Tidbits-July 19, 2010

Since my last post, lots has been happening, the best ofcourse was the trip home! After the sweltering heat in Maryland, it was nice to have a couple of rainy days without any humidity, with temps in the 70′s, instead of the triple digits that I was enduring in Maryland. The view of my front yard is my favorite and one where I dream  up a lot of inspiration and ideas.

The stay at home was a week long, which gave me ample time to catch up with friends, even a night of playing Canasta with my girlfriends! Although, it wasn’t exactly Canasta that we played, rather a version of “foot and ….something I don’t remember”.  And, yes ofcourse! I had to pose with Uncle Sam, after the reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. Great times indeed! (Sorry for the fuzzy picture).

Among all my embroidery machines, my PR 600 is my most prized and beloved machine. It has well over 50 million stitches and (touch wood) purrs still. Lured by the many promotional sales, I had a weak moment, and decided to go for the new PR 650C. My inquiry from the dealer about a trade-in with my present baby left me speechless….alas, my baby is only worth $500, and I spent about $10,000 to purchase it! “It’s the number of stitches” was one of the replies to my queries. Never mind, the machine still runs and besides, isn’t it supposed to be in the category of commercial machines? Oh well! No winning there, but it is a nice plug for Brother that their product has lasted throughout all these years, with such a high count of stitches and still working. Nothing can compare to that.

A little birdie tells me that Brother has done remarkably well with the semi-commercial machine, the PR series, that there will be a newer model coming out at the Back to School with Brother event. Is it a six-needle machine? Nope, something even better…how about a ten needle machine! YEAH! So, friends, if the deals on the PR 650C sound too good to be true right now, they really are. If you had plans on purchasing one of these machines….now is the perfect time to do so. My birdie didn’t tell me about the price of the new model, but I am sure it will be on the up side.

The last couple of months, Carolyn and I have been busy again. Yes, Lady Jayne was very successful and we were pleasantly surprised by the response from friends. Our next venture is….sneak peak here….”Analiese”. The collection is adorable and fast becoming my favorite. Not only does it have many aspects to it….embroidery, cutwork, tatting, quilt blocks…but the designs are extremely versatile to where they are lovely for embellishing baby items, home decor and items for adults.  Carolyn will debut the collection (fingers crossed) at the ASG Conference 2010 in Atlanta, next month. I would dearly love to be there but have to save my days for the Quilt and Sewing Expo, Chantilly, in late September, early October. It would be lovely to see friends at the shows, so mark them and be sure to stop by.

One of my most memorable moments was this past weekend, meeting Santi and Peter, along with my dear friend Jean at the Fish Market Restaurant. Both Santi and Peter were on their way home to South Africa and had stopped over in Virginia.  It has been several years since I had seen Santi and good times were had by all! This was my first time meeting Peter and he is truly a gentleman. The restaurant is one of my favorite places in Alexandria and yes, I did get teased for ordering a “blue burger” at a fish place, LOL.  Afterwards, we toured the Torpedo Factory which is a great place to view artisans and their works, very inspirational. Santi’s digitizing has been a great inspiration to me over the years and I was bowled over by her Apricot Blush Quilt many years ago. I almost feel like saying something to the effect of “you have come a long way baby”…truth be known…we really and truly have.

Before ending today, I do want to remind friends about the mid-year sale on my website, which will end July 30, 2010.  And an update on John…as you can see from the picture above, he is doing well and I’m grateful. Till next time, love and hugs to everyone.