Switzerland

Selena took these wonderful photos during her trip to see the new machine.






















And here is the reason for all the excitement - your first glimpse of the new 830. Selena is raving about it and all it can do!!!

Check out the Vest

Here's Selena, back from Switzerland, sporting her vest from Maria's class!! That's a punch needle decoration on the front. Where does she find the time to do it all? We think that she just doesn't sleep!
She has promised to provide us with photos of her and her new love - the Bernina 830 she tried on her trip.

First Shanghai, and then Switzerland!?!

Selena is in Switzerland getting to know the new Bernina 830! All we are hearing from her is "nice, nice, nice, big, you are going to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it", and we'll hear more from her when she returns. She has also had a wonderful tour of Zurich, but do we have any photos yet? No! Hopefully she'll have some time off from playing with the new, wonderful machine and send some......
Don't forget about our Make a Date with 8, Sept 6 - 8th, when you'll get to learn more about the new 830. We'll be having some special events along with some special sales. You can look for an email announcement as the time gets closer.

Hi Everyone!

Our new townhome in China!
Grace and I and Domenic are back together again and learning the ways of life in Shanghai. We moved directly into our residence and are awaiting the arrival our furniture which will make things feel more like home. In the interim we have rented furniture and are making do until then. Cupcake our dog arrived before Grace and I and was very happy to see us. Except for a pound or two she does not seen fazed by her long distant Journey.

It is interesting living in a Country where you do not speak the language. There are so many things that we seem to take for granted. We have had to figure out the major appliances as everything is written in Chinese. I did not realize how many cycles actually exist on a washing machine. We have a very high tech one and just trying to figure how it simply washes took an entire afternoon. The weather is extremely humid and we understand why most expats vacation during the month of August. It is very hot and the humidity makes the air quite thick. We have settled into the western suburbs (Puxi) where the air quality is a bit better than much of Shanghai but it still seems August will be a challenge. Another challenge appears to be the internet. It is painfully slow and sometimes unavailable. This is something we are looking in to fixing.

Grace is eager to start school and make new friends. We have not seen too many children in our community and we think it is because most people are on vacation until school commences. Yesterday we visited her school and picked up her uniform. Boy does she look cute!!

I have attached some photos of our new life. Yes, I do have to admit that our first meal outside was at a Burger King!!
Eager to get to Shanghai -
Enduring the connection in Chicago!




Grace's First purchased meal in Shanghai. Burger King Fries!! They still taste the same.




Domenic - Standing outside our new home in China!

She's Landed!!

Aida left a comment on the previous post that Lorraine and Grace have arrived!!! Yippee!!

She's On Her Way

So here she is taking care of last minute business.........





And then.........







And finally...........







Next .......we'll see her half way around the world!!!

More Trips

The latest version of the Colorsplash quilts - still in progress - still beautiful.

Circle of Life

Check out Susan's quilt (and the sneakers are so cute)! The color palette is gorgeous. She promises to get another photo to us when it is quilted. It will be stunning!

Maria's Guitars

Here it is!!! We've heard how beautiful this quilt is, and now we can all see for ourselves!!! This will be going up to the shop tomorrow (Monday) so you can see it there in person. Check out the guitar picks along the bottom. Way to go, Maria!!!

Where's Lorraine?

Well..... she is still here in the states, but she has been very good about staying away from the shop! This way we have to figure things out by ourselves! Its working!!! She is busy making last-minute preparations for the trip and doing the final packing.
Domenic is getting life all sorted out in Shanghai for their arrival. He's figuring all the critical things out (like how to run the kitchen appliances when all the symbols are in Chinese). Pretty soon we'll be getting all sorts of interesting photos and news to view here on the blog. What fun!!!

Fall Class Quilts

Here is a bit of eye candy to whet your appetite for upcoming classes! Don't you always love it when the new quilts come in? Its our very own quilt show! Here are a couple of photos of Selena's quilt "Tropical Sampler" - this is really luscious and needs to be viewed in person to really appreciate it.







Now for a photo of the "wall in progress" - not all the new quilts are up yet (and I hear that Maria's guitar is stunning) but it's still a treat to see. Stop by and check it out, and remember, this is the weekend of the super class/demo machine sale.

Colorsplash Trip

Here are a few photos from the Colorsplash Trip Around The World class - some very exciting tops. Next week I expect we'll see some very exciting borders!!! Click on the pictures to see them larger.

And We're Up and Running!!!!

So Lorraine is getting ready to take off (Domenic has already landed!) and the staff is scrambling to keep the shop running smoothly! So far so good..... The Fall newsletter is now available on the website and it's impressive (if we do say so ourselves)!
Thanks for your patience during this transition. We're all taking on new roles and learning a lot, and we are also very confident and committed to keeping the shop as vibrant and bustling as it has always been.
Looking ahead - We're having a sale on classroom and demo machines (a unique opportunity to purchase that machine you've been dreaming about) from August 7 - 10. Come in and check them out!!!