What editors ponder

One of my more inquisitive authors asks: what is the correct spelling of rick rack?
I responded r-i-c-k r-a-c- k.
Ya-ha! She exclaimed. Xyz fabric company is spelling it Ric rac….

Oddly, the same question also came up at a recent quilt book editors meeting I attended.

I explored a little. Web sites with the name included abound. The names are catchy but they’re not necessarily about the product:

Wrights makes it, they call it Rick Rack.
But if you spell it ric rac it goes so nicely with nic nac and bric a brac. Try saying those names quickly in succession…..
Our consensus: there is no right or wrong way to spell this. Pick your favorite and be consistent….
Note: I found the little rick rack flower pot in the picture on an antique shop dishtowel....

Poppies in the final days of May

In 1991, my brother died on May 26. My mother had a poppy plant in her backyard flower garden, which my brother had often tended. It had never bloomed.
The morning of Bruce’s funeral, it bloomed. As we all dressed, we took a minute to go out and see it. And most of us reported having a little conversation with that poppy (mostly saying yoo hoo and are you really in there?).
When we came home from the funeral, all the petals had dropped off the flower. The bloom was gone. Again, we took turns visiting and saying our farewells.
I have a red poppy plant on the north side of my house. Because of the low sun exposure there, it blooms late, usually around May 26. Here it is this year, we can all say hi Bruce. We miss you.
Special thanks to Trapp & co for the continuing graveside flowers. They don’t forget….
Click to read more about poppies.
Poppies have long been used as a symbol of both sleep and death…

Faux Hawks since 1865

I've been scanning family photos, graciously loaned to me by mom's cousin Mary Ann. Some are from the Civil War era, some are Kansas family life in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. As I scan I notice details in clothing, hairstyles, etc.

Watching TV the other night, I was startled by a young man's hairstyle. It was like the ladies in the photos I'd been scanning, a roll or topknot on the very top of the head. Note the similarities:

David Beckham today (they call this a mini mohawk haircut or faux hawk).


Unknown relative (left) in Momence, Illinois in 1865














Great Grandma Lillie Tunison in Wheaton, Kansas 1926

Improvised quilts at market

I took a new digital camera to market. it's smaller and even more user friendly than my old one. Instead of taking notes, I took pictures of things I liked. When I reviewed my shots, I was surprised at how similar some of the quilts I liked were. One was made of Japanese Daiwabo fabrics. One was at the Moda booth. One was made by Kaffe Fassett. (You'll be able to tell which is which.) Notice how similar they are to the Log Cabin quilt in the show, a log fence reproduction by Francine Pons. Her inspiration was a quilt in Barbara Brackman's book Quilts of the Civil War.

Market Tidbits

There is a lot to see at quilt market. I tend to focus on little things I like:

Pups in quilted flower petals (courtesy of Michael Miller fabrics):


A marketing wonder's new tat:










Some fun fun authors:

Market before/after

An inviting feature for photographers at Pittsburgh's Convention Center is the skywalk above the center of the exhibition space. As we crossed it to attend schoolhouse presentations, we could watch (and photograph) quilt market take shape. Here are a few before and after shots. One is an overview of the convention hall. The other is the Kansas City Star booth (before and after) home of many good books.

To market, to market

Today we're heading to spring quilt market in Pittsburgh, PA. I'll be talking about my book to shop owners on Thursday afternoon and scouting the market Friday all day. Market is always amazing. Overstimulating....