Thursday, December 16, 2004

Book sales

My third book in a week just sold off of Amazon's marketplace. I can't believe I am able to sell these books this way. It is great knowing that someone is going to get use out of these great quilting books that I never had the time or inclination to use. The money for these books is going into the boat fund.

Just got back from helping mom put up the Christmas tree. It came from their new property. It looked pretty sparse when she and David set it up, however after we finished decorating it it looks pretty good. Kinda reminds me of the Charlie Brown Christmas story.

Scott and I are going to meet dad tomorrow for dancing at Red River club in Dallas. It sounds like a nice place, but I would prefer to go to the Czech club on military parkway which is a non-smoking facility that has Czech music and country dancing too.


Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Preparing for Christmas and the New Year

It sure took a long time to get all that trailer/storage shed stuff sorted out. All of mom's storage is cleaned out and the trailer is taking shape as a mini sewing room and bead supply warehouse for Pieces of the Past. The trailer looks and functions great now. I put shelving in the back for the bead bins and put a table in the front part for my sewing machine.

I was able to sew all the nieces and nephews Christmas presents within the last two weeks and I think the setup will work very well. Scott and I delivered dad's gifts to him on Saturday night and I just have a few left to make. We have to make candles for a candle exchange that we are having at mom's and mom broke her eyeglass lanyard today so I think I will try to make her a beaded one for Christmas.

This week has been a very busy one indeed. I started putting my quilting books on Amazon.com's marketplace store. Two of the books sold within three days of their listings for a total of $20. This is going to be a great way for me to clean out my stash of quilting books without giving them away.

Although I don't make new year's resolutions, I do have a few things I want to accomplish in 2005.

  1. I want to input all the genealogy information that Gan-Gan left behind into the computer program I have.
  2. I want to create a blog for the bus progress starting with pictures from when we purchased it to the current state it is in.
  3. Learn to knit socks well.


Sunday, November 21, 2004

Setting up for a new phase

I spent most of the last week or so rearranging the trailer, installing shelves for the bead bins and preparing the front of the trailer for use as a sewing/craft area. Since we are no longer doing any shows, it was necessary to reorganize everything and set up for a new phase of the business aimed at mail order only.

Scott and I also finished trading office spaces this week and so far it is working out great. I am in the back of the bus now and can leave my stuff out without cluttering up the living room. David built Scott a new desk for the front of the bus and then started in on the entertainment center. I am thinking of starting a new blog with all the pictures and updates on the bus conversion from start to finish. Maybe...

Now that the sewing/craft space has been created in the trailer for me I can finally get those Christmas presents finished. I think we are going to stay here through new years so I will be mailing all the presents out. I better get busy, quick.


Saturday, November 13, 2004

Back from Houston

The Houston Quilt Show and the Presidential election are both over now and if one had to be better than the other I am glad things turned out the way they did. The Houston show was down about 75% from years past, but we still made a little. At the end of the show I sold the gridwall and hooks. We then decided to not do anymore quilt shows for now and to concentrate on our eBay bead sales. Mom has learned how to count beads and has taken some of the pressure of my job away.

The election turned out better than we expected or hoped for. President George W. Bush won reelection over John Kerry in both the popular vote and the electoral college. The republicans netted 4 more seats in the House of Representatives and most of the media are attributing the wins to the evangelical voters coming out to vote. God truly is great!

I drove home (to Dallas) immediately after the show on Sunday evening, arriving around 11:30 pm. This allowed me to fill about 87+ orders on Monday morning. Things are slowly getting back to normal around here.

David is going to build a cabinet for our entertainment center in the front of the bus next week and Scott and I are going to trade office spaces. I am taking over the back bedroom and he is getting the front living area.

Christmas presents are now in production and coming together nicely. Pictures to follow.


Sunday, October 31, 2004

Trip to Houston Festival

Well, where should I begin?

Scott and I went back and forth weighing our options for taking the bus to Texas during the Houston Festival Quilt Show. The original plan was for me to take the truck and the booth and do the show myself and then come back to North Carolina. We then decided to take the bus, truck and trailer to Dallas where Scott could stay during the show and fill our eBay orders while I went down to Houston with the truck and booth to do the show. We have a wi/fi connection in Tool at mom and David's house so Scott's work would not be disrupted too much.

Then the price of gasoline and diesel started climbing.

So, we returned to the original plan until mom and David called us and told us that they had purchased a piece of property and would be purchasing a tractor to use there. Scott couldn't stand the thought of being in North Carolina, doing his job and mine, while I was gone for two weeks. He also really wanted to see the land and drive the tractor. So, a week before the show the plans have changed again.

We left North Carolina on Tuesday the 26th of October and headed for Dallas. We drove approximately 350 miles per day, staying at Flying J's three nights and arrived here yesterday, Saturday, October 30.

Today, we attended our church, Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano where we worshiped and got on our knees to pray for God's will to be done in the upcoming election. We truly feel that this election is a choice for America between good and evil. The election takes place on Tuesday, the day I drive to Houston.

Sunday, October 17, 2004

Peaceful Sunday

I love Sundays here at the park. All the weekend campers head out for home and the wildlife returns for another week of calm living. The day was just beautiful today. We took the motorboat down the Pamlico river to the maina where our sailboat is and then returned. All the crabpot bouys that are normally dotting the surface of the water were gone and the seagulls have taken their place. The nights here are turning cooler, mid 50's, and the days are glorious.

I will be leaving on November 1 for the Houston Quilt Festival where we are vendors. Hopefully I can find some purse frames for my new knitted bags and perhaps a few more patterns, threads, and beads. Tonight I am starting on the Sister Dahlia pattern that I charted after having spent all of last night and part of today loading the beads on the thread. If the count is wrong I am not sure what to do.

The Purple Crocheted Lariat is now complete and looks great. It is my first attempt at crochet ropes and I really like how it turned out. The picture of the finished Lariat is below.



I used #30 weight crochet thread and 60 grams of Black Opal beads (80204-30) from Wal-mart. The thread I used was white and if I had to do this one again I would use a dark color.

Saturday, October 16, 2004

Sister Dahlia

The Sister Dahlia pattern by Theresa Williams, a.k.a. The Bag Lady, is the middle size of knitted bead purse in the Dahlia series. Today I took the pattern and charted it in an Excel spreadsheet. This took a few hours, but now I think I can load the beads on the thread in a specific pattern and also incorporate crystals and other beads in place of a grouping of seed beads. I am going to attempt to knit the first one and will post a picture here when finished or screaming whichever happens.