A Quilter's Touch Taping

So yesterday I got to do something kind of new and different. Linda Ramrath, host of "A Quilter's Touch" on Holliston (MA) CATV channel 8 had asked me to be her guest and share some of my group quilts. She recently did a show about her own experiences participating in row robins, and thought this seemed like a good extension of the idea. You can check out her row robin episode, which is now streaming online, here.

I was very honored and very freaked out. What will my traditionally unruly hair do that day? (It sort of behaved.) Will I talk too fast? (Yes, I did.) Will I talk too much? (Yes, I did. Step back Donald Trump.) Will I screw up the demo of my block? (I don't think I did.) Will all hell break loose with three children going in two directions with three other adults shuffling them around all afternoon and me an hour away and unable to leave, because television waits for no one and the show must go on? (It didn't, but as we moms know it's always a stressor.) And of course the biggest question: WHAT WILL I WEAR?

I think the above photo shows that Linda and I both looked stunning in our blouses that totally matched the quilts behind us. I promise you it was unplanned and only proves that quilters know color. Why I worried about what pants I was going to wear I have no idea. I mean really. No one saw me under that table.

I felt a bit like a Girl Scout on a field trip at the studio. Since this is cable-access and the studio is used by the whole town, Linda had to do the set dressing (yeah, I learned that term on "Castle") herself - see all those cool quilts and bags on the shelf?- and we had to hang the quilts and hide my block pieces (I demoed the KS block later in the show) for easy access. Then we had to run through the show and as the camera people talked about "one-shots", "two-shots" and some sort of scene jump thing I was starting to feel out of my element. We got all miked up and we were ready to go.

I was slightly horrified when I learned, after the first scene was shot, that this was a one-take situation. Holy crap. How can they trust me with that kind of thing - I don't even have a SAG card! I know I screwed up, I know I talked too much, and I can only hope this show will not be the demise of Linda's cool program after four successful years. Thank God for editing. I feel like I will owe Linda a case of wine if she can make this look good!

By far my favorite part of the experience is the awe my children have over the fact that mom is going to be on TV. Eva in particular keeps saying to me "Mom, what is it like to be famous?" which is way hilarious, but she is insistent that between her quilt and this taping that I am the next Angelina Jolie. I did concede at dinner last night that while I am not famous, okay, I'll give you that I am more famous than Daddy. If you judge a person's fame by a count of google hits of their name. But he is richer than me so it kind of evens it all out.

I have no idea when the show will air, but I do know that after a few weeks on the cable channel it too will stream online. So if I don't end up looking like too much of a dolt, I'll let you all know when that happens!

Thank you to Linda Ramrath, who is just a lovely human being and a true television professional, for allowing me to have this opportunity!