I'm not usually such a pill here, but I guess I won't beat around the bush. I totally lost my mojo after quilt market. It seems so long ago, I've almost forgotten it. It was rough. And unfortunately my mom hasn't been that well lately... she's on the mend, thank goodness, but it's been a trial for her for sure. Market was kind of up and down for me partly because she was back in the hospital in Arizona while I was there. Not just for that reason, but if you saw me there you know I was kinda' sorta' ... to put it mildly ... emotional. Apparently that's my natural reaction to not sleeping for days on end and generally being a complete freak. That and The-Great-Chin-Breakout-of-Spring-Quilt-Market-2010 will go down in history as my worst ever. 

To top things off, when I got home I thought I was going to quickly get our house into ship shape for putting on the market (ie: the next morning I painted the front hall), when our "The Ackermans are Moving to Arizona" plans came to a crashing halt. That totally threw me for a loop since I really want to move near family. Had planned on being there before our 14yo starts highschool in the Fall. But alas, it is not in the cards... yet.

Unfortunately, I didn't take very many photos while I was at market due to my disastrous mood, so I hope you'll forgive the lack of detail. I did, however, have the best roommate in the universe... Rebecca Makas from Restitcherator. I can't tell you how she saved me... And we just met! I also managed to interview Amy Butler, Pat Bravo, Kay Whitt and Lizzie House while I was there. So you have that to look forward to through Boutique Cafe. And I did take some limited photos of Country Lane samples before I left. My favorite is this ottoman slip cover. The flounce took some figuring out, so I was really thrilled with the end result.

 

And a pillow... 

 

I mixed some turned under applique with my always first choice: collage. And then, because I can't leave well enough alone, I also did some hand embroidery on the top. I may be certifiable.

 

I also made a Lill Street Messenger (see below... it's one of the new sewing patterns):

 

And, the center of what will be my free quilt pattern... the Bed and Breakfast Quilt.

 

I actually did quilt and bind this... and it appears I took the photo upside down, but there ya' go...

This is a virtual version of what the quilt will look like when all is said and done...

And an alternate colorway of the same quilt:

 

With what was the cut-away fabric for the flounce there was a circle left over, so I made a little dresden plate table topper... this is it before it was finished (ah hem... taken with my iphone):

 

and then I quilted it by hand and put on a binding:

... and then I proceeded to completely forget to take photos of it in the booth. 
 Along with the finished version of this sign:

 

 

Also while I was at market, I introduced two new sewing patterns which are TBD June 30 and are available for pre-order now. They are the Gracie Girl Pincushion and The Lill Street Messenger. They will be available through me and distributors as well.

 

 

Since the moving plans were "revised", the whirlwind tour of crazy hasn't stopped. I have the "flow" for my book (which is the unformated/undesigned version) to get through and approve. And I have another project for which I had have photographs taken of myself. Eeew. And do a sewing project for. Which is altogether exciting, but getting photos taken of myself is not really my dream job, ya' know? I'm also getting prepared for a trip to AZ and then to Sister's Oregon where I'm teaching. And somehow I need to keep my website updated (there are some new things on there and a SALE). So... I know I've made most of the crazy all on my own, but I feel generally insane of late. And I'm going to have to figure out how not to do that in the future. Although if you know me, you know there is not much hope for that. I apparently, like my mom says, "Thrive on Chaos".