A Glimpse into Fig Tree
So it seems that some of you have already beat me to the punch… so to speak. You have received the April issue of your APQ subscription and you’ve seen & read it…thanks so much for all of the generous emails!!
Well, just so you know, you have seen the article before I have!! I am still waiting for my personal subscription to come and except for the copies that I have seen throughout the editing process, I have not yet seen the final story.
For the rest of you, yes my latest news is that the April isse of APQ not only has a fun Fig Tree quilt in it, but it features a wonderful profile about me and Fig Tree Quilts. This has been a long time in coming as some of you close to me know. We started “preparing” the house- organizing, a bit of redecorating, some painting, all last Spring. The photoshoot timeline was changed several times and somewhere in the process of it all we managed to repaint 4 rooms, completely reorganize my fabric shelves, spruce up my studio, organzie my design bookshelves, totally restructure the Fig Tree offices and add in a hundred little in between fix ups and projects. We used the fact that we were going to have a photo shoot in the house as an excuse to get everything we had been putting off, finally done and checked off the to do list. It was very motivating!
The photo shoot itself happened in September and it was a wonderful experience. I’ve been involved in dozens of photo shoots of quilts & a few of me, but it feels so much more personal when the shoot is of your home and your studio and you are not the one calling the shots on what gets shown! The entire team that arrived at our house was fantastic to work with- gracious, complimentary about our home & my work and really so fun to work with. I felt like I learned so much about the process of a photo shoot, met some wonderful people and shared a great dinner with some really interesting table conversation [ask me one day what hot young starlet our photographer was shooting the night before he arrived at our house LOL]- thanks guys!
On a more personal note, I have to share with you that I know different people have different ways of measuring how they are doing in their work, how to look at success, and how to determine whether they are moving in the direction on which they set out to go. I don’t know specifically why, but for me, a profile in APQ has always been one of those markers. As a novice quilter, I can still remember pouring over every single issue and devouring with great interest the stories of the designers in those pages, their ideas, their inspirations and their homes. It grew my passion for both design and for quilting. So on a personal level, I felt quite honored when they contacted me [such a long time ago now] and I am honored now to be featured in this way & to finally be able to share the story with you.
I think they did a wonderful job of “capturing” the Fresh Vintage ™ style that we work so hard to create. I hope you enjoy it.
For those of you with subscriptions, they are in the mail they tell me. For everybody else, the magazine hits newstands on February 5.
I’m including here a few of the close up shots that didn’t make it into the profile itself due to space constraints.
By the way, we are offering the kit of the quilt “Dandelion Wishes” [see 2 posts down] on our website [click on the Fig Tree Home figbutton to find it] with a limited supply. We already have a pre order list, so don’t wait if you are interested. The first 50 orders will receive a special little gift. Go check it out if you are interested.
Talk to you soon. More photos in a few.
About The Author
mar | 27th Jan 08
Bravo! Congratulations on hitting your “mark”! The photos here are fabulous. I’ll have to wait till the 5th, but look forward to the purchase. And do tell what hot young starlet would that be? ;-O
Libby | 28th Jan 08
I can’t wait for my copy!! The pictures look wonderful! and such a cutie-pie all wrapped up in her quilt!
Linda | 28th Jan 08
Congratulations, what a good feeling that must be for you. Love the photo of your little cutie, those gorgeous eyes. I’ll keep a look out for the copy when it hits the stores.
Carol | 28th Jan 08
Congratulations Joanna…you have really hit your mark…I remember meeting you and Lisa at your first quilt market. I loved your booth and told everyone I saw to go check out the new booth. That seems like a lifetime ago. Again…CONGRATULATIONS!
Sandi Henderson | 28th Jan 08
Hello my friend! I’m so excited for you. I think we look at our businesses very similarly and I hear you on those landmark acheivements. Congratulations again for reaching one of yours!
Sandi
Jean T | 28th Jan 08
Congratulations are in order to you. Hard work and dreams do pay off. In life, if you don’t set a goal, you never reach them.
I can’t wait to get my issue! I’ll have to have you autograph it for me. Wow, the cupboard behind you FULL of Fig Tree fabric!!! If you run out of room at your house, I’d be glad to “babysit” it for you!!
josie | 28th Jan 08
All your photos have that delicious “butter” glow that seems to be a Fig Tree trademark. I love them all!!! The article is awesome, the pictures divine! You look wonderfully happy and your daughter is as cute as she can possibly be!
YOU HAVE MADE IT! And, you should be proud to have made one of your goals so early in your “designer life”! WAY TO GO, Joanna!! To paraphase from Titanic….you are queen of the quilting world!!!!!!
Betsy Pratt | 28th Jan 08
Joanna, I received my copy of APQ in the mail today and even though I work from home, I *had* to stop working and read the profile and check out the pattern. If I weren’t already a big fan – I’m sure I’d be one now! I’ll bet that you will be seeing a HUGE influx of hits on your website and blog! THANK YOU for doing what you do everyday, and creating such beautiful and desirable fabrics and designs. And of course a huge thanks to your family for supporting you in doing what you do.
Without further babbling on – Joanna – YOU ROCK!
Betsy Pratt
betsypratt.wordpress.com
Flatlander | 29th Jan 08
Our mailbox held a wonderful surprise for me last night … my own copy of APQ arrived. Dinner … needless to say … was very late! Loved every single page of this issue and after quickly flipping through, made it an early evening and retired to the sanctuary of my sewing room and snuggled down in that overstuffed chair in the corner with a cup of tea and devoured it from cover to cover. Thank you for sharing what I consider a “private” part of yourself (your home and family). You are a most talented woman and I’m not alone when I say that we’re blessed to be able to share the fruits of that gift with each new line you design. Congrats on achieving one of your “personal bests”. Linda
Cara | 29th Jan 08
How exciting for you! I can’t wait to get my copy.
Darlene | 29th Jan 08
I received my issue yesterday and couldn’t wait to read all about YOU and your corner of the world. Thank you for opening the door to your delightful cottage and giving us all a wonderful peek.
🙂
jacquelynne | 29th Jan 08
It’s so great to hear from people who have worked hard to make their dreams come true! It is encouraging and inspiring to all of us with creative hearts who are on this journey together.
Can’t wait to get my issue- I know what you mean about pouring over all those issues. I keep every issue of my favorite magazines, and still look at that them from time to time for inspiration.My husband wants to know when I am going to get rid of all of those old magazines (Never!)
Congratulations on achieving your dreams!
Ina | 29th Jan 08
Mail came. No magazine. Still. 🙁 sigh…
Valerie/Quilt_Mommy_Quilts | 30th Jan 08
Lol* Thank you Google for keeping me responsible for the things I blab about in my blog! Lol* Thanks for your comment…and yes, I stand by my statement, gooofy as it might be, Tracy Porter’s fabric does remind me of a smushy mush between you and Anna Maria Horner! And I am incredibly inspired by all three of you!
Congratulations on achieving one of your goals…I would have said you were doing pretty darn well even before the profile write up! 🙂 I’ll just have to go buy myself a copy when it’s available so I can drool… 🙂
happy zombie | 30th Jan 08
Whoo whooo! Congratulations Joanna! What a beautiful article it is, and the photos are simply delicious! The shot of your house made me gasp… it’s so beautiful and it’s the dream home in my mind looks like!
Libby | 30th Jan 08
My copy came today and it was worth the wait! The pictures are so pretty and you look so cute! Love the article! Libby
Ina | 30th Jan 08
Sniff, sniff…nothing in the mail. 🙁
Mary Alison | 31st Jan 08
I got my issue yesterday and went straight to the “profile” which I always do. Inspiring and fun. And now a new blog to lurk at. Life is good.
sandy | 31st Jan 08
What a great artcle. How special for you and your family. Still love all the fabric!
Have a great day
Maci | 31st Jan 08
What a surprise! I thought my subscription had expired but today my APQ was tucked in the mailbox. In the past I have been convinced that someone at the Castro Valley Post Office reads it before they deliver it to me. What a great article. It was so fun to feel like I knew someone in a magazine. Your home is beautiful, almost as beautiful as your children.
Carolyn Caady | 1st Feb 08
My issue arrived yesterday: I’ve been dreaming quilts ever since – again! Such a pleasure to read about someone I feel I “know”. You always seem to glow in your pictures – a delightful attribute. Your generosity and humility is overwhelming. I’m pleased that you have achieved this goal,and know that you’ll soon be setting another. Thank you for sharing some of your personal life with all of us quilters.
Carolyn Cady | 1st Feb 08
Corrected name spelling. Good grief!
redgeraniumcottage | 1st Feb 08
Congrats to you. I love your fabrics and patterns. Did you get the e-mail I sent with my quilt I made using your fabs and pattern Patchwork Girl? I love that quilt.
cathy | 3rd Feb 08
Wow! Congrats.
Cathy
Jean-o | 4th Feb 08
Can’t say how I happened upon your blogsite but happy I did! So funny that I was just to the part in APQ magazine and then I found your blog… I’m enjoying your quilts, so cozy. Funny too that in your pic’s above I had one of those suitcases (3rd from the top) when I was a little girl! It was somewhat old when I got it, but I got to pack it and go to my grandma’s on Bainbridge Island, Wa. Great fun, I got to ride the ferry… by myself, and spend time with my gramma and grammpa. Sorry, funny how things will make you remember something!
Your little one is a cutie, sweet to see her all covered up in the quilt. Enjoy, time will come when she is wanting a wedding dress!
Take care. Jean C.
Carole | 4th Feb 08
My friend from Oz sent me a copy, I guess before everyone else rec’d theirs! I was so thrilled. I think it’s wonderful for you! congrad! Felicitation a toi!
Carole | 4th Feb 08
You know, it just dawned on me that you were actually refering to American P&Q. I just rec’d my copy in the mail today. I, on the other had was referring to the Australian Patchwork & Quilting! Nice article in there. I’ll have to read the one in the American issue! So many A’s! lol Condrads for both issues!
danielle | 21st Feb 08
beautiful pictures!