25 September

Status Report

Anchorage is earthquake country and this state was a rockin’ this week! The temblor at 4:00 am this morning was a 5.4 magnitude that woke us up and the earthquake on Tuesday was 4.9 but located just 15 miles north of Anchorage –making that one feel much stronger. Tuesday I was meeting with my friend Ann C. about my new pattern designs at the Midtown Kaladi Brothers Coffee and we thought a huge semi truck had hit the building when the earthquake struck. The guy next to us lost his fresh, HOT, Americano all over his wrist! We are all fine but my pets have been on high alert –especially Bunny Foo-Foo who just may wear out his thumping leg! My meeting with Ann was to give her a proof set of my new Quilted Wall Art Patterns I have designed to be “pattern tested” by a group of talented and experienced quilters she recruited. Ann has been so valuable helping me to transform the designs into a list of materials needed as well as the difficult part of writing and editing the instructions. For me, the design part has been fun and fairly easy but writing the step-by-step instructions was very difficult, especially to boil the process down to be easy to read, concise and accurate. Ann says I’m what you would call an “intuitive quilter.” I know what I like and I figure out how to do something by working backwards –as I told her when she admired my “partial seam” borders on “Raven Says Hello!” I’d never heard of the common term “partial seam" but I knew

what I liked for that pattern and just figured out how to sew the background. Explaining how to do that never occurred to me –though essential in pattern designs! For now the first five patterns I designed are all in the hands of my pattern testers.

Hopefully, if all goes well I’ll get their input and edits, make the revisions and off to the wholesale market they’ll go by the Holiday!

In NC the Clay and Blogs Show opens Friday! My piece was shipped and waiting for the opening. In Anchorage, Katie’s new Gallery space is on track and scheduled to open next Friday also for an October First Friday Grand opening. She’s got the band lined up, furniture installed and artwork starting to be delivered and moved. My boys were there last week installing her very cool art hanging system. In addition to some new wall sculptures I’m working on, I’m finishing an original counter wrap for her. I’ve got the metal custom cut and I’ll be welding ornamental leaves and branches on it and installing on Monday. I nearly caused a

major news event yesterday though as 50+ mile an hour winds whipped through Anchorage, and of course that was the day I needed to fit the 10 foot piece of metal on the counter. Getting the huge hunk of metal from the back of my truck across the sidewalk and into the Gallery turned the metal into a shiny galvanized SAIL! My finger tips bent backwards and holding on for dear life, the lunch crowd inside Cake Studio next door were treated to the sight of woman vs. metal and WONDER MAMA prevailed –though today, all my fingers are killing me but at least my pride is in tact –and so are Katie’s new windows!

4 comments:

Linda Starr said...

Earthquakes, wind, and 10 foot pieces of metal being transported, wow you have a lot to contend with. I used to sew and never heard of a partial seam, I've got some catching up to do. I'm here in NC at Meredith's; just before I left I sent a package which should get there very soon, I hope.

Christine--RHP said...

wow--that is a lot of action. Glad everything turned out alright. (with all the winds and earthquakes!)

and those patterns are awesome! I think they'll be a smashing success.

ang design said...

wow so much cooking glad you can keep up!! all the best with all of them and it's funny you describing the earthquake that way we had one a few months back and it sounded exactly like that running through the house... i actually went outside it was soo loud but all deadly quiet out there!! I assumed it was a quake and heard later it was about a 3 a wee baby one :))

Judy Shreve said...

I didn't realize Anchorage was earthquake country! You had me laughing at your description of getting the metal in the gallery -- WOW! Unbelievable. I'm glad you are ok though.

It has to be really difficult to have to describe -in writing- how you've created something -- and so well - that someone else can do it! Now that would be hard.

You do have a lot going on - and so many different things -- must be fun!