News from the Spoffords

You never know where life will lead you but we are always ready for a new opportunity and challenge. We will me moving to China at the end of January. Yes!! I said China!!! My husband and I are leaving next week for Shanghai to find housing and a school for our daughter. What an adventure this is going to be.

Watch AM Northwest tomorrow for interesting projects with trays. You will see many ways to create unique serving trays to use for your holiday parties or to give to give away to friends and family.

Watch AM Northwest tomorrow for fabric postcard projects!! The hottest thing in the fabric arts world.

We had a wonderful summer with many friends and kids filling our home. I took our son back to school a few weeks ago and he is settled in for another school year. Our daughter is having a great school year as she begins a new adventure in culinary arts. The high schools in Vancouver offer many different magnet programs for high school students. The kids can choose from many specialized programs from IB to Law to Medical to Culinary Arts. I think this is a wonderful opportunity and our kids are blessed to have so many choices.

My husband and I took our annual backpacking trip in early May and hiked in the Escalante Canyon with our backpacking friends. Our group ranged in age from 18 - 78. The weather was fantastic and I even managed to forge a river with a lot of help from a rope and borrowed tevas. A few weeks ago we ventured out again and climbed the south side of Mount Saint Helens. What an amazing adventure. This was a very hard climb. The trail (I use the term trail very loosely here) seemed to go straight up for the last three miles. It was worth the climb however because the view was amazing and the satisfaction of reaching the top was wonderful!!


Over the summer I explored some new opportunities inside and outside of the creative industry. I had a great time learning how to operate my embroidery machine. What an incredible discovery!! I also made several quilts and learned how to machine quilt. I just love having the ability to make a quilt from start to finish. My favorite part is hand stitching the binding. I think that is because is brings the project to a close and it is a very intimate part of the quilt making process.

I am starting a 6 week Photoshop class this Saturday and I am very excited about the opportunity to increase my skill level with that program. I have also been playing with new quilt design software and have found it to be very valuable.

I am continually adding new projects to my web site so check it out. The latest are three projects using vintage linens. My mother recently gave me several vintage hankies and some vintage jewelry.....think of the possibilities!!

Happy crafting and quilting!!

Deb

Summer is just around the corner. Our son will be coming home from his first year of college and our daughter will be finishing her first year of high school. Wow!! What a wonderful year it has been. I am looking forward to spending some family time around our new outdoor fireplace. I hope the weather knows that summer is coming. We had a little tease early in the spring with some very beautiful days...one even in the high 90's......then it started raining again. We have a saying in the Northwest...."I hope summer comes on a Saturday this year!"

As always.....so many craft projects, so little time :)

Keep on crafting!!

Deb

I had an opportunity to attend Fiskars Creative Academy last week. What fun!! Watch for exciting new products and programs from Fiskars.

Add some fun and beauty to your patio..........check out the new project on the web site. Follow the link below.

http://www.deborahspofford.com/projects/plant%20sculpture.htm