Juicy Bits

238: a booth for Cascade

I did it!  I sucessfully designed and constructed a gorgeous booth for Quilt Market.  And what do I have to say about that?  Phew!

I knew if I was going to do a booth, I was going to do it "right".  So hard walls were a given.  Figuring out how to make them = not so easy.

In the end they are hinged 4'x4' panels of thin hardboard with a frame of 1"x2"s on the back.  They were then bolted together on site.  If I had it to do again I would probably use actual 1/4" plywood because the hardboard really isn't meant to be finished and it chipped a lot.  And I'd probably use 2"x3"s for the frame. 

But they arrived in tact, so there really are miracles.

The centerpiece of my booth was the waterfall.  Yes I built it.  It had just the right simple, modern, calm feel to draw people in to the booth and to show off the quilts.  Honestly I knew from the start of designing the collection that it would be called Cascade and that if I had a booth it would have a working waterfall of some kind.

The ladder of quilts was screwed to the walls and I can't really see it standing like that at home, but it has definitely made me determined to built a few quilt ladders so I can get some of mine out storage and on display.

I'm so pleased with the overall look of the booth.  In fact, I kinda want to set it up in a corner of my house so I can step into it whenever I want.

  

I can't thank all the people that helped me make samples enough.  It was just bursting with creative goodness.  And I had such a blast being booth neighbors with Heather and her Succulents line.

 

Since I was mostly standing in my booth, I didn't really see much of market this time.  So sadly, I can give you much of a report, but I can tell you that good times were had.  :) 

Now that some time has passed and I've recovered, maybe I'll even be able to do a halloween post before Xmas gets here...

JT

237: Cascade blog tour

Today we kick of the blog tour for my fabric collection, Cascade.  It's going to be 8 days full of inspiring projects with a giveaway at every stop! If you haven't already looked, check out the Look Book to see most of the great projects.

I'm starting it here with three amazing quilts that I'm excited to share.

The first is called Zen Bubble.  I designed and made this quilt.  It's mostly hand applique, which you might know is generally not my thing.  I'm all about machine sewing.  But this design just needed to be done by hand. There is something about the softness of handwork that I felt was needed to compliment the simple design.

The design comes straight from one of the fabric prints, Bubble.  This will be the free pattern offered with the collection and will be available here around the time the fabric hits stores (February).

I quilted this on my longarm.  The background is randomly spaced straight lines with a top and bottom border.  Since the background fabric of the bubble is raindrops, I thought little rainbows was an appropriate fill. :)

Next up is Somewhere Under.  It's one of my patterns with Empty Bobbin Sewing Studio, done in Cascade fabrics.  My friend Neva from the Central Jersey MQG made and quilted this one. 

I love how pretty the colors all look together.  And I'm so happy I got to choose 4 solids to coordinate with the collection.  This light grey is going to get plenty of use in my quilting.

And look at the amazing raindrop quilting that Neva did...

And finally, my friend Robin (also from CJMQG) made a version of the Diamond Strands quilt from my book in the Glacier colorway.  The soft icy blues and greys look just as I pictured when I first imagined the collection.  And I think this pattern has a "cascade-y" feel (yes, I'm aware that's not a word) that goes perfect with the collection.

Robin did such a great job piecing it that the whole thing is crisp and pure.

I also quilted this one on my long arm.  It was fun to use the fabric as inspiration.  And in the solid diamonds I did a deco styled motif.

These three gorgeous quilts are just the tip of the iceberg.  Check out the following blogs to see what others have made and stop back here to see what else I share.

Monday October 13th - Jessica Levitt - Juicy Bits / Windham Fabrics

Tuesday October 14th - Julie Herman - Jaybird Quilts / Jenn Nevitt -knit ’n lit

Wednesday October 15th - Amanda Kattner - What the Bobbin / Andy Knowlton - a bright corner

Thursday October 16th - Marci Debataz - Marci Girl Designs / Jennifer Auh Chon - Sunny in Cal

Friday October 17th - Angela Walters - Quilting is my Therapy / Rachel Gander - Imagine Gnats

Saturday October 18th - Elizabeth Timmons - and pins / Andrea Taddicken - knitty bitties

Sunday October 19th - Erin Erickson - Dog Under my Desk / Jessica Skultety - Quilty Habit

 

Monday October 20th  - Caroline Press - Trillium Design / Karin Jordan - Leigh Laurel Studios

 

At each stop Windham has graciously agreed to give away a fat quarter bundle of Cascade fabrics, so don't miss your chance to win.

 

To enter in my giveaway please follow me on instagram (@jtlevitt) AND leave a comment here.  You can either tell me something you'd make with the prize or something you love about water (i.e. you love the sound of rolling waves, or the heavy feeling of morning mist in the air, or catching snowflakes or your tongue, or whatever...)

 

I will leave the contest open until 11:59 pm EST Oct. 22.

 

JT 

236: introducing Cascade!

Hey there!  Guess what?  I can finally reveal my latest fabric collection for Windham Fabrics, Cascade.

I'm so excited about how this line came out.  I've already been sewing with it and had lots of awesome sewists making projects and I'm thrilled with the results.  You can check out the projects in the Look Book and I'll be sharing more with you in the next week.

Cascade is inspired by the many colors and forms of water all around us.  It’s a graphic snapshot of just a few of things that water does.  It drips down a window pane or cascades down a waterfall.  It glistens as morning dew or floats flowers and leaves on it’s surface.  It splashes in a puddle or bubbles into the air.  I was influenced by Art Nouveau style and saw patterns everywhere, from an elevator door, to the weave of a sweater.  

 

The Glacier color way uses icy blues and greys with just hint of pink to create calm, pretty mood.  

 

The Pond color way has the more earthy feel of all the many green, lush layers of that environment.  

 

 

After an invigorating hike, I love breathing in the pure, crisp energy in the air from the mist at the bottom of a cascade.  I hope this collection captures at least a little of that beauty and clarity.

 

 

This is all 23 designs, including the 4 coordinating solids:

 

The whole collection can also be seen on Windham's site.

 

Stay tuned for a the Blog Hop Tour coming this Monday.  Eight days of awesome projects, complete with fabric giveaways!  AND I have my own booth at Quilt Market this month.  It's been an insane process of building and designing and I can't wait to share it with you all. 

 

JT

234: belated quilt market wrap-up

I'm not THAT far behind.  It's been less than 2 months since Quilt Market.

Spring Market was in Pittsburg this year.  It was a bit nostalgic for me since 5 years ago I went to Quilt Market for the first time in Pittsburg.  You can read about it here.

This time was a totally different experience.  A lot less stress and a lot more fun. :)  I didn't have many specific responsibilites this time so I got to walk the floor and socialize.

As always, it was a visual feast.  I can't possibly do it justice in my pictures mostly because I missed a lot.  

Cotton and Steel's release of their first collections was the big talk of the show.  No doubt about: those ladies have got some style.

 The radiant Carrie Bloomston and I with her new collection Paint for Windham Fabrics.

 Alison Glass and all that lucious color.

Angela Walters' new collection Athena for Art Gallery Fabrics.  Look at that insane quilting on the quilted dress.

Angela is my Market roomie and BFF.  I love her to death!

Geometric Bliss by Jeni Baker

Julie Herman who makde some goodies for Sara Lawson with her collection Urban Jungle.

Indelible by Katarina Roccella

Heather Jones sharing one of her quilts made with American Made Brand.

Carolyn Friedlander's booth won best single booth.  She is as sweet as she is talented.

I had the chance to hang out with Valori Wells this market and she is tons of fun.  And I love that she painted her booth walls freehand when she set up. I could never do that.

 Color:Full by Jennifer Sampou

 Jen Fox has a collection coming out with P&B Textiles.

 Cristy from Sew Much Like Mom and Purple Daisies.

Zen Chic's new collection: Numbers.  LOVE.

Anna Maria Horner didn't have a full booth, but still some beautiful goods on display.

I really loved Trisch Price's quilting.  It is modern with just a touch of quirky.  Really resonates with me.  I'll be picking up her book for sure, even though it's about using negative space and not quilting.

Emily Herrick matches the vibrant color of her booth.

I love how the lighting casts an ethereal glow on Violet Craft's booth.

 Just like my first time in Pittsburg, I had the chance to hang out in the lobby bar of the Omni with some pretty amazing folks.  Not to name drop or anything, but that's: Violet, Deborah, Kristen, Scott, Monica, Patty, and Carolyn.  I sometimes wish Quilt Market came around more than twice a year so I could hang with people like these (and many more that were either not there or are just missing from the picture) more often.

JT

233: progressive quilts

I'm back from Quilt Market in Pittsburgh.  I'll do a recap with a giveaway soon, but first I wanted to tell you about the progressive quilts we made at MidAtlantic MOD.

This was my idea because I’ve watched some cool traveling quilts and really liked the idea, but wanted to do it in a more compressed time frame.  Basically they’re similar to a traveling quilt or round robin, except that each was put together during the weekend.  Those that signed up had some fabric sent to them with the “theme” and then had to make a block, section, or several blocks at home.  Then at the retreat it was passed around and each participant worked on adding their block and possibly more for at least an hour.  At the end of the weekend one participant would win it at random.  I worked on all three.

The first theme was Low Volume/Little Bits.  Low volume fabrics were sent (provided by Pennington Quiltworks) and the instructions were to add little pops of color in any design desired.  It was interesting to see how it transformed throughout the weekend.  

I LOVED the end quilt.  My contributions were the words and the asterisk blocks and some layout of course.  

Next we had the theme of Triangles.  For this one a color scheme was provided.  The various off-white Kona Cotton shades were sent as well as rust orange, cerise, gray, and navy fabrics. 

This one didn’t get completed but it came a long way.  There were several points it looked a total mess.  But in the end it came out rather cool.

My main contribution was the wonky triangles in the top right, but I also did quite a bit of work on the layout including seam-ripping at the 3am to move things around.

Finally, we had a theme of Stripes.  All of the fabric was Modern Solids by Alissa Haight Carlson provided by In the Beginning Fabrics.  You were only allowed to use the fabric provided and could make anything you thought was stripes.

This was my original block:

And the final quilt is gorgeous.  And I won it!  Woo hoo! Hopefully I can get it completed in time to submit it in the group category of Quilt Con.

The whole process of making them was great fun.  Discussing and changing things.  We even ripped things apart or cut each other’s blocks.  They’re so unique and I know no one could have come up with them on their own.

Check out #progressivequilts on Instagram for more pictures.

We'll definitely do it again next year, so any ideas you have for themes would be appreciated. :)

JT

219: challenges

I have mixed feelings about challenges.  The type of challenge I'm refering to is the kind we issue our Modern Quilt Guild.  We try to do a challenge or a swap every month.  And really I mostly feel like "I don't have time for this crap". 

But, actually, I've found they can, as they are supposed to, get me to try something I wouldn't normally do.  And, I do finish stuff I would otherwise slack on because as a guild leader I feel I should set a good example, etc.

So, I may not do them all, but I've been participating in group stuff a lot more in the last year than ever before.

So for this month we had a challenge that was part of the larger Modern Quilt Guild as a whole.  The challenge was to use the fabric line Madrona Road by Violet Craft.  We were sent some free fabric (enough for about 5-6 fat eigths each) and we could only use fabrics from the line and solids.  There were really no other guildllines.

I, however, issued the additional direction of "details".  Whatever the members wanted to interpret that as was fine, but it must include a detail of some kind.

While pretty, I don't think I would have made a whole quilt out of the line.  I do really love the text print though.

I went for a very simple design.  My detail was the flanges that I added around each square.  

I really like the minimalist look.  But I don't quite know what to do with it.  I don't love it enought to hang it on a wall.  It's a bit small for a lap quilt.  It could almost work as a baby quilt but it's obviously boy except for the flower prints.  Hmm....

JT

218: getting and giving

My Modern Quilt Guild had a gift exchange this holiday season.  We made it in January so as to not add to anyone's handmade gift stress. :)

The idea was a swap of a smallish handmade gift.  We had members fill out a little survey about their style and favorite colors and fabric etc.  We chose names randomly so you knew who you were making it for but not who was making yours (you know... secret santa style).

In the end, one person dropped out but I had already given their name out so I made 2 and got 2 gifts because it was really my goof up.  Plus, more fun for me!

I actually got 2 members that I at least know a little bit so I had fun making the gifts to their tastes.

First, for Kristina I made small bag.  I forgot to mention that I had everyone bring the gifts wrapped and kept them secret so everyone could try to guess who they were fun as we each opened them.  We might skip the guessing part next year, because it was pretty tough.  Anyway, the bag I made for Kristina was from my book which should have been a dead giveaway. (Pardon the pix but I forgot to take any so I snapped some at the meeting.)

She said she loves color so I went for it.  The accents are navy so I feel like it's great to dress up a pair of jeans.

Next I had Robin, who was our sectretary this past year.  I know Robin loves all things Parisian and she asked for any kind of craft sewing so I went for a notebook cover.  I pretty much made up the pattern myself and it was a tight fit but it worked out great.  

And to go with it was some little holiday bunting that reads "joyeux noel" for next year's decorating.

In return I got 2 fab gifts.  Turned out Kristina also got me. :) She made this awesome zippered wallet with lots of pockets and even place for a pen.  Aren't the fabrics so cheerful?

And she made this bag for fabric weights and gave some penny weights she made.  She knows I do enjoy Hello Kitty.  I put the rest of my weights in it and it looks adorable on my shelf.

Then, the other Jess, as I affectionately call her, got my name.  Actually she did, then we had to re-pick because I messed up and she didn't, and then when I let everyone know one member dropped out and they should make something for me, that was who she had so she had me again.  She tells it better than me. 

Anyway, Jess knew I was hoping (OK expecting) an ipad for Xmas so she made me this awesome zippered pouch for it.  I love the scraps with the linen and how she quilted it with random lines.  Jess is my VP of the guild this year as well as maintaining our blog, so the Jesses rule!

It was so much fun, like another Christmas, that I'm sure we'll do it again next year.

JT

209: un-paper towels

In the midst of one of those many hours spent surfing around Pinterest, I stumbled on someone selling "un-paper towels" on etsy.  A very cute notion indeed.  

I liked the idea of us using a lot less paper towels (haven't 100% eliminated them yet) and I have a bunch of cute novelty fabrics that I never can figure out how to use.  

So the towels (napkins, cloths, whatever you want to call them) are terry cloth on one side and quilter's cotton on the other.  They are simply serged around the edges.  This is what I saw several people doing on etsy.  Many of theirs have plastic snaps so you can actually roll them up on a paper towel dispenser, but that seem an unnecessary step I didn't want to add.

I pre-washed all the fabric and really the trickiest part was figuring out how to turn outside corners with a serger.  But, let's face it, they didn't need to be perfect.  I did dab a little fray check on the thread ends to stop unraveling.  I made a whole bunch more than I show here, but I'll probably make more because lots are always in the wash.

I started using mostly fruit and veggie prints because that seemed appropriate in the kitchen but I think anything that makes you smile is perfect.  It's a bit like my vintage drinking glasses...just a mini pick-me-up every time I use them.

It is a little weird to get over the potential for staining them (TOTALLY happens and that's the point) and use them like a regular paper towel.  But the kids are getting used to them and even have specific prints that they want at each meal.

Made anything quick and fun lately?

JT

 

208: easter sweetness

A little behind as usual, I'm finally sharing our Easter portraits. 

I did make Aurora's dress this year (actually I made it for a wedding before easter), but I tried to just follow a pattern.  Honestly, I really tried.

The pattern is Kyoko by Patti Young.  I've had it for quite some time and been meaning to make one.  Aurora actually picked the main fabric herself about a year ago.  I think she like how it looked golden.  It's Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner.

I'll start by saying I love the look of this dress.  It's darling.  The only significant change I made was I didn't make the skirt in alternating panels.  I put one contrast panel in the front and then two sides of the main fabric.  The biggest challenge was cutting because I didn't have a lot of excess and I wanted to match up the pattern and make it symmetrical.  I was a little disappointed in the list of fabric requirements because it just said 1 1/6 yard of fabric, but since it is shown sewn out of 2 different fabrics, it should have said how much for each.  But I think she's fixed it on later versions and it now seems to call for a lot more fabric so I don't feel bad that I definitely needed more than I originally bought.  However, it did claim that you needed 1 yard of fabric to make your own bias tape which was way, way, too much.  

Once I got over these minor issues, the sewing was quite easy.  Diagrams and photos are very clear and really, because I have experience in garment sewing, I didn't have to more than glance at them.

I think it turned out great.  I had to do the hair in two buns cause it's just so stinkin' cute with the dress.  I do wish it was about 3-4" longer.  Aurora is barely a size 7 and that's what I made, but I think it being shorter makes it less formal.  I was going to add length but I didn't have enough fabric anyway.

For Theo I made a tie from my Kingdom fabric that matches the bow on her dress. He was clear he wanted blue even though I wanted something golden like her dress.

And here is the whole happy family.  My husband gets frustrated that I make everyone stand through the portraits, but I'm always so glad I did when I have one like this where we all look our best.  Are they better than spontaneous fun pictures?  No, but nice nonetheless.  

After brunch, we went to a carosel.  How appropriate that Theo chose the bunny. 

And I love this action shot of Aurora.

Hope you've enjoyed your spring and are ready for summer.  I know I am!

JT

 

 

203: more christmas do-dads

Just a few more little christmas gifts that I hadn't got around to posting.

I added these little embroidered sprouts (vines?) to a yummy fur-lined sweatshirt from Old Navy for my Aunt.  (I know, not my best picture taking this time around.)

Here's some things I learned: Don't over-iron tiny bits of fabric adhered with fusible web.  The glue can sort of start to melt away and they won't stick too well.  Also, use a round-tipped needle when embroidering on knit.  You'd think that one would have been obvious to me since I know to do that for machine sewing, but it took me a bit to figure it out.

I also made these coat hook plaques for my sister's apartment.  They're inexpensive wood plaques from Michaels that I painted and mod podged fabric onto.  When I use mod podge on fabric I find it best to paint a layer on the the back of the fabric before cutting it and let it dry.  This makes the fabric stiff and allows you to cut without frayed edges and it seems to prevent so many bubbles.

JT

201: color theory for quilters

Hi all.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to teach Color Theory for the Modern Quilter to the Philly Modern Quilt Guild at a mini sewing retreat.  So much fun.

It turns out I could talk all day about color.  No big surprise there.  I think the members all left with at least a bit of a new way to look at color when quilting.  We covered all the basics from the color wheels to color combinations, and even did some exercises to help everyone look at color more objectively.

Then I got to stay the rest of the day and enjoy some sewing time as well as a workshop from the lovely Sujata Shah on gentle curved piecing.  I decided to step outside my comfort zone and not think or plan at all before sewing.  I gave myself all of 5 minutes to pick the fabrics.  And then I just started.  It was an easy enough method (cutting several layers at once and then shuffling them) and I enjoyed her simple no-pin method to sewing the curves. 

The results I'm still not sure about.  Part of the problem was I didn't really have much of the grey fabrics with me and those were the ones I wanted to use the most of.  I'll be sticking it up on my design wall and probably doing a bit more playing with it to see if it's becomes something interesting.  I've never had this experience with a quilt before: as I was working on it I just sort of thought "eh. it's OK" but every time I walked away and came back I found myself immediately liking it more.  Maybe its just the colors.  We shall see.

Now if I could only get my voice back.... :)

JT

194: last stop

If you read the crafty/sewing blogs and you hadn't heard of my book before, you probably have by now.  A wonderful group of bloggers have helped me host a blog tour for Modern Mix and it has been all over the web.  It's been a whole lot of fun.  There are plenty of thoughtful and amusing interview questions about me out there, so if you're interested, have a look at the schedule. (Also a few of the giveaways are still open so check it out...)

Today is the last stop and obviously it's here.  I won't toot my own horn, but let you go back and read all the reviews and interviews to learn more about the book.

But I do get to give away a final copy of the book and the winner at this stop will also receive a bundle of fat quarters from my latest collection of fabric called Kingdom. (Shown here in some shops...yay!)

To win all you have to do is leave a comment here and tell me either your favorite project in the book that you've seen so far, or the one you would make first.  (And really folks, I'm dying to see what you make so PLEASE share pictures when you do sew something...)  I will keep the contest open until Oct 26th.

JT

193: design wall debacle

I suppose the design wall episode wasn't so much a debacle as pretty fruitless.

What I decided to do on my birthday was to make myself a design wall.  Truth be told, I've never really seen the need for them.  I've always just used my floor and it works fine.  But lately I had been envying some sewists with their works in progress sticking up there for a long time while they mull over the design.  Sounded like a cool idea.

So, following the directions here I set out to make a movable design wall.  I wanted it big, but to be 3 separate panels that would fit perfectly into the corner of my studio I had picked out for it.  So I bought the foam insulation but only had one choice of type at my local Home Depot.  It was pink but I didn't see the problem in that.

It was a problem.  I had to add an extra layer of white fabric underneath so the whole thing looked close to white.   Between that and cutting the panels down to size, it ended up taking more than my birthday to complete and wasn't particularly inexpensive.  

Then I brought them upstairs and realized I was totally kidding myself.  I was never going to put these away in their intended corner. Right now they're still set up in the hall area outside my studio and this is 3 months later.  They're not going anywhere...at least not very often.

They are pretty cool and the blocks I have on there now are from my first ever online Bee - The Busy Bees.  It's fun to play around with them and nice to really be able to step back.  But let's be honest, the same effect could have been achieved  by tacking a big piece of batting to the wall whenever I need it.  And it would have saved me a lot of headache.  Live and learn.

Two other notices:

The Modern Mix blog tour is still going strong.  See the list on the last post and don't miss your chance to win a copy and learn some funny stuff about me...

We're finally going to have a New Jersey chapter of The Modern Quilt Guild.  Hoo-ray!  See the fancy new button on my sidebar?? If you're in the area stop by our new blog and find out about how to join in the fun.

189: Kingdom in da house

Yes, the time has come to blog again.  Over a month is a bit too long, don't you think?  Even with summer as my excuse.

Well, while I've been gone we've checked off quite a few item on that summer to-do list.  Including fireworks, the beach on Cape Cod, and 5 nights of glamping in the beautiful Thousand Islands area of New York.  Great trip.  Beautiful weather (finally, not rained out!), interesting sights, yummy food, and lots of smiles on the kids faces.  This year we tried "hobo eclairs".  Yum!

These pix were taken at the Heritage Museum in Sandwich, MA.  If you are a bit of a hippie mom like me, you MUST visit. They have this new area called Hidden Hollow (below) that it one of the most amazing places for kids I've ever been to.  Everything is wooden and natural (most right from the grounds) and it has art, storytelling, blocks, sand, play house, theater, musical instruments, a tree house, and so much more wholesome goodness for the kids.  It was just MAGICAL and I totally want it in my back yard.

And now Kingdom is hitting the shops.  Woot!

I don't really have a comprehensive list of shops that are carrying it, so if you are one, let me know and I'll add you.  But here are a few places to pick it up:

Hawthorne Threads

Venezie Designs

Sew Mama Sew

You can get the free pattern for the Prairie Glass Squared quilt here.

Before I know it I'll have an advance copy of my book in my hands...eek!

I'd better get back to party prep.  This year, for Theo, it's a puppy party and I've got quite a bit left to do.

JT 

 

186: sew happy

I am feeling sew happy lately. Just doing a little playing around.  I've been shirking my actual work and making myself more familiar with my serger and coverstitch machine.  It's nice to step back and not be so focused on results and just play around. Seems appropriate for the start of summer.

This block is for my Busy Bee for Kathy Mack at Pink Chalk Fabrics. She sent the great fabrics and asked us to sew what "sew happy" means to us.  Mine is a big stack of fabrics, my machine, and a technique I've never tried before (mini zigzag quilt).

Anyway, I finally drew winners for the two giveaways...

The winner for prize #1 on post #184 (Inspired to Sew etc.) is comment #23 - Mary Beth

The winner for prize #2 on post #184 (Cut the Scraps etc.) is comment #24 - Lori Porten

The winner for prize #1 on post #185 (Fresh Fabric Treats etc.) is comment #44 - Patti

The winner for prize #2 on post #185 (Kona color card etc) is comment #46 - Ona

I'll be emailing the winners to get their addresses.

I have to say the travel suggestions were so fun. I totally could have started a conversation with each of you if only time permitted.  Some of you shared my favorite destinations and some opened my eyes to places I never would have thought of (like Croatia and South Africa).

This block was for Lucinda.  She requested windows and was very open about the fabrics.  I decided I really wanted to do something with perspective and I love the brights on the clothesline with the neutral background.

 

I'm so not a scrappy gal, but I'm getting more of a taste for it lately.  This block was for Penny. Her only direction was go crazy with the scrappy look.  It was lots of fun, but obviously I felt the need to bring some order to it.  I love how this came out and might even tweak the idea to do a quilt for myself.

I hope you're all gearing up for a great summer.  I know I am.  Last year was a total blur of work for the book, so I plan on savoring the juicy details this year.

JT

 

185: spring 2011 quilt market recap part 3

OK so since I might be the very last person to finish posting about Quilt Market, I give you permission to skip ahead to the giveaway...

But if you're looking for more eye candy, enjoy!

Jillily Studio served actual cones of sorbet! How cute is that booth?

I couldn't get over this puppy embroidery by Penguin and Fish.

Tula Pink's new Prince Charming.

I'm loving Summersault by Erin McMorris...

Wrenly by Valorie Wells.

Michelle and Gina at Cloud 9.

Lots of Kokka fun.

Joel Dewberry chatting on the phone in his booth.  Heirloom and the new patterns by his wife might be my favorite things from market.

Moda land was like a country fair.

Sweetwater.

Fig Tree and Co.

I think this is my fav picture from market. This vignette is from the Basic Grey booth, so is the picture below.

Zen Chic had a very distinctive modern aesthetic and won a booth award.

I love this new dress pattern by Sew Serendipity.

Notice the bathrobe in the Indygo Junction booth is made in my Gingko fabric? Sweet!

Quilt Story.

Now for the giveaways:

 

1. A copy of the adorable Moda Bake Shop book, Fresh Fabric Treats, signed by several of the authors, a copy of Fabric Trends, and a mini tote from the Sweet Hot Yams party.

2. A Kona color card, signed copy of Organizing Solutions for Every Quilter, a 1001 peeps notebook and bookmark, and a pack of charm squares.

To enter simply leave a comment here by Tues June 14th. I can't think of anything to ask you except I'd love travel destination suggestions.  I've just been toying with where we might want to go in the next few years. I'm open to anywhere in the world, family vacation or just me and the hubby. I like to dream about these things for a long time in advance...

JT

184: spring 2011 quilt market recap part 2

Now for the rest of the quilt market recap, I'm going to try to make it brief. I have a ton of pictures but most have been posted everywhere already.  I'm just going to go in the order I took them and let the pix speak for themselves. I'm mostly just showing the booths since I think you guys care more about that than the people. (maybe I'm wrong?)

But as for my actual experience, what a blast!  It is a crazy experience in general with highs and lows and all that, but really this time around I wasn't too stressed.  I didn't have a booth and had some awesomely talented people helped make samples, so mostly I just hung out with fun people who share my passions.  I talked so much I completely lost my voice on saturday night.  It was only my 3rd time there and I did get to meet tons of twitter friends (do you follow me? You should.) etc. that I hadn't the chance to meet in person before.

So without further ado, Spring Quilt Market 2011, Salt Lake City, Utah:

**HINT: Keep scrolling down if you want in on the giveaways...

 

This was Julie's booth that I got to help set up.

  Julie and I in front of her quilt she made out of my new line Kingdom.

Lizzy House in her posh booth.

I loved meeting Sarah Jane and could get over how adorable that family tree panel is. It has blank spots for you to embroider in the names. So sweet.

Violet Craft and her first line, Peacock Lane.

Sandi's Secret Garden is my favorite of her lines so far, and that's saying lots...

Me and Patty.

Only a couple of picture's of Anna Maria Horner's gorgeous booth.

I only took this one photo of Amy Butler's Organic Soul.

Kona solids on display with amazing quilting by Angela.

Riley Blake land won a ribbon.

It had adorable little alcoves for all the lines.

And Lila Tueller brought in a real tree!

This is terrible picture of Monica and Bari J's quilts. Can you believe I didn't get any pix of Bari's beautiful booth? How can that be? Look elsewhere cause it was great.

Izzy and Ivy with ruffles everywhere!

And for a giveaway I've got two prizes of fun stuff I snagged at market:

1. Where Women Create magazine, signed copy of Inspired to Sew by Bari J, and Bari J and Sis Boom buttons.

2. Quilter's Home magazine, sign copy of Cut the Scraps by Joan Ford, cute embroidery kit from the Sweet Hot Yams, and a charm pack of 30s repros.

To enter leave a comment here and tell me if there is a particular trend in quilting fabrics that you enjoy (i.e. solids, certain colors, large scale prints, different substrates, or whatever you think of).  I will draw a winner in one week on Fri June 10th.

Come back soon for one more giveaway.

JT

183: spring 2011 quilt market recap part 1

First up, we do have a winner from the Kingdom giveaway: Janine Mahan. She works with a program called Dress a Girl Around the World that, as the name implies, sews dresses for girls around the world.  Check it out.

I also decided to pick two more names.  I'm sending each one fat quarter from their favorite and a bag of scraps.  Those winners are: Jo of Sparkly Green Knickers (from my Busy Bees online quilting bee!) and HannahJ of Angel Babies, Paint and Cookies.

Congrats ladies!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

So the start of my quilt market recap will just focus on my little section of the Windham booth.  I want to share it and some of the projects that were made for it.  

Isn't it pretty?

This Sweet Pleat bag is by my good friend Becky Cobb.  It's a smallish tote with a wide adjustable strap, magneic closure, and interior pocket.  You might be seeing a pattern for this popping up soon, but for now, check out her etsy shop, Thread and Wire.  She does lovely custom bags, pillows, bibs, aprons and more.

This quilt,titled Kingdom Courtyards, is by John Adams, aka Quilt Dad.  He's also one of the founders of Fat Quarterly.  I believe you will be seeing this in a magazine later this year?

This is the quilt I designed as the the free pattern to go with the line (available this summer). It's titled Prairie Glass Squared.  

Can I tell you how thrilled I am with how this came out? I just totally dig the Mission-style stained glass feel.  And the colors really pop. The gorgeous quilting, by the talented Angela Walters, echoes the fabric and just blows me away.  

You can see it best here on the back. Speaking of which I think I like the back nearly as much as the front. But if you look at the picture closely you'll notice it's a lesson in making sure you use solids from the same bolt. Ugh. But it was last minute and I had no choice...

This is me and Angela in front of the quilt at market. She's as fun as she is talented and I'm thrilled to have met her in person. She did all the quilts for my book, Modern Mix, and just wait til you see them. And keep your eye out because she'll have her own book out on modern machine quilting with Stash next spring!

These guys are fun little pin cushions made from candle holders.

There are a couple of other projects there, like the banners for a babies' rooms, but I hope they'll be appearing in magazines, so I'll leave them be for now.

I'll be back soon with more giveaways and picture from all the other booths at market.

JT

 

182: a Kingdom giveaway

Well, I'm back from quilt market.  What a blast!  I met so many more amazing people in the industry and reconnected with old friends.  I promise to share all the details and lots of photos soon, but I need a few days to catch my breath.

I'm in drastic need of some catch-up time.  I hate apologizing on here, but I feel terrible that I haven't even replied to all the well wishes I got on the book.  I promise I'll get to it soon...

But, meanwhile, I talked so much while I was gone that I lost my voice and when I got home I promptly got sick.  ugh.  If only I could sleep 24 hours straight.

Anyway, Kingdom was well-received at market.  I know it doesn't hit stores until August, but I'm dying to see what you all make with it. 

But, while I get my act together to show you all about market, I'm giving away one of the first fat quarter packs of the whole collection.  Be among the first to own some!

What I'd like you to do is leave a comment here with your favorite print.  You can refer to this post to see them all. I do realize it's annoying to some people to have to jump through hoops for a giveaway, so if you don't want to, fine.  Just leave any old comment. But I am curious about what your favs are...

Contest closes next Wednesday the 25th.

And check back soon. I have a bunch of other stuff from market to giveway, including books etc, so you don't want to miss out.

JT

 

178: introducing...Kingdom

Well, here it is, my second fabric collection.

I don't think it's up on their website yet, but it will be available from Windham Fabrics this spring.  If you have a shop, speak to your rep now to order it.

As the name implies, it is inspired by elements you'd find in and around an imaginary royal kingdom.  I kept with my favorite Art Nouveau influences, but this time it's a bit more playful and bright.

These swatches are not to scale, but they do give you a decent look at the designs and colors.

The prints and color names are as follows, clockwise from top left: Tapestry in Deep Amethyst, Moat in Pewter, Moat in Amethyst, Garden Gems in Deep Amethyst, Tuffet in Opal, Posy in Deep Amethyst, Crowns in Amethyst, Castle Wall in Pewter, and (center) Tuffet in Deep Amethyst.

Clockwise from top left: Moat in Peridot, Moat in Aquamarine, Tapestry in Pewter, Castle Wall in Topaz, Posy in Peridot, Posy in Opal, Crowns in Pewter, Tuffet in Peridot, Garden Gems in Peridot, Moat in Topaz, and (center) Tuffet in Topaz.

And this is a look at the planned free quilt pattern in two colorways.  I still don't have any sample yardage, so you know things might change when I get my hands on actual fabric....

 

Yes, it took me a long time. I was busy with other soon-to-be-named projects, but, can I just say, it is hard to follow-up a first successful collection.  I feel like people have developed their own image of my style and I'm destined to let them down. So here's hoping you all like it!

JT