As I have written, California has been under siege with fires up and down the state. One of the really awful ones, the Butte Fire, is burning in Amador County. At this point, we are thankful that it is 75% contained. However, it's damage has been horrible. Over 75,000 acres have burned with a current loss of 535 residences. (Information obtained at Yubanet.com.) Everyone's worst nightmare, right? The loss of your home and all of your precious belongings and then having to rebuild. It must be an overwhelming situation for these people.
In comes Kerri of "Kerri's Quilting" in Lakeport, CA. She is putting together a few quilts for some of the quilter's that lost not only their homes, but their quilting supplies and fabric. I think this is such a sweet thing to do. Providing something handmade as an expression of love and concern will hopefully bring comfort to some of our fellow quilters.
"If you would like to help turn ashes to beauty please make a quilt block – applique a heart in the center of a CUT 10" square using pastel colors, sign your name and town and mail to Kerrie's Quilting 1853 N. High St. Lakeport, CA 95453.
The blocks will be set together to make quilts for at least 5 ladies that I know of who lost all their sewing/quilting things in the fire.
Here are two blocks that I made the other day. Just a simple heart appliqued in the middle of a ten inch block.
I hope you will create a block, sign it and mail it to Kerri. How wonderful for people from across the country to show their concern for these Amador County quilters! Let me know if you have any questions. Also, for a quick tutorial on making an appiqued heart block, see this post at Quilting Jetgirl.
For those of you who saw my messy, messy sewing room the other day, here is an updated picture. As I was told by Deb at Frugal Little Bungalow, it was time to 'Redd Up' that room, which is apparently Pittsgburgh-speak for cleaning up a mess. 😉 Success!
Much easier to work in!
Of course it didn't last long because I was sewing this weekend. But it is still, it's much better than it was.
Remember the post about the elephant baby quilt I made for my friends that are having a baby via surrogate mom in Mumbai, India? Their daughter, Emerson, arrived today via planned C-section!! I can't even imagine how exciting this is for TJ and Margot after so many years spent working, hoping and praying to become parents. I am so happy for them and hope their transition from India back home is safe and uneventful.
Finally, this is why I love giving a quilt. Look at this text that I received out of the blue the other day. Lil is my niece and I made her a t-shirt quilt about a year ago. (Story is here.) Warms my heart!
Linking to Connie over at Freemotion by the River.
This entry was posted in Donation Quilts, Kindness & Community, Sewing Space and tagged butte fire, donation quilt, sewing room on September 21, 2015 by Bernie.
Last week she blogged about the fact that Craftsy has registered two new trademarks to (possibly) begin manufacturing and selling a line of fabric and a line of yarn. Because Craftsy has such a huge customer base, they sell a great deal of fabric and supplies at below retail pricing. People are in somewhat of an uproar because they are upset about yet another bigbox retailer squashing the smaller retailers. After Abby's post, in which Craftsy declined to comment, there was a bit of conversation – most of it on the negative side. However, much of the arguments commented on this post centered around Craftsy's treatment of pattern designers and teachers. I am not going to go into the specifics because Abby laid it out clearly in her post already.
As far as pattern designers and paid bloggers, I am of the opinion they should work for a fair wage. If a corporation such as Craftsy or Moda (think Moda Bakeshop) isn't offering a fair wage, don't take them up on the opportunities offered. It is the decision of the designer. Personally, I love the patterns that are individually designed and offered on Craftsy. Many a quilt blogger/designer has their paid and free patterns posted on Craftsy which provides some exposure for the designer and a huge benefit to us, the crafting community, But again, if the designer doesn't think the pay is commensurate, don't go there.
In response to all of this hub bub, John Levisay, CEO of Craftsy, wrote an open letter to Abby for our community of makers. You can read it here. Nothing earth shattering is contained in his response. It is what I might write, were I in his position. They are a large, for profit, corporation. They sells on-line classes, patterns and supplies – for PROFIT. Just as Amazon, Jo-Ann Fabrics, and Fabric.com aren't overly concerned about the profitability of the brick and mortar shops, I don't think Craftsy is terribly worried. Is this the right thing? Who knows. It isn't really a question of right and wrong to me. It is just the way things are and will continue to be. Overall, I thought the letter was respectful and it made sense to me. Things are forever changing as the world of technology grows and allows businesses to develop in new ways.
Finally, this is the first time I have written a post without pictures. Kind of strange so I am going to add one here for your viewing enjoyment!! What a huge mess. I have decided that it is time to clean this place up. My sewing room has become a huge disaster. Like beyond ridiculous. OK – how about you? Do you take issue with the Craftsy decision to market their own lines? Should they be able to sell below retail? Do I have to clean my room? Is your room messier than mine? Is a blog post without pictures acceptable? Do tell.
This entry was posted in Quilt Shops, Sewing Space and tagged abby glassenberg, craftsy, john levisay, on line retailers, sewing room, while she naps on September 16, 2015 by Bernie.