Jack's Treats

I will be teaching my last class at  The Country Loft on Saturday, September 14th....There are two sessions and I think there are still a few openings.....We will be making these trick or treat bags....and I know it will be a LOT of fun.  Plan on joining us if you can.

Gene and I just took the last load of patterns and books to the Country Loft.   They are planning on having a day to introduce all of the stock they have acquired from me....Lots of doll kits and bits and pieces to make dolls......You will want to come....Be sure to follow their blog and find out all about it.

If you are with a retail shop the Loft has also decided to wholesale my books (not the patterns)......so if you need to restock Wool Crazy; Crazy at Home; or Folk Branches you can contact them at countryloft@cloft.com or call (619) 466-5411....

We are still having our heat wave in San Diego....I hope it is cooler where you are and that you are having a wonderful day.....Jo Ann

JAM is retiring!

Gene and I just got back from a trip to Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains of California.  We had a wonderful time.  Tomorrow we leave for Lake Nacimiento in Central California.  Our son Andy and his family camp there every summer and we are taking our grandson Timothy up to meet them...It has been a relaxing, fun summer with lots of visits with family and friends.....We LOVE retirement and are taking it one more step......

I have decided to close my pattern company, JAM.  I have loved running it for the last 12 years, but it is time to move on.  I want to thank all of you who have bought my patterns and books for all of your support.  It has been such fun meeting you all...either in person or through the internet and I appreciate all the encouragement you have given me.  I so enjoyed seeing what you have done with my designs.  It was great having many of you in my classes and sharing ideas with you.  So many of you have become good friends and have been through the ups and downs of my life with me.  Thank you.

If you are with a shop, I will be filling orders until the end of August.  After that, my remaining books and patterns will be available at The Country Loft .  They are acquiring all of my stock and will sell it as long as they have merchandise.  My website will be closing down sometime in September.  I have not decided if I will still be blogging.....just too many decisions to make!

My best to you all......Jo Ann

The visit

We had a wonderful time when Nick, Sophie and John came to visit.....We didn't waste any time  and we at the zoo within two hours of their arrival....Here Nick and Sophie are making friends with the Lion....












 Sophie loved the new Koala exhibit and here she is in the climbing tree pretending that she is one too!

















....and here is Nick meeting his giraffe namesake.....

 After a family party on Friday night (which we forgot to take photos at) we were off to the beach for 3 days.  We stayed at the bay, but were only a short walk to the ocean....

It was foggy until 9 or 10 and one morning Gene and I took Nick and Sophie out for a walk....

Their cousins came down for a few hours after a soccer tournament and they all enjoyed the waves....

Monday we headed up to Point Loma and the Cabrillo monument....Nick and Sophie had been there last year and were great tour guides for their dad....

...and then it was off to Belmont Shores amusement park for some fun rides....Here is Nick trying to decide what to go on....

...there is a great old roller coaster and a plunging ride that Nick and Sophie both loved....

Sophie convinced me to go on the Tilt-a-Whirl.....

....and I was still able to stand afterwards!

 The next day Kathy's grandkids, Eddy and Nicole took photos for us....it is always fun to get the 7 together and now we have Sam too (She lives with Lydia and Tim)

....Gene took these shots while  the official photographers were working away....

Here we have them one to fourteen....

....We finished the evening with  Italian food on an outside patio....Here are John, Sophie and Gene.....

The time flew by.....and I am counting the days until our next visit!

Visitors from the North

Tomorrow, John, Nick and Sophie are coming for a visit.  We are so excited! We will be having a family get together tomorrow night at our house....40 for tacos.....and then we are off to Mission Bay (just a few miles away in San Diego) for 3 days.  We will throw in a visit to the Zoo and swimming at my Mom's pool and much too quickly their 5 1/2 day trip will be over.

   
Glenda, my daughter- in- law, came up with the idea of a photo of the 7 kids being taken ......so Tuesday we are working that in too!  Now we just have to get them all to look happy at once!  

What a great way to start the summer!

Sunday walk

Gene and I went for a walk on one of the many trails in Balboa Park and came upon this heron just walking around a few feet from us.  Guess he thought it was a beautiful morning for a stroll too!

A good time was had.....

I've been back from Market for over a week, but just downloaded my photos today!  I know you have been looking at all kinds of shots of the show in Portland....but here are a few more.  This is Kathy's booth.  My sister Kathy and I had such fun helping her set it up....She brought LOTS of cute props to work with...and of course the great pincushions in her book.  The book was a BIG hit at market.  You can get a copy at the LOFT and be sure to come to the book signing on June 8th.....(if you live far away the shop will have it signed and mail it to you!)

We were right next to Buggy Barn and we had such fun with them....Here is Ron "manning" the booth while the girls were out shopping.....

Kathy Campbell of Heart to Hand was about 20 rows away....but I got over there a few times to say "HI".....You will love what she is doing with burlap!

.....and here is Rita from Reets Rags.  

....and Joan from Bits and Pieces by Joan.....You can see her great FLAG over the mantel at the Loft....

Jeff and Debbie Busby of Wooden Spool....They loved  being in their home town for this market.  Sample Spree was a family affair with all their adult children and spouses helping out....What Fun!

...and I got to meet Leah from Primitive Quilts and Projects....This was her first market with her Mom and her aunts who are the inspiration behind the magazine. 


There were LOTS more friends and wonderful booths. but I did go to help Kathy and not socialize ALL the time....:)))

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend.  Gene and I are off to Los Angeles this afternoon to spend some time with his sister Sue.  Bye for now.....Jo Ann

Off to Quilt Market

I am off to Portland tomorrow morning with my sister Kathy.  She and Sharon will be shopping for The Country Loft....but I will be helping in our good friend, Kathy Cardiff's booth.  Here she is at an earlier market with some of her great projects.  She is introducing a book chock full of pincushions at this Market....You won't want to miss it!  Her company is The Cottage at Cardiff Farms.  The Loft is having a book signing in the next few weeks and can send you an autographed copy......

If you are going to market stop by and see us in booth 930.

Of course since it is in Portland Kathy and I will get to see our family....Tomorrow our sister Marlene will pick us up at the airport; then we will spend the night at our niece Margaret's home.....and of course I will see Megan's family.  I plan on spending several days with them after the show.  Bye for now....Jo Ann

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all....I hope that you get to spend it with a Mom who is special to you!  Here I am with my Mom who at 94 has celebrated many!

Hugs to you all....Jo Ann

A very busy day!

Last Sunday was a BIG day in our family.  Timothy had his first Communion in the morning....Here he is all dress up with his baby sister, Lianna.  Lianna is totally convinced that her big brother walks on water....Let's see how long that lasts!!!!

 .....and here he is with his Dad after the ceremony.  We noticed that Timothy's name was the only one the priest knew.....Is this a good or bad sign?  We decided to think positive!  We celebrated with him that afternoon......

....and then it was off to another party.  This one was for Alana, our 10 year old granddaughter.  It was her birthday.  Here she is  with her mom and dad (our son Andy)  She had a rollerskating party in the afternoon with her friends and got an unexpected gift...a broken wrist!  She hasn't let it get her down.

Luckily this weekend has been much less eventful!  Hope you are having a FUN one.....Jo Ann

Spring in California

 Gene and I just got back last week from our road trip to Cambria, California.  We spent our first day out at Huntington Gardens....a wonderful spot in the San Marino area of Los Angeles.  The buildings house a research library and several museums and the gardens are bursting with blooms right now.  

They have a wonderful Chinese and Japanese Garden, but I tend to LOVE the more cottage style with tons of flowers on top of each other....

The bearded Iris were amazing.....Gene is big on taking pictures of me at all the places we visit....and I am always trying to stay away from the camera!

 ......after a fun evening with my sister Sherry and her husband Mike and their son's family we were off  to Pismo Beach.....It is on the coast above Santa Barbara.  The day was beautiful and we had a wonderful time checking out the shore....

.....we saw lots of honeymooners....a very romantic spot for a stay....We caught up with old neighbors who now live in Pismo that evening....(What a fabulous place to live!)

....The next morning we went to see the homestead of the Price family who founded Pismo.....just a short jaunt from the beach and it is a different world....

.........Gene couldn't resist this shot...

......Then off to Cambria to meet our friends from college days....as we waited for their arrival we explored....This was a garden behind one of the many CUTE shops.  (As you can see we are still on the quest for the perfect things to plant in our garden.)

......I think this may be a grown up version of the vine we already planted.....

.....One of Gene's favorites....Calla Lilies!

















.....a shot of some of the shops in Cambria.  We had beautiful weather throughout the trip....

.......Eucalyptus trees.....you see them all over this part of the state....

We hiked out of a town called Harmony (pop. 18) in a state preserve.....it ends at the coast and we spotted lots of seals playing!

.....California poppies along the way...

....the garden behind our motel...

.......it was a very peaceful spot with benches scattered around to stop and enjoy!

.....It was hard to come back.....but we had parties galore this weekend and got to celebrate birthdays and Timothy's first communion. 



Have a great week.....Jo Ann

Happy Birthday Lianna!

Tomorrow is Lianna's first birthday.....but on Sunday we had a party to celebrate!  Like all one year olds her favorite part of the present was the tissue paper....

....and as you can see she LOVED the chocolate cake! 


Gene and I leave tomorrow on a little road trip to meet some friends in Cambria (on the central coast of California) so I thought I'd wish her Happy Birthday today!

A walk with history

Sunday Gene and I took a walk on the grounds of the Marston House near Balboa Park in San Diego.  The Marston's owned a department store in downtown....and their home is an historical site now....

...the landscaping is absolutely beautiful and Gene and I are still debating about what to plant in our yard....

....so we stopped and looked at all the beautiful flowering plants and Gene was busy snapping photos...

I LOVED these berries.....looks like a good wool project doesn't it?

....and this Hawthorn is all over San Diego right now and just bursting with blooms....

......yesterday Gene went to the nursery with photos in hand and tried to find out the names of all of his finds....

....and this is his favorite!  It looks wonderful in a huge garden, but might be a bit overpowering in our smaller space. 

I read this morning that it is snowing again across the country.....Sorry to be such a tease with these photos....but you can dream along with us!