I'm feeling a little on edge

See this? It is my current obsession. Those edges that you cut off so that you can get to the part of the fabric you really want to work with? Yeah, those edges. They completely fascinate and enthrall me. Interesting names of the fabric line, little dots showing all the colors used in the fabric, sometimes the designer's name. Really, how could I not love this stuff?
I even have friends, both local and cyber, helping me enlarge my collection. Sometimes out of the blue a package will arrive in the mail. So thanks to you, you, and you.

Hold on a second. Here is a close-up of the new fabric I made. Yes, new fabric! I sewed all the strips on a piece of muslin and now it is just waiting to become something fabulous. Let's see. What should it be? A little zippered bag maybe? A pincushion? A tote bag?

This is one of my favorite ideas, a super cool vanity chair made by Cynde Clark.

But in the meantime, keep those selvage edges coming. Go ahead. Send me over the edge.

So long, farewell...

Everybody packed up and left Lakeview Cottages yesterday morning, but before they left I got this picture of all the kids who were guests this week, including Bear, the dog, who is actually the size of a real bear. And allow yourself this bit of visual imagery, especially the next time you are feeling that the space you are occupying is too small: two adults, four kids (one boy who is 15 and pretty much adult-sized, 11-year-old, 8-year-old, 2 1/2-year-old in a carseat), one dog (Bear, so you already know they had a huge dog in their vehicle), food, clothing and assorted "stuff" for a week in the mountains, all in an SUV--and not even the largest one that Ford makes (although they did have some stuff in a carrier on top and on the back of the vehicle), ready to make the 6-hour trip back home.

And, of course, the requisite sunset photo:
Back to the real world of work, and thinking (and hopefully posting) about quilting and fused glass.

Etsy made us do it...

...because of their 20-character rule, meaning no shop name can have more than 20 characters.

Our business name has always been Around the Block Designs, that is, "designs" with an "s". For five years. Business license, business cards, labels, everything with our logo on it. You name it. "Designs." With an "s".

First I became an etsy buyer. My profile name was aroundtheblockdesign. Do you see anything missing? Like an "s"? Yeah, because they won't let you go beyond 20 characters. At first I thought, "Oh, well. What's the big deal?" Well, it became a big deal when we decided to become sellers! Really? We can't use the "s" on designs? Isn't that going to be confusing?

We went with "aroundtheblockdesign." Without an "s". For awhile.


It bugged me. I obsessed over it. I emailed some of my blogging buddies/fellow etsians, and asked for advice. Should I change the name? Should I leave it alone? What if people were used to our original business name and typed it in? With the "s"? They would get a message that there was no seller by that name. Aarggh.

It bugged me a LOT. It bugged Mark because I couldn't wouldn't let it go.

Finally, I couldn't take it any more. And Mark was tired of listening to me.

As of today, we are "One In Every Color." And yes, I did clear it with Jessica, as she uses it a lot in her blog titles.


Fifteen characters. Well under the limit. Opened up a new shop today, closed the other one down.
Etsy, I hope you're happy with us now. Because that sure was a lot of work for one tiny little lower-case "s".

Two new additions to our household

If you thought you were going to find a picture of two little puppies or kittens, I guess you'll have to go blog-searching for another site. Even though our new additions aren't soft and cuddly, they don't require much caretaking, which is a big bonus.

Mark's mother was somewhat of a legend in his home town when it came to cooking and baking. She even had a newspaper article written about her. It was a well-deserved honor. We have some of her recipes and cookbooks with the most fascinating notes written the margins (Make when Leon's home. Don't make for Mark--he doesn't like it). A cooking journal of her life. Priceless.

A couple of weeks ago Mark received an unexpected check in the mail. We thought long and hard about what to do with it. It wasn't huge. Donate it to the 401k? Nah...that seemed like a losing proposition.

Mark has taken over most of the cooking in the last couple of years, which I was more than happy to turn over to him, by the way, and now has also been doing a lot of baking. So it seemed fitting to honor his mother's legacy with the purchase of this:

And he put it right to work.

Today I made this little vignette. I've been on Weight Watchers, spending weeks counting points, so what to do after the picture-taking event? A dilemma for sure. I ended up doing what any reasonable person would do. I ate all the evidence.

Yummy....

Oh, and to remember his father, who had a lot of projects going on his basement, this now also lives at our house, a most fabulous clamping sawhorse. Now Mark can do his own projects around the house and doesn't even need me to assist him.

So not much cooking, baking, or heavy-duty home projects for me anymore....I see more sewing in my horizon, along with a lot of good food to sustain me. Life is good.

A Little Promotion Never Hurts

As I was writing my blog post about the Parade of Quilts, and linking to my most recent completed quilt, I came across this. I didn't even realize that Jammin' Jelly was the featured quilt of the month at JWD Publishing. Now if only it helps sell some of the 12 dozen patterns I have in my office....

Kinda Like Oprah. Part 3. The End. Promise.

Okay, I know everyone who read part 2 was really hoping they could see the actual footage on Around the Block Designs, rather than just pictures of my computer screen and transcription of Alex and Ricky's conversation. Really. Fascinating stuff. Well, guess WHAT? You can! For this weekend only, you do not need to have a subscription to The Quilt Show. They are making it available to anyone who wants to check it out.

July 10, 2009
http://www.thequiltshow.com/
Weekend Fun
Melinda Bula Show 501: Free This Weekend!
That's right! We are so sure you will love Series 5 and want to see the rest that we are opening up show 501 with Melinda Bula to everyone for the weekend.
But hurry! It is open through Monday night at midnight Pacific Time.
Forward this to a friend who would enjoy seeing this free show at The Quilt Show.
Just Click Here or on the Picture to start the show. It's that easy.
See the whole Series

Now I realize that Alex and Ricky didn't pick this specific episode because of us. So watch the whole thing. It's a good episode.

But if you are just dying to hear all about Around the Block Designs, then I think we're about halfway through.

And Oprah, we've still got openings...

Kinda like Oprah. Part 2.

Remember this? So I got an email that the episode with our giveaway was airing yesterday. First of all the promotion: I highly recommend The Quilt Show for anyone who watched Alex Anderson on Simply Quilts on HGTV for eleven years and for anyone who loves sewing and quilting. The pairing of Alex and Ricky Tims was genius. Their show is informative, interesting and entertaining. It is reasonably priced and since it is web-based, you can watch it at your convenience.

Inbetween segments with the guest artist, Alex basically did an infomercial about Around the Block Designs. Wow, she said some nice things about us.

Okay, so since it requires a membership to actually watch our episode, I, uh, took pictures of my computer screen. Rather than video, you will see my crummy pictures, and rather than audio, you will get to read my transcription of most of the conversation. Excited?? (geez, I hope the FBI won't come knocking on my door for felony copyright infringement or something...)

Alex: I'm really excited about the Treasure Chest because I found the items and know you are going to love them. These are made by Mark and Cindy Wiens of Around the Block Designs. They have an array of fused glass. Mark makes the star out of glass and Cindy makes a little quilt and they are just precious. So I can tell you, if you need a gift for a quilting friend...

Ricky: How many designs do they do?

A: They have tons. And they also do plates. Wonderful plates. So if you need a wedding gift, perfect, contemporary, and in the right price range... You can get coasters. Some are quilterly and some are not quilterly, but if you go to their website you can see it all.

R: This is really a unique fused glass process they've come up with, right?

A: And here's what you need to know. Every year we have a TQS legend, and Mark and Cindy design the plaque for our legend.

R: That's right. If you remember, our 2008 legend was Jinny Beyer. When Alex and I were there we gave her a wonderful plaque with the TQS star on it. That plaque was made by Mark and Cindy.
A: Exactly. They also do jewelry. I love their necklaces because they are fairly priced. They're perfect for traveling. They come in all different colors.

R: Now I know there's a lot of different items here but I know everybody wants to know--

ka-ching, ka-ching. Is it expensive? What's the price range?

A: They're very fair in their pricing. They're fantastic people (blush) . I love them to pieces and I know you will too, because everyone in the audience is going home with a necklace. (crowd erupts into screams and starts jumping up and down. Right....)

Oprah, if you're reading this, we may have some giveaway slots still open. Have your people call our people.

Happy 4th of July!

One in every color--DVDs

To borrow a title from Jessica's recent post, I have had this on the back burner for awhile now.

Organizing is fun for me, so it makes sense that I would enjoy reading about how other people organize their things.

Who doesn't think organizing your spices alphabetically is a good idea?? Now that Mark has taken over most of the cooking (his idea because he loves to cook. Not a statement about my cooking skills....right, honey?) Anyway, he loves spicing it up. And while I think that it must make his cooking easier, I'm not sure that he really notices how organized the spices are.

CDs. Is it even necessary to mention how much easier it is to locate a CD when they are organized alphabetically? I'll admit to being in a bit of a quandary when it came to the Dave Matthews Band. Where to put that stack? B for band? M for Matthews? Arrrgh. I went to the music store to see what the professionals did. D for Dave Matthews Band. Of course!

Books. In our house not really much organization is needed. I donate books to Goodwill if they were so-so. I pass them on to friends if they were great. Kids books, of which we have quite a few...hey, Charlotte and Levi have their own ideas on book organization and I'm not gonna mess with their system.

And then I saw this on This Young House.

Inspiration....so our DVDs? Now organized by color. I'll admit that we don't have that many and this plan wouldn't work if we had stacks....but I sure like the way it looks now.

Curious about how I organize my fabric? Ah, that's a post (and lots of pictures) for another day...