A Very Mod Christmas

I love living in a small-ish town where everyone is so supportive, helpful and genuinely excited about being a part of our little business. The friendships we have made in the past few months of having our MODKID HQ here are absolutely priceless!!

Last month I told you guys about how the Modern Quilt Guild ladies pitched in to create some of the most amazing quilted projects I've ever seen. Well, this time Jon, Emalee and I were blessed with the help of our friends, The Barrs, and 4 wonderful girls from Illinois State University's Apparel, Merchandising & Design Department: Megan Bjorn, Alethea Hemauer, Paige Kent and Jessica Lottinville. Talk about The Season of Giving... these wonderful people worked tirelessly to create our amazing window display for the upcoming December First Fridays event, which is in just 3 short days!

It all started out with a super cool idea by my friend Nikki. She came here one day talking about floating trees and Christmas light waterfalls. Shortly thereafter, Emalee, Nikki, Megan, Alethea, Paige, Jessica and I were brainstorming, sketching ideas on paper and figuring out the logistics.

Several shopping trips later, we were ready and eager to get started. The Sunday after Thanksgiving Jon and Justin hung our Christmas light waterfall, complete with a soft curtain of white mesh to soften it up a bit.



Then yesterday, the Merchandising girls came by to get the rest of the display done. The floating tree proved to be the most challenging part, since the ornament strings kept twisting into one another and tangling themselves into a colossal web. Luckily, Em & Em gathered up the patience to untangle each and every strand. A million thanks to sweet Emily Parks (currently referred to as Ms. Parks by her adoring students) for stopping by and helping us out!



How many people does it take to put up a floating tree? Well, it appears the answer is seven! And one photographer. haha



Even as we were hanging the tree, those pesky strands kept gravitating towards one another... eeeek!



Then it was time to get the base nice and leveled (easier said than done, by the way!). A little higher here! No, a little lower there! This strand needs to go 1" to the right! No, your other right!



We all let out a huge sigh of relief once this little project was finished! Then it was time to step back and admire the masterpiece... ahhhhh.



The rest of the display went together without a hitch.

Wrapping faux presents...





With cute ragged fabric bows...



Making the windows nice and "snowy" (you'd think by now and in the heart of the Midwest, we'd have some real snow, but nope!)





And adding the finishing touches... TADA!







A million thanks to the Merchandising girls, Megan, Alethea, Paige and Jennifer, for all your help, your smiles and your positive attitude. This is BY FAR the coolest window in Downtown Bloomington (at least in my eyes)! And a special thanks to their teacher, Elisabeth Reed, for connecting me with these great girls.

Also, a million thanks to Nikki Barr, Justin Barr and Emalee Grambo for all of your help and super cool ideas! It was definitely worth all the headaches and late nights, no?

And last, but not least, big hugs and kisses to the adorable MODKID models, Sydney, Sophie and Anna for being such great troopers and coming out to model for my First Fridays invitation. It turned out so awesome!!!





If you are in the Central Illinois area, please stop by and see us this Friday, December 2nd from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. We will have music, refreshments and live window display PLUS lots of items for sale! In addition, all of the other businesses downtown will have activities, food, displays and sales going on. There's even pictures with Santa and free gift-wrapping at a few venues. This event is not to be missed!!

Birthdays and Beehives

Our baby girl, Sydney, turned 6 on Friday. *sniff* The first thing she said when she woke up was, "How much taller am I today?" I squeezed her so hard you'd think I wanted her to go back in the womb. Of course, I had to play it up, so I purposely found a dress in her closet that I knew would be too small so she could try it on and I could go on and on about how much she's grown. heeheee



Her birthday party was at our local kid's gym on Saturday and boy, did they have a blast! All of her BBFs were there...





All of us adults were tired out just from watching them jump...



... and run...



and jump some more for over an hour.





But come on... who wouldn't love to hang out here all day?! (and I'm not just talking 'bout kids here...)



After getting all sweaty and stinky, Sydney made her wish...



... blew her candles...



... ate to her little heart's content and posed for group pics...



Of course, we had to get a silly one in there...



Then came home and played with all her new gifts until waaaaaaay past her bedtime! :)

One of Sydney's favorite gifts was this paper guitar that plays several songs from the 80's...





Boy, she totally thinks she's a rock star! LOVE IT!!!



And speaking of 80's songs, rock stars and beehives (yes, there was a purpose to that silly title!)... I went to see the B52s last Wednesday with a few girlfriends. Oooh, it was sooooo much fun!

We partied like it was 19..... 89! haha In this picture, Dawn, Nikki, me and Wendy.


Beehive on my head courtesy of Em & Em! Yes, they can do hair too....BONUS!


The fabulous Dawn Bergeron, photographer extraodinaire and sweet friend, took these amazing photos at the concert.




And as much of a blast as we had during the show, the real treat came afterwards, when we got to meet singer Kate Pierson and get our picture taken.



She was as short as Nikki and I, can you believe it?!? And super sweet to boot!



Here's a little video clip I shot of my favorite song, Private Idaho!

Enjoy!!!

Meet Em & Em

I finally did it. I don't know what in the world possessed me to think that I, all by my little lonesome self, could handle putting out a new line of sewing patterns 4 times a year, designing a new fabric collection 2 times a year, writing a book and several magazine articles plus traveling around the country several times a year for trade shows, exhibits and lectures. All of that, in addition to all the mommy/wife duties that on their own could easily fill up a day, would eventually drive anyone into the looney bin. Well, I started seeing the signs all too clearly. You know, like when you say something and the other person looks at you strangely because you just said the same thing like 2 minutes ago? Or like when you tear the house apart looking for your glasses... yes, the ones that were on your head the entire time!? Or like when you keep missing appointments or forgetting to pick up groceries, etc. because you just didn't write it down visibly enough and... out of sight, out of mind!? I could go on and on, but you know what I mean.

So, I finally took the wise advice from my mom (and from everyone who gazed upon my crazy-eyed, sleep-deprived, over-caffeinated face in the past several months) and got some help. No, not a shrink, although that's not a bad idea either. Help came in the form of Em & Em.

The original idea was to hire one assistant. Someone who could come in for a few hours a week and help with various studio tasks, like sewing samples for the book... and for the new patterns... and for Quilt Market. Like helping me organize said studio, since lately it was looking more like this than like this. Like helping me with photography and photo staging for the book. Like assembling test patterns and fabric bundles for my testers, then helping me with pattern edits. And... and... and...

The list of roles and responsibilities just kept growing. As we conducted interviews and looked at everyone's schedule it was painfully obvious to us that we needed more than one assistant. Enter Emily and Emalee (both pronounced the same way). No, we didn't hire them because it was fun to say Em & Em. Believe me, it gets quite confusing at times.

Emalee and her cute, cute hairbow:



Emily and her new trusty sidekick:



Emily and Emalee are both Seniors at Illinois State University in the Apparel, Merchandising and Design Department. They both presented us with portfolios that blew our minds and resumes that went on for miles... geez, I don't remember working that hard when I was in college! But best of all, they both showed a positive attitude, a willingness to work hard and an inherent desire to learn new skills. Sold!

Both Ems jumped right in and started working on their first day...





Little did I know that I would gain more than a little help around the studio when I hired Em & Em. I also got a sounding board and fresh set of eyes for all my crazy ideas, a new babysitter that the kids adore (we desperately needed that!) and some gorgeous models! Yes, folks, you heard it here first! You will be seeing a lot more of Em & Em in the covers of my new women's patterns, out next month!

Now... it's back to work! Or maybe I'll take that much overdue nap now.