Anna Maria Horner

Anna Maria Horner, me, and Carrie Jarvis, owner of The Top Stitch. Last Friday, I had the very special opportunity to meet and hear from Anna Maria Horner. She is a lovely person, an artist, and a fabric designer. A few things I have made with her fabrics:

Listening to Anna Maria talk about her career path was encouraging for me. She still does pretty much everything herself. She does not have the staff I imagined. She does have one full time assistant. So now when I dream of being more productive, I can envision starting with just one person. Makes the dream much closer. She does the computer part of her design work on Gimp. (I am so glad someone asked her the question.) I have been reluctant to spend the money on Photoshop, but now I have a free alternative with Gimp. I have only just started playing with it, but it seems a lot like photoshop. If it is powerful enough for Anna Maria Horner, I know it can do everything I need too. It was such a treat to meet one of my design heros. Her upcoming book is going to be amazing. Here is Anna Maria's blog.

She would look good in a potato sack...

I grew up with the notion that that was the ultimate compliment. If you could make burlap look good, baby, you got it. Meet Amy Butler, she makes burlap look good. People often ask me where I get the great fabrics for my bags. If you are in Spokane, the only place to get it is The Top Stitch. The owner, Carrie Jarvis, gives sewing lessons too. The shop, in its new location at 3808 N Monroe, is roomy, well lit, and chock full of fabrics that make aprons look good enough to wear out of the house. I have to admit that the burlap was not my idea. These bags are part of a custom order I made for a great gal on the East Coast. I am headed from here to post photos and a funny listing for her in my shop. Thank you Carrie, and thank you Amy Butler for making me look good, even in a potato sack.