Quilt Market Friends

I was looking through some of my market pictures and realized that I hadn't shown you the American Jane booth. Sandy Klopp's booth is always full of fun, whimsical patterns and fabric. As you can see the American Patchwork and Quilting booth was handing out great tote bags, and they were made with American Jane fabric. How cool for Sandy, to see hundreds of people walking the market floor wearing fabric that she designed.


The quilt we are standing in front of was one of the cutest alphabet quilts I have ever seen. She is so fun and creative!

I am having a little family fun on the Gulf coast of Florida, but I have not stopped thinking about all of the wonderful things that are on their way to the shop. Zippers, and rulers and threads, oh my! Yes, lots of goodies. I will share them as they arrive.


I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. The shop will be open regular hours, so stop in, get a jump on your summer fun projects! J

STARS OF THE SHOW part 2

I borrowed this photo from one of my new BFF's,( Kelly Ann from Virginia, thanks!)

This is Alex Veronelli, owner of Aurifil, USA. This charming Italian is always in demand at market. He really is a thread genius. Aurifil is the only thread I use to piece and to hand applique.



One of the busiest booths at Market was Atkinson's Designs. I love Terry's patterns. Her instructions are tested and retested, so you will always have success. I ordered all of the new patterns, as well as her zipper's. Yes, I will have zipper's in the shop is a couple of weeks, and I can show you how to use them. As Terry likes to say 'Zipper's are no big deal'. I also signed up for the Minnesota Road Show, and the new Groovy Girls Sewing Club. I tried to get Terry to pose for a picture, but she was so busy, I decided to introduce you to her son and daughter. Derek and Megan. They have worked in the booth for years, and can answer any questions about Terry's designs!

One of our 'local' designers, Meg Hawkey from Crab Apple Hill had a beautiful display of her stitchery. She has started using Cosmo's beautiful variegated floss, Season's. I have this on order, and Lecien's president, Matt, says it will be in the shop in July.

Sherri Fall's, designer of This & That patterns, is standing in front of a new block of the month quilt using French General's fabric that will be out this fall. We will be starting this program in October or November, depending on when the fabric arrives. Don't delay, we know this will sell out right away.

Another local friend is Kathy Schmitz, if you haven't done her stitchery projects you may have used her fabric. Her crackle is a classic. We will be doing a stitchery of the month starting in the fall, called Winsome Wreaths. She has designed sewing projects for each month, along with the stitchery in the quilt. Really wonderful.

As you can tell it has been a busy market. I will be telling you about many more tools, patterns and clubs in the coming days. Today I am going to spend the day with 3 great friends. Roseanne from Rosebuds Cottage (White Bear Lake, MN), Melissa from Sweet Home Quilt Company, Conyers, GA and Pat Sloan. Who knows what kind of an accent I will come home with!

STARS OF THE SHOW

I thought you would enjoy meeting a few of the Quilt Stars that I am lucky to meet. They work hard getting ready for market, designing patterns, writing books and designing fabric. Then they set the booths up, and work for 3 days. But, they are always willing to smile for the camera!


This is Barb and Mary of Me & My Sister Designs. Their booth is happy and bright, just like their fabric! They had some pretty cute new patterns, watch for them in the shop.


Another favorite sister team, is Minick & Simpson. Laurie and Polly have given us some of the finest patriotic fabric and patterns thru the years. They have never disappointed me. Their new collection Clermont Farms is pretty wonderful, and will play nicely with any of their fabics you have in your stash.

Always fun, Sandy Gervais painted those spots on the sofa! I love, love her use of color!

Terry Thompson posed with Noel and I, in front of one of the most beautiful antique quilts I have ever seen. Those strawberries were wonderful. She has reproduced the pattern and we will have it in the shop in the next couple of weeks. If you love reproductions, and if you love applique, this will be a 'must' make quilt for you.

We learned on Thursday that the Blackbird 'girls', were not going to be attending market. However, their beautiful quilts made the trip to Minnesota. The quilts were incredible, and the book arrived in the shop last week!

There were many other 'stars' there, and I will be sharing them with you over the next few days. J

Day One of Market

The first day of Market is always a long one. I try to walk all of the isles, getting an idea of any new trends that are out there. Looking for new products, and new companies. Talking with vendors that I have done business with before, seeing what's new in their booths.


Clothing popped up in lots of booths. Skirts, jackets, aprons and kids clothes. Here is a picture of Noel trying on a cute little jacket in the Indigo Junction booth.

Many booths were filled with beautiful, warm quilts. Scrappy, a little applique. Beautiful. This is Jo Morton holding up a darling little basket quilt. This is a pattern in a Black Bird Designs book. She made it just for herself. Something that designers don't have a lot of time to do.

We are having a great time. J

SCHOOL HOUSE

The day before Quilt Market opens there is a full day of short classes, School House. There are many choices, and every 15 or 30 minutes, the halls fill with Quilt Shop owners, teachers, managers and designers. It is a chance to get a sneak peek at what we will be seeing for the next 3 days. I saw old friends, blogging friends, facebook friends and 'famous' quilters.


One of the first people I ran into was Monica Snow, the Happy Zombie. She has a new fabric line out from Lecien. My first class was with Brenda Riddle, from The Acorn Quilt Company. She is also a new designer with Lecien. I have an appointment with then tomorrow.


Carrie Nelson, from Miss Rosie, had a beautiful show and tell. And the very first quilt she held up, was made by our own Lisa!! It is in the Schnibbles book, using Basic Grey's fabric.


We had classes with Kay England, Edie McGinnis, Jo Morton and Eleanor Burns (she had us singing!) The last class of the day was with Lizzie House. She was funny and spot on about young sewers, and their need to create fun things for their friends and family.


I left my camera in the room, so I will try to get pictures at tonight's event, Sample Spree. That's if I survive!! J

Blogging From Quilt Market

Quilt Market is next week! This year it is in a great city, Minneapolis. As you can see they are ready for us! Especially one of my favorite bloggers, PamKittyMorning! That girl loves any thing with a cherry on it.

Pam will be blogging each day from market, and so will I. If you click on her adorable radio on my side bar, you can follow all of the other designers, shop owners and stunt sewers. You will be in the 'know'. I will be catching up with old friends and making new ones. Looking for the newest tools. Admiring beautiful quilts. I plan to share this all with YOU!

My adventure starts on Tuesday! Follow along. J

SHOP HOP 2010

It's hard to believe, but the Shop Hop is just around the corner! I thought you would like to see our little owl block. I haven't seen the finished quilt yet, but I imagine there will be lots of "wildlife" depicted in the blocks.


Joyce and I spent a couple of days working on the design, and then she appliqued it and put some darling touches on it. The eyes, nose, beak and feet are wool. Big easy pieces, a little embroidery and your block will be finished before you know it!


This year there will be a $1.00 charge for our finishing kits. They will include the wool and the floss to make your owl look just like ours.

It's always a party, so mark your calendars for Wednesday June 23rd thru Sunday June 27th!

NATIONAL APRON DAY

Have you heard the news? The Monday after Mother's Day is National Wear Your Apron Day.


What a fun way to get back to reality, after a day of being 'honored' by the one's you love. If you grilled outside yesterday, maybe Dad was the one who wore the apron. Remember those silly BBQ Sets in the '60's, with a funny apron, a big hat and a giant oven mitt? I am sure I purchased at least one of those for my Daddy. I am not sure he ever cooked, or even wore it. But they were fun.


A young mom was in the shop last week showing off a cute apron she had made for her sister-in-law. She is a new sewer, and has 'refashioned' clothing for her daughter. This apron was darling, she found a pair of 'vintage' curtains at a thrift store. They were white with turquoise and orange fruit on them. She made a little apron using orange bias tape around the edges. Easy, Peasy and totally adorable.


Aprons are fun and functional. My Grandmothers and my Aunts always wore them, they are good for wiping tears, dusting, as a pot holder, swatting fly's, as well as keeping your blouse clean. I like ones that have pockets, and cover my hips! My son is a chef, and he hates to wear an apron. He uses bar towels, and wears a white jacket.


A fun place to read about aprons is on Amy Karol's blog, http://angrychicken.typepad.com on her side bar is Tie One On, this will link you to all things aprony!


So wear your aprons proudly today! J

Frustration

It's Wednesday, and I had hoped to show you a few pictures of Vintage Notions from my collection. Due to technical difficulties, I am not able to. Sometimes, my printer does not want to load photos from my camera. The fact that I even know that a printer can do this is pretty amazing to me. Figuring out why, is a total mystery. It worked on Monday. But, not today!


I have a really cute little pink laptop at home. I know she will do the work for me. I love that sweet little thing, and she works like a charm.


For now you can enjoy this picture from the Pioneer Woman!


This is how I feel when I can't make things work the way I want them to. Have a lovely evening, and hopefully the cute little things I had hoped to show you today will be up by tomorrow. J

FADED MEMORIES

Every quilt can tell a story. Especially the ones you actually make for yourself. If you are like so many quilters, as soon as the binding is stitched down, the quilt is given away. In my case, as soon as the binding is finished most quilts come to live in the shop. I love sharing them with all of you, but every once in a while I need to make one just for me!


The last shipment of fabric in our old location was Moda's Faded Memories. I would not let the staff unpack the boxes, it was hard for them, they peeked but the bolts stayed in the boxes. On the day we reopened this was the featured collection on the bench just inside the door. Everyone loved it. The soft romantic florals were the most beautiful fabrics, ever. I couldn't resist 'buying' a 1/2 yard of each print. I don't remember how much of the border fabric I had. Maybe 3 yards. The collection came with a pattern, easy pinwheels with a splash of applique. It was a lovely quilt, but I wasn't sure if it was 'the' quilt I wanted.


The first few months at the shop were crazy busy. Trying to 'tweek' everything. A few new employees, working on the website, having a real office to conduct business. And lots of walls to fill with samples. Faded Memories would have to wait. In the fall, my son was in a car accident, that kept me from working and from sewing for months. Sometime in early 2007, I started spending small amounts of time in my sewing room again. I rediscovered my stack of fabric, and now the easy pinwheels seemed just what I needed to ease my way back. I took the applique with me to many waiting rooms, as my son worked on his recovery. When I got it back from the quilter I put it aside to bind when I had time. Recently my boy spread his wings, and went to California. He is busy making music and enjoying the sun. After he headed out, I put the binding on this beautiful quilt. Some of the memories of that time will never fade. I have this wonderful shop, I have my amazing son and I have this beautiful quilt. What more could a girl want? J