thankful...

Dear Fabric Friends, It is often during this time of year that we sit down and ponder where our life has taken us and we draw upon that review to determine what we have to be thankful for. The truth is, 2014 has been a chaotic one for us. I would be fibbing if I did not admit there were many times I discouragingly plopped in my chair and mumbled out loud that it is just too much.  Then out of seemingly nowhere, I would receive a card, a phone call, flowers even chocolate from friends. Sometimes it was simply a nudge from a stranger that would give me just enough of a boost to say continue on. Looking back there are many things I could be angry about. A landlord that proved to be deceptively untrustworthy, a mountain of unbudgeted bills related to moving, the loss of income due to needing to be closed for a few weeks, twice, the stress this entire situation has created in my family, even the weight I've gained in the process. Yet none of that really matters when I look at my beautiful Sarah sitting by my side. She is alive! And for that I am most grateful.  I am so thankful for the blogging friendship of a family who's daughter is painfully no longer with us, yet has shared their daughter's memory with us. If it were not for those two pillowcases Sarah elected to make for Kristen Kirton, our shop would never have come to be. So instead of allowing anger to set in my heart, I am consciously choosing to focus on all the positive that is surrounding us. We have a beautiful new store with a four year lease. We have so many friends who have followed us to the new location. Our bills are getting paid. Our pillowcase mission is continuing in even bigger ways. And we are meeting beautiful new friends like Mary Albaugh who started Amazing Grace Pillowcase Ministry in Bloomingdale. She along with the help of a dedicated group of volunteers have stitched close to 3,000 cases to distribute in the Appalachian area of southeastern Ohio. Our hearts are full of gratitude and love this Thanksgiving season. Thank you to each and everyone who has touched our life in some way. May your blessings be abundant.

a most sincere thank you

with just a moment's notice of the necessity for a liquidation sale, i was not sure what to expect. to my shock, we had a parking lot full of friends waiting for the doors to open on friday...

 

with the lines continuing all weekend. your support has meant so much to us. thank you, thank you, thank you!! we are merely at a fork in the road. where we go from here is uncertain, yet i'm sure there is a plan much greater than i.  we will update with details as soon as we know them.  we sincerely appreciate your support, cards, flowers, goodies and words of encouragement. your friendship is extraordinary.

our sincere appreciation...

i truthfully can't believe 2012 has come to an end. it seems i was just counting the 2011 frequent buyer cards. such an amazing year it has been. i tried to explain in our holiday newsletter how thankful, grateful and inspired we are to have such wonderful customers and decided there just are no words to adequately describe it. perhaps this photo demonstrates just how significantly appreciative we are...

 

so very thankful...

today we will begin to break down the november window display...

before we do though, i wish to take a moment to express our thankfulness to all of you. our readers, our customers, our friends.  we truly appreciate your support.  i am humbled to think that just a little more than two years ago we opened this little shop not really sure where we were headed, and today it thrives as a full service quilt store. in that short amount of time we have gained so very much. the most important, your friendship. we are most grateful.

happy and thankful 4th...

are you enjoying your holiday? i almost forgot to mention our latest contest here.  it is only possible to do so with a very HUGE thank you for all the support for our semi-annual clearance sale. i know i say this every time...but wow you leave me speechless.  now here it is...for a $50.00 gift certificate...can you guess the number of bolts we emptied last week...

this contest is also going on over on facebook. and just because we are so thankful for your support, we will pick one winner here and one over there.  that means you can guess twice.  the first person on each site to guess correctly without going over will be the winner.  contest ends over on facebook at midnight tonight.  we will leave the comments open here until thursday 7/5 at midnight.  happy guessing.

a sweet card...

i love our sunday sweetness this week for a variety of reasons...

...it reminds me of the day kim came into the store asking for our support in a cookbook her school is putting together. she had her speech all prepared.  that is not an easy task for a young girl. the writing or the asking.  then a few days later she dropped off this sweet thank you note.  i love the dots. takes us all back in time doesn't it? i remember dotting my "i's" with stars for a while. now look at the woman on that card. retro for sure. i think we have some fabric coming in just like that soon.  and finally...thank you, our customers, for without you we would not be able to support our next generation.

we have a winner...

the mountain of empty bolts...wow, you blew us away with your support of our end of year clearance sale. before we announce the winner let us show you the entire stack...

from katrina, penney, vicki, aimee, sarah(not pictured) and i, thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU. and now for the final count...

drum roll...104...and we have a guess right on the money.  slfranks4 you are the winner!!! email us with your contact info please and we will get your gift card right out to you. 

want to see what happened in the hallway last night...click here.

win $50 in free fabric...

just how many empty bolts can one stack in a day...

guess the correct number in this entire stack and you will win a $50.00 gift certificate to jellen's.  should no one answer correctly, the closest guess without going over will win.  simply leave your answer in our comment section on this blog post.

p.s. and most importantly thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU our amazing customers for your support this year.  We could not have done it without you!!!!!

counting our blessings...

we are extremely grateful...

...for the creative hands of our sample makers who help bring the front window to life. for the designers who continue to give us exciting fabrics to work with. for the sales persons who lug heavy samples for us to admire.

...for our landlords who invested in this charming location. for those who helped us financially in the beginning. for the kindred spirits who never waivered in seeing our dream come to fruition. for the love and support of my family who jump to help when we call. 

...most importantly, for our customers who have supported us well beyond our expectations. we thank you from the bottom of our heart.  wishing you all a happy and blessed thanksgiving   

sweetness everywhere...

such a week. our appreciation to all of our friends and customers overfloweth.  we are so fortunate to be surrounded by such wonderful people.

just in case you missed it, we had not just one but two designing celebrities in the house on saturday...vickie eapen of spun sugar quilts and a surprise visit by rebecca silbaugh of ruby blue quilting studio.  how exciting for us and all gathered around.

vickie not only autographed the page with her pattern in the new and delightful book, fresh fabric treats, she also gave us a demonstration of paper piecing.  late breaking update...see that adorable little bag...the one with the bright green zipper...if you hop on over to the moda bake shop you will find a tutorial to make your own...compliments of vickie. 

it is always fascinating to watch a new technique or even if it's not new, picking up little pointers from those more experienced.  such as...tiny little needles make for tiny little stitches.  btw...that quilt draped on the table...the one made with me & my sister...that's the real thing.   

vickie was so gracious to pose for pics with our customers, velta and paula...

...and with the chief fabric organizer and the birthday girl. thank you everyone. we are off to a great beginning into year two. we are more excited than ever.

welcome home...

how sweet is this...

thank you aimee. you made my day.

separation anxiety...

the feeling was dreadful as i walked out last night. so frightening, i turned around to take one last picture...



i was so nervous. just the thought of leaving was making my heart have rapid palpitations. then around midnight, my laptop crashed. or so i thought. that sent me into a minor panic attack. my husband and son would probably describe it as more major than minor. i tossed and turned all night long. i couldn't sleep. i don't ever remember being like this with my children when i left them for the first time. sorry kids. but leaving the store for the first time. well...it was anxiety provoking for sure.

i'm not sure why really. i was leaving it in very capable hands. did you see yesterday's delightful daisy quilt? well the creator, aimee, was the one watching the store. only the reports coming in say she was working very hard, not just watching. thank you aimee. i so very much appreciate it. i'm still in columbus and need to get on the road. i will tell you a little more about my meeting in the next post. for all of our customers who came in today, thank you. thank you. i'll see you soon.

oh one last thing before i go. sew to speak in columbus. delightful. a must stop.

you brought me to my knees...

what a day it has been. it started like most others. unlock the door, turn on the lights, cash into the drawer, check thermostats. greet customers, cut fabric, return bolts to original position. and then about 3:00 or so...

the fabric gates opened. and time stood still. or rather it blurred in a state of frenzy. by about 4:50 i was about done. my arms, my legs, even my brain were yelling stop, stop, please stop. yet not to fear, my higher power was watching over me knowing just what i needed and a knight in shining armor, or in this case a brown hoodie, arrived for my rescue...

"joyce (i melt when he says my name) how are you going to get out? wait, i'm coming in..."

meet ammon one of my favorite customers. ammon and james, who i must get a photo of the next time he comes in. adorable, be still my heart little boys, who love to come to the quilt shop. such a great way to close out 2010.

.

then once i was down, i realized i truly could not get up. i was that tired. so, from my knees to you...

i thank you. words truly can't articulate how much we appreciate the support of our customers.

thank you so much. thank you for your friendship. thank you for giving us a chance and thank you for supporting our first year end clearance sale. according to the register tape at closing, we sold 1,331 yards of fabric this week. amazing. simply amazing. wishing you a fun and festive new year's. see you in 2011.