I'm not a slacker

Honest, I'm not! If you've been coming to this blog and wondering why it has been so long since I've last posted......I guess you might consider me a slacker for not having posted in so many days. But, I've been busy......really I have!!!

For example: Our roof developed a fairly major leak, so, I've been meeting with roofers and signing away our life's savings to have the roof replaced; Then, I got to meet with pool guys because our filter died......more of our life's savings gone; Our house is a really bold shade of gold(channel El Toro and you get the picture) so, I've had estimates on painting the house a more pleasing color(for those of you who know me well, you know how much color affects my life!!!!); and since our house sat empty for a year before we bought it, all the sod died and we have a yard that looks like something out of "Desperate Landscapes, Etc."

So, I've been driving around taking pictures of homes whose landscaping I might want to emulate. Hence, the photo above. As soon as I pulled up to this house, I gasped because it was everything I've been trying to articulate about the "feeling" I'd like to evoke in our yard. Ha! Now, I just have to pull it all together.

First, I've been offering the plants in our yard that we won't use to everyone and anyone who will come and dig them up. Next, we have a guy lined up to scrape up the nasty dried up weeds and sod roots so we have a fresh start. He's also going to move around the existing palms that we will reuse. Then, the fun can begin.

So, see, I'm really not a slacker. I just haven't been working on my blog. Truth be told, I hadn't anticipated how much I would need an adjustment period after closing the shop. It was sad and a bit painful for me to give up on the physical location of PFT. I'm not certain how much I will be doing with PFT this fall, but if you have some friends who want to have me teach you something specific, by all means I'd love to teach you. At this time, I just don't have the emotional energy required to initiate setting up classes, tracking down ladies to fill up the classes and arrange all the details. Don't fret, though, because I can't sit still for long and I'm sure a class schedule will come along again some time in the future.

In the meantime, keep on sewing and stay in touch. I love to hear how all of you are doing.

Time to go back outside and plan.....

Debbie

Guess what I did.....

Do you recognize this character? Yup! It's none other than Ty Pennington from ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition. In March of 2005, I was thrilled to be able to participate in the new home built right here in St. Petersburg.

They gave me a volunteer's shirt, and several of the staff signed it for me! In this pic we are working on a project for the little boy's bedroom. What fun!!! Plus, I relished being behind the scenes with all the hustle and bustle.

The task given to me by the Design Producer was to figure out how to make a pillow that would span the width of a twin sized bed. Uhhh, and, oh yeah, could I make it look like puzzle pieces since little Haley loves puzzles....and could I put her name across it somehow?! AND, we need it in 24 hours. Gulp! That conversation took place Friday afternoon and the big reveal was Sunday morning. So, I went home and started designing and sewing.

And, this is what I came up with. Three puzzle pieces that interlocked, 4" thick, with her name across it. Ok, now that was a lot of fun!

Just thought you'd like to know,

Debbie

I'm baaaack!

I recently discovered this gorgeous pink Hibiscus blooming outside my home studio window. The ruffley blooms on this plant are at least 7-8" across and the colors range from shrimpey-pink to a soft pink on the edges. Now that I'm working from home, I'm finding out all kinds of things about our new house.

It has taken me longer than I expected to unpack and get settled in since closing the shop. After a 9 day bout with a nasty respiratory flu, I had minor surgery on both feet and another procedure that shall go unnamed. So, I am just now feeling like my old self and have finally completed the daunting task of finding a place for all my sewing paraphernalia.

It's amazing how much you can fit into such a small space! My studio at the house we sold last year was the old billiard room.......pretty spacious. Then, of course, I had oodles of room at the shop to spread out. Now, I'm cozy in a small bedroom in our new house......and I'm very surprised to say that I like it!

So, I'll be posting more often now that I'm settled in, and hope to see some of you at a class really soon.

Debbie

Lazy Days of Summer

Isn't this photo a hoot? It represents one of my very favorite childhood memories....camping with "the cousins" deep in the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania. My dad and his identical twin both had 3 kids. We all lived in the same small town and we started tent camping together. Oh, what fun we had! Sleeping in sleeping bags on a bed of pine needles so deep it was spongey soft, the scent of fresh mountain air all around us, swimming in frigid lakes, and fishing.....well, sorta.

You see, (as my cousin on the left recently reminded me) I wouldn't touch the wiggly worms, so she had to bait my hook for me. I don't think we actually caught anything, but it was a great way to spend a few hours while we giggled and got out of our parents hair. We were never bored and didn't seem to have any problem entertaining ourselves. As a matter of fact, we always hated to have our camping expeditions end. Campfires at night, playing kick the can, flashlight tag, hide and seek, reading......wouldn't you like to go back to those simpler days for just a little while?

Here's hoping you have a relaxing summer vacation. Thanks, cousins, for the sweet memories. SWAK
Debbie

Five Awesome Quilts

Just when I think I've seen most every color combination for the Palm Tree Quilt, a new group of quilters comes along and completely blows me away. These ladies did an exceptional job today. Aren't the quilts gorgeous? And, the girls aren't too bad, either...ha! Great job girls!

And, speaking of a great job, how can I ever thank you, Teresa for all your generosity and hard work? You started just "hanging out" with me last fall and quickly became the provider of an unending source of ideas for classes(remember, I keep saying 2 heads are better than 1), solutions to inventory control, and countless little details(still love the pricetags) too numerous to count. Thank you for all your inspiration!

Today was our last day open and our last class at the PFT location. Over the next two weeks I plan to pack up the shop, move and unpack so that in July we can resume classes. For those of you who have put your name and contact information on the Sign Up clipboard, I'll be contacting you in the near future to discuss dates for the classes you have requested. Look for the Ladybug, French Rose and "S" quilts to be posted on this blog as they are completed. They will all be upcoming classes!

Have a great summer and stay tuned,

Debbie

Happy Days

I thought I'd share some pics from our class yesterday. The ladies were making Tag Along Totes in beautiful colors and having quite a good time doing it! No matter how hard we work, we always end up having loads of fun. Between the cappuccino and each sewer learning new techniques, four unique purses came to life under Teresa's skillful teaching eye.Tomorrow is the last class to be held at P.F.T. I'll be packing all my wonderful sewing supplies and machines next week and rearranging them at home so we can continue having fun with new classes there. The ladies yesterday were trying to pin me down to a date to teach the Palm Tree Quilt again, so I know that will be a class that will have to be scheduled soon.

I'm very happy to know that the lovely friends I've made over the last year will be joining me as we try out more new techniques in our new space. While I have to admit to feeling some disappointment about closing the shop, I'm ready to see what this next chapter of my life holds for me.

This week I joined the Tampa Bay Surface Design Guild in an effort to broaden my horizons in art quilting. Since I will have more free time soon, my plan is to work on a pictorial quilt and enter it in a show later on this fall. I've never entered a juried show before and hope that my design will interest the judges enough to allow me to be a part of the show. There are a few other arenas of quilting I'd like to dabble in and as they come to fruition, I'll be sharing them with you.

Thanks for being so supportive,

Debbie

I'm saving a seat for you...

Wouldn't you just love to sit in one of these chairs looking out over the Gulf? Wish I could say that these chairs were at my house, but, they're not so I can't. They were just so "Pink Florida Threads" that I had to share them with you. I am, however, saving a seat for you at one of our upcoming classes.

Just wait until you see the newest quilt coming in kit form! It's yellow, red, black and lady bugs all over. Cute, cute, cute! And, I've already cut the kits so you can just show up with your sewing machine and get to work right away. Talk about instant gratification, does it get any easier?

If you would like to get a better peak at the pics above, just double click on them and they should enlarge on your monitor. Just thought I'd share one of my favorite views of the Gulf that I shot with my handy dandy camera. There's no doubt in my mind why I live in Florida.....this view just rocks my world!

Have a happy day,

Deb