Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 29

Hello Everyone

The International Quilt Festival in Houston was fantastick. I would like to thank everyone that came by our booth. I don’t think I have ever felt "so much love" in my life. All I can say is a big ThankYou to all of you. I got to catch up with several of my "designer friends" and Quilt Mania came by and said they want to feature some more of my designs. But, mainly the most exciting thing was the customers, or maybe I should say, YOU. We visited with so many of you. All of your input just felt so good. Thanks again.

I can’t believe it is the day after Christmas. Thanksgiving and Christmas went by in a blur. I have been so busy working on new designs I almost missed them. We did celebrate them with our children and grandkids and it was such fun-I even managed to not sew or hook on Christmas day.

We received a UPS shipment on Christmas Eve from Quilt Mania -they returned several of my designs, AND they sent the new Nov./Dec. issue of Simply Vintage magazine.  Five of my designs are featured in it. As always, the magazine is great (of course, it is printed in French, but the pictures are worth a thousand words, at least to me). A BIG THANK YOU to them.  Here is a picture of the cover.

I think that you can purchase the magazine from their website. Here is a link http://www.quiltmania.com/simply-vintage-magazine-gb.html

Right now, I am focusing on the 10th Annual Jefferson Quilt -Quilts on the Bayou,in Jefferson, Texas. The show dates are Jan. 25, 26 and 27. My hat goes off to some good women in the Jefferson area. They decided that they wanted to do a quilt show so they did. They are not a guild but they are doing a bang up job. They really know how to take care of the vendors-they feed us so well. Two of them came by the at Houston. John was busy , so they told me to tell him something about turnip greens...smells good already. I am working on a few new designs and will preview them there. Here is a link to their website  www.jeffersonquiltshow.com/

After that we head south to McAllen Texas for the 31st. Annual Quilt Show-Joined by Heart-Strings. The show dates for that one are February 15 & 16.  The Rio Grande Valley Quilt Guild does a great job. We had a lot of fun there last year. Maybe I can get a little sand between my toes. Here is a link to their website  http://www.rgvqg.com/ .

John thought that the news from Washington was so good that we just have to head to the great Northwest. Puyallup-I have a hard time with that one- Washington--February 28 and March 1, 2 & 3. Then we have a week to get to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for the AQS Show-March 13, 14, 15, & 16....more about those shows later. John is working on fleshing out the rest of our schedule. I guess that he will tell me when I need to know.

I would love to meet and visit with you at any or all of these shows. ALL OF YOU mean so much to me.



Got to go...As always...enjoy life......ds

PS Oh, I nearly forgot....he said something about a presentation at a guild meeting in Wimberly, Texas in February and Padacuh Kentucky in April

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog #28

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 28

Hello Everyone

I would like to thank everyone that came by our booth at the Quilt-A-Fair in Longmont Colorado and our booth at the AQS Show in Des Moines, Iowa. Again, it seemed that nearly everyone loved our new designs. I overheard John telling several women to hold the applause down a notch. He said something about getting a "big head". I promise not to get one. We met so many nice people. I don’t think I could continue on without all of your support.

Our son, Josh went with us to Longmont. He was a lot of help setting up and taking down, but we didn’t really need his help in the booth, so we told him to go take us some photos. We, Josh and I, saw groundhogs everywhere but John couldn’t see them. Josh tried for a hour and could not coax one of the little stinkers to pose....Hmmm. He did take some other pictures. I can’t find them right now so I will have to post them later. Sorry about that Colorado-WE REALLY DO LOVE YOU.

We took some good ones in the Des Moines area. They have this park in the downtown where they have these big works of art. Here are a couple of pics.

And they have these trees that are turning red-Sugar Maples we were told-magnificent. Anyway, here is a pic of one of them.

After the show we went to the town of Walnut, Iowa where we went antiquing. On the way there we stopped and took a pic of this windmill

pretty neat.



We have a lot of new stores that carry our patterns. I am going to try to list them on an upcoming blog.

Right now, I am focusing of the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas. The show dates are Nov. 1, 2, 3 and 4 with a preview night on October 31. Please come if you can. Our booth number is 563. I can’t wait to see my old friends and look forward to making a lot of new ones.

Got to go...As always...enjoy life......ds

PS Our recently engaged daughter Ginny hopes to join us at the show and show off some of her "folded books"

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 27

Hello Everyone:

Sewing with Nancy was a blast...I stayed really busy. I would like to send a great big "Thank You" to all who came by and visited at the booth.

I wanted to go through Kansas and Iowa, so we did. Our good friend,  Denise Sinnwell, owner of Quilter's Window in
New Hampton, Iowa called just as we were crossing the border into Wisconsin from Iowa. She told me that I was crossing the Mighty Mississippi. Something about crossing the Mississippi, just makes me feel good. Anyway, she ordered a bunch of patterns-do pay her a visit. I am going to have to talk John into going by-I have heard so many nice things about her store.

Then, we went through Mount Horeb. I guess that it is a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin. Anyway, some people call it "The Troll Capitol of the World". Pretty neat, they have some trolls lining the streets. We went through several years ago and I wanted to take and share a picture with you.

I wanted to take a picture of the booth but I forgot to charge my batteries. Maybe next time....John kept looking over his shoulder. I think that he thought that we were going to be on TV. We weren't that lucky, but it was a great show and we are planning on Sewing With Nancy again. We met so many nice people and Marla Arndt who owns The Cutting Edge in
Antigo, Wisconsin now carries our patterns. Please pay her a visit. I guess that I need to give a mention to all of the fine stores that carry our merchandise. I will try to do that next time.

Nothing exciting on the return trip. We went through Illinois and St. Louis. We like to check out the downtown sometimes and in Beloit, Illinois we saw something that we had never seen before-an M&M vending machine that was located in an old door. It was sticking out into an alleyway/parking lot in the downtown area. My batteries were recharged, so here it is....

I guess that we like the unusual more than anything else, but you never know when you might just get that craving for some chocolate, so if you are ever in downtown Beloit.

Minutes before the show closed, we got a call from my sister.  My brother, Ronnie was in the hospital.  He had been there a lot lately. His health had been declining for years.  He  was in intensive care in Killeen, Texas. We were able to see him just before he passed. He had a very troubled life and I know that he is in a better place.  Whoever wrote the song," If It Wasn't For Bad Luck", must have spent some time with him. Actually, he has a son and daughter who were both taken from him at an early age and his daughter finally found and visited with him just a few weeks ago. I guess that he finally had some good luck. It doesn't get much better than that.  Through all of his troubles, he had a big heart.  He will be truly missed by his family and friends..

 John says that the best way to cope is to continue working and,so  that is what we have been doing. I have a standing joke with my kids " There is always something to do at Lakadaisies".  With that in mind, we are heading out to Longmont, Colorada to do a show this weekend.  Hope to see you there. 

As always, enjoy life.....ds

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm blog #26

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 26

I would like to thank everyone that came by our booth at Long Beach. It seemed that nearly everyone loved our new designs and that is so flattering. We met so many people-I am horrible with names, so I am not going to mention any because I know I would leave someone out.

I am going to "mention" the stores that now carry our patterns. Ruth, the "Wool Lady" came by and loved our stuff. We went by her store in Temecula on our way home and made some trades. She has so much wool-I was in heaven. Georgia has a Quilting Obsession in Beaumont and she bought some kits. She is taking a little "time off", but should be carrying our patterns real soon. Our old friends, Bob & Debbie, from Carriage Country Quilts in Des Moines, Washington, were there and went home with a few of my Originals. They also took home some patterns for Redwork and Wool Applique. Please, be sure and shop with all of these fine merchants-and tell em that Lakadaisies sent you.

Well, enough of that. We are gearing up for Sewing With Nancy. Actually, it is Quilt Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. I don’t know how John did it, but we are headed north. Please come and visit with us at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison September 6, 7, and 8. I am so excited.

Got to go...As always...enjoy life......ds

PS Took a little trip to San Antonio and found this great Wool Shop. Tricia Travis, of Country Gatherings in Braken Village, showed John a little rug hooking...maybe I can talk him into taking classes. She has a lot of wool and a lot of room. I think I can have a lot of fun with her later.

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog #25

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog #25

Hello Everybody

It is so good to be back home.  We just got back from the International Quilt Festival/Long Beach in Long Beach, California.  It is so nice out there.  A little crowded but nice. It felt so good to get some sand between the toes.  We ran into some old friends and made so many new ones.  It seem that everywhere we go we meet so many new friends. It really is great. I will tell you more about that in a few days.

Right now, I want to let you know our schedule for the next little bit.  We are going to show off our new designs (be vendors) at the Quilt-A-Fair which will be held at Longmont, Colorado on September 21 and 22.  We had such a wonderful time there last year.  Next, we go to Des Moines, Iowa for the AQS Show on October 3, 4, 5, and 6. (first time for us)  After that, we will be in Houston for the International Quilt Festival/Houston on November 1, 2, 3 and 4. (oh yeah-party time)

Next year, we will help our friends in Jefferson Texas celebrate their 10th annual Quilt Show ’Quilts on the Bayou’ January 25, 26,and 27. Then we travel back up North for the AQS show in Lancaster Pennsylvania on March 13, 14, 15, and 16.  That is all I know for now.  I will let you know more when John tells me. 

Well for now ...I got to go ......enjoy life......ds

PS We are planning on doing a lot more traveling this year and I really do enjoy speaking at guilds and teaching workshops/classes.  I just might be in or at least close to your part of the world...Stay tuned to my blog or call/email for more information.

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 24



They say time flies when you are having fun...I must be having the time of my life. We just finished up the Country Living Fair in Austin, Texas. It was a great show for us, a few kinks to work out for Country Living, but that happens. Something always goes wrong. Especially on the first show. Vendors learn to go with the flow...even when the flow blows your booth over....yepper, it happened to us. Thank goodness our neighbors were there to help and we were able to prop it up before the show got under way...Fun times.....

We met a lot of nice people, met up with old friends and missed some friends that we lost. Barb from Hooked on Rugs passed away last year. She was a fixture at the Country Living Fairs as well as Quilt Market and Festival. She will be truly missed . We leave for Spring Quilt Market next week and I know that all of the rest of her friends from the quilting world will miss her as well.

We will spend a day at the Rabbit’s Lair in Rogers, Arkansas on our way to Quilt Market. We will be there all day on Tuesday the 16th of May. I am not exactly sure what they have in mind so check their website www.therabbitslair.com or call 479 636 3385.

It will be good to see Mary Elizabeth and see what she has new. She has the best supply of wool that I have seen in a shop and it is very hard to resist. I have a couple of new redwork designs I will be bringing, so you can see them in person. We have been so busy we haven’t had a chance to put them on the website yet....

It will be a busy summer for us. June will find us at the NQA show in Columbus, Ohio www.nqaquilts.org/ and The Common Threads Quilt Show in Wichita, Kansas www.pqgks.com . John said maybe to Long Beach, California in July...and for sure to Colorado in Sept and Iowa in October....More about those when I know..

Well....I have lots of fun to go before I leave next week, so as always..........enjoy life

dolores Storm

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 23

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 23

We are Back. Yes, we have been home for a few days. Just “catching up” feels great. It sure does feel really good to sleep in my own bed. I just have such a hard time sleeping anywhere else. Everything is so pretty and green, except for those wonderful bluebonnets.  John got up close and personal with this one.

We met so many nice people at the AQS Quilt Show in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  I would like to thank the AQS staff, especially Laurie and Bonnie, and all of you who came by the booth, for your support.

John has finally completed our schedule for the near future at least.  Still a few holes which he is going to try and fill.

Next up is the  Country Living Fair in Austin, Texas April 27-28-29.  It should be really good. The folks at Stella Shows (the producers) always do a bang up job.  Here is a picture of one of their advertisements.

 And, here is a link to their website  www.stellasshows.com   Anyway, it would be a great time to come visit our fair city.(We live just a Texas hop and skip -70 miles up the road).  I think that most of the show is inside in case it gets too hot/cold/wet/windy.  You never know in Texas.  As always there
are a lot of things to do in Austin.  It is after all, the self proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World”  It seems like John is always sneaking off with one or more of our children to catch some band that I have never heard of.....  It does seem like he really enjoys it.

Then I guess it is “Kansas City Here I Come” for Wholesale Market (May 17-18-19-20). Oh, I nearly forgot, we are going to drop back by the Rabbits Lair , in Rogers Arkansas on May 15 for some more classes with our good friend Mary Elizabeth Schopp.  You can contact her at   www.therabbitslair.com  Sounds like fun and games for all.

June will be a very busy month for me.  We will be at the NQS Quilt Show in Columbus, Ohio on June 14-15-16.  Then we swing by the Common Threads Quilt Show at Witchita, Kansas on June 21-22-23.  I will post some links to them on my next blog. 

John is working on other dates for the rest of the year/next year.  I know that he wants to go all over the lower 48.  He said something about California and Iowa.  I overheard him talking to someone about getting passports (Canada, Alaska?)  I guess that he will tell me when I need to know.

Oh, I better get back to work (I hate it when he cracks that whip)... so I will say good bye for now and as always....
Enjoy Life
dolores Storm

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog 22

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Volume 22

Greetings from Lancaster Pennsylvania

The weather is great and the AQS Quilt Show has been FANTASTIC !!!!

But, that was today. Yesterday we went antiquing. I found some vintage lace and ticking. We were just about ready to call it a day when this old quilt top just wouldn’t leave my hand.     Yeah...yeah...yeah

Oh, and John found some HQV. I kept hearing him use that term with our oldest son and finally he let it slip out (high quality vinyl). Yes, they collect old record albums. I don’t know what he found but he was pretty excited.

Then, on the way to this great Amish Restaurant we saw this man plowing a field. John said that he was actualy sowing something. I don’t know, but I do know that we don’t do it that way in Texas, so I took a picture.

Oh, and here is a picture of our booth.

Well, John says that we have to go, so....

as always....enjoy life

dolores Storm

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 21

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 21

Sadness envelopes us at the farm. We laid our beloved Saint Bernard, Maggie to rest yesterday. She lost her battle with cancer, though she fought bravely to the end. Her last day was filled with her favorite pastimes, a pickup ride with dad and a walk. Her walks were getting shorter as the cancer took hold, but she enjoyed them so much we allowed her to go as far as she could go. She was the boss of our family for about 6½ years since she came to us at 6 weeks of age. She ruled with love and a stern hand. We will miss her dearly and hold her in our hearts. We will need your prayers to get through this tough time and focus on the coming months. John says that we should be happy that we were able to be in her company for at least a little while. I know that he misses her just as much or more than I do.... Well, I feel better now that I have got that "out".... Thanks for being such a good listener.

It will be hard to leave Quinn tomorrow as we head south to the valley for the RGVQG Quilt show in McAllen, Texas. Our daughter Ginny will spend the night with him Wednesday night and then our son David will take over. I don’t know how we could leave him alone. We would love to take him with us, but have no idea how to sneak a 185lb. puppy into our booth. Please let us know if you have some insight into this.

I have spent the last couple of weeks working on a new design. Seems like that work is the best way to keep my mind off of "things". It will be at the show and you can see a picture below. I haven’t quite finished the quilting, so don’t look too close.

We will have about a week between this show and a workshop in Rogers, Arkansas at the Rabbit’s Lair. Then we head to the AQS show in Lancaster, Pa. We will be gone about 10 days before we come back home. I am already getting "homesick" and I am still at home.



After that, I think we do the Country Living Festival in Austin and then John wants to do the Spring Wholesale Market in Kansas City in mid May. He hasn’t told me any thing else yet. I will share with you as soon as I know.

Well, I have miles to go before I sleep, so I better get going. Thanks for listening and all your support.

enjoy life




dolores Storm

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog #20

Down on the Lakadaisies Blog # 20

We are back from the Jefferson quilt show. Life is returning to normal. We were greeted at the door Sunday night by two very happy Saints. Maggie is holding her own and is very happy to have Mom and Dad home. Quinn is overjoyed that Mom is home. The poor baby was starving. This new protein diet we have him on doesn’t get him very many cookies. It seems Mom is the only one with a soft heart. His brothers and sister kept him on the strict diet while we were gone. They don’t fall for that cute little " I really need a cookie speech", like his Mom.

They really were sweet to pitch in and take care of them though, if not for their combined efforts you would have seen only John at the quilt show. Speaking of the quilt show, it was great. I want to thank the ladies that host the show. They are not a guild and volunteer to do this show. They not only feed us, they politely listen to our input as to what they can do to improve the show each year. Jefferson is a great venue for the show, they have wonderful turn of the century homes, many of which are bed and breakfasts. We stayed at one along with several of our vendor friends. What fun.

I was anxious to see how my new quilts in our Hand Me Down series would be recieved and I was very pleased at the positive response. We visited with a lot of wonderful people and I enjoyed sharing my designs with them and hopefully inspiring them to incorporate their hand me downs into their quilts. It was hard to put a finger on their favorites, because they liked them all-but the "Pledge of Allegiance Quilt" seemed to be the biggest hit. I put a picture of it on Blog #17. I made a few kits and we sold them all. I am making more, but you might want to hurry. Not sure what will happen when I run out of the fabrics. We decided to sell the kits with the patterns not included. We thought that you might buy the pattern first and then decide to buy the kit, in which case you would have to buy the pattern twice.  John said something about offering some kind of incentive to buy them together. You will find them on our website under Kits stock # 1609. We did come across a couple of people who seemed to think that I changed the wording of the "Pledge" on my quilt. That is not the case. I decided to honor Francis Bellamy, who wrote it in 1892, by using his original version It was actually changed four times by our government. So, if you don’t like the changes, my question would be, "which one". I hope this clears everything up. It was not my intent to upset anyone by using the original version, only to honor the author. By the way, the rest of that story is fascinating--look it up.

A lot of our customers expressed interest in classes or workshops and I talked to them about our upcoming workshops in Rogers, Arkansas at the Rabbit’s Lair. Here are some pictures of the designs we will be working on.

I know that we will have a lot of fun and I hope to see you there. See my last Blog for information about that and Blog #15 for more information about the rest of my schedule. I am keeping my fingers crossed about the Country Living Fair in Austin, Texas. (April 27-29). I sent my deposit in and will let you know ASAP. Just call or email for more information. Who knows, you might even talk John into bringing me to your town. I don’t know what he has going on NEXT ...and now he has another saying " if you don’t want to go anymore-just stop". I don’t know where he comes up with them, but I guess I am not quite ready to stop so....Well, I have got to get back to those kits ....and there are some new designs just floating around up there...... ....waiting to be done.....gotta get them out... so I will say good bye for now and as always....

Enjoy Life

dolores Storm

ps   I am getting all of my stuff ready for the valley (our next show in McAllen Texas) let’s see now, suntan lotion, beach umbrella...hmmm....maybe I will let John run the booth while I enjoy that sand......sounds like a winner....

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog #19

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 19

My last blog was a little sad and I will try not to go there again. Now, I am going to focus on the positive. The swelling on Maggie’s leg has gone down. She is getting around pretty good-feeling no pain. We finally got the "special" medicine. We have radically changed her diet. Hopefully, her immune system will win. But, if it doesn’t, we got to share her life for a while. She is so full of love for us and we relish every minute of it.

I have been so busy, getting ready for the quilt show at Jefferson, Texas, this weekend (January 27, 28, and 29). We met so many truly nice people there last year. Plus the food was so good!!! I have a lot of new designs that I can’t wait to show off....I think that Brainiac has put most of them on the website.

And, I have been having a lot of fun getting all the kits ready for the workshops I am going to teach at The Rabbit’s Lair in Rogers, Arkansas (March 9, 10). So exciting...

Check out their website www.therabbitslair.com or call 479-636-3385 for more information.

I guess that there is always a tradeout. It seems that John scheduled us to vend at the American Quilters Society (AQS) Quilt Show in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and I will not be able to join my friend Susan Meyers (Silver Star Mercantile in Carrolton, Texas) in her booth at the Dallas Quilt Show this year. To make it up, John has promised her a life-size cardboard cutout of me.....that ought to be interesting. Seriously, Susan has most of my new designs in her shop and will have even more at the show. So, I will have to say "catch you later Dallas".

Well, looks like John has the bus all revved up and ready to go, and as he always says, "you are either on the bus or you are off"....he does have his moments-just not very many.

...got to go ......enjoy life......ds

PS We are planning on doing a lot more traveling this year and I really do enjoy speaking at guilds and teaching workshops/classes. I just might be in or at least close to your part of the world...Stay tuned to my blog or call/email for more information.

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog 18

Down on the Lakadaisies Blog # 18
It has been over a month since my last blog, and for that I apologize.  The holidays took it out of me. First Christmas, then New Years, then putting every thing back in place......Whew.  Glad that is over.  Still I find it hard to believe that it is the 17th of January  2012. 

Maggie our Saint has been sick.  She has been sick quite a bit since October  with several trips to the vet.  Her last trip gave us news that every parent of child (or dog) never wants to hear....  CANCER ..... our sweet Maggie has bone cancer in her hind leg and has been in a great deal of pain.  We had noticed her limping a little, but put it down to playing with Quinn and arthritis.  We wish that were the case.  The vet says that probably the best option to prolong her life is to cut the leg off.  Notice I say prolong her life and not save it. Maggie is quite heavy and he is not sure about her being able to get around after.....

All the kids rallied round our Maggie this last weekend and we discussed our options. John poured through internet sites,  reading blogs and testimonials from people who had similar heart breaking news.  We have decided not to take off Maggie’s leg.  It seems selfish to me to prolong the pain and suffering just to keep her with us.  Right now we have her on pretty potent pain pills and she is as comfortable as possible and surrounded by love.

   

We are looking into several ways to boost her immune system so that she can fight the cancer.  We have tried ordering some medicine that was recommended, but the companies say they cannot ship to Texas.  We seem to be the only state in the union that will not allow this.  Looks like our best option is to ship it to an individual out of state that will ship it to us.  I guess we are just in the wrong place, we just didn’t know it until now.....

This is so frustating, but when your child is sick you will try anything.  We have decided to change their diets, so we have decided to cook their food from now on so that we can be assurred they get healthy cancer fighting vegetables(carrots etc.) and Omega 3's.  We know it will probably be too late to save our Maggie, but it might give us Quinn for many more years.

I am almost empty of tears and my heart is aching, but rest assured we will keep Maggie as pain free as possible as she struggles with this horrible disease.  I guess that we should continue to be happy to be a part of her life as long as we can, and cherish each moment. I guess that every once in a while we just need a little reminder. Maggie has always enjoyed her life and family.  Sometimes it is tough but I am trying and I encourage you to do this too. 

Dolores Storm

PS  Please feel free to email with any help/advice/support/etc. Our email address is lakadaisies@hotmail.com