So above was my special little booknook where I sat happily on my duff for 3 days welcoming book buyers with a chat and a signature. Not one poor soul got away from me without a serious amount of giddy chatter risking overzealousness, I am quite certain. You may recognize the chair from my dining room, which literally had me feeling very at home. The dressform is wearing a dress length version of the Smashing Smock pattern from my book. The fabrics are from an upcoming quilt cotton collection, Good Folks, expected to deliver in January. More on that soon, naturally.
Here's a zoom out from that end of the booth (except without the flowers, dang). My pictures are somewhat stinky, and these are the best of them + some of them (the good ones) are courtesy of my pal Eva from my publisher. I have a really hard time concentrating on getting good photos once the whole shebang is put together. The final putogether always seems like seconds before the incessant chatter ensues. And there's practically no stopping me from that once it starts, for anything. If I met you, you know this.
Oh, look here I am doing just that! See, my European talking hands are a blur and even my earrings fell prey to swinging around dizzily at my ears. I know there's a picture around here somewhere in which my hands aren't moving or my mouth isn't open, but I can't seem to find it. That's husband Jeff talking to Westminster Jeff. I love my Jeff a whole lot, but I really like it when Westminster Jeff hangs out with us, cause he's taller than my Jeff, which I point out every time. Its just that at 6'5", every now and then someone should be taller than you, its healthy. And how about that gorgeous couch from Miss Caroline. I almost stole it and shoved it in the trailer but I am cursed with a small amount of decency.
The frame wall was a default project that was planned somewhat last minute due to assuming I would only have prints of the new fabrics and not actual fabrics. So this modular frame thing was like a conceptual quilt. I was relieved however that 3 days before we left, the fabrics indeed arrived, saving me some printing, and also providing lots and lots of last minute sewing chaos. Wouldn't be market without that.
I had lots of fun with flowers against this teal wall color, and naturally I wanted to echo the new collection's palette. A detail about booth planning which practically renders me psychotherapy worthy, however is how I labor over the candy decision. The color and the flavor and the wrapper and the taste and the mood have to be right. I went with butterscotch. It was warm and aromatic and glowed from the antique alabaster compote. (Free mind analysis anyone?)
Bloomy. Oh and a big thank you to my pal Val for helping me arrange the bouquets with minutes to spare on the bathroom floor. Good clean fun.
Oh blurry loveliness. This is the other end, where the concentration was on the upcoming line of sewing patterns. Lots of excitement generated for the patterns, almost enough to make me actually finish the final development and printing. Marketing your products is good for that, you should try it! Seriously, though, I will show you the actual pattern covers later this week, non-blurry-like.
Slightly closer up, the poster here shows the back detail of the Socialite Dress sewing pattern. This is my favorite shot of all the images I've worked on for the sewing patterns. I drove up and down every downtown Nashville street (3x) looking for a charming architectural relief detail of some sort. And wouldn't you know I ended up next to a Greek restaurant that I'd never heard of. It was serendipitous how much the building detail answered the fabric design details and made for a great shoot. Hm.
So that's mostly it, I suppose. I owe so many of you a huge amount of thanks for stopping by the booth and spending time with me, sharing the excitement of current and upcoming projects. But most importantly, sharing in our joy as we prepare to increase the love in this house. Through hugs, squeals, emails, letters, calls and comments, I am so honored that my happiness is also yours.
Thank you, thank you. From every last little one of us.
xoAM