! I was open to other suggestions, but nothing was really thrilling me.

My honey said he didn't want a pink living room but after looking at our mountain of paint chips, he agreed that it would look good and we settled on a brownish pink. You know, good contrast, not too "pink!"

As we were about to leave for the Depot, he grabbed another chip out of the pile.

Him :How about this one?

Me: Really?!

Him: Yeah, what do you think?

Me: Are you kidding?! I love it. It's perfect! Are you sure?

Him:  Yeah, why not? It has a good name. "Cheery."

I love that guy. 

So, what color is it?
Well, let's just say that it makes the kitchen look tame.

At the depot, getting the paint mixed:

Me: Honey, I thought you didn't want a pink living room.

Him: Well, it's more of a red.

Me: Ok, honey. If it helps you sleep at night, it's red.

Befores, Way Befores and Afters to come.