Time's up

Well, this is it, tomorrow is make or break.

We just unloaded a truck with nearly 300 bolts of fabric that we hope will be almost empty by this time tomorrow! The owner of the store where I teach, offered her shop as a place for my friend to have her fabric sale. My friend didn't want to have her sale too close to home or negatively effect her partner's sales in the shop, so she was going to have to rent a conference room, or something, somewhere in a big city and do it all on her own.

I'm so glad that's not the case and I pray it will be enough to pay her health insurance bill.

There are less than 3 weeks to go until Quilt Market and I'm hoping between now and then, that I won't have to worry about my friend so much.

If we have good luck tomorrow, I will try and post a message about it. If the news isn't so good, I don't know if I will write about it at all. I've really tried to get the word out and do as much as I can, but you always wonder if you could do more. I know that money's tight right now for almost everyone, so I feel a little guilty about asking people to buy fabric that they don't necessarily need, but I'm hoping they do it anyway!

Its official

I am finally confirmed as a vendor at Quilt Market. Whew, that was a close one!

I tend to wait until the last minute to do the things I need to do. I have been talking about vending at Market since last year and now its only 3 weeks away. This will be my first time and, I hope, my "big break"! I have been at this for 6 years now and it would be wonderful to be able to do this full time instead of having to work a "real" job and design on the side. There would be nothing better than being able to make a living doing what you love to do!

I am trying to be positive but I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch.

Its alway something!

For those of you who have been following my posts about the predicament my friend is in, I want to give you an update. She is still taking orders, but she can't fill them right now or return emails because she is in the hospital at the moment. She hopes to be back in her shop and able to answer emails tomorrow, so hold tight. In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at: larkspurlanedesigns@yahoo.com

I am not a crook!

I spent this last weekend at my friends' quilt shop, cutting fabric and boxing it up to send out to those of you who have contacted me about the sale. We had quite a few orders, but because she is practically giving the fabric away, I'm not sure how close she is to meeting her goal.

I have done all I can, including sending a message to a new Yahoo group that I just joined about 2 weeks ago. They all think I am a scammer! And since my messages are still on moderation, I can't defend myself. In my "real" life, I don't think I know anyone that DOESN'T trust me, so its hard to listen to people talking about you as if you're not there and frustrating since I can't respond to their comments in a timely manner. I didn't join the group for the purpose of asking them for help, but my friend needs help NOW, so I stuck my neck out. I don't think I'll be doing that again anytime soon!

There is still a lot of fabric available and it is gorgeous, so if anyone else is interested in a great deal, PLEASE contact me! Make sure I have some way of getting in touch with you. My email is: larkspurlanedesigns@yahoo.com

Michele

Hi Michele,

Thank you for wanting to help! I have no way of reaching you since I don't have your email, so if you see this post, comment again and put your email in or email me at larkspurlanedesigns@yahoo.com

Sue

THANKS!!!

Lost in the shuffle?

Yesterday, I posted an incredible offer, and to my surprise, I only had two takers! If you like great fabric at a REALLY great price, you should check out yesterday's blog post.

Thanks,
Sue

Have I got a deal for you!

People can be so cruel, even people you thought you were in love with and were once in love with you. I have a very good and generous friend who is going through a divorce to a man who has had a girlfriend for the past 8 years and now thinks his wife should walk away with nothing.

He made it almost impossible for her to find a lawyer because he knows all of them in town and they were all afraid to take her on as a client. She finally found someone who didn't care who he was or what he could do to them. Now another problem has come up.

Supposedly, he was fired from his job in February and lost his health insurance. She has health problems, ( I am being vague to protect her) that make her uninsurable if she loses the insurance she has now. And she, literally, cannot live without her medications. He neglected to tell her about losing his job when it happened and now a couple of months later, must come up with the money to pay for COBRA starting from the day he stopped working.

She has no savings to draw from since she started a new business back in November and things have been so slow with the economy the way it is. And since there usually isn't any profit to speak of with a new business anyway for a couple of years, she has been forced to sell some of her "stock" at or near her cost to pay her bills.

"What is this stock?", I hear you saying to yourself. It is first quality quilter's cotton fabric from 2 of the most well-known fabric manufacturers. She is not trying to liquidate, she is only offering to sell as much fabric as necessary to pay her bills and keep her insured, so the offer is limited and will end as soon as she raises enough money to pay her bills. These are hand-dyes and hand-dye look fabrics that normally sell for $10 to $12 per yard she must sell for $6 per yard.

I'm sorry this post sounds like an infomercial, but I am talking about life or death for my friend. If there is anyone interested in getting in touch with my friend, please leave me a comment including your email address and I will get her contact information to you. I can also tell you which lines of fabric she has so you can check them out at the manufacturers' websites.

This could happen to almost any one of us, so I hope you'll consider helping her. Please feel free to let others know about this offer.

Thank you,
Sue

Enough is enough

What a world we live in!

I wish there was another punctuation symbol to use when the point you're trying to make isn't a happy one. The exclamation point makes any statement look like a positive one and, unfortunately, my initial sentence isn't a positive one. I am so angry about the recent piracy situation, I could scream! How dare these criminals try to make it sound like they've been wronged! They brought this on themselves. Its not like they were "in the wrong place at the wrong time". They put themselves there, they caused their own deaths, and WE didn't go looking for them until THEY broke the law.

Ok, I feel a little better now.

On a more quilty note: "What do you think about my latest design? Should I sew it out? Is it too busy? Are you bored with this stuff yet? Is my sister crazy for taking her 16 year old daughter to get tattooed? (not quilty, I know, but I would love to hear your opinions anyway)

Killing two fish with one piece of stale bread?

Trying to figure out how to pick up two of my quilts that have been hanging in my friend's quilt shop, a couple of hours north of home, I hit upon the idea of meeting my friend and her boyfriend at the Spillway in Linesville, PA. I hadn't been there in at least 20 years, and my children had heard of it, but hadn't gotten to see it for themselves. It took us about 2 hours to get there, and my friends, about an hour and a half. Its amazing how much fun your kids can have throwing old bread to thousands of huge, ugly fish! Some of the fish aren't even in the water when they gather to fight over the food.

It was something I wanted to show my children for awhile, so I was glad to be able to combine my errand with something fun for them. We hung out at the lake for a bit, went for lunch with my friends, then headed home. We got home early enough there was still enough daylight left for my 8 year old son to get some time in at the skateboard park. He's embarrassed to have me sit in the park and watch, so I had to sit in the car with my daughter, who was getting annoyed every time I gasped over a fall or a jump he made. This is usually my husband's job, he's used to it and he can have it!

Marquis Star Quilt

In between planning for Market and my regular teaching schedule, I am still attempting to keep producing new blocks and quilt designs daily. Every once in a while, I think I come up with something unique. I might be wrong, of course, but I think this one is pretty cool! I just wish I didn't have to wait until after Market before I can sew any of these designs out.

Speaking of Market, if anyone out there has any advice for a newbie, I'm all ears. I have several good friends helping me out, but I could always use more help.