The Exciting and The Boring...

Guess what???  The pattern layout sheets arrived from the printers today for one of our new designs!!!!  Look - 

A nice big - full size pattern layout sheet - all professionally printed and folded and ready to go.  I finished tweaking the pattern covers this morning -you can see those above in the photo too!  Too exciting!

Starting this weekend this pattern will be available "exclusively" through Pieceful Gatherings Quilt Shop in Fox River Grove, Illinois.  In May 2012, the pattern will then be released to the public and you will be able to order the pattern on our website and see it hanging in your local quilt shops!  We are granting Pieceful Gatherings Quilt Shop the privilege of being the first and only shop to offer this pattern through May 2012 because they were so kind and gracious to allow me to come and visit them this coming weekend and teach at their retreat!

Now, the boring part of my day - pattern assembly.  Ugghhhh - but I have to do it!  This is the only way our patterns get from my hands to yours! (I really want to be stitching right now!!!)

But - I am ever so thankful and appreciative of the orders that came in this past weekend while we snuck out of town for a little fun!

We snuck off to St Louis, Missouri this past Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the annual Supercross race that we visit.  This is a "treat" for the boys in my life once a year and I just grin and bear it because I know that they say nothing when I head out for quilt shows!

We also went here for a tour while in St. Louis - 

This tour at Anheuser-Busch Inc. was so much fun and the best part - it was free!!!!

Look what I saw among other things - 

The Budweiser Cydesdales!  They are just so beautiful! If you ever visit the St Louis area - you must take this tour!  We visited the Arch last year and that was excellent also!

On our 4 1/2 drive to St Louis I worked on this - when I wasn't driving of course!

Another new design!  And it's turning out beautifully!

Above is a photo of the Kentucky and West Virginia areas affected by those terrible tornadoes this past Friday.  Thank you to each of you that emailed, texted or contacted me through FaceBook asking about my family - that was so kind of you!  My family (most of them) resides in Mingo County which is to the right above and at the end of the EF-2 tornado.  Thankfully none of my immediate family received any damages due to this storm and only lost power.  I have visited most of the areas that received damages from these tornadoes and the pictures I am receiving are just un-imaginable.  It's sad.  We are sending good thoughts and prayers out to any of you affected.

OK, enough blogging for me today - the patterns are calling my name and I have to get back to work!