Summer is Flying By

Each evening while we are eating dinner out on the porch, watching the birds bathe in the fountain, feeling the breezes from the overhead fan, and smelling the enticing aromas of the oriental lilies - we are thankful for another glorious summer day. Our warm weather season is short so its especially important that we savor each day (which in reality we should be doing no matter what the weather is like!)

I'm sure your days are similar to mine regarding what you hope to accomplish. Somehow the hours fly by, and I've only touched on a few of the items on my list. Today was no exception, as I had hoped to get a good start on packing two trunk shows,  stitching a bit more of the limited edition 2015 Christmas ornament, and ordering supplies for another kit to be released in September.

There were good interruptions though, as orders came in which needed to be assembled and packed, there were phone calls from family and friends, I took time to research a trip which my husband and I are taking in a few months, and I made my usual trip to the post office.   Hopefully I'll be able to get more stitching done this evening.

Did you know that although we don't have a wholesale market this Fall, a  group of vendors have come together to offer a "Harvest Market Hop" in September.  It will be an online show and shop owners will be able to preview all of our latest releases and hopefully purchase their favorites directly from the designers.  I'll have at least six new titles, plus the previously mentioned kits.

Tomorrow is another day - and with the help of my assistant Dawn, we will get those trunk shows packed and ready to go, and perhaps I'll even be able to finish that ornament.  We may even take time to have lunch on the porch - another moment to treasure.  Keep your fingers crossed for a productive day, but don't do it for too long - we want you to keep stitching.

Bouquets For you!

We celebrated the 4th of July as many of you did with a parade in the morning, back-yard games and a trip to the beach in the afternoon and finished it off with a barbecue in the evening.  I think the parade is one of my favorite activities, as it takes place in South Haven, Michigan where my sister lives.  It is small town Americana at its best.  South Haven is a lovely town just 40 minutes from Kalamazoo, and we feel so fortunate to have a beautiful lake so close to us.  But the water that day was so cold - 51 degrees! -  so we adults barely dipped our toes in, while our 3 youngest grandchildren dove right in for a swim.  Oh to be young and brave.

Yesterday morning I decided to cut flowers for a fresh bouquet and discovered that the deer have munched on many of my favorites!  I think they attacked the yard as if it were a Thanksgiving smorgasbord.  Thankfully the hydrangeas, daisies, and roses survived.  We need to figure out how to deter our pesky neighbors who live in the woods nearby.

This morning I shipped two more models to the finisher, and am set to begin a Halloween design this afternoon.  I love my job and feel so fortunate to have you as my readers.  So I'm sending bouquets of thanks for your loyalty.

Affectionately Yours,
Judy