"It is An Honor to Just Be Nominated" and More ...

I have been quite busy lately, but I haven't forgotten about posting all my craft creations! This is what has been keeping me busy ... 

I am so excited about the Winter Issue. I love the holidays and because I work at a quarterly magazine I have an excuse to start early! Yeah!!

I guess our magazine is turning a few heads as we enter our 10th year, because this also happened this summer (if you didn't see on the TEAinTEXAS social media feeds.)

I love this job!! About 2 weeks ago I was introduced to tea blending. First of all, the smell in the office is always A-M-A-Z-I-N-G anyway because of the teas on display, in stock and usually being brewed, but then my first chance to help was with Houston's Hero, a caramel and almond blend that is literally the smell of heaven ... literally!

O.k., I have to get back to the magazine, but if you are looking for some teas, send me an email to EnjoysTeaAndQuilts@gmail.com and ask me where to get TEAinTEXAS teas!

Until our next cup of (Texas) tea,

Here We Go Again ...

Hey, it's that time of year again ... the weather is getting cooler, the trees are changing colors and ... The Round Robin is starting again.

Now you may remember from my post completing my first Round Robin that it was a stressful activity for me. I don't do good trying to "guess" what other people may like, especially when it is people that I don't know and in some cases hadn't met, until the first meeting.

This year, I decided to do the Round Robin again with a twist ... literally and figuratively.

I ma participating again as an independent member of my mom's group. That means that I am part of the group, in structure alone, I am doing a quilt, but not passing it and taking another. My hope was that I could still learn from other quilters and get some guidance while also holding myself to a goal to finish a quilt. (Seriously, I have started so many but only have 4 completed to date.)

As I said earlier I am claiming it to be the "Year of Quiltsmart" so I am concentrating on working on some Quiltsmart projects I wanted to do. So here is my medallion ... Its the Princess Feather by Quiltsmart. I think it may be a retired pattern, but I've had it for a while. I love the way it actually looks like it is spinning!

I must say that I have been nervous to actually get the the point where you stitch things down and have quite a few small projects that are pinned down, but I was too nervous to stitch them for fear of doing it wrong. But for our 10th anniversary, my dear sweet husband replaced my small sewing machine (who was puffing out her last few stitches with great effort) with the Viking Husqvarna Opal 670 and really this machine is so exciting to get creative with that I have stitched right past a few fears and hesitant breaks.

Today we headed to our first meeting at Quilter's Cottage in Richmond, Texas. This quilt shop is a cute little cottage that is full of fun fabrics and inspiring quilts.

I'm already finished with my first border, which is good since the next meeting is October 19, the shortest time between two meetings. This was done to allow for more time between the last two exchanges which traditionally has quilters (in our group) are rushing to complete the final borders before the reveal, which is done at a 4-day retreat.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Until our next cup of tea ...

 

When Writing Inspires ...

Last week I gave you a preview to the Fall Quilt Issue of TEAinTEXAS. You may have read the stories and looked through the calendars and advertisements, but did you read the Letter from the Editor?

Well, in short, I concluded that often times I feel inspired to explore myself when I work with advertisers or write stories, and this issue the inspiration was instantious. 

Often times, writers and journalists write about something they may not necessarily expereinced first-hand, but by taking with those who have and subject matter experts they can still write an accurate and informative feature. When it comes to quilt shop hops, I was in that catagory.

Now, I have watched my mother and grandmother quilt for years and even started quilting myself, though it was slow at first. But I still am learning and experiencing things. Remember, this past year I participated in my first Round Robin? 

Well, one of the features for this Quilt Issue was shop hops ... what are they, what do you get out of them, etc. Well, once I finished my research, spoke with quilters and interviewed shop hop coordinators I was hooked. Using it as an incentive to get all my features written and sent to the publisher, I vowed to participate in my first shop hop before the issue hit the newsstands!

Well, here is a sneak peek of the article, but feel free to find the digital magazine here and see how you can be inspired! Come back tomorrow, to hear about my shop hop experience and what I plan to do in the future!

Until our next cup of tea ...