Daily Blog

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I’ve always been one to become obsessed over things. I’ve grown house plants, played D&D for hours on end (a long time ago), bred and showed cocker spaniels, painted, and… well, the list goes on! When I started quiltling back in 1991, I guessed it would just be another phase, something fun to do for a while. Little did I know that it would become a career. It still amazes me.

The creative journey is amazing. When the creative muse hits, you can become consumed - driven beyond reality. I love those moments. Those journeys are unstoppable. It is like being on a river raft racing through the rapids and nothing you can do will change your course. When the river is quiltmaking, the quilt is finished, and the river is running smooth again - you can look at the work and go, “Wow, where did THAT come from”. Then you crash. But it’s a good crash. Anyone ever experienced that ride?

A quilt block made real - Moon over the Mountain, yesterday morning from the kitchen window.

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Ya’ll need to go to Alex’s website (the link is under her photo in the site header). Her newest podcast is a phone conversation we recorded where she interviewed me about how this whole site developed. I talk about the seeds that were planted over a year ago, the vision and evolution of the project, and what we are attempting to offer. I listed to it today and I must say, “I do got an ack-sint, and I hope ya’ll kin understand me! Go give it a listen!” Hey I’m a Texas boy transplanted to Colorado.

This was how the gallery looked yesterday when we arrived home! Gallerygal, Gretchen, shoveled for three hours just to get a clearing!

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How can two kids come out of the same oven and be so different? Both good, but REALLY different! Raise your right hand if you can relate. Growing up I was sure my daughter, Adair, was destine to rule the earth. My first thought was President of the United States. No, she didn’t like that because people tend to talk bad about you. I then thought a lawyer would be a good way for her to go, because she could argue anything in her favor. No, a lawyer wasn’t quite right, judge seemed more to her liking. I suppose if I think about it, she has kept this vision in mind as an 8th grade teacher. Let me comment that she is tough, fair and loves her kids to pieces. Over the holidays, I got to attend the play Edward Scissorshand with her class in SF as a chaperone. Delightful could only describe the experience. What a wonderful group of kids she has. The hardest part of the day? Calling my baby Miss Anderson.

Photo: Miss A looking ahead and wondering what her future holds.

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Well, Justin and I left Tinker Bell and the rest of the family (see previous post) and made the nine hour drive back to La Veta today. There was no getting into the snow-ladened driveway until we went to the hardware store to get the new snow blower that arrived the day we left. Thank goodnes for the snowblower!

We will be starting our Chat and Forums very soon. Regarding the forum (message board) I thought it would be good to get your input. What topics would you like to see in the Forum? We will create several categories and sub categories. This truly is your community so your two-cents worth of advise and suggestions are important! Post to the add-comment at the end of this message.

Finally, I’d like to say that it is great to see so many quilts and member’s photos. Please don’t be hesitant to post a photo of yourself. We love to see you and every photo makes our site more and more personal - more and more connected.

Yep - Me! My hair style has come full circle!

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Okay, I’m beat! As you might expect for our big site launch, I was up all night - well, until 5 am, and got about 2.5 hours of sleep before waking up to your very enthusiastic outpouring of support. I was still awake when the first members started to join. You might be wondering who was our very first member (besides our staff, who joined a day early to test the system), it was Barb Lewandowski! Welcome Barb! - and all 625 of you as of this posting. WOW! Can we grow our World Quilt Commuminty to 2000 before next week? Tell your friends. The Chat is coming VERY soon. I’ll tell you the specific date when the web master gives me the go-ahead.

I’d like to congratulate the following people who were the ten selected for free First Season memberships. These people all correctly guessed Alex as my co-host prior to the launch and their names were randomly selected from nearly 2000 others. Congrats to: 1. JoAnn Hoffman 2. Linda Steller 3.Jane Wineteer 4.Marguerite Morris 5. Carol Pepper 6. Lynn Feldman 7. Jacqueline Halberg 8.Marilyn Withrow 9. Laura Cobb 10 Patricia Hanscom

The snowstorm in Colorado is over and we will head home and try to dig into the house. Forty-eight inches of snow should be interesting. I hope the new snow blower that came in the day we left has not been sold out from under us. I’ll post a photo of what I find when we get home, so check back tomorrow.

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How fun yesterday was! Watching everyone log in and join our World Quilt Community. Many of you I know, and it was like walking into a surprise party with old and new friends. Please do take time to fill out your online profiles, strut your stuff, and that would be your QUILTS.

On a family note, this past year has been delightful. What I didn’t mention in yesterdays blog was that, while I was being voted off the HGTV island, everyone in our family’s boat was in a similar situation. I remember John saying, “2006 is going to be interesting”. Well, it certainly was!

First with my son, Joey. He is finally settled with a great job, learning the ins and outs of retail. The company he works for takes new employees thru a sort of boot camp. After an intense 5-6 months intense training, the new employees have a boat load of incredible experience. He is now working with several stores, helping them to increase sales. Better than just an intense year of learning for him, he loves his job! In addition, but more importantly, he got engaged to a young lady who we love and adore. Unfortunately the wedding isn’t until 08, but I hear patience is a virtue. When we met her family this fall, I fell in love with them also, but with such a wonderful daughter, why be surprised? After all, they raised her.

As for my daughter, I would have never ever guessed her landing spot for 06. People are worried about the youth of today. Oh really? Stay Tuned!

Caption: For now, I am a proud Dogma to Joey and Shelly’s baby, Penelope

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I cannot tell you all the hard work that has gone into this site. Today, you will be able to enjoy many of the features on the site. We are putting some of the finishing touches in some areas and we’ll use this blog to let you know the significant changes as the occur over the next few days.

It is also important to us that you visit our sponsors on the left side bar. We are very grateful for their support, for without it, this dream would not have become a reality. Please visit their sites.

I’ve been in Texas while our home in Colorado has been covered in about 45 inches of snow. Part of me wishes I was there to see it all, but I was here for my dad’s 80th birthday party! My dad, you may know is a quilter. He and I made a quilt togther called Dads Lone Star. Anyway, I could not take photos of this snowfall, at least yet, but I did take a few photos of the new pups in the snow that fell ten days ago. The photo included here is of Wanda. She is six months and very sweet. Loves the snow.

Ricky