.Lassen and Brian (he's almost in the family) are at the top, then Sarah, me, Gary and Jacob, with Nathan and Bethany in front. Unfortunately, Bethany's husband Robert had to go back to work between Christmas and New Year's, so he's missing.
| Anna Grossnickle Hines Home Guide |
The 2001 and 2002 Report February 2001 The most exciting news I have to report is that Pieces has gotten three starred reviews! It's already being reprinted and they won't ship until the end of February, so it's off to a great start. I've added lots of related things to this webpage, including my doll-making and early quilt work , patterns and other activities to try , a bit about my mother's quilting , a fairly detailed account of how the book came to be , and pages from Keep Your Hat , which just happens to feature the quilts I made for my girls when they were small. Two of the quilts from Pieces are featured in Miniature Quilts Magazine (Issue No. 52), including a pattern for the autumn leaf quilt, "To Each His Own". The quilts are in an article about the Milford Valley Quilt Guild written by miniature quilter Patti Shreiner. Recently, I've spent most of my time caring for my husband's 91 year old mother, not an easy job, but one I won't ever regret doing, I'm sure. In March Gary and I will get back to our own lives in Pennsylvania There he will work out his last seven months for the Forest Service before retiring... or as he prefers to say, "making a career change" to be a full time writer. In December he visited the Smithsonian Museum of American History where he read his book, A Christmas Tree in the White House , as part of their "Our Story: History Through Literature Program". The appearance was in conjunction with a new exhibit called "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden." When Gary makes his "career change", we'll be moving to a new home we are purchasing on the coast of California, a couple hours north of San Francisco. We'll have seven acres of beautiful meadows and redwoods, plenty of room for our children and grandchildren to visit. We have enjoyed living in the east, but all three of our daughters and their families are confirmed Californians and we don't want to have to buy plane tickets every time we want to see them. |
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Jacob is leading an impromptu "forest parade" up the driveway of our new home. I can't wait to see what other kinds of adventures we'll have there. |
| Here's my family on the steps of our home-to-be in California. Lassen and Brian (he's almost in the family) are at the top, then Sarah, me, Gary and Jacob, with Nathan and Bethany in front. Unfortunately, Bethany's husband Robert had to go back to work between Christmas and New Year's, so he's missing. |
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| Speaking of children and grandchildren, they all have exciting things
happening in their lives. Bethany, her husband, and five-year-old Jacob
are moving to the Santa Cruz area. Sarah and a partner, have started their own book packaging business, Flashlight
Books, which has her busy writing and editing. Sarah's husband Nathan
is doing computer animation for a company called Wild Brain, and they are
expecting a baby in May. And Lassen will graduate from Rhode Island
School of Design in June. Big changes!
Along with Pieces: A Year in Poems and Quilts, I have three more books
coming out this year. Two are Rookie Readers from Grolier; Got You! will be out in the spring and William's Turn in the fall.
And Whose Shoes? is being published by Harcourt. LeUyen Pham, who
did the pictures for Eve Bunting's Can You Do This, Old Badger? has
illustrated it wonderfully! Here is one of her sketches. A happy, creative, and loving New Century to all! Anna |
September 2001 What a full few months I've had! Lots of travel, a new grandson, a week with the older one who has now started first grade, Lassen's graduation from Rhode Island School of Design, visits to our new place in California and with my writing and illustrating friends... as well as signings and talks. Plus two new books out, Whose Shoes? and my second Rookie Reader, William's Turn, also published in a Spanish edition. Our move to California has been postponed for a few weeks.
We're now planning on leaving Pennsylvania in mid-November, eager to get
there, but sad to say good-bye to friends and places we've grown to love
in the east. Gary will be doing his Gifford Pinchot program several
times before we go, as well as his popular reading of Edgar Allen Poe at
Grey Towers on Halloween. I will be busy with the events above as well
as sewing fabric All three of our daughters, their partners and our two grandsons are now in California from Santa Cruz to the San Francisco Bay Area. Our new home will be about 90 miles up the road in the coastal redwoods.... close enough for weekend visits. Here are a couple more pictures of one of the reasons we have to move. |
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| Who could resist this little guy?
A very happy and peaceful fall to all, |
October 2001- April 2002 Here's the family posing with our Christmas tree. From the left are Bethany, Robert (holding up the tree), Jacob, Gary, Sarah, Nathan, and Emmett. Lassen and Brian are missing because they couldn't get there until Christmas Eve. |
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Here's a photo of my studio floor with Whistling in progress. I'm selecting the fabrics and cutting the pieces for the last two story spreads. |
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This photo shows the sixteen appliquéd pictures for the inside of the book. |
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This is the title page... |
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...and the cover. |
| I'm particularly excited about receiving the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry
Award for Pieces, and the exhibition of the quilts at the American
Textile History Museum. It's so nice that both aspects of that book,
the poetry and the quilts, are being so well received. It was worth every
minute and every stitch! I'm eager to get started on the quilts
for the next poetry collection, Winter Lights, which Greenwillow will
publish in 2004.
May this year be one of peace and healing for us all, Anna |
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| A shot of the beautiful coastline just north of Gualala... | ..and mother, Bethany, writing a love note to Jacob in the sand. |
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Above Jacob and Bethany give the kayaks a try. Jake is a champ! Little Emmett is ready to go, too. |
| Fall 2002
The whole gang gathered to celebrate four family birthdays in September and October. From the top... |
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| We also had several writing and illustrating friends come for a retreat in October. Most of them are friends Gary and I made during the years we went almost annually to the Centrum Writers Conference in Port Townsend, Washington. We're looking to more opportunites like this one. | |
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I've seen proofs of the two books coming
out next year and am thrilled with both. Whistling, written by Elizabeth Partridge and illustrated by me with fabric appliquéd pictures, (see below) is being published by Greenwillow Books. Elizabeth's latest book, This Land Is Your Land: the Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie, won the Boston Globe Hornbook Award, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and winner of The Golden Kite! Go Betsy! |
| My Grandma is Coming to Town, (working title was Pat-a-Cake Grandma) wonderfully illustrated by Melissa Sweet, is coming from Candlewick. |  |
| Check out my new page for Quilters
and Quilts in the Classroom; including ideas for using Pieces and links to other sites with suggestions
for using quilts in the curriculum.
I'm looking forward to some fun, busy months ahead. All the best wishes for peace, love and moments of joy in the year
ahead. |
