2012 has not started out the way I planned. It was too early to even have a plan. We were enjoying my sons’ last day of the Christmas break last Tuesday and it was bitterly cold outside. We built a fire in our fireplace and we enjoyed a low-burning fire all day. I went into the kitchen to cook dinner and was cooking proscuitto in a skillet when I heard David say, “There’s a fire in the wall. I’m not kidding. Get out of the house and call 911.

There was no smoke, no flame, no spark to indicate anything was wrong, so I thought it was a false alarm. But David saw embers under the firebox, felt the wall and hit was hot. So he knew there was a fire.

He was right. We watched the firetrucks pull up and drag the huge hose into our home. The firefighters gingerly pulled the Old Glory quilt down from above my mantel and broke into the den wall. Flames leapt out of the wall, along with huge billows of smoke. We were still outside, but I could see my quilt studio on the second floor fill up with so much smoke you couldn’t see inside it.

We all got out okay, the fire was contained to the one wall of the house, and the firefighters put it out quickly. We have more smoke and water damage than anything. But guess what happens to my quilting fabric?

A textile cleaning company removed ALL of it from my studio, will be cleaning it and specially treating it, will fold it back up, and return it to my studio. Same with my quilts. Almost all of them.

So, I won’t be doing any quilting for a while, but I’m anxious to see my quilting fabric when it returns. Will it be the same? Better than new? Or not?

We are hugely blessed that this happened during the day instead of in the evening, when we normally enjoy a fire. So we’re looking on the bright side and not letting this dampen our spirits or get us down.

Until we deal with the insurance company. Our absolute favorite activity.

Guess who decorated the gingerbread house this year? I usually decorate with my sons, but they’re growing older and not as enthralled about doing crafts with mom as they used to be. So that meant I got to be really compulsive with my colors! Normally I’m totally hands off and let them play and put whatever they wanted on the house, but this year, it was all mine.

I was in a blue, red, and white palette mood for some reason, and I have been for a long time. Last year’s Christmas Cabin and Advent Tree table runners both used that color palette, and I’m still in love with it. So I gathered blue Dum-Dum suckers and crushed them for stained glass windows. Blue candy canes grace the roof and the path. Mentos dyed blue-green decorate the roof.

Then my eleven-year-old asked me to made tiny stockings for his cousins who are coming over on Christmas Eve, and since they’re all girls, they got the same palette. I couldn’t stop myself.

I’ve missed sharing with you over the past year. I haven’t been in my quilting studio as often as I’d like; in fact, I haven’t made a single quilt all year. Can you believe that? Life has its seasons, and I’m in one right now that calls me to a different place. That happened before, and Color Mastery was born. So who knows what’s in store for the future?

Until then, please keep in touch. I enjoy hearing from my readers, my subscribers, and friends. I’m on Facebook – Maria Hoath Peagler, on Twitter as SM_OnlineClass, Google+, and YouTube. Since I founded a social media training site, I’m pretty much everywhere. So join me!

I’m overwhelmed by all the wonderful comments and votes of confidence ya’ll gave me over on Facebook for Tory Johnson’s Spark and Hustle conference.  I’m thrilled to say I won!  I’m now on the speaker’s lineup and I’ll be presenting at the conference July 20-23, 2011.  I’ve not ever attended Tory’s conference in the past, but from everything I’ve heard, they are phenomenal and really produce results for the attendees.  I’m selective about the companies I align myself with, and I’m proud to be part of the Spark and Hustle team.

Now on to the fun part:  the winner!  I’m excited to announce two winners:  Debbie Snyder and Laurie Krauss.  Ya’ll get your choice of prizes:  either a lecture to your guild, or a social media course over at SocialMediaOnlineClasses.com.  Contact me at maria [at] colormastery.com and we’ll arrange all the fun details.

And the watercolor?  A fun folk art watercolor I did of some homemade cupcakes I made and created a still life with my Winter Bird table runner.  Art imitates life, inspired by art.  It’s all so beautiful!

I hope you are having a wonderful summer with your family and friends, and enjoy your July 4th holiday weekend.  Here’s my family enjoying some time at my sister’s lake house over Memorial Day weekend.

Six inches of snow fell late Sunday evening, and it has since turned to ice.  Our boys have been out of school all week, and won’t go back until Tuesday due to MLK Jr. holiday.

It was fun the first day, sledding, throwing snowballs, and hiking mountain trails in the snow.

The second day it was still fun, but the ground was icier:  better for sledding but more difficult to get around.

The third day the ground was covered in ice.  It was my son’s birthday, and he was stuck at a friend’s house after spending the night.  He couldn’t walk home because it was too icy (the snow was powdery enough to walk to his buddy’s house the day before).  He waited until the sun came out and tried walking home.  He fell a couple of times, but was slowly making progress when some friends picked him up in their 4WD Jeep and gave him a ride home.

I’m now officially over it.  I ran out of Coke Zero yesterday (a true emergency), but we still have milk, eggs, bread, and other staples.  Cabin fever has set in, and the kids are grumpy.  I got out all kinds of art supplies, science project books, and anything else I could think of to keep them busy.  They’re tired of sledding (as am I), and my husband can’t convince any of us that this is fun anymore.

Sounds like a great day to quilt, doesn’t it?  How has the snow affected you and how have you coped?  I’d love to know!

Every Thanksgiving I long for a way to permanently record our blessings.  As often as I teach my children the lesson of gratitude and try to practice it myself, the daily carpool, school, work, dinner, and errands tend to take over, and we forget.  Here is a simple way to remember, record, and reflect.

The tree starts out bare, just branches, trunk, and buttons.  During our Thanksgiving day with extended family, we’ll catch up with stories of loved ones lost, children who’ve sprouted so tall you barely recognize them, and hugs and kisses all around.  As we cook, catch up, and enjoy time with those we love so much, we’ll begin adding leaves to the tree.

We’ll each write down on a leaf, with a gold metallic marker, what we’re grateful for this sign, sign and date it.  As more and more family members add their blessings, the leaves begin to accumulate.

Then, before we all sit down to the meal, everyone will add their gratitude leaf to the tree, until it’s overflowing with blessings.

Enjoy your loved ones this Thanksgiving holiday.  Cherish the time together, and continue to remember how richly you’ve been blessed with November’s Blessing Tree pattern.

Here’s a hint for next month:  count the branches on the tree.  Hhhmm, would be great for December, too, wouldn’t it?  Stay tuned and I’ll show you how to turn the Blessings Tree into an Advent Tree for Christmas.

To order the Color Mastery Table Runners enhanced e-pattern. click here: I Want to Master Color