I’m finally back from Market and Festival. I had a great time and saw so many friends — and met SO MANY podcast listeners!!!!!
Here is what I’m doing now:
… so I’ll be with you shortly….
Sorry for not having the podcast updates like I promised. Our hotel WiFi wasn’t strong enough for me to FTP my files to WebGuy! (Of all the nerve!) I promise they are on their way, though — and you will love them! Including all of the info that I gathered for your itching quilting ears ; )
And… on the first podcast up, I will announce the winner of the copy of The Ultimate Applique Guidebook, so…
©2010 Annie Smith All Rights Reserved
Available in the website boutique, and I will personalize it for you!
He’s going to the Mexico Cuernavaca mission in January. Doesn’t know a lick of Spanish, but will learn his language by immersion process in 12 weeks at the Mission Training Center.
This is my current favorite picture of her, until the next one… Having a dead-pan face is so uncharacteristic of her, she is always smiling all over herself. She is precious — and almost 1 year old — my how time really flies!!!
I hope you do! This picture is from when I was a guest on the second season of “The Quilt Show” with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. Being a guest on this show was a dream come true. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen this episode… and guess what? It’s FREE for you to watch through October 31st!! You can also get a 20% discount off of a 6-month membership if you use the gift certificate number 123852808458. A gift courtesy of 
The Quilter’s Seam Roller, available at Shelley’s
Ann
at both of her activities:
Here is where I began, in a room that is the dumping ground for everything that doesn’t fit anywhere else. Robin’s stage amplifier, my son Ryan’s bike, camping equipment, etc. used to have a home here, with my fabric stash… no longer!
As I worked, I had to clear out one area and stack the stuff as tightly as I could in another area so I had work space — like playing Tetris. So sometimes, I spent a whole day just moving things around so I could work the next day. Yes, there was NOWHERE else to put the things outside of my studio space while I worked. The ideal solution would have been to work in an empty space — but no such luck with this project. I had to prepare and paint the walls one section at a time — moving things in place once a portion was painted, until I was done.
The wall behind me was painted light yellow to match the flannel for my design wall and the wall to my right is really more of a deep tangerine than a Chiklet orange. The existing lighting is golden, so it makes the photos look weird right now. I’m covering design wall boards with neutral flannel and will put them up like tile to fit the wall. I like this solution for a design wall.
Once I got the design wall up — my first accomplishment — I hung a sign that I found in a local quilt shop. It says “Trust Your Crazy Ideas”, a reminder that I needed throughout this project to help me keep going. The scope of doing a studio, virtually by yourself, is a mammoth undertaking. While I enjoyed the work (and sometimes the solitude), the advantage to working by myself is that I know each piece of fabric that is in my stash, where all of my books go and how many patterns I have for order fulfillment. No one else helped me put things away, so I know that I can find everything exactly where I put it!
Amid the remodel, I had to set up the video recording area of the studio so I could video tape a West of Baltimore block of the month lesson! You can see how my sewing area is set up and the design wall is filled with my examples — and there in the foreground are cupboard fronts that are being white-washed. I covered the precious items with clear drop clothes in case of disasters, which are sure to come…
Here are the cupboards that I refinished and built, using Ikea Ivar modular shelving. Everything I used for the studio was recycled from within my house — believe it or not! Just as I finished with the last layer of varnish, I dropped a half-gallon bucket of pink paint — all over the floor, which splashed up onto the Ivar pieces. I had to re-sand and touch up half of the units before putting the cupboard together. You can see that it’s starting to work just great. The Ivar units can be made to any size that you need and even have a corner unit if you want it to be L-shaped. The sad news is: they no longer have the glass door front cupboards available – remember, I recycled things that we weren’t using in my house. A perfect way to save money and use things that you really love.
This is what my stash used to look like. One of five boxes of green fabric, the color that I have the most of. It’s not my favorite color, red is — but I use green more than any other color, for applique leaves and stems. You can never have too much green!
The contents of more than thirty UFO boxes. My question: “What the heck is this, what does it belong to, and why did I buy these like this?!” After all these years (probably 5 years), I just can’t remember because I didn’t keep the pattern or book with the box. So, I had no choice but to cull the pieces I didn’t like and sort the others into their categories. Oh well, one UFO box down.
Our sweet little 6 month old Cambria was hit in the eye by a foul ball. Those of you little league parents and baseball fans know how serious one of these balls can be. Everything worked to Cambria’s favor: a Pediatric Surgeon who was sitting a couple rows back, EMT’s on the spot, Duke University Hospital ER — 10 minutes away, and a very pliable baby skeleture. Miracles do happen — Cambria had NO damage to her head -or- eye and has recovered nicely, as the picture below shows. Not so the lady a couple seats down from Cambria, who received the ball smack in the middle of her face after it bounced off Cambria… she also went to the ER with a broken nose and broken facial bones.
Taken just two weeks after the incident, no trace of a problem. Cambria is now 8 months old and beginning to crawl. Oh, by the way, she loves to watch baseball on tv.
Here’s the thing I’ve been working on and not been able to talk about: The Ultimate Applique Guidebook! You know that I’ve been working on a book this year, but I haven’t been able to talk about it until my publisher (C&T Publishing) gave me permission. The book will be out in October and is available for presale orders on Amazon.com. Here is a link directly to the book: 
entitled “Prosperity is Just Around the Corner” – her commentary on the depression era.
Here is Cambria in her favorite chair, Mommy’s rocker. Up above her is the quilt that I made for her. A much smaller version of the one I originally planned, and realized that it was much too big for a 7 lb. baby.
Here is Cambria in a hat, sweater and socks crocheted by my longtime friend, Terri Cochran. She picked the best yarn and Cambria loves her outfit.
Little Miss Blue-eyes, playing with her tongue — precious, right? ; )
• Quilts of Virginia 1607-1899, the birth of America through the eye of a needle
• The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt – letters from 1920’s farm wives and the 111 blocks they inspired – by Laurie Aaron Hird
Quilt DVD’s:
Sew Cute Couture by Gail Doane — these darling clothes are in sizes 6 months to 12 years. Patterns are included in the book.
All laser-cut and ready to be assembled. Could that be any cooler?! And here’s a link to designer 
Ok, so I know that the year has already begun, but I love calendars. They’re still good for 10 more uses! And you’ll love Sue’s calendars, jam-packed with useful quotes and observations, not to mention her beautiful art work.
Julie, talking about a small quilt made out of Cigar silk “premiums”.
Joe, observing Barbara’s expert detection skills
I love this picture of Julie, Barbara and Joe.
three months old already!!
Elly and, her Girl Friday, Bette Augustine during the High Tea. I also love this picture of Elly and Bette — you can tell that they are treasured friends.
Nadine Thompson’s quilt
Elly’s Eagle design in one of Kathryn Tennyson’s quilts. The Eagle with the furled flag is one of my very favorite motifs for applique, or anything else.
Left to right: Kathy Dunigan, Pearl Pereira, Cathy Van Bruggen and me.
And Governor Spottswood’s mansion:
My ancestors would have been using the back entrance…
