The Winners

Let’s start off with the winners of the new book and ruler!

From the first preview post, the winner is:

Donna Kurtz, who commented on April 30th, at 9:58 pm

From the second preview post, the winner is:

Ginny Worden, who commented on May 2nd at 5:39 pm.

Please send your shipping address to hmulder@wecnet.com and I will get the goods shipped out right away!

I just want to say a huge thank-you again for all the nice comments about the new book!   It can be so nerve-wracking to put yourself out there and I have been nervous about these projects.  I have been so back and forth because I know that at first glance they look a bit hard.  I really hope I have convinced you otherwise!  I think that is my favorite part of what I do – equipping people with the techniques and designs to do more than they thought they could, easier than they thought they could.

Well, that and collecting fabric – which brings me to answering some of your questions from my last two posts.

A common question from the last two posts was “How do you pick fabrics?”  I have to admit that I totally cheat!  I usually work from within one fabric line, so all the color coordinating is done by the designer.  The only thing I usually add is a high contrast fabric.

When choosing the high contrast fabric, I choose something that stands out from the rest of the prints, makes the blocks jump out, and makes the colors sparkle as much as possible.  Most often, it is used as the background color, as shown in the photo below.

In the next example, I used a dark brown as my contrast fabric, as it really made the colors pop.

After that, I usually choose a couple of my favorite prints from the line to use for a border.  It really is that simple – I don’t spend hours going through my stash trying to come up with 40 different pieces that coordinate.  All that work has already been done by the designer, so why not take advantage of it?

Several of you asked if I have help and how I get this all done, especially with having a little guy – Which bring me to saying a huge thanks to my two biggest helpers – my Mom Deb, and my husband Joel.

I have talked about my mom before and how much she helps out with my business (read about it here).  With this book, I once again needed lots of help.  It was a complicated book to write, which means there is a greater chance for errors.  Thanks to my Mom, this is one of my most throughly tested books!  I am so grateful for the help, as I feel like my “placenta brain” has become a permanent thing.  I don’t trust placenta brain, especially when it comes to writing books based on lots of angles, with lots of size options.  So Mom – I could never do this without you!  Thanks for helping make my work life possible!

Joel doesn’t test quilt patterns for me, nor would you want him to.  However, he is really good at helping out with all the orders, shipping, book work, returning emails and all the other officey-type things that take me away from designing.  I SO appreciate having help taking care of those things so I can focus on my designs.  You may also remember that he helps out with the photography, which isn’t always the funnest job.  Lastly, he is a great help at market, as sales is much more up his alley than mine.  I have a tendency to be tired and overwhelmed by the time I get to market and he helps hold everything together.  It is just what I need after the long haul of getting the book from start, to finish, to market.   So a big thanks to my DH as well!

Lastly, I do have a some help with Carter.  I have a couple of neighbor girls come twice a week for a few hours – that way I am guaranteed 3 hours twice a week where I can get caught up on a few things.  (like blogging, as one of them is here right now)

Those answers were probably a little more than you were asking for, but I really wanted to have a chance to say thank-you to my great helpers!

On a side note, it’s my favorite day of the year.  The lake is open!  Every year I post the day that the lake opens.  I have usually been waiting about 5 months for that day, but considering we have had a very long winter, it has been longer than that – two months later than last year, to be exact.  Now I can’t wait to get back from market and start enjoying evenings on the deck.