A true friend :-)

Can I just say how much fun it was to see this at the local Hobby Lobby last night? Prime real estate. They put it top and center of the rack in the FRONT of the store and it caught my eye, as though I had never seen it before, when I walked into the store!

Part of what is so fun about it is knowing that my friends who helped me put Quilting Celebrations together are getting to see it, too. I know it's just as much fun for them to see their names in print and show off their work to their families and friends and that the magazine is a great souvenir of the time we spent together cranking out the projects.

On that note, I have to say how upset I am by the fact that one of those names was left out, accidentally. If you read the article I wrote in QC titled Quilting and Camaraderie, you'll know that a very talented group of my friends in Boulder City, NV worked with me on the quilted pieces featured in the issue.

It takes a lot of work to round up all of those people and coordinate everything a few hundred miles away from my studio. We wouldn't have been able to efficiently do that if it wasn't for my great friend and creative talent, Jan Urioste. When I was writing that article, I asked Jan if she could email me a list of all of the "Boulder City Babes" who helped so that I could include them in thanks. When I got her response, I copied and pasted the list of names into my story, not thinking about the fact that she may not have included her own name.

A couple of rounds into the proofreading (including Jan's own) I realized her name was missing and changed the article in Word and sent it off with some other corrections. Somehow, it was overlooked. Jan's name didn't make it into the printed story and, when I found out, I was truly devastated. We spent hours and hours proofing and it still got by us. Jan spent hours and hours of her already limited spare time helping us to create something she should be so proud of and didn't get the same recognition as the rest of the gang.

So I had to write this and share it with you because I want you all to know how much this wonderful friend of mine means to me and how I could never have brought you Quilting Celebrations without her talents and assistance and, mostly, her friendship. There were many times that I turned to her for her thoughts and opinions on what I was creating and she was there for me, with her support and constructive criticism, every time I needed her. Friends joke about the fact that we must be twins who were separated at birth. All kidding aside, Jan and I know there's some bit of truth in that as we're well aware of the fact that we are kindred spirits of sorts.

And what I love most of all about working with Jan is her sense of humor. We laugh to the point of being ridiculous. Here's what she said when I called to apologize for the oversight and told her how upset I was...."Well, get over it!". That was it (that's fit to print, anyway). And that's just another reason why I love her :-)

Thank you SO much, Jan, for all of your help. I couldn't have done it without you - and wouldn't have wanted to.