Are you famous?

There's a saying that we all get 15 minutes of fame. But what is fame? And why do we need to be famous?

I walked to the library the other day to pick up two books that I had on hold. One was a quilting book. While I did check the other books on the "new" shelf, I didn't pick up any other books. FOCUS and RESTRAINT.  I admired the bookshelf quilt on the wall (remember that story?) and I proceeded to self-checkout. I had a small fine to pay so I went to one of the library staff to make that happen.

I've spoken to this staff member on numerous occasions but I don't know her name and she doesn't know my name. I guess she could have looked at my name when she was in my account, but that wasn't her priority - only how much I owed. When she saw the quilt book she said, "Oh you're a quilter."  "Yes", I said. I'm certain that we've chatted about quilting or sewing in the past. Turns out we have a mutual friend. Once she knew  my name, she said "oh you're famous - you're a famous quilter!" I laughed - I'm not sure I'm THAT famous of a quilter, but my name does get around."

My name most certainly gets around and here's a couple of recent sightings.

The most recent issue (Number 47)  of A Needle Pulling Thread. The photos are NOT doing justice to the colors in this quilt. It was made with Northcott Shimmer  (multiple colorways to choose from) and it's gorgeous. Lots of Dresden plates in this quilt, but what fun!!!  The pattern is in the magazine. You can use the template in the magazine or get out that Dresden Plate ruler that you bought but never used.

That's my quilt on the cover!!!

So yep - there's another cover quilt. Super exciting. This issue should be in stores very soon - I did receive an advance copy. There have been quite a few other quilt sightings in the last couple of months. I'll try to get all the links up.

And I'm sure you all remember this quilt that I made with the license plates from Row by Row. I made the quilt in 2016 from plates collected during 2015. Some plates I bought and some were given to me from the US and Canada. I used ALL the plates I had accumulated that year and made this quilt.

It's seen in a calendar that was put together by Thimbles and Things in Orillia. I wonder if Sue knew that August is my birthday month? Or was that just a fluke?

My quilt making an appearance in a calendar

Am I famous? I don't know, but I'm happy the way things are.

But if you want to see a famous (and sexy) quilter, check out this video. I must take a walk to Chapter's today to see if I can find the current issue of Zoomer. Way to go Laura!!!!  As excited as I am to see Laura in the spotlight, I'm even more excited to see QUILTING in the spotlight. Let's hope that those Zoomer readers will say - OH - I want to be a quilter too. The association involved is The Canadian Quilter's Association. If you're not a member, you should be. There are always changes happening and things are looking up. Remember the CQA is for ALL quilters, not just the ones that have been quilting for a long time. Lots of exciting stuff and great people at the helm.

I'm now the local rep for

• GTA/Niagara – served by Elaine Theriault (ongtarep@canadianquilter.com– Simcoe, York, Peel, Halton, Hamilton, Niagara

So if your store, your quilt guild or YOU want to know more information and live in those regions, please get in touch. I'd like to provide (and will in a future blog post) information about the CQA. I'm just a tad tied up at the moment.

Speaking of tied up, here's how easy it is to learn to sew. I taught a class last night - how to make a pillowcase. It's interesting to see the different clientele of different quilt shops. Oh Look Fabric in Milton has a lot of NEW or WANT TO BE sewers. That's OK - I'm up to teach anyone.  One of these two ladies have never sewn before and the other had limited sewing skills. One knew how to cut, but the other lady had never touched a rotary cutter. She just wanted to learn how to sew.

By the end of the evening (2 hours), they had each completed their pillowcase. YEAH!!!!!

Two pillowcases - DONE!!!

I think both ladies went home feeling pretty good about their newly acquired skills. I'm proud of them and they both seemed to pick it up fairly quickly.

This is the quote on my calendar this month. And after the last couple of days, it made me think.

Amazing quote

So yes - I do whine from time to time and I get frustrated (sometimes), but the bottom line - I am a strong person and I do hope that from time to time that I am inspiring someone. If nothing else, I need to be my own inspiration because when the going gets tough, I'm usually alone. (Not that I don't have friends in the background to fall back on).

A quick update on the quilting situtation. I hit SEND on that pattern about noon yesterday and the feeling immediately afterwards was AMAZING. I like writing those patterns, but NOT under stress and the stress was caused totally by me. Do you know how hard it is to proof a pattern? It's crazy intense and the calculator is glued to my finger tips. It is being reviewed and hopefully only minor adjustments to be made.

I turned on the long arm and the darn thing worked like a charm for the ENTIRE afternoon. That dratted thing - it was testing me - I know it!!!  I got half of the urgent quilt done. Now I need to decide what to put in the other half and I'm stumped. I've been practising on paper and my clear cellophane right over the quilt. I have two ideas but not convinced of either one yet!

And I got a few more rows together on the other one on the design wall. All in all - it was a great day!!  I have an online class this afternoon, but then NO commitments until Sunday morning. Yeah!!!  I like that. I do have loads to do, but it's all good.

Here's a thought I'll leave you with today. Fame lasts 15 minutes, but the acknowledgment of your accomplishments (or even your existence) can last forever. Why not give someone a feel-good moment TODAY. Let's say you're in the grocery store and you see someone wearing an amazing outfit. I know it sounds strange, but go up to them and say - "love your outfit". I did that once and we had a great conversation. I'm sure she felt great, but you know what? So did I.

Think about the times that a total stranger gave you a compliment. Matter of fact, I was in a restaurant the other night and a man (who was sitting with his significant other) passed by our table and said "I like the flowers in your hair!".  What???  I was totally shocked, but you know - it felt really nice that he noticed. If you don't have enough courage to do that, then simply say HI to the people you pass on the street. Have you ever noticed that when we pass each other that we tend to look DOWN. Why is that? Smile and say HI. What's the worse that can happen? If the rest of the world is unhappy, that doesn't mean that we have to be.

On that note, I'm out of here.

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!