Wow, it doesn't seem like a month since I last posted, but obviously it is!

This weekend is Father's Day. I approach this one with a bit of sadness. Not that my dad isn't here, because he is. It's just that he isn't here like he use to be.

Hey, he's 86 years old so what do I expect? Well, I really wish he were as aware of us all as he was a few years ago. It's not at all his problem. It's mine. It's me facing the fact that we all age, some more gracefully than others.

I'm hoping that I will be in the "more graceful" group. I don't know how you get there but I'm working on it. I have older women and men who I look up to because, no matter their age, they keep trying new things. They keep learning. They keep the "gray matter" working.

I was talking to my friend Jean, who is at least 82 if not older, has had a number of strokes, and stopped by to show me her photos from her digital photography class that she is taking at UC Santa Cruz! WOW! When I asked her why she was taking this class, she just said that she had an interest! She is a role model for me. She just keeps trying out new things.

But back to Father's Day. I know for most men, including my husband, Father's Day is no big deal. My husband thinks of it as any other Sunday. He doesn't want to be fussed over. We won't. We will just love him a little more often that day. I'm just really glad that he is still here, still growing, still learning, still experimenting, still in love with me. That makes it all so good. And he can still mess around with the kids, and they still try to get him. It is all good.

So, Happy Father's Day Dad. I love you, who you are now and who you use to be. You helped make me who I am and I am eternally grateful. Cheers!

And Happy Father's Day Jeff. If is wasn't for you, we wouldn't be parents and we would have missed out on this extremely fabulous trip we have had parenting. You convinced me to have a child. You were happy we had two. Thank you.

Coiled Basket Class

Tomorrow I head off from the cool coast along the Monterey Bay to the heated Central Valley, and specifically Los Baños, to teach a coiled bowl class to a group of lovely ladies! I made the connection with this Los Baños group via my shop and a great lady, Darla. She use to have a yarn shop in Los Baños and tried for years to get me to open up a fabric shop there. Well, times change, she closed her shop and I just closed mine. So we are both off on different adventures.

The origin of this bowl class came after I won a coiled bowl from my local guild, The Pajaro Valley Quilt Association. It was the prize for having the fabric post-card that the most people liked. It was a Valentine card that I gave my husband. What is funny is that I didn't even know there was a contest! Winning it made it that much more special!

The bowl came filled with salt water taffy, which I placed on the counter of my shop. I got so many compliments and questions about the bowl that one weekend I decided, with the prodding of my friend Cam, to come up with directions and a pattern. Cam always reminded me that I should never have anything on display for which I did not have a pattern. Good marketing sense from her!

Coming up with the technique was easy for me, as I have a college degree in ceramics and the bowl is pretty much the same as a coil pot. What I didn't know is that I would love making these as much as I do. That weekend I found all the rope and sashing I could find in our house and made three bowls. I was hooked, and continue to be so.

I did produce a pattern and kit for my shop, which sold quite well. It does come with the warning that you can become addicted! I'm hoping that some of these ladies tomorrow become addicted...look for the pattern later on my etsy shop.

So, on to wrapping rope with fabric, stitching away, and having a blast!

Peaceful Mother's Day

I have mixed feelings about Mother's Day. I really do not like the "Hallmarking" of days in our country. Mother's Day actually has a long history, dating back to the ancient Greeks who celebrated the mother Rhea, the maternal goddess. 

In the United States it wasn't until 1872  when Julia Ward Howe suggested that the day be made as a day honoring Peace and urged women to rise against war in her famous Mothers Day Proclamation. 

On this Mother's Day, as in my past, I think of those women, and sometimes men, who, dressed in black, stand on over-crossings or main streets, urging us to be Peaceful. I deeply believe in Peace. I also support our troops, but do not support irrelevant wars. 

Please join with me on this Mother's Day to ask, hope, pray, for Peace in our world.

And keep your Peace by stitching, creating, designing...it is what will keep us all Peaceful!

A New World for Me!

Well, the shop is closed but not empty. There is still some fabric and some display boxes and a few patterns, and just a bit of other things. The closing sale really cleaned me out, in more ways than one. If you have ever had to close a business you know what I mean. It takes time to get over it, to close it, to mourn it, to wonder what is next. And I am still in process.

The wonderful words from all of you have been saved in my heart. Thank you again so much for all your support over the years.

Now, on to the next adventure. As I told many of you, the first thing I was going to do after closing, besides getting my paperwork in order and doing the taxes, was to open an etsy shop. What is an etsy shop you may ask! Well, it is a wonderful way to sell and shop online! Around the World! With many talented artisans!

So, my etsy shop is now open and I am stocking it on a daily basis. I'd love it if you would stop by. You can get there by going to RoundRobinFabrics.etsy.com. Visit often. It is often very intriguing.

Also, I've added some options for this blog. You can subscribe and follow. And once I figure out how to do the same with my website, I will add a blog feature.

Keep stitching my friends. 

And celebrate today.

For all that it is, besides Obama's 100th day in office...ok. No more politics!

And in case you don't know, I do miss seeing, being with you at the shop. It was always a pleasure!

Today is the day before Thanksgiving and I am feeling thankful for so many things. I have my wonderful husband and two absolutely great kids: one is in Spain right now and I am missing him too much. The other is here being her wild and funny self. I am also thankful for my friends and extended family. They have no idea how much they mean to me. And I am also so very thankful for all of the people that I have met since I have opened my fabric shop. 

Who would have known how people could touch my life and other lives just by opening a business. This last week we collected a barrel full of food for the Second Harvest Food Bank. People were very generous and everything collected will go to good use. That is something that I have learned about quilters: they are generous beyond measure. Just think what type of a world we would have if everyone quilted!

I hope that you are spending this Thankful Holiday with friends and family. Or, as some of you have told me, you really just wanted a little time to yourself to create and enjoy some peace and quiet. I just hope you can reflect upon and thank those who have made your life worth living...

The weekend cometh, thank god! It's been so hot here in Santa Cruz that I wonder what is going on. But it has been hotter other places so I am grateful for the fog and afternoon breezes!
I've just released a new pattern which is titled MOMA SAID, based on a comment that my sister made when she looked at the quilt. She said that our mom always told us not to wear prints and stripes together, and that is just what is in the quilt. I thought she was nuts at the time, but later I looked at the quilt again and, you know what, she was right! Heidi was right and therefore the name for this new pattern. So what do you think! It's all done with batiks and stripes...

Encouraged Blogging

I've wanted to get into this "blogging" thing for a while and yesterday, Michelle of greenkitchen.com encouraged me to just jump in and do it. So here I am! Let's see how it goes. 

I love to write and this may be the way for me to get it all out, instead of keeping it inside. 

I'm using this blog as a connection to my wonderful little fabric shop: Round Robin Fabrics in Santa Cruz California. I refer to my shop as my third child as some days it needs just as much attention. I do love sewing, Quilting, and experimenting with fabric. I'd love to use this spot as a means to keep those of you who are interested, in what is going on in the shop and in my life. I hope you will join me for the journey!

Thanks. And keep stitchin'.