Julia Flying, Working Hard, New Bookplates + More

This past week, I went to my Mom's house and stayed with her dog Lola. Julia and Mom went on a trip to visit my sister who lives in Florida. It was a big trip for Julia - she was going to have to fly all on her own on the way back home. Her Dad and I have been anxious about her doing this all by herself. She is the kind of kid who you worry about crossing the street by herself. In parking lots she veers all over the place and I have to frequently remind her that the world may not see her. Luckily, my Mom and she travelled together down on the plane and so she had a bit of practice. Newark is a huge busy airport and I know I am sometimes overwhelmed at all the commotion and people. 

Luckily my sister Laurie gave me a good tip that the airlines will help out people with disabilities. I never would have known this. I made a call to United and Julia was able to get wheelchair service from door to door. She flew back without a hitch and met me at the curb with the lovely woman who helped her. 

Julia had an absolutely great vacation with her grandmom and my sister. She wants to go back. I had a great time because I had lists and lists of things I have been wanting to accomplish but never seem to get done. Every time a new book comes out, there is a process of working on promoting it on different platforms and in some old fashioned ways too. 

When Crafting A Colorful Home came out in 2015, the internet was a bit different. People weren't as comfortable buying on-line. The tide has turned now - especially with books  - click click easy peasy. I had a larger following than I do now - I guess I was more active on the internet, my blog had more readers and I was still more associated with my knitting peeps. Back then I sold over 500 copies of CACH! That was a real miracle and it really helped support my family and our farm. I really doubt that I will be able to do that good with Crafting A Patterned Home, but I'm going to try. 

While Julia was away - I painted 2 new Bookplates using gouache - that is them above. One will be included with each book order that I ship out. Here is what they look like now that I have added the type on them in Indesign. 

I'm also including a set of 5 beautiful assorted postcards printed from photos that photographer Rikki Snyder took during our shoot. These will be a surprise for whoever orders from me. 

I thought it would be fun if I include you all in on the number of books I am selling. So far, I am at 48. Only 452 more to go to hit my sales of CACH. Will you help spread the word? That would be cool and I will be thankful. It will help support my work, my family and our farm. 

I couldn't believe the amount of work I got done being on my own - well not exactly alone but with Lola! Lola is the best company. She sticks right by your side. She barks like crazy at anything she sees that moves outside. She sits on the sofa back looking for intruders. She loved the new afghan. I can see why Mom is so crazy about her. She is 6 now. 

I did a bit of marketing work for Crafting A Patterned Home. I was also able to get a whole bunch of new fabric designs finished and ready to test. I'll be sharing them with you soon. I couldn't believe how much work I could get done because I was on my own and only had to cook for me and clean up after me. 

I'm glad to be home and am trying to stay focused. Distractions abound. Ugh. Thanks for all your support and orders for the book - spread the word. XO

• You can order my book for $24.95 directly from my website here. I will pay the shipping costs and I will be including a Kristin painted bookplate and a set of gorgeous colorful postcards. 
• You can also buy it on my Etsy site if you are a fan of shopping with Etsy. Here is the link to that. Same price, same deal.