That's ME! ~ In the Land of Wonder, the Land Down Under

What a way to warm up a frosty day in the

American Midwest.  A copy of Australian

Patchwork and Quilting arrived from all the

way on the other side of the world.  AND, it

has an article about me and my book.  Oh,

thank you so much Australia ~ I can't wait 

to finally get to see you next summer.

I apologize if the photos are a bit blurry

but I admit I was a bit teary when I was

taking the pictures.  It was a mix of happy

and sad tears.  You see, the article talks

about how my Mum encouraged my 

interest in embroidery and our trips to the 

Five and Ten store where I would always 

want to buy embroidery floss while other

little girls were buying paper dolls and candy.

So, I sat down and had a big boo hoo.  We miss

our sweet girl so very much... But I know she 

would have loved this article, after all, it's why

she encouraged my interest in crafts all those

years ago.

Thank you so much Ally!  I love it!

Christmas in July at The Back Door Quilt Shop

It is time to start working on all the Christmas 

projects!  Yes, it may have snuck up on many

of us but it is JULY ~ how did that happen?

And the perfect way to do that is at a 

Christmas in July celebration!

I will be at the famous Back Door Quilt

Shop this Saturday July 12 from 9 to 3.

The Back Door is a destination quilt shop

located at 2503 Fairview Place, Ste. W in

Greenwood Indiana, (317) 882-2120.  The

owners of this shop have been in business

together for 41 years.

I will be there for a Meet the Designer day.

We can celebrate some woolie wonders with

my Christmas ornaments.

If you haven't done embroidery stitches in 

a while ~ no worries.  There will be a hands

on Stitching Demo that will give you all the

information and skills you will need to stitch

up a storm.

Many of my customers make the ornament/

pincushion patterns for friends, all their

co-workers and especially children and 

grandchildren.  Some lovely stitchers make

many ornaments for their loved ones so when

those kids or grandkids are old enough to

have their own homes with their own trees

they will have a collection of lovely hand

made ornaments from their Mom or Grandma.

Start a tradition now!

You can also hear the story behind my book

and see a trunk show of all the quilts from the

book.  I'll also be available to sign books too.

So here's the days schedule:

10:30 - Story of the Wool Work and

Wool Trunk Show

11:30 - Hands on Stitching Demo

12:30 - How I became a designer and

got a book contract

1:30 - Trunk show of quilts from the book

2:30 -Trivia contest with prizes

I'll be in the shop all say so there will be

plenty of time for chatting and stories.

I hope you will stop by!

Building the Empire: Fun Book News

So I walked into a quilt shop on Saturday and I met a

quilter who has my book in her hand and she is buying 

fabric to make the Beach House quilt,  I walked a bit

 further into the shop and met another quilter who has

made the Colonial Saltbox quilt from my book, and she

only bought the book last week!

Oh yeah, that felt awesome...

When we compare the quilt to my quilt from 

the book we see this quilter has decided to use

only 3 fabrics.  In the original I used 8 different

cheddar fabrics in the center checkerboard area

and then used those fabrics in the corners as 

well.  I think it is great when quilters make a 

quilt their own.  I always tell students to 

remember this is their quilt and they can make

changes to suit their tastes.

This quilt design started when I bought this

roll of cheddars.  I knew I wanted to use all

of the fabrics in one quilt.  I had seen a game

board when I was visiting Colonial Williamsburg

and thought it would make a great quilt, so 

using these 2 things as inspiration, a new quilt

design was born.  This was the quilt I used

to show a sample chapter in my book proposal

and it was what shaped the idea for...

... my book, American Homestead Quilts.

The Colonial Saltbox quilt was the first 

quilt I made for the book and then I went

forward to design 8 other quilts inspired

by iconic American homes.

This is another version of the quilt using

a more scrappy style.  I think I may have

to make this one, I rather like it.

If you should spot my book out there in a

quilt shop, book store or library, please take

a picture and send it to me.  Or, if you or

someone you know has made one of the 

quilts, by all means, let me see it!  It is one

of the joys of being a designer to see how

someone else interprets your design!

Book Signing at International Quilt Market

I am about to fall into my pillows and go to Dreamland

but I wanted to post this about an exciting thing that

I did today.

Today was my book signing at the C&T Publishing booth 

at International Quilt Market.  I got to meet so many

wonderful people from all over the US and Canada.

And this was the line ~ the line ~ it was so exciting.

I had so much fun I was disappointed when it was over...

Now it's sleepy time!

Where Are You?

I guess you have really gone into hibernation when 

even facebook is asking you, "Where are you?"

I'm here!

Though my mind may be placing me in some exotic

and exciting locale, in reality I am busy at work.

So far, I have written 16 chapters for Book #2 and

I have completed 20 of the 21 projects.  I'm hoping

to complete the first draft of all the chapters by next

week and then I will have to shift my attention to 

prepping for International Quilt Market which starts

one month from today ~ yeeps!

I will be promoting my first book, American Homestead

Quilts at Quilt Market this year so at least all of the 

projects are finished and ready to hang in the booth.

I will also be bringing along the feltwork patterns and 

a new product that will launch this year in response

to all the requests I received from my customers 

last Fall in Houston ~ stay tuned for more info.

So there is a little catch-up of where I have been and

where I will be for the next month.  I'm hoping life will

get a little more exciting in June.  I still have travel 

blog posts to write from my trip to Spain in January

and February, time is just flying...

Enjoy Spring (if it ever really comes)!

All Packed and Ready to Go!

My car is packed and I'm ready to head out

to give a Trunk Show at the Spring Valley Quilt

Guild in Pendleton, Indiana this evening.

I got a phone call from my friend Maye the other

day, she said I just read about you in the newspaper.

I said, uh-oh, was it something good?

This is what she saw in the Herald Bulletin:

                          Quilt designer to speak April 2

 PENDLETON — Well-known artist and quilt designer Ellen Murphy will be the featured speaker at the April 2 meeting of the Spring Valley Quilt Guild.

Working in graphic design and as a quilt teacher has helped her create patterns that are easy to understand. Murphy has created unique quilts inspired by the colors and shapes of American houses, from farmhouses to brownstones. Her new books and patterns will be available at the meeting for cash or check purchase only.

Meetings start at 6 p.m. in the Community Room of the Pendleton Library on Water Street. Dues for 2014 are still being accepted. Visitors are invited to attend and may join the guild at any time.

I will be showing all the quilts and feltworks from all of

my patterns and from my new book, American Homestead

Quilts.  I will also be setting up a little shop so you can have

a "Shoportunity" with patterns, books and felt.

The best news is: there is no more ice or snow and it is 

quite warm outside ~ we can get out again!  So, come out

and spend the evening with the lovely members of

Spring Valley Quilt Guild,  Visitors welcome!

I hope to see you there!

Debut!

Well, it has been a very exciting week around

my American Homestead!  On St, Patrick's Day

my first book was released and on Saturday I

gave my first lecture about it.

The lecture was about how I became a quilt and

craft pattern designer including all the influences

I have had in my life that brought me here and

of course it was the story of my first book and a

trunk show of the quilts.  It was so wonderful to

have had the chance to debut my book while

 being surrounded by so many of my friends.

And it was extra special since my daughter Katie

Rose was home for Spring Break and she could

share the day with me.

Afterwards, I signed books in The Quilt Shoppe's

booth and I'm happy to say we sold out of the 

first shipment.

Images courtesy of Silva Photography.

My friend Irene Silva of Silva Photography

captured these sweet images of people reading 

my book.  I'm so happy she did this because I

didn't get to see this since I was signing books.

What is so special about this is, this is exactly

what I envisioned as I was planning and 

designing this book.  I wanted more than just

the quilts and patterns.  I wanted people to be

able to enjoy beautiful photos that gave a feel

of each of the homesteads where these quilts

live.  Each quilt design has a photo of the house,

a landscape shot showing a scene from the area

where the house is located and a still life showing

decor or collectibles that would be in the house.

And then of course, there are all of the beautiful 

photos of the quilts.  Most of the landscape and

still life photos are mine, I took them in my garden,

on my travels, at Mounds Park, in my hometown.

The photo of the 2 kids in colonial costume for the

Colonial Saltbox quilt is of my kids, Katie Rose and

Brennan, in the costumes I made them when we

used to visit Colonial Williamsburg for our Spring

Break every year.

And then a few nights ago, a friend of mine sent me

a message on facebook with this link:

http://www.quiltersnewsletter.com/blogs/insideqn/2014/03/24/new-books-2/

A review of my book!  How very exciting!

Oh Happy Day!

 Well, today is the big day!  It is the release date of

my first book American Homestead Quilts!

It takes a long time to make a book from start to

finish.  We first started talking about a book about

21 months ago and it has been 18 months from the

contract to the book.  What an education it has been.

Since I publish my own patterns and do everything

in that process except the printing, I had no idea

about how many people were involved in the

publishing of a book and I'm sure there are people

involved in this process that I never even heard of.

But it was fun to work with other people on a project.

For example, to know someone was going over all the

technical aspects was a great feeling.  I'm sure most

designers spend a lot of time proofing their patterns but

since we are so close to the project, sometimes we miss

mistakes ~ and ohhhh, that hurts.  You want everything

to be perfect.  By having your own technical editor, you

have someone going through everything with a fine

toothed comb.  I felt Ann made my quilts in her head.

I have to wonder, did C&T Publishing set the release

date for my book on March 17th because my name

is Murphy?

And that brings up another reason to be happy on

this day ~ it is St. Patrick's Day!  And when you

are the granddaughter of a person named

Nellie O'Rourke, you will be celebrating on this

day.  When my Mum was in Ireland and she

would tell people her Mother's name, people

would say, "Aye, Lass, with a name like that, you

need to open a pub!".

So, I thought I would tell a story today about the

first St. Patrick's Day I spent with Mr. Wonderful.

Of course, he wasn't Mr. Wonderful yet, he was

just McCutie.  It was 32 years ago today (yeeps)

and we were a couple of poor college students

who had been dating for just a few months. 

Wonderful had started a job that week at the

Town Pub, a local bar/restaurant, his job was

helping prep the food for the big St. Patrick's Day

bash that was happening that week.  The new job

of course meant new money and we planned to

spend some of it on St. Patrick's Day.  We went

to school on top of a mountain overlooking

New York City.  That meant, on March 17th we

would be on our way to the big city.  We had

both gone to classes and then caught the bus to

Manhattan, we walked over to 5th Ave and stood

along the fences of Central Park and watched one

of the biggest parades in the world.  If you have

never seen it, it is a spectacle.  Yes, there are the

typical high school bands from all over the country

(imagine how exciting it must be for them), there

are politicians waving and shaking hands but it is

the amount of police and firefighters that can

completely blow your mind.  Can there really be

that many police and firefighters in this area and

if they are all marching, then who is minding the

store.  Do you think all the Italians work on St.

Patrick's Day and the Irish all work on Columbus

Day so everyone gets a chance to be in the

parade for their country?  Row after row after

row of uniformed men and women.  And then

if you were not already blown away, marching

along were the Emerald Societies, the pipe and

drum corps.  They are decked out in their kilts

and the fabulous sounds of the bagpipes sends

a shiver down every Irishman's spine.  McCutie

told me how special it was to see this since

Grandpa Murphy had been a New York City

policeman and Uncle Jack Murphy was a New

York City fireman.

After the parade, we headed downtown and

McCutie bought me a corsage, a carnation

sprayed green for the special day.  We went

to McSorley's, it is said to be the oldest Irish

pub in NYC, it has been around since the mid

1800's.  I was a McSorley's regular, I went every

Sunday night.  I was introduced by a guy I dated.

I gave up the guy but kept the bar.  I generally don't

like bars but since this is so Irish, I always felt the staff

was looking out for me.  In fact, some nights the guys

would walk us to our car to be sure we got home safely.

(Don't worry, we had designated drivers).

Of course the line to get in was long on this day and as

we were standing there the manager, John stepped

outside for some fresh air and spotted me in the crowd

and came over to give me a kiss, I guess because I'm

Irish.  McCutie was impressed, wow he said, I guess

you really are a regular.  We ate some of the best ham

sandwiches on the planet, very simple, ham on rye

with raw onion and the hottest mustard you can imagine.

Yum!

This image was found on Google images.

Later we walked back to the West Village and I spotted

a place called Googie's, one of my friends had been there

and she said they had great Long Island Iced Teas.  We

decided to try them.  Ok, I wasn't much of a drinker then

or now and I honestly had no idea what a Long Island

Iced Tea was.  I guessed it had some alcohol in it but

I really thought it was mostly iced tea ~ really...

So we talked and had another and talked and had

another and then we realized we had to get back to the

Port Authority Bus Terminal in Times Square to catch the

last bus of the night back to school.  And then I stood up

and found out those drinks were not mostly iced tea...

We caught the bus in time and settled in for the 20

minute ride home and somewhere in there we both

fell asleep.  As a businessman was getting off the bus

many miles away in a neighboring town, he saw us and

figured we were from the college and woke us up. 

And there we were, after midnight, tired and cold and

having to walk all the way back home.  On the next block

over from where I lived was a big cemetery and McCutie

thought it would be much shorter to cut through it to

get to my house.  At this point he was starting to be not so

cute.  Do you know that scene in Notting Hill when Julia

Roberts and Hugh Grant climb the fence into the park late

 at night?  Yeah, it was something like that except we had

had a few Long Island Iced Teas...  Finally, we made it

home and I realized I lost my corsage, I had wanted to

save it as a memento of the day, it probably fell off in the

climb into the graveyard.  I still think back on this as one

of the top St. Patrick's Days!

May you always have walls for the winds,

a roof for the rain, and tea beside the fire,

laughter to cheer you, those you love near you

and all that your heart might desire.



It's a book!

After a year and a half of work I finally got to hold

my first book in my hands.  This is the advance copy.

A very exciting moment in my life, I must admit.

It seems providential to have arrived on the eve of

our trip to Spain, like I'm being told that it is time to 

refuel.  Tomorrow I'll be off on another adventure, 

seeking inspiration for projects to come. doing some

of the stitching for projects for book 2, hopefully having

some time for rest and relaxation and I pray, to find

temperatures above freezing...

Stay tuned!

My First Book!

 

Just about a year and a half ago I attended my

first International Quilt Market as a vendor.  I

had just started a quilt pattern design business

and this was my first big time exposure in the

quilt world.

 

 

I was in my booth at Market one day and I was busy

with customers.  My fabulous Mr. Wonderful was there

to lend a helping hand, he's great with a hammer and nails

but a needle and thread ~ hmmmm, not so much...

So a woman came into the booth and started asking Rob

some questions which he tried to answer, finally he

confessed,  "I'm just the driver."  To which the woman

replied, "Oh, you're adorable", she then gave him a card

and said she was the Publisher at C&T Publishers.  When

 I finished up with my customers Rob gave me the card

and told the story.  It was a cute story but I was so sad

because I would have LOVED to have had a chance to

speak with a big time publisher.  A short while later

another woman came into the booth and said she was

the Creative Director or C&T Publishing.  She said her

publisher made her come visit this time since she had

been to my booth 3 times already and didn't want to

look like a stalker ~ ha ha!  So we gabbed about quilting

and publishing and old time paste-up methods and when

I returned home the conversations continued and soon

 enough I had a book contract!

 

And here we are a year and a half later, all the edits

are in and the book is heading to the printer.  I have

learned so much in the past 18 months and it has been

 a fascinating education.  So much energy goes into

making a book and so many people are involved.  It has

 been a wonderful experience.  I can't wait until I actually

 get to hold the book and flip through the pages, that is

still a few months away but the book is available for

 pre-order right now at the following sites:

 

From C&T:

http://www.ctpub.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=3130

 

From Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/American-Homestead-Quilts-Brownstone-Craftsman/dp/1607058073/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383245779&sr=1-1&keywords=american+homestead+quilts

 

I hope everyone enjoys the book!

From my American Homestead,

I wish you All the Best,

 

~ Ellen

 

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