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Still working on some technical difficulties, but we'll get there. A quick update: I have a trip to South Africa planned for February where I will be purchasing new Shweshwe prints from the 2010 range! So stay tuned for news on the new fabric's arrival...
Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed holiday season. Enjoy the time with your friends and family.
Sigh of relief!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
So I made it through the Rosemont Show without having my baby! We had a very enjoyable time at the show, but I must admit that I am relieved it is over. Now I can just relax and focus on the arrival of my new baby girl!
As usual we had the opportunity to meet tons of new people and explain our product to them. It's really good to see how excited quilters are about the Shweshwe fabrics since it's something that is very different (and refreshing!) from what they are used to seeing. Quilters just love fabrics in general and it's fun to see how excited they get when they find something that is new to them!
Well thanks to all who supported us at the Rosemont show and I hope you thoroughly enjoy using your Shweshwe fabrics in your next project!
As usual we had the opportunity to meet tons of new people and explain our product to them. It's really good to see how excited quilters are about the Shweshwe fabrics since it's something that is very different (and refreshing!) from what they are used to seeing. Quilters just love fabrics in general and it's fun to see how excited they get when they find something that is new to them!
Well thanks to all who supported us at the Rosemont show and I hope you thoroughly enjoy using your Shweshwe fabrics in your next project!
Final Countdown!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Well I am down to the final days of my pregnancy now. I am expecting my baby girl within the next 20 days or so if she decides to arrive on time. Either way, within the next month my life is about to take on a drastic change!! But I am very excited and about as ready as I can be to be a new mom.
Along with all the preparations for the new baby, I have also been spending much of my free time working on growing my business. I have just recently vended at the 2009 Bloomington Hands All Around Quilt Guild Show and it went off quite well. This year we had a much wider variety of fabrics for our customers to choose from. In addition we had many more sample quilts for people to admire and be inspired by! Often times I have people buying fabric from me who have no idea what they're going to do with it. So it's nice to be able to offer them some ideas. And of course we offer patterns for the sample quilt designs available for sale! Our patterns are designed by Evelyn Young who is a good friend of mine and a fellow quilt guild member. Each pattern is somehow inspired by Africa and has a story associated to it. Evelyn's great use of humor and extra tips also makes each pattern quite interesting.
This coming week we are headed up to Rosemont IL to vend at the International Quilt Festival / Chicago. I have been ordered by my doctor to take it very easy and get lots of rest for the remainder of my pregnancy, so I will be relying on a friend and my wonderful husband to do much of the work me. I am really excited to vend at Rosemont though and I hope that it is a great success! Last year I attended the show as a guest and I was astonished at how busy it was! I hope that this year will be just the same.
Well wish me luck as I have an eventful month ahead of me!!
Along with all the preparations for the new baby, I have also been spending much of my free time working on growing my business. I have just recently vended at the 2009 Bloomington Hands All Around Quilt Guild Show and it went off quite well. This year we had a much wider variety of fabrics for our customers to choose from. In addition we had many more sample quilts for people to admire and be inspired by! Often times I have people buying fabric from me who have no idea what they're going to do with it. So it's nice to be able to offer them some ideas. And of course we offer patterns for the sample quilt designs available for sale! Our patterns are designed by Evelyn Young who is a good friend of mine and a fellow quilt guild member. Each pattern is somehow inspired by Africa and has a story associated to it. Evelyn's great use of humor and extra tips also makes each pattern quite interesting.
This coming week we are headed up to Rosemont IL to vend at the International Quilt Festival / Chicago. I have been ordered by my doctor to take it very easy and get lots of rest for the remainder of my pregnancy, so I will be relying on a friend and my wonderful husband to do much of the work me. I am really excited to vend at Rosemont though and I hope that it is a great success! Last year I attended the show as a guest and I was astonished at how busy it was! I hope that this year will be just the same.
Well wish me luck as I have an eventful month ahead of me!!
BIG BIG News!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Well since my last post we vended at the show in Schaumburg and it went off quite well. Unfortunately the attendence was a bit lower than expected so at times it was a little slow. Either way, we still got the opportunity to meet plenty of new people and introduce them to our Shweshwe fabrics. We also met a wonderful South African quilt artist named Rosalie Dace who was teaching classes at the show. It was a real treat to see all the quilts from South Africa that were on display.
But now for the big news! Little did I know when I was vending at the Nashville show in August that I was actually pregnant! Yep, my husband and I are expecting our first baby on May 2nd and it's a beautiful baby girl! We are just so excited and looking forward to her arrival.
This past year has just been an amazing time for us. We've had some great things happen with our small business, we finished graduate school and now we're expecting a baby! Busy, busy busy!
We plan on vending at several shows this year... to start off with we're vending at the Bloomington, IL Quilt Show the first weekend in April. Then the third weekend in April we're vending at the Internation Quilt Festival in Rosemont IL. That is only 2 weeks before my due date! WOW, that's cutting it close. :) But I trust that everything will work out well!
But now for the big news! Little did I know when I was vending at the Nashville show in August that I was actually pregnant! Yep, my husband and I are expecting our first baby on May 2nd and it's a beautiful baby girl! We are just so excited and looking forward to her arrival.
This past year has just been an amazing time for us. We've had some great things happen with our small business, we finished graduate school and now we're expecting a baby! Busy, busy busy!
We plan on vending at several shows this year... to start off with we're vending at the Bloomington, IL Quilt Show the first weekend in April. Then the third weekend in April we're vending at the Internation Quilt Festival in Rosemont IL. That is only 2 weeks before my due date! WOW, that's cutting it close. :) But I trust that everything will work out well!
Has it been this long?
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Wow, July is the last time I posted anything to my blog! Time really flies by. Well a lot of has happened since my last post. I vended at the AQS Quilt Show is Nashville and got my first taste of what it's like vending at such a large show. I worked out quite a few kinks in my process and will be much better prepared for the next big show. Which by the way is in November. I plan to vend at the Chicago Quilt Show in Schaumburg in November. This show is not as large as Nashville but they expect around 5000 in attendence so that's quite a good number.
I also vended at the Peoria Quilt show the last weekend in September. I quite enjoyed this show because it was much closer to home. It's also a lot more managble than doing a big show like Nashville. I look forward to Shaumburg and hope to move the last of my 2008 stock so I can order in some new Shweshwe prints!
In addition to everything that's been going on with Marula Imports, I also completed graduate school in September! Hooray! At long long long last. We graduate on December 13th, so I am really looking forward to receiving that ever so elusive diploma! What a relief to be done with school.
Well after all the studying and working at, I'm happy to say that we're taking a break next week also! We're off to Cabo San Lucas for a much needed vacation. So I hope for some great sunshine and a relxing time on the beach!
I will try to be a better blogger in the future!
I also vended at the Peoria Quilt show the last weekend in September. I quite enjoyed this show because it was much closer to home. It's also a lot more managble than doing a big show like Nashville. I look forward to Shaumburg and hope to move the last of my 2008 stock so I can order in some new Shweshwe prints!
In addition to everything that's been going on with Marula Imports, I also completed graduate school in September! Hooray! At long long long last. We graduate on December 13th, so I am really looking forward to receiving that ever so elusive diploma! What a relief to be done with school.
Well after all the studying and working at, I'm happy to say that we're taking a break next week also! We're off to Cabo San Lucas for a much needed vacation. So I hope for some great sunshine and a relxing time on the beach!
I will try to be a better blogger in the future!
Citizenship!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Well Wednesday July 2nd, 2008 was a big day for me! After 10 years of living in the United States I finally took the plunge and became an American citizen. I attended the Naturalization Oath ceremony in Peoria Illinois along with 46 other people representing 22 countries! WOW! And to make the whole occassion that much better, it was 2 days before Independence Day! There was red, white and blue everywhere and everyone was feeling very patriotic.
It was truly a wonderful and moving experience! There were a few dignitaries (members from the community) in attendence to encourage the new citizens to participate in community activities and to serve and support various organizations. All the new citizens were also snagged right away as we left the courtroom to register to vote!
After the oath ceremony I was interviewed by a local news station! It was all very exciting. Here is a link to the video clip of my interview: http://www.week.com/news/local/22834989.html?video=pop&t=a
So now I have joined the ranks and can proudly call myself an American!
It was truly a wonderful and moving experience! There were a few dignitaries (members from the community) in attendence to encourage the new citizens to participate in community activities and to serve and support various organizations. All the new citizens were also snagged right away as we left the courtroom to register to vote!
After the oath ceremony I was interviewed by a local news station! It was all very exciting. Here is a link to the video clip of my interview: http://www.week.com/news/local/22834989.html?video=pop&t=a
So now I have joined the ranks and can proudly call myself an American!
Still rollin'...
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Well summer is kicking into high gear here in the Midwest and we're enjoying every minute of the warm weather. Fortunately we have not been affected by any of the flooding that is plaguing our surrounding states. The world is green though from all the rain we've been getting!
I am still working my way down piles and piles of shweshwe! Everyday I cut, roll and package more fabric in preparation for the quilt shows I have coming up in the next few months.
Along with the fabric that I am importing, I will be importing my very own mother for the Nashville quilt show also! Yes indeed... the "mother" shipment arrives in Nashville a few days before the show. That should give mom some time to rest up before we put her to work at the show. I am very excited and looking forward to this opportunity to spend some fun time with my mom.
I am also pleased to let you know that we have our first quilt pattern ready for the quilting world! Our wonderful pattern designer, Evelyn Young has put her talents to work to create unique and African inspired patterns for "Marula Designs". Stay tuned... the patterns will soon be available on our website.
I am still working my way down piles and piles of shweshwe! Everyday I cut, roll and package more fabric in preparation for the quilt shows I have coming up in the next few months.
Along with the fabric that I am importing, I will be importing my very own mother for the Nashville quilt show also! Yes indeed... the "mother" shipment arrives in Nashville a few days before the show. That should give mom some time to rest up before we put her to work at the show. I am very excited and looking forward to this opportunity to spend some fun time with my mom.
I am also pleased to let you know that we have our first quilt pattern ready for the quilting world! Our wonderful pattern designer, Evelyn Young has put her talents to work to create unique and African inspired patterns for "Marula Designs". Stay tuned... the patterns will soon be available on our website.
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