Hi all! Just wanted to pop in. I'm not sure if anyone remembers me, but I used to do the Boom swaps here, and quite a few other swaps as well.
Sorry I haven't been around much in the last 2-1/2 years or so. Things have been ... "interesting" to say the least. Hubby and I lost our lifelong best friend due to a car wreck in January 2022, then we put our house on the market a month later. On the good side, it sold VERY quickly, but on the bad side, we got tangled up with a deceitful realtor who costed us thousands of dollars and a ton of unnecessary stress. We ended up homeless for a couple of months, living in a cargo trailer in my dad's driveway. It was by choice. We definitely didn't want to deal with that particular realtor again, and it took some time to find a realtor that we liked and who prioritized our needs and wants over her paycheck. In June 2022, we bought a new-to-us house on 7 acres that was exactly what we were looking for, and in the exact area that we wanted. Woo hoo! Fast forward 4 or 5 months, and the septic system started acting up. Turns out that there was no septic tank at all ... just a concrete block-lined hole in the ground with a cover on it. The inspector had missed it. We had to have a whole new septic system put in, which costed thousands, but at least we should be good for a long, long time. Fast forward a few more months, and Hubby started having some random health issues. Long story short, he ended up in the hospital for the first time in his life (other than when he was born), with a diagnosis of congestive heart failure, A-fib, and high blood pressure. We connected with an awesome cardiologist, and after tons of tests, procedures, prescriptions, and even a defibrillator vest that he had to wear 24/7, we got the news last week that his most recent test results are completely normal. We're absolutely thrilled! He no longer has to wear the defibrillator vest, but he'll be on several medications for the rest of his life to make sure he continues to do well. I told him that he's never to scare me like that again!
As far as myself, I haven't done any quilt-making since the last Boom swap I was in. It kind of got pushed to the side, with all that's been going on. I used to do 25-30 craft fairs a year, selling the smaller sewn items that I enjoy making (purses, zippered pouches, etc.), but have had to slow down on the number of craft fairs I do. Craft fairs are a ton of work, loading and unloading the truck, setting up the tent and tables, etc. We're definitely not getting any younger! I do have a booth inside a mall in Chattanooga now. It's doing great.
I thought y'all would get a kick out of seeing some of my fabric stash when we moved. The whole trailer is full of fabric and sewing stuff. The truck bed is full of fabric. The back seat of the truck is full of fabric. And that's not even all of it! LOL!
The other picture is my booth.
Anyway, that's where I've been all this time. I sure hope things calm down now. Maybe I can get in on some future swaps.
(Edit: Eeek! My pics are kind of big. Not sure how to fix that. Sorry!)
(Edit again: Well, I got them a bit smaller, but they're still kind of big.)