OK, David Letterman has a top ten list, but I only have 8 things to blog about, so therefore the title:  “BBQ Top 8.”  It’s been a busy week (that’s why I didn’t blog), but I’ve got things to share.

#1 – Our “Sweetheart of a Sale”:  Starting tomorrow, Sunday, February 7th (also known as Super Bowl Sunday), we are “kicking off” a week long sale on select kits (Appomattox Court House, Emily’s Gift, Second Hand Clothes, Second Hand Plaid, Plantation Road, Belle Meade, Hill Country Baskets, A House Divided, Simple Star – Red and Black, and Simple Star – Vicksburg).  The sale runs through Valentine’s Day, so now’s your chance to let that someone special in your life “score” your perfect Valentine’s Day gift!  There are limited quantities on some of these kits, so shop early!!!

#2 – New show:  We will be attending the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XXI, February 25-28, in Hampton, VA.  We are so excited to be invited to this show and hope that our East Coast friends will be able to stop by and visit with us.  I know Puxatony Phil predicts 6 more weeks of winter, but I hope this weekend’s blizzard will not be repeated while we are in Virginia.

#3 – Appomattox Court House – the new one!!!: It’s done – well at least the top is – and it’s been sent off to the lovely ladies at Crooked Creek Quilt Shop, where they will work their custom quilting magic.  Here’s a picture of the top and a close-up of some of the fabric.  I love this quilt and it is one of the easiest quilts to piece.

New Appomattox Court House

Detail of Appomattox Court House

#4 – New quilt: Paula designed a new quilt using fabrics from her new collection – Bonnie Blue Basics and Backgrounds II. If you liked BB Basics I, you are going to love BB Basics II – more blacks (I see a new Sherman’s March in our future), great new browns, beautiful new reds and so much more.  I’m almost done with the top and hope to finish with the blocks tomorrow – my own personal Super Bowl party!!!  Here’s a sneak peek of a couple of the blocks:

Blocks using Bonnie Blue Basics and Backgrounds II

#5 – New fabric on the website:  The fabric we ordered at Fall Market is arriving daily and Marcie is updating the website as quickly as it hits the warehouse.  Indigo Berries is a new collection by Jo Morton for Andover Fabrics.  This one is gorgeous indigo blues and the first of 3 collections from Jo Morton that will be arriving over the next 3 months.  Gettysburg Remembrance is a beautiful collection from a new fabric company, Blue Hill Fabrics, and it is available for pre-ordering.  Place your order now and we will ship as soon as it arrives at the warehouse.

#6 – Fabric piles in the warehouse:  It can only mean – Paula’s been designing!!!  I think there are at least 3 different piles and that’s just for new quilts.  Between the new designs and the re-dos of some favorite quilts, my Bernina is going to be smokin’.  Now I have to decide which one to start on next.  I’m leaning towards pile #2 – browns, reds, tans, and a great star design.

#7 – Husband’s retirement:  Yes, it’s official, Peter has joined the ranks of the retired.  The biggest problem:  Caitlin and I can’t figure out what day of the week it is!!!  Every day seems like Saturday and Sunday.  Rumor has it, there’s an RV in our future.

#8 -Family news:                                                                                                                                                                                 Megan, our oldest daughter, flew in from Louisville to surprise Peter for his retirement party.  He was surprised and we all had a great visit.                                                                                                                                          Caitlin and I played hooky from work on Friday morning and we went to the 1st showing of “Dear John”.  What can I say – time with Caitlin, movie popcorn, Diet Coke, and a chick flick – priceless.  I’ve decided I liked the book better, but the movie had some great “eye candy” – Channing Tatum.  Now there’s a fine looking young man.                                                                                                                                                                                                                And now our biggest news – Sydney is going to be a big sister.  Brett and Meredith will welcome daughter #2 in mid-June.  We are so excited.  Meredith and I will be planning the new baby room when we see them later this month.  We are all heading to Florida for some family R and R.

There’s the Bonnie Blue Top 8 for this week.   Enjoy the rest of your weekend and happy quilting.

Well it’s happened again – I’ve gone over a week without blogging.  We got back from the show and we’ve been going 90 to nothing since then.  Let me catch you up.

We made it safely to Marshall after our almost encounter with a tornado.  As it turns out, there were other tornadoes that evening, but fortunately we were behind all of them.  They caused damage in the East Texas and ArkLaTex areas, but fortunately no one was injured.

We were on our way to Marshall, so we could attend the quilt show in Jefferson (just north of Marshall).  This year was the 7th Annual Jefferson Quilt Show,  “Quilts on the Bayou”.  This was our 5th year to attend this show and we just love being there.  It’s a small show, but the attendance is good, the quilts are beautiful, the organizers are wonderful, and THEY FEED US.  There is always a great buffet of tasty soups, chilis, sandwiches and fabulous desserts for lunch.  They need to take some time and write a cookbook with all of their wonderful recipes.

As it is every year, the quilts were beautiful.  My only regret is that I couldn’t get a good picture of “Best in Show”.  It was appliqued bunnies (Sydney would have loved the “nunnies”) and well deserving of “Best in Show.”  I did get some pictures, so I’ll share what I have:

I just loved this one.  It looks like an antique quilt and if I recall it was hand quilted.

Appliqued quilt

Another great quilt - I love this block.

Minit quilt version

Paula and I had dinner at a couple of our favorite places:  Jefferson’s Old Fashioned Hamburger Store and Five D Cattle Company and Meat Market in Avinger.  The steaks at Five D are phenomenal and we really enjoyed ours.  The Hamburger Store serves up some great food, but it is also known for its “wallpaper” – signed $1.00 bills.  It turns out that after the owners served more that 2000 free meals to Katrina evacuees, the grateful visitors started leaving the signed bills as a thank you.  Now diners just follow their lead and thus the “wallpapered” walls.  We added ours on our 1st visit in 2008:

BBQ $1.00 bill at The Hamburger Store

Here’s a photo of just 1 of the many covered walls:

I said it’s been a crazy week, so I’ll catch you up with the rest of the week tomorrow.  Here’s just a few things that I’ll write about:  completed quilt top, surprise visit by daughter, husband’s retirement, new quilt show added to schedule, new quilt designs and more.  Until then,happy quilting.

You are probably wondering how I arrived at the title for tonight’s blog.  Well here’s our story:  We left Odessa this morning with plans to stop in Grand Prairie, TX and visit with Paula’s mom Shirley, daughter Allison and granddaughter Sophie.  It was about a 5 hour trip and then we would only have about 3 hours to get to Marshall.  No problem, that’s easy.  Our visit was great.  Sophie is just a year old, so she totally entertained us.  The 4 o’clock news came on and reported severe weather in the Dallas area and heading towards the ArkLaTex (Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas region).  We decided we should get on the road, but of course it took us awhile to pull ourselves away from this sweet baby.  All we can say now is “Thank You Sophie”.

Canton, TX is about an hour down Interstate 20 and as we approached the 1st exit for the area, we noticed that traffic had basically come to a standstill and that there were helicopters circling the area.  We assumed there had been a serious accident.  We exited quickly and hit “Detour” on the Garmin, but immediately noticed the traffic and police  on the road.  Paula and  I were in desperate need of a restroom, so we pulled into a parking lot  where we noticed a number of people were milling around.  We asked what was going on.  The answer:  “A tornado just came through here and has hit Interstate 20 and Highway 19″.  If we had left 15-30 minutes earlier, we would have experienced our very 1st tornado – up, close and personal.  We’ve listened to the news and have since learned that no one was injured.  Thank heavens for adorable babies.

We would also like to thank the wonderful ladies at Homemade Gourmet.  It was their parking lot that we pulled into and who allowed us to use their restroom!!!  They also give us directions for getting out of the area and eventually back on I 20.  The storms were all around us, so I called my own personal weatherman, my husband Peter and his helpful weather updates guided us through the rest of the storms.  We hit some heavy rain and hail, but fortunately we arrived safely.  What a night!!!

We can now add tornadoes to our list of weather and natural disasters we have experienced during our travels with Bonnie Blue Quilts:  ice storm in Oklahoma City, flooding in Dallas, mini earthquake in Long Beach, occasional snow and record breaking heat in Texas!!!  I’ve always said that if the business fails we could take the trailer and become a moving company, well now I’m not so sure.  We could always become “storm chasers”.

We did get to the hotel with plenty of time for me to set up my sewing machine and get a little sewing done on the new Appomattox Court House.  I made 4 blocks and have another 4 ready to go for tomorrow.  The blocks go together so quickly, so I’m hoping I can get the top done this weekend.  Here’s a picture of one of the blocks I made tonight:  Isn’t it cute!

Appomattox Court House block

Set up is tomorrow.  Hopefully the rain will be over.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone  that was affected by the tornadoes and severe weather in the area.

Until tomorrow – happy quilting!

A very special thank you to all the wonderful people who attended the Road to California Quilt Show this past weekend.  It was a great show and thanks to your fantastic shopping skills we are heading home with 30 empty bins!  (I think there’s enough room in the trailer for the antique cabinet I so desperately need to hold all my quilts. Let the shopping begin!)   We loved the opportunity  to meet and reacquaint ourselves with so many of our wonderful customers.  Thank you again.  If you are planning to attend the Jefferson Quilt Show this weekend, don’t panic, there will be plenty of “stuff” for you to buy.  We made a frantic phone call to Marcie  this morning and the girls are working hard to get a box of goodies to us for the show.

On Sunday,  I spent some time looking at the quilts on display, so  over the next few weeks I will share some of the pictures I took.  The quilts were incredible and I never cease to be amazed at what some people can accomplish.  So much talent.  I took pictures, but now I think I should have bought the DVD, my pictures just don’t do them justice.  Tonight I’ll share 2 pictures:  Viewer’s Choice and Masterpiece Award.  I’m not sure of the title of  the Viewer’s Choice quilt, but I’m going with “A Quilt Show”.  It’s miniature quilts hung at a quilt show with people looking at them.  It received a lot of attention,  so it was really hard to get a good picture.  Neat quilt and what a great idea!

Road to California 2010 - Viewer's Choice Award winner

The Masterpiece Award was given to (and this picture is for you Camille) “Tribute to Tolkien”.  This quilt was exquisite.  The workmanship was outstanding.  I photographed the information card for the quilt, so you can see the details.

Road to California 2010 - Masterpiece Award - "Tribute to Tolkien"

"Tribute to Tolkien" information

Today was another day of culinary treats.  We left California the same way we arrived – with a visit to Pinkberry’s.  Boy are we going to miss that place.  We’ve got to convince someone to open a Pinkberry’s franchise in Katy, TX.  Any takers?  Our plan was to drive to Tucson today, but first we were going to stop in Chandler, AZ at the Charleston’s we saw on our way to California.  We tried to eat something small so we could save some room for the bread pudding.  We dreamed about this dessert all day and it was so worth it.  As you can see from the picture it is big, so we didn’t finish it (we needed you for this, Marcie),  but we made sure we scooped up all that sauce.  (Insert slurping noises here!)

Charleston's Bread Pudding dessert

One last picture.  One night while we were in California, Paula and I had to go pick up a package and we saw this in the parking lot.  I’ve heard of them and have seen them in commercials, but I’ve never seen one in person:  an Oscar Meyer Weinermobile!!!

Oscar Mayer Weinermobile

Tomorrow we’re heading to Odessa, TX (about 10 hrs) and then on to Jefferson on Wednesday.  Hopefully we’ll get to see some more of our wonderful customers at that show.  Stop by and say hello.

Happy quilting.

Yes, we did arrive yesterday without any problems.  We couldn’t unload the trailer at the show site until 5:30, so we spent the day enjoying some of the many culinary treats that are only available in California – Pinkberry and In-n-Out Burger.  We feasted and spent the rest of time teasing Robin, our California girl, with pictures of the places we’d been.  Yes, we are mean.

Paula (right) and I (Mary Ellen - left) with our Pinkberry's

Craziest thing – as we drove through the windmill farms in Palm Springs, we noticed the windmills were not spinning – very odd.  We did finally see 1 small section that was active, so there is electricity available again.  No matter how many times I see these windmills, I am awed and amazed by them.  They are like gentle giants.  Here’s a picture, but I don’t think it shows how impressive they are.

Windmill farm in Palm Springs

We headed to the Convention Center at 5:30 and we had the trailer unloaded and in our booth by 7:00.  This made set up today so much easier.  We left Tuesday night hoping the quilt fairies would set up the booth for us, but alas when we arrived this morning the booth still looked like this:

Everything from the trailer unloaded in the booth

Best news – the booth is done.  I don’t know how, but Paula managed to get 29 quilts hung or draped in our 10×20 space.  It’s times like this we think we should consider smaller quilts. but then we remember how easy it is to snuggle under our quilts and we forget the whole small quilt idea.

Our booth

Another view of the booth

We did get a chance to walk around and see some of the other vendors that are here and it looks like it’s going to be a great show.  The booths look beautiful and people are going to have a great time shopping.  We hope that many of you will  have the chance to get the show.  If you do, please be sure you stop by and say hello and who knows you just might find something that you just can’t live without.  We love the chance to meet our great customers.  We’re in booth 1307, so let the show begin.

Happy quilting.

Tonight we are in Blythe, CA.  It’s about 9 hours from El Paso and only about 3 hours from Ontario, CA – home of Road to California.  Tomorrow should be an easy day, unless we decide we need to stop and do a little shopping again.  We found some stores in Casa Grande, AZ and Paula did find a pair of shoes.  I bought a new pocketbook (hope my daughters don’t read this, as we just spent half a day in Houston trying to find just the right bag!) and a new lipstick.  Biggest disappointment was seeing a Mimi’s Cafe at the mall after we had eaten at a Wendy’s and then further down the road a Charleston’s in Chandler, AZ.  We’ll have to be sure to add these restaurant locations to our show folder for our next trip.

The “activity bag” still hasn’t moved out of the back seat and I’m not really sure why.  Tomorrow I will have to finish folding the fat quarters for the Rouenneries collection bundles we plan to have for the show.  That should keep me busy for awhile.  Paula also  downloaded a book on tape for us, so we’ll start that – The Associate by John Grisham.

So many people have asked how we manage to get all our “stuff” to a show, that I decided to take a picture of Paula’s truck and the trailer we pull.  The trailer is 6′ x 10′ and from the picture I posted the other day you know how full it is packed.  The truck is great and you can hardly even tell you’re pulling a trailer.  The biggest challenge is getting into the truck and out of it.  I am the tallest of the 3 of us and I’m 5′2″, so thank heavens for the handles on the inside!  You also have to remember when it is time to get out – it’s a long way down!  That 1st step can be a killer!

The truck and trailer

The scenery on this trip is incredible.  We go from the prairie of Katy, TX to the deserts and mountains of AZ, NM and CA.  We’ve seen windmills (amazing), oil pumpers, tumbleweeds, cactus and so much more.  When we did this trip last year for the Long Beach show, we had just been on the East Coast at the Vermont Quilt Festival.  Talk about a change in scenery!   I’ve tried to get pictures of the windmill farms, but they never seem to show  how big or impressive the windmills really are.  Maybe I’ll try again tomorrow, so far now here are a couple of photos of the boulders in a small area called Texas Canyon.

Boulders in Texas Canyon

Texas Canyon

Rumor has it some new fabrics are due to arrive at the warehouse this week.  Paula’s French Quarter collection was delayed in shipping, but the fabric can be pre-ordered and we anticipate shipping to customers some time this week.  Our ladies are fast when it comes to cutting fabric and filling those orders.  Marcie also added Judie Rothermel’s Twelve Oaks and Paula’s newest, Bonnie Blue Basics and Backgrounds II.  Be sure to check out all three.  Paula has been working on a new quilt to showcase the new Basics collection.  I just need some time to sit at my machine and sew!

More tomorrow!  Happy quilting!

We made it to El Paso and we did it in 11 hours.  Paula did a great job and now we are sitting in our hotel room and “playing” on our computers.  The weather was beautiful – nice sunny day so you don’t notice the cold as much.  Looking forward to some warmer weather in Southern California.

Tomorrow we head to Blythe, CA (about 9 hours).  We have to make a stop somewhere for Paula to pick up some shoes.  Sounds good to me – I can always shoe shop.  Tuesday it’s Ontario and we should be able to do that in about 3 hours.  Already googled “Pinkberry” and found 2 locations that are about 7 miles away.  Definitely on our list of things to do while  in California.

I hauled the “activity bag” with me, but didn’t open it today; maybe tomorrow.  I brought a locker latch hook purse, a crocheted baby afghan that needs a border and 2 small counted cross stitch Halloween stockings.  What shall I do, what shall I do – that is the question.  Maybe I’ll have to find a new project to work on!!!!  I’m looking forward to Tuesday when we arrive at our hotel and I get to set up my sewing machine.  I’m itching to get started on the new Appomattox Court House.

Also googled “Charleston”s – great restaurant with the most delicious bread pudding in the world.  We discovered them in Oklahoma and found out there’s one in Ft.  Worth – already planned lunch on our trip to the Jefferson Quilt Show.  Why do these trips become about food?  Also looking forward to dinner at Five D Cattle Company and Meat Market in Avinger, TX.  With 14 days of dining out for every meal, you really start to look for and plan on some good meals.  By the end of the trip we cry when we see a fast-food restaurant.

Sleep is calling and I’m still working my way through Steve Berry’s The Charlemagne Pursuit.  School librarian moment: Congratulations to Katherine Paterson on being named “National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature”. Ms. Paterson, two-time Newbery award winner for Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob, Have I Loved and author of 30 books, is truly deserving of this honor.  Although her books are for a YA audience, they are also enjoyed by adult readers.  Check one out.

Happy quilting!!

It’s a Bonnie Blue Quilts first – we loaded the trailer for the first quilt shows of 2010 and it was 25 degrees outside.  Usually we are struggling to pack when it’s 95 degrees outside, but not today.  Houston has been part of that unbelievable cold snap that has gripped just about all of the US ( I think California and Arizona have escaped these low temperatures).  If I closed my eyes, it felt like I was back in Poughkeepsie (too much sun to be Syracuse!) in the middle of January, not Houston, TX.  Peter and Caitlin came to help Paula, Marcie and I and I wish they had let me take pictures – Nanook of the North has nothing on any of us.

This was our first time to load in just low temperatures, but we have also loaded the trailer in ice and freezing rain.  We were stranded in Oklahoma City a few years back with an ice storm and couldn’t leave for a week.  That storm and being stranded was the main reason I bought a sewing machine for traveling.  A week with time on my hands and no sewing machine was more than I could handle.  My travel machine goes with me to every show now.  It is actually next on my list of things to do:  pack my clothes and pack my machine and project.  I’ll be working on our new Appomattox Court House (reds and blacks – should be gorgeous).  Here’s a peek:

Appomattox Court House in blacks and red

Paula and I head out tomorrow for our 3 day road trip to Road to California in Ontario, CA.  It’s a long trip, but this is a great show and now I’ll brag – last year we won a ribbon for “Best Booth”.  When this show is over, we will drive 3 days back to Jefferson, TX for the quilt show there.  This is a smaller show, but still a great show.  The organizers of this show are phenomenal and a great group to work with – plus they feed you really well!  It will be nice to see old friends at both of these shows.  We will be on the road for 2 weeks.  I will also have to gather up my car projects.  Paula drives and I talk to her and keep her awake, but I have to have something to do.  This is a source of concern for Paula because apparently I whine about every project I’ve tried – locker latch rug hooking, crocheting, English paper piecing, smocking, counted cross stitch, and the list goes on and on.  I’ll have to see what goes in my “activity bag”, as my mother-in-law called her bag, this time.  I have quite a few projects that need to be finished.

I thought you might like to see what goes into our trailer for a show.  After the Des Moines show, we unpacked all of the bins with kits and bundles and left on all of the furniture and decor that we take with us.  During the week we repacked bins with more kits and bundles and stored them in the front of the kit warehouse.  We had 1 large pile that will pretty much cover both shows we are going to and 1 pile that is extra “stuff” for the Jefferson show.  We never really know how much to bring to any show – it’s always a guessing game and sometimes our guess is way off.  Today we loaded it all on the trailer and as you can see from the last photo – it is packed right up to the door!!! Not an ounce of space left!!!  Fortunately the back seat of the truck is empty and that’s where all of our personal stuff goes.

Bins ready to be loaded

Extra bins for Jefferson Show

Trailer filled with furniture and decor - before bins are added

Trailer - filled to capacity

Some day I am going to figure out how to insert pictures that are smaller and will fit in a row.  One of my many New Year’s resolutions, but one I forget about until I am actually at the computer and trying to insert pictures that are smaller and fit in a row!

Now, as our loyal customers, it is your job to get out to these quilt shows (and future ones) and help us drive home with a lighter trailer by buying some of those kits and bundles we loaded onto our trailer!

Packing calls and we are on the road at 7 AM, so I had a better finish getting ready.  I’ll let you know how our trip goes.

Happy quilting.

It’s hard to believe that the 1st decade of the 21st century will be ending tonight.  Has it really only been 10 years since so many of us stockpiled canned food, water and cash in the unlikely event that the computer world would be unable to handle the switch from 1999 to 2000? Sounds to me like a plot for a great disaster movie! If Bonnie Blue ever fails, perhaps I could try my hand at writing screenplays!  It sure beats the other option – use our hand trucks and trailer and become a moving company.  I’ve got the name already picked out – Three Old Ladies and a Trailer Moving Company.

And now it’s time to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions.  My husband thinks that this year we should each make up 5 resolutions for ourselves and 5 resolutions for each other (and Caitlin, too).  Personally I feel resolutions are a private matter, that way when I fail at them no one has to know about it besides me.  I will have the usual one about losing weight and exercising more and I will even go so far as to rejoin Weight Watchers, but for some reason I will lose any ounce of willpower I might have had as soon as we head out on our 1st quilt show road trip.  A car ride without snacks and Banana Laffy Taffy is impossible.

One of my resolutions is to stop saying “010″ when I am talking about 2010.  It’s been “07″, “08″ and “09″, so I automatically say “010″ and then realize that’s wrong.  I’ll be working hard on that one.  So much easier than that whole diet and exercise thing!

I’m heading over to  the warehouse today so we can finish getting ready for our Winter Warehouse Sale on Saturday (January 2nd).  We’ve done this for 3 years now, but I think this will probably be the coldest it’s ever been.  So if you are planning on stopping by to shop our beautiful, non-climate controlled warehouse, be sure to dress warmly.  For the 1st time we will be following our Warehouse Sale with a Website Warehouse Sale.  That’s right, all of our fabric (regular priced and sale fabric) will be 20% off all day Sunday, January 3rd.  Make shopping at Bonnie Blue Quilts one of your New Year’s resolutions!  Just a reminder – there may be limited quantities on fabric in the Sales Corner – so plan accordingly.

Christmas gifts this year included a beautiful Bernard Passman black coral necklace that Peter purchased on our cruise (on his own without any assistance or suggestion – I was super impressed and pleased), a flat screen TV for my sewing room  and some great gifts to add to my nightstand – new books to read.  Steve Berry’s Charlemagne Pursuit is my current book, with Paris Vendetta and Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol to follow.  I also have the entire Harry Potter series.  I read all of these as they were written, but with the release of the final 2 movies (Book 7) looming on the horizon, I thought I might try to reread them and refresh my memory on what’s happening.  I also got all of the DVD’s and may go with that for my “catch -up” and save the rereading for another lifetime!  Anything to suggest for my reading list?

Enjoy your New Year’s Eve and the start of a new decade.  Be safe if you are on the road.  Happy quilting.

Yes, Bonnie Blue Quilts is alive and well and I will be blogging again.  It seems that life and all of its many events managed to get  in the way of my blogging time.  Between business and personal events, we’ve had 2 cruises, 2 Thanksgiving  travels, 1 week-long sale (during my cruise – talk about timing), 3 family visits, 1 holiday luncheon, and Christmas.  And in between all of that, we’ve managed to shop for Christmas (thank you Amazon.com), decorate our homes and complete 1 quilt!!!!

Belle Meade in Rouenneries by French General for Moda is completed and it is beautiful.  Hopefully I can get the backing made tonight and then it’s off to Sharon for quilting.  Kits for this beautiful quilt should be on the website within the next 2 weeks.  Paula’s in design mode – I keep finding stacks of bolts (she’s “auditioning” the fabrics) around the warehouse!  She has some new quilts in the planning stage and re-dos of some Bonnie Blue favorites – Oak Alley in red and black, Appomattox Courthouse and Sherman’s March.  We’re also anxiously awaiting the arrival of Paula’s French Quarter collection so we can get the Evangeline kits made and shipped out.

We’re also gearing up for 2010 and we’re going to start the new year off with a bang – our Annual Winter Warehouse Only Sale on Saturday, January 2nd.  Hopefully you’ve received the e-mail about this great event.  Being an online store only, this is the only time that we open the doors and let you actually shop in our warehouse.  Now, if you can’t get to Texas for this sale, don’t panic, we’ve planned a special online event for Sunday, January 3rd.  I’ll have more details later.

I’m still feeling my way around this whole “social media” thing, but I have some ideas for the blog and our Facebook page.  I’ve been picking my daughter Megan’s brain.  She’s been working with a cross-functional team in her GE business to launch a social media strategy and has given me some ideas for staying connected to our friends – that’s you.

I’ll include a picture of Belle Meade and then it’s off to spend the day with my family.  Two of my three children are home – Megan and Caitlin – and we have plans for shopping and a movie (Sherlock Holmes) today.  Enjoy your day and happy quilting.

Belle Meade in Rouenneries and before quilting