Most of you have realized….if you drop into my blog now and then…..that I’m not a very faithful or frequent blogger. I always promise myself to do better, but life just gets in the way. Today I want to take time to tell you about my most faithful reader and consistent reminder that I need to write on my blog.  That would be Lauren……one of my granddaughters.

  Here she is……beautiful like her mother! Lauren just turned 11, and is a very busy and talented young lady with basketball, dance, school, friends….and, of course, keeping her eye on Grama’s blog.  Frankly….I think she may be the only one of my wonderful family who even reads it!! I so appreciate her watchful eye. She lives a couple of hours from us, but we were at her house several days ago to attend her fabulous dance performance. She asked me then….”Gramela, (her name for me…..inventive, isn’t she!) when are you going to write on your blog?

Ok, Lauren. I’m going to try to do better. I do have lots of things to say…..just not lots of time to say them! he

At the beach in Hawaii this winter…..having fun with her cousin Brooklynn at the left.

Lauren loves my fabric art and is a great sewer herself…..with her own sewing machine. Her favorite of my pieces is Sunspot…..which I’ve promised will be hers someday. She loves all the beads and crystals….anything that sparkles is good!Thanks, Lauren. You’re the best….and Grama really appreciates your attention and interest in my blog. Keep reminding me. xo

Great advice passed on to me from my amazing granddaughter Josie…..so true, isn’t it?

The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. It’s greener where you water it.

          Josie Showalter,  interpreted from a quote from Justin Bieber

A great model, isn’t she! Meet my lovely granddaughter Lauren who had lots of fun in my studio trying on and modeling some of my recent wearable creations.

She put together outfits with my altered jean jackets and vests, scarves, and purses…..and I snapped away taking photos!  Delightful!

I’ve been busy making my textile creations for an upcoming open studio sale with two other artists in June. More to come on that…but if you live near Spokane, circle June 23 on your calender and come check us out.

One of my favorite things to do is alter jean jackets……as you see on Lauren…and I’ve been experimenting with wet felting and making bags. I’ll post more photos of the details….but until then….here Lauren having fun with Grama’s Goodies!

Love that girl….and love to see her having fun with my textile art. Of course, it’s my dream that at least one of my three granddaughters might pursue a career in art someday……..All three of them are alreadywonderful artists!!

Bon jour……after a wonderful family vacation to Paris, I’m home and back at work. You know the feeling…..it’s like you never REALLY had a vacation! Even though I’m buried in work, the trip was so delightful I don’t even care about the work….and that’s saying something. Those are my two daughters you see above with me….and a little Notre Dam Cathedral in the background!

My husband Bob and I and our family….our daughter Stacey and her husband Brian and their children Jared and Lauren, and our daughter Rachel, her husband Ben, and their children Josie and Brooklynn spent 10 wonderful days exploring the sights and the life in Paris. We rented a house and set out from there… and by the time we came home, we were all feeling (almost) like real Parisianers.  For us, it was a trip of a lifetime and it was a real joy to see the children discover a world so far from home. I think when you see Paris at age 8 (or 6, 7, or 10 as they are) you’ll probably be back!

Your’re going to have to indulge me on this post. You know, about once (or maybe twice) a year, I have to splurge with some family photos. I try to keep my blog pretty much professional and art related….but after all, it’s a trip to Paris! Since I’m soooooo far behind in work, I’m going to skip the words and introduce you to my beloved family……in Paris. Enjoy!

I could go on and on since I have lots of great photos…..but I think you get the idea. We had a great time….with memories to last forever.

Next time…. exciting news about a new book release this month! Keep checking! Thanks for indulging me!!!

Here they are…… two of my three wonderful granddaughters wearing skirts that I made for them. I don’t have much time to do Grama sewing….so getting them done and seeing them on the girls is a treat for me. Besides, they love modeling for the camera, can’t you tell!

I used a darling pattern called “Sassy Skirts” by Susan Whitman of Chilrdren’s Corner. It’s a two-layer skirt cut on the bias and is very fun and flippy looking. Of course, all the great prints out there make it even more fun.

This is Josie, age almost eight, and she loves darker, more grown-up looking prints….but she has since she was two…so I think that’s just her own personal style. She and her grama usually share a lot of favorite looks.

And this is Brooklyn,  age six…..and a true fashionista already. She loves pink and inherently knows what’s hot and what’s not in the world of fashion. It’s amazing. She’s a girlie-girl and loves all the fashion details.

It’s such a treat for me to sew for them. I’m trying to make more time to do that because they’re growing up fast.  I also made the skirt for their cousin Lauren who lives in Wenatchee, WA. I’ll be sure and add her modeling photo, too, when she gets her skirt.

It’s great to be Grama. Absolutely my favorite hat to wear!!

It wouldn’t be the holiday season without our annual girlfriends’ party.  Here we are…..toasting the New year…or whatever!

It’s the time of year to gather and enjoy the company of friends and family. I especially count myself lucky to have such great girlfriends as I’m sure many of you do as well. We’ve been friends for years, and each year we have more to share. It does make me ponder about how you build this kind of friendships……I think it takes time, shared experiences, being there for each other, and sharing lots of laughs.

True, long-lasting friendship is one of those thing you have to invest in to get a return. You know….giving before you get. That’s something I’ve learned over the years as many of my dearest friends have been part of my life for a loooonnngg time. Girlfriend friendship can be an incredibly enriching part of life. There’s that sense of honesty and support that true friends share that makes life a little sweeter. It certainly does for me anyway.

My girlfriends here are all very creative….and many of us work in the world of art or design. That’s a fun bond….but I don’t think it’s necessary to share that kind of link. Mostly, you just have to appreciate your differences and enjoy your shared interests. Hey, we have some pretty rousing political discussions…..to say the least!!! We’re not always in agreement……

Enjoy the season……and take a little time to spend with your girlfriends.

Doesn’t every studio or sewing room need a resident cat? Well…..I have two……Jack and Jelly. Named by my granddaughters as you can tell!

 Here you’re seeing Jelly lounging on one of my (precious!) Paintbox quilts. He’s quite at home in all the corners of my studio…..including curling up to sleep in the fabric piles.

There’s something kind of cozy and comforting about seeing one of them comfortably lounging as I work……until they pounce at the sewing machine as I’m stitching! Then it’s outside they go for a little excercise!

Nooooo….not really.  That sounds like I’m sick of writing my blog, and that’s not the case. I actually enjoy it……I think instead I have too-busy-itis.  I’m vowing to try to squeeze in a little blog communication every week. I promise…..

 Funny…..when I decided to start blogging, I was sure I wouldn’t enjoy it. After all, it was just one more thing on my plate. Those of you who know me know that my plate ALWAYS looks like I’ve gone back for more seconds! In other words, it’s heaping! I enjoy it all though…that’s the hard part.

I try not to blog about purely personal things…..since most of you are far more interested in professional  and quasi-professional tid-bits. Believe me, I’m tempted to show you photos of my beautiful grandchildren, gorgeous garden….etc. etc. but usually I refrain. Well, Ok, once or twice a year I indulge myself.

You know….I think this will be one of those times. Here are some proud-grandma shots and a few garden ones too. Then getting it out of my system, I’ll go back to my quasi-professional ramblings and photos and work hard at getting to it more often.

The best for first….here they are, my so-special grandchildren (no, I’m not partial)…..Jared, Josie, Lauren, and Brooklynn.

And here they are with their mothers, too….my lovely daughters Stacey and Rachel….all enjoying a fun day in the sun.

 Grama had a great time with the green hair spray. The girls loved it….and it was a total surprise for their mothers…..who I’m not sure really loved it as much as we did….!! Oh yeah, guess who had to get in the shower with them to scrub it all out!!! You guess it….me! It was worth it though.

Now for a few garden shots…. it’s only the first part of September, and seeing these photos already makes me nostalgic for the lovely days of summer…..and makes me vow that NEXT YEAR I’ll have more time to just enjoy my garden…..

 Thanks for indulging me……back to business!!

Let me introduce you to Edi Dobbins. For the past seven years, since I’ve been designing, writing, and teaching in the quilting world, Edi has been my absolutely indispensable right-hand girl. We call her my seamstress….but she’s much more than that. She’s really my assistant.

 The quilt behind her in the photo is one of soooo many she’s pieced for me….and quite expertly too. Believe me, my points don’t look nearly that good!

Primarily her job is to do much of the sewing for the commercial quilts that I design for books, magazines, patterns etc. She does that…and she does it brilliantly. Over the years she has learned to decipher my notes ( I get worse and worse about giving her good instructions as she gets better and better about figuring out what I mean!) and stitch up the projects….but it’s more than that. She’s learned what I like…and what I don’t like. What I’m particular about…and what I’m not. It’s not unusual for her to give me a call when she’s working on a project I’ve designed, and tell me I’d better get over to her house…where she sews… and take a look…..she doesn’t think I’m going to like it. And you know what, she’s almost always right. We’ll sit down in front of her design wall and decide what’s wrong….and what’s right. Then she makes the changes.

But that’s just part of what she does for me….she’s helped man my booth at shows including being a super-salesperson at quilt market, cut kits, taught my designs, and been an enthusiastic supporter and advocate.

 She’s listened to me talk to groups so many time, I tell her she might as well get up and do it herself. She has been known to give me a few gentle reminders from the back of the room when she hears I’m forgetting something important. Thank goodness….I’ve always been grateful for her taking care of me….I need that, and she does it so well and with such good humor!

Typical Edi would be to go into a quilt shop while she’s traveling and ask if they have books, fabric, or patterns by Pam Mostek. If they don’t, she acts so surprised and says they really should carry them. After all, her work is wonderful, she might add. And I’m sure she does that with a straight face…..Of course, she doesn’t mention that she’s my friend and helper!

Most importantly I love the fact that I can always count on her for enthusiasm, positive input and plain ol’ dependability. I  know that when I turn it over to her, it will be done well and on time. She’ll problem-solve it until it works…..and that means plenty of late night sewing!

One of my favorite  Edi stories is about the time I thought I had lost four embellished quilts after doing a quilt show. I won’t spend time telling you how totally distressed I was (No, not me….!) because I needed those quilts to lecture from and they would have to be replaced. After searching everywhere….I called her to tell her my miserable tale and see if she could get started piecing some of the replacements. I forgot she was in Arizona visiting her son….but I remember her response.

“We’ll just do what we have to do. I’ll get started as soon as I get home.”…..Whew! What a relief that was to hear her calm sense of reason. Oh, by the way…I found the quilts. Crisis averted!

Besides her help with my business, she has also become a very special friend. We’ve hashed and rehashed all the pitfalls of life…including children, grandchildren, husbands, quilting, gardening…..you name it, and we’ve undoubtedly kicked it around in her sewing room!

Right now my friend Edi is very sick. She’s in the fight of her life, and she’s handling it with her usual determination and grace. My thoughts and prayers are always with her……

 Here are a few of my favorite quilts she’s pieced for me……but there are many, many more to say the least. Enjoy them!

Don’t they look good enough to eat! My resourceful daughter Rachel and her little girls, Josie and Brooklynn, created these delicious-looking treats on yet another snowed-in day here in Washington State. Like she said, being snowed in for five days lends itself to great creativity!

Even though they look like sweet goodies dripped with chocolate…they are actually made from fabric. She used a pincushion pattern from Craft Apple Creations….and used scraps, beads, and silicone cupcake holders to put together the cupcakes.

It was a team effort……mom did the cutting, machine stitching and manned the glue gun to put the cherries on top, Brooklyn stuffed and Josie did the hand stitching. I’d say they’re definitely on track for becoming as creative as their mother. Grama loves, it….of course!