I am outta here!!

.... leaving an a vacation~ okay okay~ a working vacation~ The Make Mine Pink Mini Retreat at the Cape! Could life get any better?
5 Glorious days of team building, brainstorming, videocasting, sunning, cooking and more. (did some one say cooking??? mmmm~ maybe take-out is available!)

Sew Many Notions

I just opened a shop at Quilt 'n Stitch~ excited to be in on the ground level because I know QnS is going to be a hit. I am in the fiber arts shoppes. I just fell in love with the blog there~ Sew Many Notions~ and there is a give-away~ cool! I don't quilt~ never have~ I have been afraid..... afraid if I ever started that I would love it so much that I would never get anything else done.
Anyhoo~~ the prize is a honey bun and a jelly roll...... (I need to figure this lingo out)!

**Prize: Oh Cherry Oh! by Me and My Sister (Moda) 1 Jelly Roll - 1 Honey bun - 1 pattern. All you need to complete this adorable quilt top.

Cherished Memories

Old photographs, yellowed with age. Dad's pocket watch, the hands of time still ticking. Maybe slower than before. A delicate needlepoint, not quite completed, wrapped in tissue and waiting to be rediscovered on the bottom of a hope chest.

Pieces of the past, your most cherished memories, seeking a place in the present. The faces in the photo may have grown up or passed on. The fingers that wound the watch and pulled the needle now lie still. But these memories remain, and ask to live again.

Much loved tablecloths, used for special family occasions. Grandma's rhinestone brooch, tarnished with years, but twinkling with the possibility of renewed life. Scented letters bound with a faded ribbon, tucked away for a granddaughter to read of a great love.

Cherished memories that make your lips smile and your eyes shine. Maybe you'll set the table with your mother's cloth, and tell everyone about your favorite family Christmas when you were a child. You could brighten up the dulled brooch and pin it on your favorite church dress. Perhaps it's not the right time to share your letters with your granddaughter, but tonight could be a good night to tell her a story about when you were young.

Old French perfume bottles lining a bedroom shelf. Antique silver spoons with intricate designs, soon to be polished and repurposed into delicate silver jewelry. Cozy quilts stitched from well-loved clothing.Your most cherished memories, much too precious to remain hidden. You feel a little flutter as each is carefully uncovered and made new. Everyone will wonder what great secret lies behind your sudden sparkle, but the feeling is too powerful for words.

Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday May 22, 2009 as we present "Cherished Memories"

Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

Photo Contribution 1: Rose Blossom Cottage Photo Contribution 2: Rose Petals and Blooms

Help for Small Businesses from the SBA

Reposted from the WomenTakeWing! blog
From our friends at Mohave Community College in Arizona (nepotism is a good thing!), we learned of a new loan program being offered by the SBA called ARC loans. Part of the 2009 Recovery Act it provides qualified businesses up to up to $35,000. Follow the link above to find out more details and please, share this information with others! The economy you save may be your own.
~Steph
(Thank You Steph~ Keeper of the Pennies)

My Cape Cod Rose

Stymied~ by a beautiful red rose executed perfectly in petit point on a blue background.... what's the problem? Well the color combination has my creativity stuck~ stuck back in the 70's! One of my very first projects as a very young designer (age 13 maybe) was a crocheted sweater of pale blue and white variegated yarn with a shocking streak of red running right across the middle but only about 3/4 then it shot straight down to a hem of red and blue/white mix. I loved the sweater but I never wore it. I guess I considered it more a work of art than a piece of apparel.
So all these many years later, I find this red rose on dusty sky blue ~ a true work of art~ and I am stymied. But my business partner isn't.... my daughter, Heidi, loves this rose. It reminds her of our vacation on Cape Cod. It was a pretty wonderful vacation. And it is pretty wonderful that she is giving me design advice. ( I will be back on the Cape in three weeks for a mini retreat with some of my friends from MMP~ I can hardly wait)
So~ if the wind is at my back, the rain stays away, the stars line up and the squirrels run clockwise in the yard..... I will have this pillow ready for this week's PINK Friday at MMP ~ as we present "Romantic Roses"

Beautiful Blues for PINK Friday

Beautiful blues… the classic colors of sea and sky. Once a year, beautiful blues against crisp, clean whites adorned the blue and white issue of Victoria Magazine. Do you remember how you anticipated your copy? Blue is calming and serene. It's a coastal color, often used in bedrooms and rooms of relaxation. From delicate pastel to a deep, emboldened navy, adding blues to your décor can evoke a tranquil yet often vibrant mood.

In the bathroom, perhaps a white towel edged with beautiful blue forget-me-nots and pale blue trim. On the kitchen table, a teapot or tea cup with a blue floral pattern, or a shabby blue tea cozy that warms a pot with beautiful blue, waiting for a friend.

White pillows dressed with lavender blue roses or embroidered bluebirds on a white bedding set. On a bedside table, a white vintage doily with blue accents and edging, a grandmother's white hanky stitched with a dainty blue ribbon. A blue and white needlepoint cushion set carefully upon the bed - an elegant white lily surrounded by a blue fringe. On a white fleur-de-lis shelf, a Battenberg lace fan with vintage millinery flowers, in a color pronounced "bleu". A vintage robin's egg blue bottle stopped with white fabric flowers, tied with a pale blue bow. A white bowl hand painted with blue morning glories. Hanging on the wall, a French ribbon glitter plaque of white doves and blue roses. By the front door, a nautical tote bag that reminds you of the sea. In the craft room, oceans of blue and white fabric, or a sprinkle of blue flowers. Near the telephone, a handcrafted notebook, embellished with blue sky. In a jewel case, a single blue bead on a string or a classic blue cameo.

Stitched bluebirds, hydrangeas and bows. Tiny blue lights, sweet as cotton candy. Handmade bouquets of blue roses, or a single blue pansy. Beautiful blues surround us, and remind us we are home.

Please join Make Mine Pinkfor shopping with a twist on Friday May 8, 2009 as we present "Beautiful Blues"

Photo Contribution 1: Noelle Garrett Designs Photo Contribution 2: C'est Chouette

Hip Hip Horaay....

...it's the First Of May

Happy May Day