Have you read the interviews of the Texas Sew Down speakers in the latest issue of Designs (March/April 2009)?  I had so much fun reading the answers. You know, writing the questions was a pretty easy endeavor.  I wrote a first draft and then sent those questions to my partner in crime, Denise Holguin.  She cleaned them up and off we sent them to the speakers - Nancy Zieman, Mary Mulari, Deborah Jones and my sister, Marie Zinno.  I didn't really give it much thought until the answers started to arrive.

One by one they came in and I savored every one!  I learned many things about each of these fine ladies and some of the comments made me laugh out loud while other responses brought tears to my eyes.

Let's look at Nancy first - she was quite brave revealing that under those gorgeous blond locks lies a headful of gray hair. And she's going to be a grandma!  Wow - that's a big milestone in her life.  Her favorite mid-afternoon snack - popcorn!  How upper Midwestern, don'tcha you know? Gotta keep those Wisconsin farmers in business.

The next time I have to clear a driveway, I'll call Mary Mulari and tell her to bring her Toro Power Max snowblower.  Apparently, she's a pro at handling this big tough machine and good thing because her hometown of Aurora, MN gets 52" of snow every year. In the middle of the afternoon, you'll find Mary munching on one of America's favorite snacks - chocolate chip cookies and milk.

Okay, truth be told, I am a huge Oprah fan.  And I have eaten lunch with Deborah Jones once a week for EIGHT years and never heard this story. I had to read her interview to learn she embroidered letterman-style jackets for guests on Oprah's show.  Now that's a really well-kept secret!  Her afternoon snack - a bowl of Cheerios.  Oh for heaven's sake Deborah, at least wash the Cheerios down with chocolate milk.  

Now I know Marie Zinno very well.  After all, we're sisters.  Although she often tells me she's proud of that she did happily reveal in the interview "she's the 'younger, more fun sister." I laughed when I read that and then wept when I read her answer to the next question, "Describe your perfect vacation day". She responded, "sitting on a beach on a tropical island holding my husband's hand." How sweet is that?  I was her maid of honor, 17 years ago (okay, MATRON of honor), and the Zinnos are still quietly, madly in love.  What she didn't say was that if it was in the afternoon, her other hand would be holding a Double Stuf Oreo®!

So let's see, if it snows on April 3-4, we'll be in good shape because Mary can clear the parking lot. If MY gray hair starts peeking through, I can have Nancy make it magically disappear so I look my best for the Texas Sew Down. And to make sure the event gets the coverage it deserves, I'll have Deborah Jones call Oprah and get us ALL on the Oprah show!  And if I am too exhausted to go on stage, I can always count on Marie to entertain the troops since she's the YOUNGER, MORE FUN SISTER!

I hope you'll join us in Grapevine, April 3-4, 'cause we are planning on having one heck of a good time! There's still time to make arrangements, just click here for more information http://www.dzgns.com/texsewdown.php or call the office at                888-739-0555        .

I'm just back from meeting 165 lovely embroiderers in Sarasota at Sew Worth It's Love of Sewing event.  Wow - talk about a successful event.  Sue Goldberg owner of Sew Worth It, really knows how to put on a first class event.  Attendees were treated to hands-on classes, lectures from Nancy Zieman and me, great food and the use of Baby Lock's top-of-the-line machines.  They went away with a wealth of knowledge for their favorite hobby and all were inspired to get home and get stitching! Wow - that was Sew Worth It.

I love meeting fellow embroiderers and am happy to go on the road to share my embroidery experience.  But truly, I'm a home-body (you wouldn't know it from my frequent-flier miles) so I'm really looking forward to hosting the Texas Sew Down in April in Grapevine, TX.  We're busy taking care of tons of details, right down to some Country Western music!  I just learned Nancy Zieman's son, Tom, is joining us.  This is a special year for Nancy and I as we are both preparing our youngest children to graduate high school this spring and launch them off to college in August.  My son, Ted, will also be on hand at the Texas Sew Down to well, lend us a hand!  Good to have two strong young men to help with this event because we're expecting lots of happy embroiderers to join us. 

We've been busy planning the presentations and recently made a call to our writers to send some of our readers' favorite garments from the pages of Designs for the fashion show.  If you've never attended one of my fashion shows, you might be surprised to learn how educational it is.  I share my embroidery expertise as I critique each garment and discuss stabilizers, placement, color and thread selection.  This 60-minute review will help you plan your own garments with confidence.

After a fine Texas-style meal, Nancy will take you behind the scenes of the Sewing with Nancy® television show. With over 25 years of television production under her belt, Nancy has some hysterical stories.  Imagine the funny stories you've collected in 25 years in your own life - add the pressure of television, guests' unknown talents (or lack of) and severe Wisconsin winters. That's definitely a recipe for a disaster or two!  Of course, all of this is presented by Nancy in her charming, down-to-earth, humble style.  And that's just Friday night!

My Stitching Sister, Marie Zinno, joined me for a 'glamorous' weekend here in the Big D.  We're working on our first joint book, Machine Embroidered Monograms for the Home.  And Saturday was our photo shoot. 

On Thursday, I picked Marie up at DFW - she flew in from her hometown of sunny Canton, OH - and headed to my house for our Show N Tell.  We dumped all her bags and mine in the living room and tried to make sense of the embroidered projects.  She had worked on the dining room and bath accessories in Ohio while I focused on bedding here in Dallas.  We loved what we saw but realized we still had some work to do.  So of course, we shopped!  We needed just the right color blue fabric, a multitude of napkins for a very cool photo layout, a dust ruffle, some Double Stuf® Oreos - oh maybe they weren't really a necessity but I had to find a way to keep Marie motivated!

Then we made a list that didn't seem very long at all until we started working on it.  We stitched all day Friday and into the evening and still, an early wake-up call on Saturday was needed. We headed to the studio Saturday morning -right on time, samples, props, embroidery machine (still a design or two to finish!), and threads all packed in the car.  My favorite photographer in the world - Steve Woods - generously helped us unload and the day began.  One thing nice about monogrammed accessories, there were no models involved so we didn't have a tight time table.  One thing horrible about monogrammed accessories, HOURS and I mean, HOURS, are spent pressing and steaming.  Then a click of the camera, an adjustment here and there, another click and then you 'rip the set.' Which means, all that pressing and steaming is now ruined! Talk about a glamorous weekend in the Big D.

But she's coming back for a truly glamorous weekend - this time in Grapevine, when we unveil the Machine Embroidered Monograms for the Home.  She'll be joining Nancy Zieman, Mary Mulari, Deborah Jones and I for the Texas Sew Down.  Oh my, are we excited - we have weekly meetings discussing menus, schedules, seminar content, menus, shipping details, travel plans, menus, audio-visual supplies and more menus!  Yes, we are going to teach our top techniques - embroidery, sewing and quilting - but we're making sure everyone gets a true taste of Texas!  Ya'll come down, now ya hear!

Designs in Machine Embroidery is gearing up for the first annual Texas Sew Down on April 3-4, 2009.  Nancy Zieman, Mary Mulari, Deborah Jones, Marie Zinno and I will be teaching a variety of sewing, quilting and embroidery techniques.  For more information visit our main website at www.dzgns.com or call 888-739-0555.