My oh My! What a Mess!

I decided that this was an apt quilt to describe things at the moment. Fiesta - you were correct. For some reason Paypal is sending notification of payment to info@janpatekquilts.com. That was our email address at the old website. I have no idea where they got it or why they started all of a sudden using it. We didn't even take Paypal at that website. Aargh.

Luckily we have a way of cross referencing things now that we know there is a problem. Our store also has an orders page and we'll go back over our old orders and doublecheck things.

Mary from Lake Pulaski, I found your order there and we'll send it out Tuesday.

I also know that we were having trouble with the store deciding all by itself to charge a "handling" fee. We have Flat Rate shipping - there is no handling fee. Byron was refunding the "handling" charge amount so you may have gotten an invoice from us that differed from the PayPal invoice. It should have been lower. If you have gotten an email invoice from us, it means your order was shipped. It may have said "Payment is Due" but that's Quickbooks with their templates, I guess. Kind of like "Word" will capitalize or uncapitalize words for you without you knowing it. We live on "Last Drive". When I give directions, lots of people at first would try to figure out how they were supposed to know which one was the last drive. We figured it out and fixed it.

Just for your info, for those of you who don't know, we're not a retail store with a large staff. We're not really a store at all. I'm just a designer who started kitting a few things when people wanted them. We try to be efficient and get things out in a timely manner. And the post offices in rural areas like the one we live in seem to have gone bonkers since March so getting things mailed at all has turned into quite a challenge. We can take them to the post office but where they go from there is anyone's guess. We think we have that figured out and fixed but occasionally there is still a glitch.

And last week my nephew (brother's son) died suddenly. My daughter and another nephew and this one were all born the same year. We will miss him.

And my only sister is having surgery and chemo for breast cancer. Since her husband died a few years ago, I'm her main support and driver.

When things like that happen, we have to stop and take time for life and we don't always have time to answer emails immediately - that is, if they don't go to the wrong address. I know it's frustrating and I do apologize and we can only do what we can do.

I don't usually blog about things like this, but I can understand people's frustration at not getting what they ordered in a timely manner.

We just got things somewhat back to a routine and now we need to figure out what orders we're missing and why the old address got used at all.

Tomorrow I'm going to church with my grandkids and family. The rest of this Labor Day Weekend, we'll see what we can figure out. Luckily Pep's off - he can cook. :)

And I WILL take time to stitch. It keeps me sane.

It's September - Yay! - and Freebie Friday again

It's September - one of my favorite months of the year. To begin with it's cooling down and Fall is on the way, if not here. And of course, the 7th is Cherie and my birthday. We're birthday sisters - she's the young one, of course.

This month we're shipping out our "The Witch Is In" kit to Wallhanging Club members. It's one of my favorite little quilts. It has hung over my chair at the last 2 Markets and probably will again this fall. I always say that it's not a Halloween quilt, it's a statement quilt.

And we have a few Together Scrap Bag and Petit Four sets left to make our Cozy Cabin in the Christmas Woods wallhanging. Moda was very generous so we had a lot. They'll be in the store for a penny (not Free but pretty dang close to it) until Tuesday. Scroll down to our last post to read all about it.

And remember, the Moda County Fair Blog Hop starts on the 6th with Sandy Gervais (see the button to the right.)

Happy September and Happy Quilting from Moda and Jan Patek to you.

Freebie Friday! "Together" by Brannock/Patek for Moda

Early this summer our nice UPS man brought us a big box from Moda. Hmmm! We hadn't ordered anything lately. When we opened it, it was crammed full of strips from Linda and my latest line "Together". Wow! Cheryl, the fabric guru for Moda and our boss, thought they might be good for a blog giveaway.

At first I was going to just pack them in bags and give them away.

But then..... my mind started seeing strips made into log cabins - log cabins and trees. And "Cozy Cabin in the Christmas Woods" came into being.

To celebrate "Together" shipping to your favorite quilt shop this week and next, you can download the pattern for the little quilt by clicking on the "Download Now" under the quilt.

Download Now!

And if you want to make a quilt in similar fabrics you can go to our store and get a Scrap Bag and Petit Four for a penny. (Our store won't let us just give away things, darnit.) You can make the border exactly like this from the Petit Four pack but the fabrics in the scrap bags will vary somewhat. Tori and Wendy did make sure that there were a variety of colors in each bag and red for the sashing. And one per customer, please.

You can use fabrics on hand for the background, tree trunks and door, stars and binding or you can order our Cozy Cabin Fabric Pack for $7.00.

Either way the pattern is free and the Scrap Bag and Petit Four are only a penny.

Linda and I really like "Together" and hope you do too.

Happy quilting

Jan

Sunflowers & Scarecrows - I'm ready!

Boy, howdy, am I ready for Fall!

We've had lots of fresh tomatoes - one of summer's great gifts. Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches with real tomatoes, Burgers bacon and Pep's sourdough bread - I'm in heaven. Pep's summer pizza with his homemade crust, tomatoes, cheese, olive oil and anchovies - to die for. And don't turn your nose up at the anchovies. They just add a touch of rich saltiness to the mix. And then there's just plain ole sliced tomatoes on sandwiches or with dinner. God's gift in summer for putting up with the heat.

And awesome fresh sliced cucumbers, chilled straight from the garden (grown by me) with a dollop of hummus (made by Pep) and a twist of roasted red pepper or sundried tomato.

And still, I'm mostly sated (we're having summer pizza tonight :) - yum) and glad that we're getting some cooler weather already. Thank you, God!

This is Sunflowers and Scarecrows (or is it Scarecrows and Sunflowers?). Either way, it my project in the latest Primitive Quilts and Projects. You can order the kit from me here

or just get the pattern by going to their website and ordering a magazine here.

And there are 14 great projects in the magazine besides mine. Pretty good deal!

"Together" - Linda and my latest fabric line for Moda - is getting ready to ship. Be watching the blog for a free quilt pattern and some fabric - coming soon!.

Time for the dogs and I to go on our walk. Then I get to sit and stitch while Pep makes Summer Pizza. Life is good!

August in Missouri ........

is hot! And this year is no exception. Here's where Spike & Nero spend most of their time. I must admit I don't mind sitting and sewing or working at the computer much - as long as it's inside. We do go out for our daily walk unless it's over 100 - which it has been a few days. Then Spike doesn't get to come (bulldogs can have swelling that cuts off their oxygen) - and Nero and I only walk halfway.

Our latest Quilt of the Quarter kit is shipping this week - Gabriel's Ark. I made one for Gabriel for his birthday and we're making one for me to keep. Can you tell I like it? It's going UPS so things should ship on time. We've found out that a lot of our problem is because we're a rural post office and things are cutting back out here. We think we finally have the smaller item shipping problems taken care of. We're crossing our fingers that everything goes smoothly again this month.

Meanwhile, we've added a new item to our Notions page in the store. When I was teaching in France this spring I found out that they don't have Freezer Paper over there - at least not in France. I've been using the Jenkins Freezer Paper sheets for quite awhile as well as the paper on the roll you can get at the hardware store or Walmart (in season). Natalie, my interpreter - who lived in the US for awhile - assured me that they just don't have what we quilters know and love so much. So I decided to carry it.

It's even pretty handy here in the US if you have a scanner. Just scan your pattern page in and print it out on the paper. And if you're overseas and order kits, etc. from us, just have us send a package of the paper with your order. It's been years since I appliqued without using freezer paper and wanted to make sure it was available if possible.

It's cooled down a little today so I'm off to water the garden and go for our walk. Spike gets to come today. He does get cranky when I leave him behind.

Lazy, Hazy - My Eye!

Old song from my youth - by Nat King Cole, I think, - about Lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. I always think of it about this time of year and wonder where they lived. Certainly not in the country.

A week or so ago, I went to Jefferson City, Mo. to give a lecture to their guild - another really neat group of ladies. My thanks to Bev Coleman, their program chairman, and to Janet and her husband Phil, who put me graciously up for the night. It's always so neat to see not only the quilts by the guild members but the ones in peoples homes too. And by the way, watch for an awesome cookbook they're putting together for a fund raiser. If the food at the meeting was any example the cookbook will be great!

Then the next morning, being so close, I had to run by and see my nephew Jewell and his wife Heather. And of course, my great neices Emmie and Mazie. And they are great too.

The following Saturday I finally got to run over to Hamilton to teach a machine applique class at Missouri Star Quilt Co. We've been trying to schedule this class all spring and we finally made it! Here Carolyn Peterson and Jenny Doan are working away and

Kelly and Mary Beth are too. It was a great class and I think everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.

And summer or not, every afternoon the dogs and I go for my walk. When we get back to the top of the hill Spike just climbs in the watertub by the chicken yard and sits down. He reminds me of that old time picture of the baby in the tub. He's a whole 4 months old now and quite a handful. He is a bulldog. Part of the purpose of the walk is to wear his little puppy self out so the evening will be a little quieter.

Then every evening the garden needs watering - flowers and veggies. We've had our first tomatoes so as usual, I'm now ready for a freeze :). Have I mentioned a lot how much I dislike hot weather.

We finally seem to have the hawk problem taken care of for now so new baby chickens have gotten here. Cullin may follow in the footsteps of his great grandfather and great uncle - my brother - and be a vet. Every chance he gets, he's up with the chickens........

or playing in the sprinkler with Quinn.

There has been some quilting going on - a little, at least. We're having Christmas in July here and this week you can get 15% off of Christmas 101 if you buy a signed copy of Country Quilts for Your Soul.

And it's time for me to go stitch. Pep almost has dinner ready - it's his night off - and I am ready to sit and stitch and then eat.

Stay as cool as possible, ladies.

Jan

Busy as a Bee & Growing like Weeds

Both puppies and grandkids are growing in leaps and bounds - sheesh!

Here Spike is playing with his great friend Duke, Max's dog. And Duke is ever so patient with the little puppy that pesters him all of the time. I occasionally have to put Spike in his kennel to help him settle down, he plays so hard.

And not to be outdone, Quinn and Cullin are growing like weeds too. Here they are with some of the baby chickens.

And the chickens have been part of the busy as a bee syndrome. For the first time since we lived here, we have had a chicken hawk. We've lost quite a few of the babies, it leaves the big chickens alone. I know it's a hawk because I saw it in the brooder pen one afternoon when I came down from the loft to get a drink of water. We ordered netting and covered the pen and we were still losing chickens. I finally figured out that he was landing on the gate to the pen and coming in under the netting there. We covered that small space and have stopped him - hopefully. At least everyone has been safe long enough that we ordered new babies. Sorry hawk - go work for your food and eat vermin like you're supposed too. These ladies lay our eggs. And they're our friends.

This is 3 Cabins, the Wallhanging Club kit we just sent out. It's made totally of the homespuns from our Classic Wovens line. You can order it here. I just love the homespuns. I almost always use them as backing because I like the way they feel. Occasionally I do a whole quilt out of them and this is a favorite of mine. Homespuns are so soft and comfy and quilty.

The latest Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine is shipping. If you want a subscription you can order one (or buy a single magazine) here. You can find a pattern for

"Sunflowers and Scarecrows" in this issue. You can also buy a kit by clicking here. It's a really fun kit and while I'm waiting for the first real tomatoes, I'm also starting to long for Fall. Working on a Fall kit always helps me through the heat :).

Speaking of heat, I just went to Ponca City, Oklahoma to give a lecture and teach a workshop with the Pioneer Area Quilt Guild. It was 110 there one day and they are having a major drought while up here people are coping with flooding. I'd send them some rain if I could.

Heat or no heat, we had a great time. All in all a great group of women. I want to especially thank Jane and Bill Thomason who graciously let me stay in their beautiful home as well as their program chairman, Cheryl Ramsey for squiring me around.

Spike wasn't fond of my trip however. Pep said he climbed into my chair looking woebegone a couple of hours after I left. Pep sent the picture to me on my phone and titled it "Missing Mom." It broke my little heart. We both survived though :)

I realized that I forgot to mention my trip to Warrensburg, Mo. in June to speak at their Guild. Another really warm group - if you're in the area, a great group to visit and join. And lots of thanks to Toni and Dave Peerbolte who put me up for the night. This is a picture of just a small part of Dave's train garden. It's really fun. - Make a great quilt - hmmm!

Well, the chickens are safe and I go to Jefferson City, Mo. to speak at their guild next Tuesday. Today I get to slow down and stitch a little.

Have a good weekend.