Paint in My Hair

And Sometimes...I Paint

When I'm not changing diapers or cleaning bottles... When I'm not chasing Luke while he is running through the house, brandishing a giant dripping piece of watermelon with his diaper off... When I'm not cleaning glitter out of every nook and cranny (including poor baby brother's hair) from Lily's latest craft project... Sometimes the stars align and we have a few minutes of peace and I can sneak into my studio and paint. Phew!

Happy Father's Day!

Cheer up Grant!  Daddy needs some new photos for his desk.

Come on, little guy, smile for daddy.  

There we go.  That's almost a smile.  

A Flying Leap

We recently took a trip to our lovely MO Botanical Gardens.  The kids have discovered a little creek with tiny shells at the bottom of it.  It's the perfect size for an eight year old to take a flying leap.

It must have been 20 minutes of Lily and Lindsey testing their leaping skills and then stopping for a dig in the muddy river bottom.

I have a hard time saying "no" to this type of activity.  I was such a mud and water junky as a kid.  My best friend and I would create a river of mud in her front yard.  It was full of the red, sandy dirt you find sometimes in CA.  Makes THE best mud.  (Sigh)  We would just roll in it.  We had beauty contests. The muddiest contestant always won (AKA me because Tiffany's mom wouldn't let her get her hair muddy--The injustice!!)

And, according to family lore, on a family road trip we stopped at a river with rapids.  I was 2 years old and scrambled out of the car and ran straight for the river.  My dad proceeded to "teach" me the dangers of the river by tying a rope around my waist and putting me out in the rapids.  Yikes!  That is some serious old school parenting and I would not recommend it.

Lily has inherited my love of water and mud.  So who am I to say no.  Even if she is in her brand new hand made shirt.

(The truth is, I think Dave is the one who let them get in the creek.  I might actually have said no if I had gotten there on time :-))

These gardens are sooooo lovely.  One of our favorite things about the St Louis area.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures!

OK.  Just to get it all up while it's still fresh.....

More booth pictures.  This quilt is a free download on the Michael Miller website.  Here's a close-up:

The pods are actually 3-D.   Pretty cool, eh.

Purses in frames make me happy.

This purse pattern will be available soon.  I mean it!

And what do you think of this messenger bag?  I want to eat it!

Here's Kathy Miller jimmy rigging a "tree" so it wouldn't take up my whole booth.  She's fearless.

Posing with Kathy.

A walk with Heather.  Such a pretty view from the convention center.  One of the best parts of Quilt Market is getting a weekend away with Heather.  It's like being college roommates---accessory swapping, late night chats, chocolate munching, the works.

My point of view.

Heather's point of view.

A few cool things I saw:

I loved this booth (Maw-Bell Designs.)  Loved the newspaper rosettes.  And that quilt out of Heather's fabric is exquisite.

There are so many friends to see at Market.  Here's Chelsea with her charming children's clothing patterns.

I loved Bari J's new line.  Very painterly.  Very cool. 

Patti's new line.  So vibrant.  I love her lollypop quilt in the background.  She said it was her first quilt.  Wow!

And Paula's.  Love all the black and yellow.  I got some of her polka dots.  Can't wait to use them.

Phew!  That's a lot of pictures.  What a fun weekend though!  I am just brimming with ideas.

Quilt Market, Part 2 (That's right--2)

Here are a few pics of my booth.  (Thanks Heather for sharing your amazing photography skills!) I'll post more later, but today I want to show off a few guest stars of the booth. 

My mom sent along some goodies, including these art quilts.  Love that crow.

And I love this one.  It looks like running water.

And these 2 ladies turned a lot of heads. My mom has a pattern for this doll (Kay-La-Belle from Kalispell.)  Check it out.

I hope that's not pencil on the wall I'm hearing. Better run!

When I said Monday, I meant Tuesday

Well, Monday slipped through my fingers.  I got painting and playing with the kids and friends, and forgot all about the giveaway until I was getting the baby ready for bed.  And you know how it goes, once he's in bed I've gotta get there as quick as I can.  But without further ado....

The Three randomly selected winners of a stack of Lantern Bloom are:

Donna: What an amazing collection. What awesome work, the artist in you is truly shinning thru the fabric. Congrats :-)

Sara's Art House: I LOVE this stuff!!!!! Gorgeous!

Kimberly: Wow! I LOVE your fabric . . . and the adorable shirt and dresses! I'd love fabric and patterns! Congratulations on a beautiful line!

Email your mailing addresses to lauragunnstudioatgmaildotcom ladies, and I'll get a little package out to you.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for all your well wishes and enthusiasm for my new line.  It is a lovely thing to create something and have others respond so warmly.   

    

Under Water

Every time I get back from Quilt Market, I have big plans to post all about it. But there's just no time! And generally being a bit overwhelmed when I get home, I have yet to actually post about it.  But I'm doing it.  RIGHT NOW.  No more excuses.  I could call this post, "Market: Part One."  But that implies that I will get to Part 2 or 3.  I think posting anything at all about Market will be an improvement for me.  So I'll just start with this and maybe, just maybe, I'll write more soon.  You never know.  First (and by "first" I'm not implying that it will be followed by anything else)  lets talk about overpriced food.

Heather and I bumped into Jennifer Paganelli along with her friend Nancy DeWeir Geaney and Scott Hansen.  What a treat!  Jennifer is as lovely as can be.  Really warm to everyone. We stopped at the first place with tables available.  When we saw the prices, Heather and I decided to split a few appetizers and save dinner for the hotel.  We ordered scallops.  Pretty, huh?  But, I must confess, we sent them back to be cooked all the way through.  I'm just not that adventurous.

So the waitress starts pouring water, which we had said we wanted "flat."  I was eyeing the bottle suspiciously, thinking "Surely, they are not going to charge us for that water."

If I had realized how much they were charging, I would have taken my glass to the bathroom sink.  I mean, unless this water comes from the fountain of youth, or is laced with gold, or can increase my brain function by 200%, $12 a bottle is just too much.  Still, it makes for a great story, and the company was more than worth it.

On a side note, in addition to being a real sweetie, Nancy is quite the quilter.  I checked out her blog and fell in love with this buoy quilt she made.  It looks like a painting. 

When we got back to our hotel, Heather and I shared a delicious reuben followed by strawberry cheesecake.  And we drank all sorts of lovely tap water.  Mmmmmmmm.

Yikes!  I hear the school bus.  Gotta run... Giveaway results will be announced on Monday.

To Market and Back

Just got home from grand adventures at Spring Quilt Market.  Lovely to be home, despite the stomach flu that has taken over the kiddos.  Yikes!  I'll post more when all that is under control.  Meanwhile, the giveaway is still opened. Thanks for all your enthusiasm and well wishes.  I'll be back soon!

The Big Reveal!

Something new is sprouting......

Aren't we sweet.....

To get your own Lantern Bloom Collection stop by epb dolls.  Or  Maybe you will be one of 3 lucky winners.  Just leave a comment to enter the drawing.  And maybe you will get a nice little stack of fabric.  

Teaser

I'm packin' up for Quilt Market....

I've got some yummy props for the Michael Miller Booth.  (I love you Krylon spray paint in Raspberry!) Just shipped them today!

Look close and you'll get a little taste of what's coming.  Come back Monday and I'll be giving away some goodies!