I’M A Cover Girl!

Hi Everybody! It’s been awhile since I have been here. I have so much to share.

I am going to start with being a COVER GIRL!! YAHOO!

This is the July/August 2021 Issue.

This is so AWESOME! It’s the 200TH issue of Quiltmaker. This feels even more special because it’s my first cover with this company. This company is special to me because they were the first company to take a chance on me and accept one of my designs. They have helped guide me, teach me and help me along the way. They have literally accepted more than 60 of my designs in the last few years and this is my first cover. I kind of feel like now I am “in.” I have a place at the cool kids table. LOL!

The theme was camping. I used some basics or Windham called Artisian cottons. They are a cross dyed quilters cottons. Which means they are really soft and cozy. There are 2 colors woven together to create the color that you see. I love them. I love them a lot. This was the first project that I made with them and now I am sold. I have another project coming up with these. I also used 80/20 by The Warm Company for batting. :)

What is funny about this is that of all the themes that I could have designed camping was the one that seemed to inspire several designs from me. Anybody close to me knows that is especially ironic because I am not real fond of camping. LOL! Don’t get me wrong…I love nature. I love a good hike. S’mores ect. I love the community part ect. But I don’t like all of the work. How can you call it a vacation? It’s not a vacation, Especially when you have 6 kids.

My husband works in the farming/food industry. From May-October I am a harvest widow. Which means he works a ton of hours and we don’t really see him much. If he is home during those months he eats, showers, sleeps …in that order and then the day starts all over again.

Our kids wanted to go camping and when they were young I didn’t want them to miss out on those experiences so I would gather my 6 kids and our family dog(s) and we would be off on the adventure. It was tough doing all of that by myself. But my husband was really great because he taught my 4 boys how to set up the tent trailer, tents and hitch them to the car. It would be quite a sight. As soon as I would pull up to a camping spot ( I couldn’t back a trailer into anything) my 4 boys would get out, unhitch the trailer roll it into place and start working. I kind of wish I had recorded that. They were so young ages 5-10 when we started this. They would climb up and over and under things easily. get everything into place on jacks and turning everything out. people from surrounding sights would come over and compliment on how young and awesome they were. They would ask to borrow them. LOL!

But as a “single” mom with 6 kids it was so much work and I knew I was vulnerable in that type of situation. I would hardly sleep the whole time we were gone. It was a lot of cooking, cleaning, eating and packing, unpacking and huge amounts of laundry when we got home. It was not my idea of a vacation. But I did it because that is what they wanted. I didn’t want them to miss out on those experiences. They still love camping and now they all go on their own. So as much as I struggled, I am glad they remember the good parts. I am glad that I was able to give them those experiences and that makes it worth it. They learned life skills and had good times. That’s what matters.

Thank you all so much for following along! It’s such an honor to be a part of this community!

xoxox

Charisma