A Tadd More

What I am "up to" these days....

Hey everyone! Yes, I am still alive and well, and just as busy as ever! You know I have to keep busy with something.... so thought I would just share a few things that I have been doing lately.....

About a month ago my mom told me about a show that she had been watching called Extreme Couponing and told me what channel to find it on. So I thought I would check it out.... ya know I was "sucked in" from the very first time I watched! Now, being a couponer/rebater during the early 80's, I have had some experience but not like this show's EXTREME couponers! Although, let me just say that I am super critical when it comes to these types of shows and alot of the show is obviously staged, especially the "drama" at the checkout, but still inspiring none-the-less.

So, I called my friend Denise who has been doing this for several years and asked her to "teach" me how to do this. And so for the past few weeks we have been planning and clipping and shopping to find some really great deals!

Here was my very first trip with her to our local Target. She has been breaking me in gradually so as not to overwhelm me. The good deals that night were on bagels, frozen breakfast products, and Glade scented candles and air freshners. I also got 8 packs of Eclipse gum absolutely FREE!!!

Bought this top for .74 cents!!!! That was my most exciting purchase besides the free gum. And here is Haley holding it for me. She was excited to go, but got bored quickly.... she is a teenager after all.... not her "thing" but she did LOVE the free gum! 

More on my "couponing" escapades later..... here is my little buddy (aka; my grandson Julian), the last time he visited. You can tell Grandma is more excited than he is! Can you believe he is going to be a year old already in early January?!!! He changes so much everytime I see him. Can't wait to see them at Thanksgiving!  

Haven't done any sewing for awhile now and probably not going to, until after the holidays. Been cleaning, moving bedrooms around and painting/redecorating at home and working 5 half-days a week at my husband's office.

My mom is doing great. Had another great Dr's appointment last month and she goes back in 4 months. God is SO good. He is doing amazing things in my family and taking me through this new season of my life. I really miss my business at times. The wonderful ladies I worked with and all of the great customers. I miss the creative outlet, but not the stress of owning a business in these economic times. That part was really harder on me than I realized until I no longer had to think about it everyday. That part I DON'T miss.

Thanks for listening! God Bless you and your families and remember to be "thankful" as a way of life, not just one day a year.

****Thought For The Day****
"Thank God! Call out his name!
Tell the whole world who he is and what he's done!"
1 Chronicles 16:8

Happy Thanksgiving!
Tammy

Mother Of The Bride....

I'm sure the summer has flown by for everyone but it went especially fast for me this year with the closing of the store and 2 weddings, it was busier than normal! As we all know, when you have a daughter get married, there is far more to do. The brides family is traditionally responsible for most of the wedding plans. So this wedding was WAY more work for me than Nick and Renaes wedding (July 30th). Renae's mom and sister were the ones doing all the hard work. I so appreciated all of their efforts! I know how much work weddings are! So anyway, I thought you might like to see some photos....

 
First of all let me give credit to their photographer Stephanie Bassos. She did an amazing job. She really captured the style of photography that they wanted and told a story with her camera.

 
Stephanie and Adam were married last weekend on August 27th at the Ellwood House Museum here in DeKalb. It is a beautiful location for an outdoor wedding. The architecture of the buildings and the gardens are just beautiful. And the weather was FABULOUS!!! It was still a little warm at 5:00 p.m. when the ceremony took place but after the sun went down, it was a perfect evening! In spite of the mosquitos!

 
Here's my beautiful Haley.... yep, the same one that was playing football with the boys just a couple of years ago! You would never guess to look at her now! Aren't the dresses beautiful? Haley and Olivia were both in yellow and the maid of honor (Stephanie's best friend) Melissa, was in Mocha. See the brooch on her waistband.... these were borrowed from Miss Sherry. She had 3 of them that were her mom's, so the bridesmaids and maid of honor all got to wear one. Very special.

The daddy/daughter dance was very special. My husband is not a man who dances often, so Stephanie wasn't too sure about how this dance was going to go, but he surprised us all and did a great job! I think maybe he's been watching Dancing With The Stars when I'm not looking! He also gave a toast that turned out to be a real tear-jerker. 

Anyway, it was a wonderful day, and thanks to all of our family and friends, things went pretty smoothly. Except of course when we all realized that no one had the rings! They were still in the bag in the carriage house, where the reception was being held! None of us will ever forget that part!!! One of the guests jumped up and gave them his ring to use and the maid of honor took off one of her rings and gave them to use .... too funny!

****Thought for the Day****
"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother
and hold fast to his wife,
and they shall become one flesh."
Genesis 2:18, 21-24

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend everyone!
God Bless ya,
Tammy  

Nick and Renae

Hey everyone! Thought you might like to see some photos from oldest son Nick's wedding this past weekend. He married the love of his life Renae Stevenson on July 30th in Chicago on the Odyssey Cruise Ship. I had the wonderful priveledge of walking him down the aisle! So here we are waiting for our signal to walk the steps to the top deck where the ceremony took place.

 

Here are the rest of the clan all together. They clean up well don't ya think? From left to right is Adam, my soon to be son-in-law, and Stephanie (the parents of MY GRANDSON!), Garrison, Olivia and her man Jon, and Haley.

 

And last but not least..... Grandma Velda, Nick, Renae, and Grandma Kathy. Doesn't my mom look great!!! It was a long day for her (she didn't get home til 1:30 a.m) but I know she wouldn't have missed it for the world. She said she hasn't been out that late for 20 years!!!  Wow, that would be like my age!

 

It was a beautiful night! After the ceremony, we had dinner, cruised Lake Michigan for 3 hours and watched a fabulous fireworks display. Was a wonderful night for both families.

****Thought for the day****
"Love is patient. Love is kind. Love isn't jealous.
It doesn't sing it's own praises. It isn't arrogant.
It isn't rude. It doesn't think about itself.
It isn't irritable. It doesn't keep track of wrongs.
It isn't happy when injustice is done, but it is happy with the truth.
Love never stops being patient, never stops believing,
never stops hoping, never gives up."
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
GOD'S WORD Translation 

Words we could all work harder to live by right?  Well, that's one wedding down, and one more to go in a few weeks! So much to do, so little time!!! If you want to see more photos of the wedding, check out the album at the sidebar, or here for a look at the photos taken by their photographer. They are AMAZING!

God Bless ya,
Tammy

Cottage Style Love....

Hey everyone! Summer is flying by isn't it? Do you ever feel like you would like to just stop time for a little while? Or at least slow it down, right? Although, there are other times when we just want it to go faster. Ok, maybe only when we were kids, and wanted the school year to be over and summer vacation to come faster!

I have to confess, I am sort of already thinking about what I'm going to start doing when the kids are back in school. Is that bad? I don't know? But I am starting to think about all the cleaning and re-decorating that I want to do at home..... so I'm looking at magazines, books, and websites that inspire me.  

Better Homes and Gardens has some great inspiration. Love this beach cottage style. Kind of reminds me a little of my store. Clean, fresh, bright!

I LOVE Cottage Style, although you would never know it by coming in my house. My house is traditional and dark colors and quite frankly needing an OVERHAUL!  So the challenge here is, how do I SLOWLY (so as not to shock my hubby) convert to this decorating style? AND, do it on a budget? So, I'm going to try to work on one room at a time and show you pictures along the way. If you have done a decorating overhaul on a budget and want to share some tips with me and the readers, please do.

My mom's doing great! Two of our kids are getting married this summer. One this month, and one next month. Then "back to school" time! So, this summer will be gone before we know it.

****Thought for the day****
“I miss the days when summer vacation
was about relaxing and hanging out with friends.
Now it’s all about working
and squeezing your friends in when you can.”
Author Unknown

So true.Thanks everyone, God Bless ya, 
Tammy

The good, the bad, and the ugly....

Hi everyone! Summer is in full swing here in the Midwest and a busy one it's turning out to be. Two of our kids are getting married this summer within a month of each other and we still have two very busy teenagers at home, AND I am spending as much time as possible with my grandson!  That's all really GOOD news!

The BAD news is this.... after much prayer and conversation, my husband Gary and I have decided to close our doors after only 4 years of business for the store, and over 11 years in the quilt pattern design business.  Please believe me when I say this is one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make, and it was not made lightly.

There is a number of financial factors in our decision, but forme personally, my two youngest children are getting to the age where they need even more supervision (teenagers) and I know I only have a few years left  at home with them. I don't want to have any regrets. So, when Gary and I started looking at "the numbers" from the first half of this year, we realized it was time to "let it go", and do what was best for all of us. 

I have to say it's been a WILD and crazy ride! And so much fun! I have made so many wonderful friends, customers and certainly my wonderful employees. That's probably the hardest thing for me right now .... I really have enjoyed our customers, and making them happy has always been the best part of all of this. And the girls that have worked so hard for me, I will miss seeing and talking to them everyday. Last year when my mom was sick, the girls here at the store, were the best employees any one could ask for. They made it possible for me to spend as much time as I needed to with mom and still know the store was in good hands. That is PRICELESS to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Sherry, Violet, Nan, Mindy, Laura, Sue, Annie, Amy, Suzanne, Vicki and Christie.

 
My mom is doing great and this is very difficult for her too, but she also knows I will have more time to spend with her! So it is bittersweet.

It will be extremely hard for all of us here at TTD to say "goodbye" to our customers/friends. You have all been so supportive and complimentary of our store and staff that I know we will be missed and that will be sad for us. We just really enjoy making people happy and I believe we have accomplished that.

I think about "what will I do with myself?" and truth is, for awhile, I am not going to do anything! Yeah right! After the weddings and the kids are back in school, I plan on sewing and finishing many UFO's and going through my house "like a white tornado!" 

I know this has been LONG, but bear with me here.... so the "ugly" is this.... we are going to liquidate everything in the store and studio that we can, in as short amount of time as possible. So it's going to be "ugly" for us here for a week while we are getting ready for a sale, BUT a good opportunity for you the customers to get some great deals!

We will close the store from Monday June 20th thru Saturday June 25th in preparation for our sale. Reopening on Monday June 27th and will be open (our regular store hours) for a few weeks or until everything is gone. We will sell all fabric, patterns, books and notions at cost as well as fixtures, props, some furniture, and most importantly, QUILTS! Some of our original samples that have been photographed and published, as well as many shop samples.

So come by and see us before we close and say "Hello,Goodbye, or Hope to see you again soon".
Blessings to you all,
Tammy

 

Wool projects!

So, as many are busy getting ready for Spring International Quilt Market in Salt Lake City, I thought I might entertain you with some of those wool projects that I promised! You may remember these little beauties, they are some of our newest wool patterns....Bessie's Bloomers are candle mats that are quick, easy, and make a great gift for a friend or YOURSELF!

 
Take a look at this wall hanging and runner using fabric and wool, made by Nan Kein, it's the Wild Rose Quilt and Table Runner as featured in Quilt The Seasons Book 2 by Pat Sloan for Leisure Arts.

 
In a recent American Quilt Retailer magazine which is a trade magazine for shop owners, they featured this chicken named Patience on their front cover and gave the instructions on how she is made. I thought it was so cute, I decided to make her out of wool one day. My mom made the bodies of these two lovely birds and then I finished them. Here is one of them "in process".... 

 
Here is the pink and green one finished. Isn't she adorable?

 
And here is the finished version of the pink and turquoise.... her eggs are felted wool balls that we soaked in warm water and reshaped into eggs.

 
And here's a TREAT for you (pun inteneded)! Look at these DELICIOUS cupcakes also made from wool using Cindy Taylor Oates of Taylor Made Designs, Cupcake Pincusion pattern and various appliques that Nan found in different books on applique. She's just so darned creative isn't she?

 
****Thought for the day****
Here is a totally random quote but it made me laugh:

"Behind every great man is a woman,
rolling her eyes."
Jim Carrey

That's all for today, but more wool projects soon!
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
Tammy

more wool....

In my last post, I showed you some of the great wools that I have been dyeing, and just this week, the girls here at TTD moved the store around again, so we have this really great wool area now that is so inspiring.... see what you think. Nan and Sue did a great job and I didn't have to do a thing! I'm telling you, I am so blessed to have so many talented, hard working girls that work here. It makes my job so much easier. I could not do this without them.

Look at these FABULOUS greens! Green is such a basic color when you're working with wool, so we sell alot of it. I could seriously dye greens every week and not have enough....and you can see we're low on blues right now.

 
Look at this selection of "Autumn" colors! You can tell that our wools tend to be a little more on the brighter side, no big surprise there!

 
As you'll see in some of these pictures, we LOVE the patterns from Wooly Lady! They have some beautiful designs. You can check them out on their website.

Just want to say one more thing before I say "goodbye-for-now". This past year, as many of you know, my mom has been undergoing treatment for lung cancer. I am always so blessed when people tell me they are praying for her and ask how she is doing. So I wanted to let you all know she is doing fabulously! She is more like her "old self", and is feeling great. She is still tired alot but other than that, she continues to get fantastic reports from her Oncologist and is enjoying life! This is not a real recent picture, but it's one of my favorites. I am hoping to get some good ones tomorrow and show you soon!

 

Happy Mother's Day Mommy! I love you!

****Thought for the day****
"Everything I am or hope to be,
I owe to my mother."
Abraham Lincoln

Happy Mother's Day everyone. Hope it's a great one.
God Bless ya,
Tammy

It's gonna be a "wooly" Spring!

I've been doing lots of wool dyeing recently, so I thought I'd show you some of the new spring colors. Aren't they SUPER-DELICIOUS?! 

 
And naturally alot of PINK AND GREEN! Although, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that this green was an accident. I started out with a yellow that I didn't like, so I added Chartreuse to the dye pot and this is what I ended up with.... it's a perfect green, but I haven't been able to get it again!!!! Uuuggghhh! I'll just have to keep trying, and write down the recipe next time.

 

Check out these FABULOUS Halloween colors! Can't wait to use them.

 

And I got some great Christmas reds and greens. The color is off a little here but they are really perfect Holly red and Evergreen. And this red and green plaid was a nice surprise. I love the way it turned out. I'm really loving this wool dyeing! It's always so fun to see how they look after they're dry.

 

So that's it for today! In the next post I'll show you more pics of the wools and some projects! I feel just like the Proverbs 31 woman!

****Thought for the day****
"She selects wool and flax
   and works with eager hands.
She sets about her work vigorously;
   her arms are strong for her tasks.
 She sees that her trading is profitable,
   and her lamp does not go out at night. 
In her hand she holds the distaff
   and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
She makes coverings for her bed;
   she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
She is clothed with strength and dignity;
   she can laugh at the days to come."
Proverbs 31:13-22

Have a fabulous day! God Bless ya,
Tammy

The scene of the crash.....

So, I've been getting a lot of "flack" for not posting regularly.... yeah, you know who you are! Well, it's true, I have been slackin' on blogging lately. But, in my defense, I haven't been visiting anyone else's blogs either.... just too busy!

So, the "crash".... well recently, Miss Sherry and I started to move some fabric and set up a new display in the store. And in an attempt to hang a quilt, Miss Sherry, while kneeling on top of one of these shelving units CRASHED to the floor!

 
She seriously fell from the top of this unit to the floor and scraped everything all the way down!
It happened so fast, that I couldn't do a thing to help.

At least I didn't laugh. Yeah, it's true....,I laugh sometimes when people fall down. I know it's terrible, and I usually try to see if they're injured first, but sometimes, it's just not my first reaction. Just bein' totally honest here. It's probably why I like America's Funniest Videos so much. The crotch hits, well you've seen one, you've seen them all. And pants falling down, not that funny to me, but people and animals falling down,.... yeah...... just sayin'...., hilarious....!
That's only because it's not me falling, that would be a whole different story now wouldn't it!

 
So we put any ice-pack on it right away. Here's a close-up of the "battle wound".

 
And, she kept finding more bruises all over her body for the next few days! What some people won't do, to get time off from work! No, actually she worked the rest of the day too! She's a trooper, I tell ya.

 
This was the end result..... I don't know if Sherry would say it was "worth the effort" she put into it, but we just know from now on, I hang the quilts and make her stay on the floor!

We have a shop-hop this weekend so everyone is super busy! I'll blog again soon, I promise! My mom is doing great for all of you that have been asking. I'll put some pics of her on soon too.

****Thought for the day****
Here are a few quotes I thought you might like;
"It is better to keep a friend from falling
than to help him up"
unknown
"A friend is someone who helps you up when you're down,
and if they can't, they lay down beside you and listen."
unknown
"A true friend is one who knows all about you
and likes you anyway."
Christi Mary Warner
"A friend is one who takes me for what I am."
Henry David Thoreau

Have a fabulous week and weekend everyone!
Blessings,
Tammy

Fabric Hoarder's Disorder Clinic....

We recently had a fabulous event here at the store called Fabric Hoarder's Disorder Clinic where we featured some great demos and sales for our favorite customers. Here's Julie, sporting her "Tammy Tadd colors". You probably didn't know that we "own" pink and green did you? Too bad we DON'T, they ARE fabulous colors after all!

One of our demos was from John of Paper Pieces. Here he is showin' ladies "just how it's done".

 
Nurse Sue, giving free blood pressure checks... some husbands needed to be monitored while their wives shopped! Not really, Eric (here) was a willing participant .... AND he was rewarded with candy Smarties!

 
Suzanne, proves that "ZIPPERS ARE NO BIG DEAL" as Terry Atkinson from Atkinson Designs says. Have you ever seen so many FABULOUS zipper colors? They are 14", and retail for $.89 each. So you can imagine, they sell like hot cakes! If you can't find them at your local shop, call the store and order.

 
Nan, helping ladies with our "make and take" wool heart pins.

 
Miss Sherry's demo, was the Folded Bow-Tie Block. Ladies were havin' a great time learning to make this block. It will be interesting to see what kind of projects they come up with to use these fun little blocks. 

Nurse Sue again, showing ladies how to make the Hot Dog pillowcase and helping us to make our "happy" pillowcases for charity. Check out the sew hooked blog for a tutorial on making these fast and fun pillowcases.

 
****Thought for the Day****
"Really I don't dislike to cook,
but what you cook is eaten so quickly. 
When you sew,
you have something that will last
to show for your efforts." 
Elizabeth Travis Johnson

Hey, updates on some things..... my mom is doing great, in case you were wondering. We have recently made some changes to our website and newsletter format. We no longer offer a shopping cart on our site, it was just too hard to keep it current. So if you see anything on the site that you would like to order, just call the store and order direct.

We have a FABULOUS event coming in April. Our friend Penny Sturges from Quilts Illustrated is coming for a Meet & Greet on Thursday April 14th in the evening from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. as well as a bag workshop on Friday the 15th from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. If you like her bag patterns such as The Weekender, Charm Party, or Bow Tucks, you won't want to miss this opportunity to learn from the "master" herself. Spaces are limited so if you're interested, call right away to reserve a spot. I can't think of a better way to spend "tax day" can you?

Have a wonderful week everyone!
God Bless ya,
Tammy