Vacation!

We've thoroughly enjoyed our summer in the shop, but it's coming to an end. It was great to stay up late, then go open the shop at an hour much later than our usual school day. It was wonderful to spend more time with our customers - I even got to teach a few classes!

You may already know we spent some time away in Maui, visiting with family & friends. It was an especially sweet time, knowing our Mermaid Crew was handling everything just fine without us. No worries.
Here are a few highlights of our trip-

 

This is the beautiful view from our lanai. We went snorkeling out there, just beyond the boat.

 

I love all the flowers & plants growing everywhere. 

 

My favorite island breakfast: coconut muffins from the local market.

 

My favorite day in Maui is a day underwater. Here we are scuba diving with the world's most patient turtle. (I'm the one with the blue fins.) She waited until we were happily posed before she'd had enough of us & swam away.

 

 Here's a BIG lobster rooming with a very small shark under a ledge.

 OK. Don't make fun, but this is me scuba diving on a scooter! It was such fun!

 This lovely octopus came out as we swam away, then hid every time he thought we were looking.

 Here's another turtle, just chilling on the sandy ocean floor.

 

Our weather was beautiful, but a little stormy-looking one evening on the beach at a Pau Hana with new friends & friends we don't get to see often enough.

(This is what we look like on dry land.)

 This could be a mountain lake, but it's the Pacific from the slope of Haleakala.

 Our last morning was complete at Hard Rock Cafe with Willie K & lunch.

 

Aloha!

I feel much better, having my dose of salt water. We'll be back...

Feeling wimpy

As our one year anniversary sneaks up, I'm feeling a little wimpy ... it's been quite a wild ride, with an unbelievable learning curve. I mist up every time I think about how far we've come - that's just me.
But last year at this time, we had over 1000 bolts of fabric packed into our house in boxes. Almost every room was full of merchandise & supplies for the shop. The shelving was all in the garage, the boxes of books & patterns were in the spare bath, the batting in the spare bedroom. The mermaid was finished & presiding over the front living room. No one dared come to visit! There was no place to sleep except our bed, & no place to sit...just a path through the house.
My Spring Break last year was spent stickering stock & trying to get it all organized.

So many of our Mermaid Teachers were just acquaintances a year ago - some I hadn't even met yet. Their encouragement & talent just overwhelm me on a regular basis.
Our Mermaid Crew were just nervous visionaries - willing to take a job with inexperienced employers, at a shop with an uncertain future, & very little direction. We all just muddled through nicely, thank you very much. I so appreciate our girls taking a chance on us & helping us through all the rough spots. It was a learning experience for us all. Dion frequently calmed me by saying, "It's okay. We got this." Then they'd all just jump in & get everything done. They're amazing.
So that explains the misty eyes around here. I'm so grateful for all our new quilty friends. Everyone has been so supportive & helpful. I love having a place to come after school where everyone is busy, creative, & ready for a challenge.
It's better than I could have imagined a year ago.
sniff ... there I go again!
And, by the way...watch for our First Birthday Sale coming up soon!

Road to California Quilt Show

We had a great day at Road to California yesterday. The whole mermaid crew went (we seemed to be a giggle of mermaids) & became newly inspired as we scouted, shopped, gawked, & giggled.

Dion found some cool skull fabric she didn't already have.

Darlene isn't really at the coast - this is an amazing quilt behind her!


Rae Lynne found a Sunbonnet Mermaid.

Richard & Jenn took a lot of pics with their fancy phones.
The quilts were just fabulous. The more we looked, the more we were dazzled.This is the back of a gorgeous underwater mermaid castle quilt.