Oh, Shoot!

Last Sunday afternoon, I jumped in the car and headed southeast, toward Newtown, Connecticut, headquarters of The Taunton Press. I loaded about a kajillion finished quilts for the next ScrapTherapy book, a bunch of samples for the procedural shots, and my iPad, loaded with two audio books to pass the time on the five-hour drive. 
 

By the time I arrived in Newtown, a lovely, picturesque New England town, I was worn out. Last week, my time was dedicated to finishing up text and illustrations for the third round of book content submissions. So, imagine my delight to see my accommodations at the Dana Holcombe House in Newtown, right in the center of town next to a white spired church.

The Dana Holcombe House, Newtown, CT

The inn is surrounded by a beautiful garden, carefully tended by the inn's proprietors John and Jane Vouros. The lilacs, my all-time favorite flower were just starting to bloom.

The blue room, furnished tastefully with antiques, a fluffy bed, and lots of sunny windows was a welcome sight. I could have stayed all week! Don't you think a handmade blue and white quilt would make a lovely addition?












The next morning. I was off to Taunton headquarters. And found this bookshelf in the lobby - Cut the Scraps is on the bottom shelf all the way on the left!

Taunton offerings cover a lot of non-quilty territory - wood working, gardening, knitting, sewing.

My husband is the gardener guy at our house. So, after a strong recommendation from Jane at the Dana Holcombe House, I signed Dave up for a Fine Gardening subscription. Based on her garden, Judy seemed a good authority on gardening publications!







Renee Neiger and Shawna Mullen, my editors, gathered me up after a quick camera snap, to head to a studio building in an outer area of the spacious Taunton campus.





Burcu Avsar, or Buj for short, our fabulous photographer, met us at the studio. She immediately and expertly began creating an elaborate set-up of lights, tripods, cameras, and computer equipment so we could review each picture as it was taken.


















In the meantime, Alison Wilkes, art director, and I sorted through scrap fabrics to pick some favorites to go into instructional photos.









The day flew by. I lost count of how many pictures we took. But we were on schedule and wrapped up right around 4 or 5 pm. The art staff used the rest of the day to sort through the quilts for potential book cover candidates for the next day's photo shoot, which I did not attend. So many choices!

This picture reminds me of my sewing studio when a quilt is in progress. Kinda messy, don't you think?

Seems such a long way off before the next ScrapTherapy book will be in hand! It's targeted for March 2013! I can't wait, how 'bout you?'

Joan