It Shall Be Done

A friend of mine sent this to me and said that it reminded her of me.

To be honest, it's not at all how I look at myself. I did print this off and I keep it in my studio as the visual reminder that I need from time to time.
In recent months, I've hinted about some great things that I've been working on, but just haven't been able to share. One as you now know, is the Master Sewing and Design Professional Certification Program. Now that everything is all coming together, I can share another. Last February, Ellen March, the editor of Sew News asked me if I would be interested in writing for the magazine. Do I have black dogs?!!!! Of course I would!!!!! First of all, I love to write, and second, I love to sew, so for me this is the perfect combination. My first article will appear in the February 2014 issue of Sew News. Yea!!!
The opportunity has become all the sweeter as Ellen would also like for me to do videos that will accompany my articles. Second BIG YEA!!! The videos will appear on the Sew News blog. Things have been rather back and forth about how to do the videos. Initially, I thought that the videos would be done over a period of time and that I would do them from my own studio. Then I received a message that the studio at Sew News had an opening and could I be in Denver on Monday November 18th? Oh my goodness, this meant that I had to get everything ready in two weeks time. Impossible. My answer...."I'll do it."
Some time ago I told you about a book that I read called The Go-Getter. It's a very small book. It can be read in just a few hours, and if you are like me, it will change your life. The book was written in 1915 and it is in the vernacular of the period, so it takes just a bit of time to adjust to the language, but well worth it. The story is about a man who learned that success in any area of your life requires that you decide that you will not be denied from reaching your goals. When it looks impossible, he declares, "It shall be done."
For the last week and a half, I have been working diligently on my projects and it has all been coming along until yesterday. I had cut one of my demonstration pieces from the fabric below with the girls on it. I barely had enough, at least I thought I had enough. When I pulled it out to start organizing it, I found that I should have cut two center panels, but I had only cut one and there was no more fabric. Thinking that I would probably have to re-cut the entire piece, off I went to The Needle Shop (I love this store!) and I found the print with the notepads. Score!! The center panels and the trim have been cut from this fabric.          

I pulled out another project that I needed to cut thinking that I knew exactly where the pattern was, and for the life of me, I could not find the pattern. Now, if I ordered the pattern from the company, it would be coming from another country. How would I ever get it in time? I felt undone. Then I heard the words, "it shall be done." I got on the computer and I found this fabric store, http://www.pinkchalkfabrics.com/index.php?main_page=index in Washington which carries the patterns. They were able to ship the pattern overnight and I will have it by noon today. It was done!!! By the way, the customer service was truly over the top. Not only did they get the pattern in the mail to me ASAP, but I received a call to let me know that it had been shipped and to let me know that it would require a signature and since I REALLY needed the pattern, she wanted to make sure that I would be home to receive it. I am now a devoted customer :) of http://www.pinkchalkfabrics.com/index.php?main_page=index Below is a picture of the fabric that I will be using for the project. I LOVE this fabric!

No panic over the piece below, I thought I would share it just because it's fun. This is vintage barkcloth that I found in a resale shop some years ago. I think I have two curtain panels. I just can't wait to show you the project. I'll be able to share it with you once the first article appears in February.

So now you know what has been taking my time. I will be back from Denver late on the 19th. Since this project has been so time consuming, I've had to put the MSDP work on hold until I return. I have a fun article on burn tests and silk to write up for the MSDP project, so stay tuned. Farhanna of http://farhanasews.blogspot.com/2013/11/burn-test.html is very excited about the MSDP project and has even beat me to the punch with an article on burn tests that you might like to check out.
My blog posts may be a little sparse over the next few days, so please forgive me. Once I get this project behind me, I should be back in full swing.
Have a wonderful day!
Rhonda