Switching it up...

Hello - from soon to be snow buried NH. I thought that you might like to take a listen to a recent interview I did on the New Hampshire Women In Business Radio Show. I've been a guest on her show before, in her Friday segments where she highlights local entrepreneurs in short bursts, but this was my first hour long interview.  I was worried about how I could fill an hour - mee? - but it went by quite quickly.  It might be something different for you to listen to as you are hunkered down this weekend.

Seriously, snowmageddon...how did we survive in the old days.

Off to meet some great ladies in the coastal region today - enjoy!

I'd love to hear the feedback.

Five for February

 

I'm planning on spending a good deal of time this month exploring some of the challenges associated with the concept of "Work Smarter, not harder".  As a craft professional, I am always struggling with balancing the creative energies, the business energies with the life is supposed to be fun energies. All work and no play makes Linda (or Belinda, as my dark alter ego is known) a dull girl...and we can't have that.  So this group of 5 ideas is loosely 'stitched' around the idea of how to get more productivity out of what you do.

1.  Multi-task wherever possible...it does take time to creatively come up with an entry to a show or a quilt challenge, so whenever you can make one challenge piece to fit into 2 contests, it's worth a shot to explore the options. I have two that I'm looking at right now, and by massaging themes and deadlines, I think I've come up with a concept that will fit 2 different entry forms.  I will get back to you on that one, but I also know this is a strategy that other quilters employ a lot. Sometimes, you might need to pick your battles, but sometimes, if you just look at an issue from a different perspective, it will work out. Funny, those old sayings ARE true after all.

2. I love magazines, and as the picture below shows you...I have my fair share (and then some).



But how to read them all, let alone find some of the projects?  These are mostly from the sharing tables at the guilds I belong to.  I'm good at returning 2, and then taking 3 more. This pile is probably as bad as it ever gets. This does tend to be a screen porch activity, but I take 2-3 down with me every morning over coffee. There's something about the peace and quiet - I get to just leaf through a magazine leisurely before things get crazy. If I find something that's of interest, I scan it into the PC and file it as a technique, a pattern, a resource article - and (this is important) I always put the magazine title and issue month into the title so I can find it. Then the magazine is put into a tote bag with the word "share" on it, so I take them with me to the next meeting.

3. If it's anything to do with Christmas - or with the words 'fast' and 'gift' on the cover, that goes into the Christmas magazine basket..I'm not kidding you. Saves me money every September when they hit the news stands. One thing for sure, I know by now which ones I'm going to make, and which ones I just like looking at. 

Both 2 and 3 were discovered before I found Pinterest...we'll see if it keeps up.

4. Never, ever leave your sewing room for the night with an empty bobbin or a broken needle...somehow, it just seems too hard to walk on by and not start sewing.

5. Use online activities, such as the Drop and Give me Twenty Challenge for 2013, to tackle an overwhelming project one step (or block) at a time.

What is the biggest time saver you've found?

Support your local Quilt Shop - Bunkhouse Quilt Sho

January 24th is Visit your Local Quilt Shop Day, and I'm participating in the fun from brisk southern New Hampshire. This is a day to celebrate the independence of the shop owners who were born to cater to our needs, wants and desires. They should have a whole month at least, not just a day!

I am fortunate enough to have several in my general area (and two that have recently opened up)...for today, I want to pay tribute to Wanda and her crew over at The Bunkhouse Quilt Shop in Lyndeboro, NH. 

Wanda's shop is at the top of a beautiful twisty road  - her website will give you directions to find her. It's a peaceful trip to a beautiful, modern building that was built to be a destination shop. I first met Wanda and heard the story of how she came to be the owner of the shop - you have to love a woman who tried to retire twice before, and flunked it both times.

The shop is always a happy place to drop by, whether it's to match fabric, complete a project or to take a class. I'm always welcomed by her friendly "Hey, Miss Linda" whenever I come up - and truthfully, it's not as often as I'd like.  But there's inspiration galore hanging from the ceiling beams, and whenever you're stuck, there's someone there to help you out. 

Gee, I guess I need to take a ride up there tomorrow - wouldn't seem right not to...what do I need?

Where's your favorite shop?

The Road Paved with Good Intentions...

Many quilters start the year with resolutions such as "I will finish my UFOs this year", or  "..I will spend time sewing every day this year..." It's all another variation of the balance  theme, and I am pleased to be able to offer you a an option you may not have considered. Please consider joining me (in my very first official sponsorship...take that, 2013 goals!) for lots of fun - and UFO busting as part of Eva Paige Quilt Designs' second running of Drop and Give Me Twenty.

Beth, who you may remember from her guest blog post in November,  started this project last year as a way of demonstrating to us doubters how much you can get done with just 20 minutes a day. It has nothing to do with exercise, and everything to do with sewing time. The premise is that you work on some quilt related item every day for at least 20 minutes, and you'll have a lot fewer UFOs at the end of the month than you do at the beginning.

 

Last year's event was so successful that she has prize sponsors for this year's event, including me! This year, I'm not only a sponsor - but heaven help me, I'm also a participant.  I've already begun to collect a pile of stuff (see below)  all set to go for 2/1...



If, by some miracle I am able to get all these done, trust me - there's more where that comes from!

To 'officially' enter the insanity, click  here and add your comments to the bottome to be officially entered into the prize drawings.  There will be a flicker group set up so that we can all encourage each other - I'll post that information once that's all set to go.

Happy Monday, January 7th, 2013

Good morning all.

A new year brings with it all kinds of metaphors (clean slate, fresh start...you get the picture) for the process of making changes in your life. I find it's very complicated business of trying to do that when you're in the holiday mode, but once the return to routine of January comes, it's much easier to bring that into focus.

I'm working on that on several fronts. I find that looking back on 2012 - it was in many ways a successful and satisfying year. There are definite areas to improve on - to me, one of the most important of these is finding balance in my schedule.  I find myself doing a lot more computer work than sewing time, and also I have a schedule that rarely is the same from one week to the other. 

So my watchword for the year will be balance - and in the coming weeks I'll be exploring ways in which I am making adjustments to my daily schedule - and learning to embrace the concept of "No, I'm sorry...I just can't".  Embracing that concept in some areas will allow me to leverage me into a new era for "Yes, I can!".

If you have a strategy for helping achieve balance in your life, let me know in the comments below.  If there's an area that you need some help with, let me know that as well.

An intriguing beginning...

Happy New Year - well, 2013 is 4 days old, and I hope that you are embracing the return to routines that work and the start of new routines that will bring an improvement to your life. I've got several of those new routines at the moment,  as well as some expansion ideas that I am very excited about, but this afternoon I wanted to share my excitement that this weekend is the return of Downton Abbey! 

 

Downton has such a widespread following amongst women of my age group (over 18 with a pulse, that's all I'm admitting to) that putting together the first quilt challenge was a natural, and we had a lot of interest in that round. Here's my entry (based on the star inlaid in the floor of the Titanic) which I donated to the Channel 11 winter auction for Downton in the fall.

 

 

 

I heard from a lot of quilters that they would have been interested in it had they known about it sooner.  (That right there is a big bullet point on my to do list for 2013, but more about that later.)

Well, here we go...announcing the SECOND Downton Abbey Quilt Challenge.  The 'prompt' for the second Challenge is that I'm asking you to draw your inspiration from the show's costumes...which can be anything from the hats, to the jewelry, to the uniforms - anything you would like to use as inspiration. If you would like to have your item donated to public broadcasting, that's great - but it's not a requirement. You can keep it.  There'll be an online forum (still under construction, more coming later) which will be a place to showcase and talk about all things Downton.

I'm very pleased to be hosting a kickoff event (read that party, and fabric sale) at Quilting Away in Amherst, NH on Sunday, January 6th from 2-4.  I've worked hard with Bette Belanger, the owner of the shop, to put on a great time for you - and there'll be a few surprizes for you as well. The shop website for directions is http://quiltingaway.com/

I'd love to hear your ideas - do you like the idea about a new version of the Challenge? What is Downton's appeal for you.

I will have pics of the event here next week - in the meantime, "Keep Calm, and act like Cousin Violet"...

Merry Christmas one and All!

It's December 24th, and I hope this finds you enjoying the spirit of the season! Christmas is progressing on schedule here, and I'm off to get the Christmas roast now.  In the meantime, I thought that you'd all enjoy a cat-s perspective...

 

 

Athough if you had described me before last Thursday night if I was an applique person, I'd have asked you how big you wanted that lump of coal to be, I completely LOVED my class with Elly Sienkiewiz last week. If you are going to learn a technique, it's always best to learn from the woman who pioneered it.  She demystified the dreaded needle turn applique (something that's intimidated me for years...never saw myself as on of those people) in a class that was FUN, entertaining, enlightening - a perfect time out for me in the run up to Christmas.

 

That second picture is Elly, her granddaughter (and namesake Elly) who took the class, Sue Chiappini (who owns Twill, the great new downtown store that hosted the event) and Wanda Makela, who owns Bunkhouse Quilts in Lyndeboro...I'm sorry I don't know the woman in the pink vest - but she had as much fun as the rest of us. Not pictured is Sarah Glenfield, my applique buddy - if you're taking someone as shotgun, take the best!

 

 

Here's Elly explaining something from one of her original books, written almost 30 years ago - that block was drafted by her in celebration of the Industrial Revolution.

 

Well, I'm off to get the shopping done before things gets nuts - but I definitely have some updating to do for my "Ten Quilter's you Should Know" lecture - since Elly is on the list.  This wrapped up what has turned out to be an unbelievable year for me, and I can't wait to tell you more. Soon!

 

Best wishes to all this Holiday Season...