New Country Charmer

 Hello Everyone,

It took me a few days to recover and regroup after the retreat in Tahoe.  There's a lot of unpacking to do and invoicing for the product sold.  Now, I'm totally focused on the Independence Hall Quilt Show beginning on October 17th in Angels Camp. Part of that focus was getting Country Charmer 2.0 together for the show. 

I did it—finally! It nearly wore me out yesterday, and I missed most of the football games in the process, but every border is now attached, flange and all. That little gold flange, fabric from my Hearthstone line adds just the right spark to the design. It plays beautifully between the plaid and the red.

My plan is to have the kits at the quilt show, but I'm anxiously awaiting the delivery of 65 yards of plaid which I ordered back in July.  This kit wouldn't be complete without the plaid.

On a completely different note, our final night at the Tahoe retreat took an unexpected turn around 10:30 p.m. One of the quilters was chatting with her husband on her phone in the lobby when a bear rounded the corner… just six feet away! She stayed remarkably calm, even noting that the bear had an adorable face. With quiet composure, she slipped into the workroom, slammed the door behind her, and alerted another quilter who hadn’t noticed a thing—thanks to her ear pods. Word is, that same bear may have visited the workroom the week before and helped himself/herself to the snack table a little too enthusiastically.

I heard a commotion and the slamming of a door, but I didn't get up to investigate.  Which was probably a good thing as the bear most likely walked or ran by my door to get to the exit.

The next morning, a freshly printed sign appeared on the door—management suspects it was the bear’s chosen entry point into the building.

On a personal note, it’s probably time I retire the nickname “T-Rex arms” for Mr. Joe. He saw a spine specialist recently, and while his spine shows the usual wear and tear of age, the real culprits seem to be tendinitis, arthritis, and inflammation in both rotator cuffs. Physical therapy has been ordered. The trouble started back in mid-June when he was helping at the Flea Market, and he’s spent the past four months mostly recliner-bound, alternating between ice packs and the heating pad. Cortisone shots didn’t help, and prednisone only worked while he was on it—plus it kept him wide awake for days while he grazed his way through the refrigerator. Low doses of Gabapentin are easing the pain a bit, thankfully.

Soon,

Mrs. T-Rex (I have to stop that....this is the last time!)