We have a great new holiday BOM by Pat Bruce of Daisy & Dell! Today, she lets us peek into her studio and step into her life a little!
I’ve just been in business about a year and a half, and there have been more “firsts” than I can count! I’m always saying, “As soon as I get past this, then I can do…….”, then there’s another ‘this’ because things keep growing. I have you all to thank and great places like Fat Quarter Shop, who are willing to take a chance on a designer they never heard of before.
My own business is named for my two grandmothers, Daisy & Dell. I loved them and being with them and hope I am a Grandmother of the same caliber. As the Borg would say, they added their “distinctiveness” to mine, and I’m grateful. I went to my first Quilt Market in 2006. This last year people were actually looking for me – can you believe that?! They’re beginning to spot me at market by looking for the 30 wild, funky, bright, tremendously large flowers that hang over my booth. (There’s a pattern – you should give it a try, they’re fun!) They’ve sparked conversations with so many people. I think the nicest one I had was with a young lady about 16. While her mom was looking at the quilts, she was looking at the flowers. She sidled over right against me and said “It’s great to know someone who’s….uh….I mean…..more mature…...(at this I laughed and said “you mean someone my age?”), then she smiled and finished, “…and doing some things for someone MY age.” I melted right there. Truth is, that response alone would be enough to keep me going.
I have this great guy, who introduces himself very well below (I just rewrote this when he stuck his head in)! Not long ago I returned a phone message to a shop owner, and she commented about how my husband’s voice on the voice mail sounded so calm & collected – I know, because if I get frazzled, he’s always got just the right thing to say to put everything in perspective! (He just stuck his head around the corner and warned me not to get ‘blogged’ down. It’s just like him. He’s the Pun Master. I can only shake my head.) He staked me to my wish and helps me with assorted, seemingly unsolvable problems – plus, he’s lugged ALL my stuff back and forth to market! Now that’s love! We have a son and a daughter, who both make us proud!
Since it’s Spring, I’m reminded of one such moment about a year ago when the crepe myrtle trees were heavy with bloom. I got to spend a day with her and we were running errands. Our route took us down streets lined with the trees, and she told me from the back seat what each of the colors were – she was very taken with them. When we got to the next stop, we parked right in front of some whose very mature blooms were dropping their petals all over the ground in a beautiful, deep-pink pool. She asked me why they were “dripping.” Since she was just 3, and there seemed no understandable explanation, I said “Because that’s the way God made them.” There was silence, and then she said “God did a good job.” (Another meltdown!)
There’s also our cocker spaniel, named Bo. In the photo, he’s not real happy because he’s on a leash so he would sit still! He’s somewhere between 11 & 13. We don’t know exactly because he was rescued somewhere between 1 & 3. We met him at a Cocker Spaniel Rescue foster home, where he had come to them with heartworms, covered with fleas, malnourished and abused. When we saw him, we knew he was ours! He has given us endless reasons to laugh and enjoy him and he’s our baby! We love every minute we have with him!
The photos from my studio are really just ‘vignettes’ since it looks like such a workroom right now. You’ll notice my embellishment supplies, buttons, beads, ribbons, threads, etc. The roughed-out painting is a precursor to a needlepoint design, and I love the colors. There’s quilting going on here – and sewing and drawing and designing and computer work.- for occasions, holidays, seasons, baby, children, home & more!! We go to some extra effort to make our patterns all digital and we hope our directions are suitable to actually read, and even educational for a beginner.Labels: Guest Quilting Writers