Dreams do come true.

In 2007 I wrote the following paragraph in my journal. It was written by Corey Amaro in the Jan/Feb 07 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors.

"Many of us have seeds buried within us that are longing to be watered, hoping to be unearthed, waiting to share their fragrant scent. Creativity is born from the smallest of seeds. If we can nurture our dreams with the belief that we have something to give, we can learn to trust that our roots will spread into tomorrow. When a seedling of passion awakens, it can bloom a never-ending bouquet of happiness for us to hold."

I have been quilting since 1989. The quilting seed was planted in me then. It's been my passion ever since. I taught quilting for 10 years until our local quilt shop closed in 2005. I loved every single minute of it and loved my students. Sharing quilting and giving in general has always been one of my greatest joys in life. We all have something to give, even a simple smile or a hug.

My book, Briarside Lane, is the seed that was buried inside of me that longed to be watered and unearthed. It took me losing my full time job in 2010 for me to start nurturing that seed. It took me finding a part of me that I had buried for a very long time. I spent a year trying to figure out what to do with my life and get a grip. Then I spent a year writing, desiging and fine tuning my Folk Art Fusion technique. I wanted to share something different, something fun, something that would make people say, "Wow, I made that!"  I wanted to give from my heart.

One of my biggest dreams has always been to go to the Houston Quilt Market. Twenty Three years of quilting and I have never been. Most people don't understand how expensive it is to run a company and how you really don't make any money for several years in the beginning. Everything goes back into the company. Going to market with my book would have to wait as I just couldn't afford the thousands of dollars it would take to make it all happen.

But then, last week I received a phone call from Dana of Valdani. My hands began to shake and tears streamed down my face as I listened to her say, "Michelle, we would like to invite you to Houston to display your book and your patterns in our booth." OH....MY....GOSH!!!!!! HAPPY BUNNY DANCE!!! I'm in my dream awake!!!

I use Valdani exclusively in all my designs for the simple reason that I love their 3 strand colorfast floss. I'm not a person that can promote or sell something that I truly don't believe in or love. I love everything about Valdani and I'm proud and honored to use their products.

Dreams really do come true. Sometimes it takes a while, even years, but they do come true if we always believe they will. So, I'll be at the Houston Quilt Market this October. If you happen to be there, I'll be the one in the Valdani booth with the great big smile. :)

Thank you so very much Dana and Valdani for believing in me and my designs.

xx, Michelle