Okay....I'm moving in that direction.....(with some questioning...grinning.) It's good to reflect and even better to realize that moving from my mini career of cookbook author to the wide, wide world of quilting was nothing short of a miracle. I had no expectations; my interest started as a hobby.....so obviously there would be no disappointments. My needle became a magic carpet....taking me places I would never have dreamed of....making new friends whose paths I would never have crossed if I'd have stayed in the kitchen.
A short look back.......
My first published book.....what?? Yes a children's cookbook.
The first of my 6 first published quilt books.
The payoffs were spectacular!!! 'Have suitcase....will travel' became my motto for 25+ years. Yup...that's me in my suitcase in a hotel room in Paris in 2001.
I truly wish I had blogged earlier......then I'd have had a record of this event. In 2002 I was asked to model this traveling tu-tu....and of course I felt the need to twirl. A member of the guild I was visiting made a tu-tu (why?? If there was a reason I don't recall)....apparently she took it to various places and asked people to wear it while she snapped a picture.
Some of the most rewarding teaching trips were cruises...first as a guest teacher for Doreen Speckmann, then after her passing in 1999, as the host. How I ever taught beading with paper or a white board, drawing with various colors of markers, is a tribute to the quality of eager students!
And learn they did!!!
The whole way I taught changed completely with the aid of a digital projector and the ability to stream a live feed. There's no turning back on my decision to retire.....my equipment is now owned by someone else....a step I needed to take otherwise I know in two months I'd probably be back on the quilting highway.
My last book.
Yesterday I closed down my website and will now maintain only this blog and my blog gallery shop. (A special thank you to Nanette Zeller, webmaster supreme who is also an excellent art quilter.)
With the exception of this book and my DVD, all the others are out of print but can be found in the resale market online (link on side bar), as ebooks, or print on demand from the publishers. My goal is to continue to create.....with a fervent hope that I will be able to sell enough to allow me to keep creating!!!
Follow these links to see what others have been up to this week: Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday, Crazy Mom Quilts, Whoop, Whoop Friday, and Richard and Tanya Quilts.
14 comments:
Congratulations and have fun! You've actually done it now and there is nothing like it! Hooray for you!
Wow! What a full life you have led so far! And now the second chapter begins :-) oh the possibilities
That was an especially interesting read! I'm on the front end of that curve you were on so your perspective is enlightening. Don't know if I'll ever do a book but I do love to travel and teach. I'm sure you will fully enjoy your retirement!
Way to go, Mary! I hadn't realized your career started with a cookbook. What fun to tour memory lane with you. I still remember with great fondness when you came to my guild and presented your fashion show. I even got to model a piece or two. :)
Yes congratulations and I love your enthusiastic spirit to embrace this next chapter! I'm your newest GFC follower! YAH!! Looking forward to watching your next chapter evolve. ENJOY!
Thanks for the trip back in time. I met you way back in the early 1990s at QBU in Batavia IL if I remember right.
Enjoy your retirement and creative adventures. Give yourself permission to play........
Congrats and thanks for sharing! Any career path that involves twirling in a traveling tu-tu is worth learning more about!
Congratulations, Mary! And thanks for the retrospective. What a great career!
Congratulations on your retirement. It's exciting to be stepping onto the next phase of your life. Still now I'm a bit miffed that I didn't take your class while you were in the Erie region (hmmm maybe around 2000 or so) whether I did a lot of appliquing and embellishment or not. I would have loved spending the time in person with you.
I'm sorry I was never able to take a workshop from you but I did purchase your beading book 'the Stori of beaded embellisment' several years ago and of course I found your children's cookbook online and gave to my grand kids!
What a nice lookback!!!
Glad I have your books. Glad I took that beading class from you in St Paul (Minnesota quilt show...1999?) so I could add "rain" to a storm quilt. Glad I became more than a student and groupie. It was a great run and yes, if you don't actually get rid of those "teaching tools", you'll forever be tempted to do just one more. Looking forward to this new phase in your creative life. Indeed - you will figure it out as you have every other phase. Thank you for all you've given and shared.
Congratulations on retiring, although I hope you don't retire your blog. Enjoy your new free time!
What a great post! It's fun to see the places you've been and things you've done. A rich, full professional life. I could almost picture those beads rolling when the cruise ship would pitch! And now for the next chapters... I'm sure they will be as fulfilling and rewarding for you. My lips to God's ear!
Enjoy your well deserved retirement. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, you have left quite a legacy.
Although we've never met (what a shame) I feel as though I know you through your blog, so be sure to keep it up.
Post a Comment