mobile again

i have wheels again, yea!  while it wasn’t exactly a hardship, given there was always a car available here – it is still good to have my own again.  total parts was just about $1000 – my my.  still, i am grateful to have found a way to pay for them!  and to have only that to pay – as in, no labor costs.  not to mention really friendly costs on the parts.  i think i would have had to just shoot the poor thing otherwise.

now, must get busy creating new stuff in order to replenish the till!!  looks like classes will be picking up, that helps.  will be doing the jacket in drytown, probably in february.  and the applique class for the  guild in pine grove – maybe april.  all good.  keep me in mind if you are in a guild – for classes and trunk show.

now, i guess i’d best go unload the van before it begins to rain.  no sense hauling all that extra weight around town.  course, it may never actually rain.  one minute it looks like it could begin ‘right now’ and then, like now – sky seems to be getting lighter again.  it’s all those pokey things sticking up that mess up the weather around here. ^_^  (mountains, that is)

love and beauty  www.artfullyapplique.com

 

long shot

just in case you are one of those folks who hasn’t yet converted to satellite tv and have really been wanting to – here are a couple of links that offer decent deals that might just make it worth it.

http://www.freedishprogram.com/37339

http://www.myanythingwireless.com/37339

other than that, not much to report today.  the first newsletter went out and then i sent out the ‘explanation’ since the first one contained no identifying info.  now that i’ve started it, must begin planning for something nicer in december!  something ‘worth reading’ , so to speak!  now that could be a real challenge!! ^_^  the link below will get you to the webpage and thus, the ’special of the month.

love, and beauty    www.artfullyapplique.com

 

mixed bag!!

well, life is certainly interesting, to say the least.  i got it all together on monday – van packed, product organized and added what i needed.  got the big old trunk in (with help from tom) and the quilts reorganized and neatly folded and in the van.  all is well.

i got up at 4:30 and got out of here within 10 minutes of my target time.  traffic was not too  bad, only stopped once this side of sac.  however, van doing it’s (bad) thing again – couple times the ka-thunk was nearly teeth jarring.  not good.  had to stop for gas and as i pulled away from the stop sign after refueling, there was a truly teeth-jarring/van rattling klunk, followed by another similar, but less jarring one.  and then – it did not want to shift!  at all!  dang!!  managed to get it to shift and managed to get to the senior center in fairfield.  called tom.  who was at home sick! (sounded awful, and my news didn’t improve his condition!)  had pulled into a parking spot that was a handicap spot.  when i tried to back out i found i had no reverse – was just like being in neutral.  called tom again to see if there was any way i could ‘coax’ it into reverse.  not.  i found someone to give me a little push (it was downhill, so not too bad) and pulled into a legal spot.  tom called back – confirmed reverse gear ‘broken’ and i still had to do plan A.  and that was to drive from fairfield directly to his workplace in jackson.  however, best not to take the shorter way – too much stop and go.  ugh.

so, managed to get everything out and into the building and setup with plenty of time to spare.  talk went well – did not even mention the stupid car.  had a nice lunch, sold some stuff and then – time to haul it all back out and pack it in – and start the lovely drive. 

yes, got pushed out again and i was on my way.  plan included – just go as far as you can and then we’ll decide what to do next – as in who calls the wrecker and how we get it towed to where we want and not just the ‘closest possible’.  i figured out how to make it shift when it didn’t want to.  decided to try letting up a little, as if i were going to manually shift (having done that for many many years before this vehicle!!)  it worked.  and i made it all the way to the shop in jackson.  even beat tom there – who had to come pick me up, of course. 

so, today, sick and not happy (i’m sure) – poor tom is at work tearing down my car to see just how many (expensive!) parts i will need.  and all i can say is – thank you God for the money i made yesterday so i can at least pay for the parts!!!

i also just discovered how to do a discount on the webpage!!  yea!!  so, i will be able to offer one as a special, if i choose.  now i just have to figure out what i want to put in the first newsletter – would like for it to be something you find worth reading!!  and it will include some kind of special on the page – just not sure what yet.  stay tuned! ^_^

love and beauty    www.artfullyapplique.com

 

more info

just wanted to let you know that i will be sending out the first newsletter as early this month as possible.  perhaps by end of the week.  want to give you lots of time to take advantage of whatever the special is – perhaps as a gift.  it is that time of year again. ^_^

today, however, my main goal is to get myself ready to be onstage tomorrow.  must find a way to condense the product stuff, and choose which samples to hang, etc.  and then there’s the big old heavy trunk to haul to the van.  plus, make sure all the quilts are in the right order.  they tend to remain however they ended up after the last one – currently been wrapped and piled on the piano bench in the corner of the living room area in the ‘big house’.  they have been kind enough to ignore.    then, it’s ‘whatever’ (working on another beaded pin) and to bed early so i can arrive in time to get it all hauled in and set up.  why do guilds meet in the mornings??  ^_^

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

wed 8/19

sure wish i could say the trip was successful.  darn.  another show that hardly anyone attended.  not good for sales.  plus, way too many vendors!  guilds just don’t realize that while they might make money by having more vendors, the vendors won’t make money and won’t return.  and will spread the word to warn others!  i mean, 14 vendors!  may not sound like so many, but if the attendance last year was in the 300 range – well, let’s just say this: the ideal ratio is ONE vendor per every 100 people in the door.  do the math – that = just 3!!  ok, so seldom does that rule apply.  still, the max for that show should remain at 6.  i was not the only unhappy camper!

and so, onward and upward, i say.  i remain optimistic about the jewelry, despite appearances.  i just need to give it more presence in the booth and to keep doing it till folks get it!!  so, i will come up with a new way to display it at the next show – in walla walla.  and, in this time at home, will create more.  more of those encrusted pins!  have a cabachon glued down and ready to go – will see what i can accomplish today.  also planning to do some cleaning with the intention of creating some space!!  and not just in the physical sense! ^_^

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com    http://jrixman.etsy.com

 

petaluma

today is the day – i leave to spend the night at ruth’s and we set up for the outdoor show in the morning.  soooo, come on down! or over, or up! ^_^  the weather is going to be perfect – cool!  it will be wonderful to walk around and view all the lovely quilts hung all over town.  and – visit the craft faire and farmers’ market in walnut park!  i mean, doesn’t get much better than that! ^_^  show is 11 – 5.  park is located at petaluma blvd and D st.  lots of lovely trees – and restrooms!

i look forward to seeing you there!  will have lots of jewelry and some fabric – in addition to my usual wares (applique patterns and kits).  so, stop buy, say hi and check it all out.  offering half-yards at $3 or 5 for $12!!  all from my stash.

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com   http://jrixman.etsy.com

 

8/1

ok, nobody leaves till i find out who stole july!!!  yikes!  guess that’s what happens when you start working away and sometimes forget to  come up for air! ^_^  so, here are some of the things i will be taking to petaluma – the very latest that are not quite finished – need clasps.

 

 

 

 

ok, that’s enough of that! ^_^  you will just have to come to petaluma to see it all.

love and beauty  www.artfullyapplique.com     http://jrixman.etsy.com

 

7/28

ok, off to see the shrink, ta la, ta la. ^_^  but thought i’d just throw these pics on here to show what i did yesterday.  i set out to make one pair of red, white & blue earrings and this is what happened.  and i had to kind of force myself to stop!

 

 

 

count ‘em – that’s 9!!!  yikes!  and, of course, i didn’t really stop there – got going on some necklaces and bracelets. my my

 

 

 

didn’t take a picture of all that i did, hmmmm  well, there are 2 more necklace/er sets and 3 bracelets.  i am going to be up to my ankles in jewelry if i don’t sell a bunch soon. ^_^

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com   http://jrixman.etsy.com

 

sun & hot

just finished my yoga-type stretches.  what i can remember of what i used to do in ohio.  i had been ‘beading’ all day and at one point was looking thru the book i am using for guidance and inspiration  and finally saw where she said to take a break every 30 minutes.  oops! so it wasn’t my imagination how i feel after a long session ‘at it’! 

so, the purple pin is completely finished and ready to sell – if i just had some idea how much to ask for it!  certainly not according to the time spent!  and the gold one is close – it still needs a backing and will also probably get some dangles of some kind.  any comments?

      it really does take a long time to do this – at least for me.  i suppose i will get faster with practice and experience.  am now getting the urge to do one of those heavily beaded wallhangings. ^_^  who knows where this will take me!!

love and beauty    www.artfullyapplique.com

 

just a note

it is going to be very hot again today, ugh.  i must transfer everything from the van & garage to the rv and it will be well over 100 deg.  rats.  at least i am heading for slightly cooler climes – in eureka!

the talk in san mateo went very well and iris loved her wallhanging.  poor thing had to wait thru the entire meeting.  that guild still does as we used to do – the speaker is the very last thing on the agenda.  and they had a ton of show and tell’s on top of everything else.  ok for me – tough for iris. ^_^  so, here is the finished product and then i must just get to it here.  still not too hot right now.

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com