Why I Design What I Design

There has been so much interest in my newest pattern, SPRING SHOWERS, including one message that read "I am not much on wall hangings but this is just so cute!!", that I thought I would explain why I design WHAT I design.

I like small projects because I get bored easily.
I like to see results quickly. (I made my newest version of SPRING SHOWERS  in two days and will post a picture of it as soon as it is quilted)
I like to change what I have on display in my home often.
My sewing time is limited so its easier to do small projects.
I like other people to see my quilts and don't want to drag them off to our bedrooms to "show off"!

How do you choose your projects? Are you like me and lose interest quickly? Is your time limited? Do you like to show off?

I'm a Cover Girl!!!

Wellllll, not really but....my block is a cover block! My clown block appears on the cover of the latest issue of 100 Blocks from Today's Top Designers in the upper left hand corner. This is my second time in this magazine but my first time on the cover! Who knows, maybe next time my name will be there! Always something to work towards in this business.

Lexa

This is a picture of Lexa Cleland, the beautiful, 7 year old daughter of my friend Nikki, who was tragically killed by a drunk driver in December 2010. She is the inspiration for my design, LEXA'S ANGEL, which I recently offered to quilt shops (only one per city) for use as a fundraiser for the Cleland Family.

I spent this whole weekend making sure the pattern is ready for those shops that respond to my offer and can now say it is ready! I have had a good number of shops contact me to participate but there are still lots of opportunities available. Since I am not charging the shops for the design it would be easy for participating shops to give a portion of the pattern price to The Cleland Family Fund and still cover any expenses such as paper and ink. Since the offer is limited to one shop per city it may help to draw customers to your shop that might not have visited otherwise if you promote the pattern on your website or in your newsletter.

We all have "angels" in our lives that this pattern or a quilt made from this pattern would be appreciated by as I can attest to from the calls I have received in regards to my design.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about Lexa's Angel at larkspurlanedesigns@yahoo.com

An Exclusive Offer To Quilt Shop Owners



LEXA'S ANGEL

This is a picture of the actual quilt I made for my friend Nikki. It is hanging in Nikki's room at a rehab center where she is recovering from a car accident. Nikki's car was hit head on by a drunk driver in early December 2010. Sadly, she lost her beautiful, 7 year old daughter, Lexa, in the accident.

I took my design to my favorite, local quilt shop, Quilter's Corner in Finleyville, PA and spoke to the owner about using my design to raise funds for my friend's family. Mary Beth Hartnett went way beyond my expectations and produced a kit that she offered for a suggested donation of $6, of which, every penny went to the fund. Her total donation consisted of the fabric, the paper and ink to print the foundation, the packaging and the hourly salaries of her employees while putting the kits together!

She has had numerous inquiries from people in other states about getting the kits mailed out, but as you can see from my description above, she has done more than her fair share considering the only thing she is getting out of this project is a little extra foot traffic in her shop.

So I had the idea to offer this block to one quilt shop per city. The first quilt shop to contact me, from each city, about getting the block in their shop and agrees to use it as a fundraiser, to benefit THE CLELAND FAMILY FUND, will get a PDF of my design to use in any way you choose.

If, at some point, my friend and her family no longer need these funds, I will offer them to another organization, such as MADD, but for now, this design is solely intended to be used to help raise funds for my friend.

If you have any questions or want to reserve the block for your quilt shop, please feel free to contact me via email at: larkspurlanedesigns@yahoo.com

By the way, if you don't own a quilt shop but are interested in getting this pattern, feel free to pass this information on to your favorite, local quilt shop.

Quilting Gallery Weekly Contest-Nursery Rhymes

This is a picture of my quilt, Three Little Pigs, that I have entered in the most recent Quilting Gallery contest. The theme is nursery rhymes and there are some wonderful quilts in the contest. Check them out and vote for your favorite at: http://www.quiltinggallery.com/

My quilt has raffia straw, and several 3 dimensional elements such as the ears, legs, and tail as well as either a polymer clay button or applique for the nose and beads for the eyes. I hope you like it!

So Anyway...

This is a better picture of the project I was teaching when I had my little heart "episode". Its a design I worked on a few years ago and then got distracted and moved on to something else. People have been asking me for awhile when it will be ready as a pattern and I can finally say, "IT'S READY!"

It measures 26" x 33", and is a paper piecing project. The pattern retails for $12.50 because of the buttons that are included (3 rain drops, 2 ladybugs and beads for the eyes).

If anyone out there is interested in purchasing this pattern send me an email and I will make arrangements to get it to you. larkspurlanedesigns@yahoo.com

Interesting Class--not necessarily in a good way

This picture is of a class I was teaching yesterday at Sew Special in Uniontown PA and I was having a wonderful time untillll....my heart decided to "freak out". Things were going so great and my students were amazing! We were getting ready to break for lunch when all of a sudden my heart started to race and sitting outside in the cool air and deep breathing didn't help. One of my wonderful students, Julie, is a nurse who had just come off an extra long shift, took it upon herself to take care of me. She took me to urgent care where they told me they weren't equipped to care for me there and I needed to go to the emergency room. Unfortunately, the shop is an hour away from home and since I was being stubborn and insisted I go home to be seen the shopowner drove me in my car to the hospital closest to my home.

 Just so you don't think I am a total moron, this has happened very infrequently to me since I was a teenager and I have been checked before so I don't think it is anything to be overly concerned about but this time was a little different in that it went on longer than usual, I was getting light headed and started to sweat. By the time I reached the hospital my heart rate was back to normal and they couldn't find any reason for the problem in the first place but I will be making an appointment with a cardiologist just to be sure.

The class was for my design, SPRING SHOWERS, which you can see hanging on the wall in the photo (click on photo to enlarge). My students were so understanding and I got a couple of hugs before I left for the hospital so they made it easier for me to go. I have never left a class in the middle before so it was a difficult thing for me to do and I will be talking with Donna, the shopowner, to reschedule with the ladies, but I can't thank them enough for being so wonderful to me!