Notes from the Patch

A Tale of Kindergarten and Bernina Club

This past week has been a doozy: A quick trip to Ventura a week ago Saturday to haul stuff home - (it looks like our house there has finally sold). Back to Ventura on Monday afternoon to welcome spring break kids from snowy Kansas. Back to Bakersfield Wednesday afternoon for Bernina Club Wednesday night and Thursday morning then back to Ventura Thursday afternoon to see kids off Friday morning. Bill and I returned back in Bakersfield Friday about noon to immediately turn around and join our other kids for three days in Las Vegas. With all the stuff going on with selling our beach house Bill suggested we might want to cancel the visits with our kids. My answer was an emphatic, "No! When kids want you in their lives you'd best be showing up". All righty then.

One of the other things I've been passionate about lately is Bernina Club. If you read this post you know that we officially have a new Club President and I am no longer the one in charge. Here's proof:

Dear Suzanne:

I wanted to thank you so much for last night’s Bernina Club and share with you a personal story of what the evening meant to me.  You see, my baby is almost five.  My husband and I have been searching for the right answer as to what to do next school year.  She’s an August birthday, so if she started school in the Fall, she would be 4 and turn 5 at the end of the month.  I know it doesn’t sound like much, but looking forward, it’s the difference in sending your baby girl off to college at 17 almost 18 versus late starting kindergarten and sending your baby off to college at 18 almost 19.  As a mom of 3 boys, I’m ashamed to admit it’s different for a girl, but it just is.  And then there’s the decision to do private school or Laurelglen.  Up until a few years ago, all of my boys were in Stockdale Christian School.  There’s just too many options and I have been searching for the right answer knowing the decision had to be made by April 2^nd. 

 

You might be wondering why I’m telling you this, and what does this have to do with Bernina Club, so here it is.  I believe in divine guidance and that everything happens for a reason;  I now know what we’re doing next year and I owe it to Bernina Club.  You see, I woke up Monday morning, read your blog, and called Barbara.  I told her I wanted to go to Bernina Club Wednesday night and I couldn’t go alone. She had to go with me (I’m really insecure at times).  I didn’t know why, after all these years, I chose this month to want to go, but I just wanted to go and I couldn’t explain why.

 

 Jump to Wednesday morning.  I was at Laurelglen School counting money for a fundraiser I was leading (I’m the only fool I know who volunteers at a school with no children there) .  There’s a lot of changes going on at the school and change brings uncertainty and fear, thus my reluctance to send my angel off to the big bad world of Laurelglen school.  While there I heard through the rumor mill that Mrs. Wortiska was moving from 1^st grade down to kindergarten (hot dog ‘cause I heard she’s the bomb).  I made a beeline to the Principal’s office to give her a proposition she wouldn’t be able to refuse (she already knew what I was thinking about regarding public vs. private) …….very kindly, I explained that hearing that Mrs. Wortiska was going to be in kindergarten was enough for a girl to consider enrolling her angel there if she was given some kind of guarantee that the angel would be placed in Mrs. Wortiska’s class.  The principal nicely smiled at me and when I was done whining, she explained that the kindergarten teachers themselves did the assessment and put the classes together; she had nothing to do with it.  I thanked her and walked away wondering what to do next.  I’ve never met Mrs. Wortiska; I think I kinda knew what she looked like, but I had never personally met her. I’ve just heard what a great teacher she is and that all of the smart people (like me of course) want their child in her class.  I was left plotting how I would approach her and when that would take place.  She didn’t know me from Adam.  I was afraid she would think, “who’s this crazy lady coming in my class demanding I be her daughter’s teacher?”

 

Fast forward to Wednesday night’s Bernina Club.  During “show and tell” I saw a woman in the back that looked very familiar (no name tag).  I leaned over and asked Barb who she was; she told me it was Sally Wortiska.  Hot dog, I knew my reason for being there. It was my opportunity to introduce myself and talk to her.  After I finished sewing my ruffle, I stood up, and she was there behind me.  I took the time to introduce myself and explained to her what was mulling over in my head.  We had a wonderful conversation and I felt an incredible peace that I was to send my angel to school this school year and enroll her in Laurelglen.  I just felt like all of the questions I had were answered and I felt a sense of relief.  (I’m bringing tears to my own eyes typing this.  That’s how much the evening meant to me).

 

There’s no absolute guarantee that we will get Mrs. Wortiska, but I feel at peace with the decision.  It’s one of those things that when it feels right, it just is.  And I owe it all to Bernina Club…………  thank you for using your business to bring women together for their personal success whatever that may be.

 

Kristen

Thank you Kristen for taking the time to write me. I know without a doubt that God has His hands on my business and your letter proves it.

Encourage one another,

Gratitude

I've been so weepy lately. I'm fine during the day but once Bill goes off to bed and the house gets quiet I loose it.

I must say I've had my share of things to be sad about. Last Friday Bill and I attended our forth funeral in less than three weeks. As we drove north to the service the news of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings broke over the radio. We listened in disbelief. So much sadness. So much senseless tragedy.

My heart aches for our friend who suddenly lost her husband of over fifty years. I'm so sad for her children and grandchildren who are trying to deal with the loss of their dad and grandpa. My heart aches for another friend whose mother recently passed away from cancer. She feels so lost and misses her mother terribly. I can't even imagine how the families of the students and faculty in that Connecticut school must feel. The whole nation grieves with them.

Early today we got news that my former manager, Amanda had to have her two day old baby boy airlifted to UCLA for open heart surgery. She and her sweet family face months of worry while living in the PICU.

Bill and I feel so helpless. We can't take away their pain. We can only cry and pray and hope they feel the love that is sent their way.

Enter my Gratitude Jar. I was going to wait until January to start it but I really need it now. I want to focus on the positive; writing down something I'm thankful for everyday. Looking for the good in the midst of all this sadness.

Day 1. Today I am thankful for the team of skilled pediatric heart surgeons who will perform surgery on baby Will. Today I am thankful for a God that loves each of us and hears our prayers.

If you would like to send a card to Amanda and her family you can send them to Strawberry Patches and I'll see that she gets them.

I'm so thankful for you all.

Encourage one another,

 

 

 

 

The road that leads us home

We lost Bill's sweet mother this week. She lived a long life filled with love, laughter and a lifetime of great friends and wonderful memories. The journey certainly wasn't always easy but she never doubted where the road would lead.

(I love Chris Mann's beautiful voice) 

 

 Roads

There are roads in this life that we all travel
There are scars and there are battles where we roam
When we are lost or wherever we may go
They will always lead you home

There are roads that have lead me to another
To a friend or to a lover I have known
For every turn is a year that I have grown
As I walk along these roads

Some are long and some are weathered
Some will lead you through a storm
When you've gone astray you will find your way
As you walk along these roads

There were times when I stumbled and I wondered
But every choice and every step I don't regret
Cause I have lived and I have loved like no other
I won't fear what lies ahead

Some are long and some are weathered
Some will lead you through a storm
When you've gone astray you will find your way
As you walk along these roads

There are roads in this life that I have traveled
There are scars and there are battles, this I know
Cause I'd be lost, but no matter where I go
They will one day lead me home
They will one day lead me home

May, I'm sure heaven is a little more fun with you in it. 

Welcome home!

 

Encourage one another.

Sewing Seeds of Joy

Every time we go to market I tell my team, "Don't let me buy panels"! Panels can be so tempting but our big plans to make some fabulous project with them never seems to materialize and they almost always end up on the sale table.

Last spring we had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Janet Wecker Frisch in the Quilting Treasures booth. We told her what huge fans we (and you) are of her work. We reminisced about her legendary Animal Alphabet collections and then we bought her panels.

I have been dying to show you these. I know you girlfriends, and I know you are going to love these.

Janet has combined two of our favorite things, gardening with sewing in these sophisticated and inspirational prints.

There are two sizes of panels perfect for pockets on bags, pillows, apron patches and quilt blocks.

Sewing Seeds is an amazing collection and although I cut a piece of each of the  fabrics to take home, models won't be necessary to sell this group

they will sell themselves.

Encourage one another,

 

 

Remembering

Jeff would have been 43 today.

These last few weeks have been tough. My daughter in law reminded me that it's probably easier to have the day he went to heaven so close to the day he came to earth. She's probably right.

Jeff taught me so many things in his life and in his death.

43 years ago he taught me what it is to be a mother and about unconditional love. To me he was the most beautiful baby in the world and I defied anyone to say otherwise. Those first few weeks were hard though since I was used to being in total control. Suddenly this little seven pound - eleven ounce perfect baby boy was calling the shots. Little did I know that throughout his life he would continue to do so.

Jeff was extremely creative, smart and full of mischief and he often came up with creative ways to drive people crazy . He was the only boy I knew to be expelled from Vacation Bible School and suspended from preschool in the same year. Jeff went to a small private christian school and every year from first grade through sixth his teachers retired early after having him and his little band of hoodlums friends in their class. A coincidence? Em...probably not.

He drove his brother crazy too with his incessant teasing. And the bickering... all I ever wanted when I found out we were pregnant again was to have a brother for Jeff so they could be best friends. Jeff adored Bryan but sometimes had strange and annoying ways of showing it. To this day I doubt Bryan knows how much Jeff really loved and admired his little brother.

Through all his antics Jeff was the glue to our family. While the rest of us are more quiet and laid back, Jeff was the one that kept things hopping and through all his shenanigans, I never doubted his love for me and our family. At his funeral several of his friends came up to me and asked if I knew how proud Jeff was of me. My answer was always yes. I knew. He was so proud of the business that I had created and loved to show off my work to friends by having me make them baby gifts. Jeff was my biggest fan. He was the one who would call three times a day to tell me about Jake's latest achievement or brag about Nathan's newest trick. He was so proud of his kids and the home and life he and Cherene were creating for their family. I sure do miss those phone calls.

The last few years of his life things were different and it took awhile for us to understand what the real causes were. Not only did he have ALS but also frontotemporal dementia which changed his personality and ability to interact. Bryan's first clue that something was terribly wrong was when the teasing stopped. Jeff just wasn't Jeff anymore.

In death Jeff has taught me the importance of faith, family and friends. I couldn't have gotten through this time without my faith and the prayers, love and support of our family and friends. So many blog friends, many of whom I have never met, prayed for our family and offered their love to us. You need to know how much that meant to me then and still means to me today. I will never forget your compassionate outpouring of love.

I believe Jeff is happy and whole in heaven today and is surrounded by grandparents and friends that have gone on before us. I don't know, but I doubt that there is celebrating in heaven for worldly birthdays. Today I just wanted to remember for me and for the family and friends he left behind. 

Happy birthday baby.

Mom

My Garden of Eden

Our beautiful Eden roses are just beginning to bloom.

They are so big and heavy that they remind me of huge pink grape clusters drooping under their own weight.

Although they bloom off and on all spring and summer they are never as gorgeous as they are right now during this first bloom.  I look forward to them all winter and every morning as I pull out of the driveway I glance over to the brick wall that runs between us and our neighbors to check their progress.

I got up an hour early this morning to finish reading Heaven is Here by blogger Stephanie Neilson.

Reading Stephanie's blog after her accident helped me so much during the time I was caring for Jeff and preparing myself to live the remainder of my life here on earth without him. I know so many of you are going through tough times and I want to recommend this book to you as a source of hope and inspiration.

Stephanie writes about her life after a plane crash where she was burned over eighty percent of her body and how her faith, family and community helped pull her through some unbelievably horrific times. She reminds us that it's what's in our hearts that really matters and urges us to be kinder and more compassionate to one another. 

I love that.

In this crazy, busy world, it's our love and compassion and our connection to one another that really matters. With a positive attitude, our faith in God, and the love and support of our family and friends, we can do anything. It is possible to once again find joy through our pain and sorrow.

Have a wonderful Wednesday my friends!

Encourage one another,

 

 

 

 

The Reason for the Season

It's just days before Christmas and the stress in some of our customers is palpable as they scurry about trying to get everything done.

Tuesday we had three customers standing at the door before we officially opened at ten.  As we let them in from the cold they apologized and thanked us as they grabbed a quick gift card or a yard of fabric to finish last minute projects.

About mid morning a young mother came in with her three small children. As she strolled her baby through the store her two preschoolers made their way to the toys and began quietly playing together.

I overhead the five year old say to his sister, Excuse me, may I play with that toy? She happily handed it to her big brother and continued to play.

As I checked on the mom to see if there was anything I could help her with I told her what I had overheard and complemented her on her young children's kindness towards one another. She smiled and admitted she had reminded them to behave themselves before coming in the door.

A little later Barabara asked the four year old if is she was excited for Christmas and Santa Claus. She replied, Christmas isn't about Santa. Christmas is all about Jesus!

As you rush about to cross those last to dos off your list and put the last stitches on your gifts, I hope you'll stop and remember the words of one very wise little four year old.

Christmas isn't about Santa, Christmas is about Jesus.

Merry Christmas my friends.

Be kind to one another and share,

 

Life as I see it

Things always work out in the end. If it hasn't worked out yet, it's not the end.

Let me start by saying I'm typically not a worrier. I tend to trust that in the long run everything will be just fine. Oh yeah, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and start thinking of things that are going on in my life and worry a bit, but usually in the morning I realize how silly that was.

The thought of losing my manager, Amanda has been hard on me. I love that girl just as many of you do. I've watched her grow from a young inexperienced girl living at home with her parents to a married woman with a beautiful home of her own.

From the day Bill and I introduced Amanda to her husband Lang I've known this day would come - the day she'd leave me to stay home to rock her babies. As much as I want that for her (just as I wanted it for my own kids) I knew I would  miss her sweet competent spirit here with me every day.

The good thing about making a baby is that it takes time. Time I've needed to prepare myself both physically and emotionally for the day Amanda would be leaving.

As the months have clicked by and Amanda's belly has grown, I've slowly reclaimed some of the jobs I'd relinquished to her and found some wonderful, capable women to step in to help.

I've hired Becky Rhodes to head up the Bernina side of our business. Becky's knowledge and love of Bernina is as amazing as her laugh is infectious. Becky and I have some exciting plans in the works and it is our number one goal to continue to provide our customers with expert advise as well as continuing education on machines, software and sergers.

With Becky here everyday I was feeling more comfortable (and sleeping much better) but still felt like I could use just one more person to round out our team. This morning Andy Stewart came in with her resume in hand. She said she'd been praying about a part time job and several people had urged her to apply at Strawberry Patches.

This afternoon I hired Andy. It seems God answered two prayers when He sent Andy to me - hers and mine.

So things have worked out. As I see it, it's not the end but a bright new beginning.

A beginning for Amanda as she starts her new full time job as a mother, and a beginning for me who, with the love and support of a fabulous team will continue to help, inspire and encourage you our valued and cherished customer.

I am blessed and humbled in the knowledge that God hears our prayers. He blesses a young couple with life's greatest gift and He hears this woman's 3:00am prayer for strength, courage and the help she needs to carry on.

Encourage one another,

 We are getting together on Sunday, August 28  at 2:00pm to shower Amanda with love here at the store. We would love to have you join us.

 

 

 

 

Heaven is for Real

I don't read many books.

Oh, every time we leave for a vacation I buy one.

Bill just rolls his eyes. He knows I have good intentions but he also knows me. I never finish a book.

Well, hardly ever.

I stopped by Target after work last week. I needed some cosmetics and decided to just walk though the book department.

You know, as long as I was there.

This was on the end cap and caught my eye.

                                                                       photo from Amazon

Less than two hundred pages. Doable.

20% off. Fair.

#1 best seller. Why not?

Worst case scenario is it would end up on the book shelf with all the other well intentioned books I've bought but never finished.

Heaven is for Real is the true story of a four year old boys trip to heaven and back. He tells of meeting long departed family members and describes Jesus, the angels , how "really really big" God is, and how much God loves us. This simple book offers a glimpse of the world that awaits us where "nobody is old or wears glasses".

It just may change the way you think about heaven, or even earth for that matter.

For me it just confirms what I know.

Heaven is for real!

 Here's a short video of Colton and his mom and dad on the Today Show:

 

I recommend Heaven is for Real to anyone who has lost a loved one and looks forward to the day they'll be reunited.

Encourage one another,

Squirmy Worms in the Strawberry Patch Oh, No!

Worms in the strawberry patch usually spells trouble, but not in this case!

I met with the most delightful young woman on Friday.

Candice Doyle.

Remember that name.

I usually have good instincts about people and I have a feeling someday lots of people in the sewing world will know her name.

They say it's a small world and this just proves it .

When Candice was about nine she took sewing lessons at Strawberry Patches. I can't say I remember her from back then but I sure can't get her out of my mind now.

While shopping Quilt Market in Salt Lake City Candice was working in The Quilted Fish booth. I was freaking out over all the fabric party hats and adorable stuff in the booth while Candice politely answered my questions and took my order.

                                                              photo by The Quilted Fish

As we chatted (and I freaked) Candice casually mentioned that she learned to sew at Strawberry Patches when she was a little girl and lived in Bakersfield.

WHAT? Now I was really freaking out.

Talk about a small world.

Are you still with me?

I'm getting to my point.

I promise.

Fast forward to a month or so ago. Candice called for an appointment to show me her pattern line - Squirmy Worm Studio (cute name huh?). Can't say I remembered at the time of her call that I'd met her before (hey, I'm old and remembering stuff isn't my strong suit), but for some reason* I agreed to meet with her. (I usually don't agree to meet with people who call to show patterns because I'm super picky and I feel terrible when they drive a long way to show me things I don't want - very awkward!).

What was I saying... Oh, yeah. Candice.

Anyway, we were super busy when she called and I jotted down: Candice - late afternoon - July, 15 and promptly forgot about it (no surprise there).

Friday morning I told the girls that I was working with that I had an afternoon appointment with a new fabric rep, but couldn't remember what company she was with, just knew her name was Candice (that memory thing again). So when Candice showed up at the appointed time with her patterns to show me I was a bit surprised.

No fabric.

PATTERNS!

I took a deep breath and smiled as she laid them on the table. How was I going to politely tell this beautiful young woman that had traveled so far that I didn't want any patterns?

But to my absolute delight I did want her patterns.

                                                         Photo by Squirmy Worm Studio

All of them!

                                                             Photo by Squirmy Worm Studio

And models too.

                                                           Photo by Squirmy Worm Studio
 

Candice's patterns are simple, practical, modern and professionally done. I love them. I think you will love them too.

                                                                       Photo by Squirmy Worm Studio

Candice is a delightful young woman with an undeniable inner glow who has dreams of becoming a full time designer. I have a feeling she will. I also know I will do everything in my power to encourage her.

Encourage one another,

 

* Just as I believe it's a small world I also believe everything happens for a reason. I believe Candice took classes at Strawberry Patches fifteen years ago and was working in that booth so that someday I could be in some small way a part in her realizing her dream. I look forward to collaborating with Candice in the future.