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

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

230: a new year and a new "toy"

Happy New Year!

Here's hoping you are starting yours with peace and joy.

And the big news I have neglected to post here is my new machine, Lucille.  Isn't she a shiny beauty?

I've been considering purchasing a long-arm for some time now.  I had planned on buying a Gammil but at Quilt Market I fell in the love with the APQS machines.  They just glide as light as air.  And the support is awesome.  So I changed my mind abruptly, which is so unlike me.  :)

But I'm not regretting it.  Not one bit.

Hopefully you'll be seeing lots of beautifully quilted quilts from me soon.  I have plenty of tops lined up so 2014 is looking be the year of finishing.

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

 

124: quilt market round-up part 3: all the rest

Happy Halloween.  I know I'm very behind the game here, but I'll share the adorable halloween pix next, for now I have to wrap the loose ends of quilt market.

 Basically this is everyone I remembered to get photos of.  I don't know why, but I'm so paranoid that someone will be offended that I didn't mention them or post a photo of them.  I guess because I met plenty of new amazing talented artists and shop owners.  There is so much out there I could never hope to capture it all.  

So in the spirit of brevity (and so I can just get on with "regular" posts already) here they all are:

Echino/ Seven Islands - I think this is my favorite picture from market.

Patricia Bravo of Art Gallery fabrics being interviewed by Bari J.

 

Fig Tree Quilts

 

Lila Tueller

Pink Fig Patterns

Angela Yosten at Moda Bake Shop

Patty Young

Paula Prass

Michelle Engel Bencsko at Cloud 9

A gang at Serendipity Studio including designer Kay Whit, Caroline, Myrinda, and Traci.

Some Free Spirit quilts - Heather Bailey's (designed by Scott Hansen)

Jenean Morrison's new line.

Anna Maria Horner's new flannels (also designed/sewn by Scott)

Tanya Whelan

Brandon Mably with his and Kaffe Fasset's fabric.

Kati Cupcake

Melanie and Rosalie of Melly and Me

123: quilt market round-up part 2: windham

Back again with some more Quilt Market goodness for you.

Today it’s all about Windham.  I mean, if I don’t toot my own horn, who will?

So here’s the sad thing: I didn’t take a picture of the whole booth.  Totally snubbed the reproduction fabric lines, which Windham does so well.  Oops.  And that means you don’t see the overall theme of the one room schoolhouse that won us 2^nd prize.  But you can go see it on the Windham blog.

Here’s Laura accepting the ribbon.

 

But I did get photos of the designer’s stuff.

Here they are from left to right:

 Allison Jane Smith. 

 

Flutter is her 3^rd line with Windham.  She also has 4 books she’s published.  Wow.

 

The quilt was hard to photograph with the lighting.

 

Paige Stanley Miller

 

This sweet, timeless collection is called Juliet.  Pretty, right?

Bari J. Ackerman

 

You all know Full Bloom, right?  Well, this is her latest and greatest called Art Journal.  Her signature hand-painted look. 

 

And see that quilt?  That’s gonna make an awesome kit, right?

 

Me!  (Jessica Levitt)

 

Well, if you’re a regular reader, you already know what the collection looks like.  It was fun to see it all together like this.

 

(shown is the Buttercup Bag by Made by Rae)

I’ll try to do some posts with each project I made at a later date.

 

(shown is the Black Forest Bag by Melly and Me)

Genevieve Gail

 

She’s back with a beautiful new collection called, Gypsy Garden.  The colors are amazing, and I love the “weathered” finish to the designs.

And let's not forget Anna Griffin's amazing booth.  A beautiful, sophisticated Christmas line.

We each had to do a block from our collection for the blackboard.  You’ll notice there’s one from Rosemarie Lavin’s new Feelin Groovy.  Sadly she didn’t have a quilt there…

 

Here’s a closer look at mine:

 

And I’ll leave you with our resident “Fabric Pimp”, Mickey Krueger.

 

Next up is basically "everyone else" that I managed to get photos of.

 Ciao.

JT

122: quilt market round-up part 1: some of the stars

Well, I­’ve made it back from Quilt Market.  Of course it was a blast and totally got the creative juices flowing, but at the same time, I’m sort of tuned out to work right now.  Just can’t quite get back in to the swing of “regular” life, if you know what I mean?  Except I'm totally enjoying family time, these last few days.

 

Anyhow, I will give you all a “market report”, as I know that’s what you want.  That’s what I’m all about.  Giving ‘em what they want.

So today we’ll start with some of the stars of or fabric and sewing world.  You know, the household names.  

 

I took a ton of pictures, but not nearly as many as last time.  It turned out I didn’t have as much time to walk around as I did then.  In fact, I didn’t see everything!  How can that be?  So if I don’t have pictures of your booth it may be I never saw it or I forgot to take pictures.  Oops.

 So these are some of the bigger names.  Not all, mind you.  I mean, I didn't even know Jay McCarroll was there.  

These first ones are the lovely Amy Butler and her new collection Love.

 I got to meet her this time around.  So sweet and humble as everyone says.

 

Next up is Heather Bailey.  Oh boy, did her booth impress.  She won first place.  Obviously.  

Seriously, I just wanted to move right in.  

I love the new collection and I’m excited some is coming in oilcloth.  I’ll be buying some of that up, before it’s gone in 5 seconds.

 

 

And now we have Anna Maria Horner.  Yes, she pulled this off with a 5 month old baby.  Is she human?  I think not.

 

No really, she was super-sweet and her baby Roman, was just adorable.  This fabrics looks pretty, but wait til you feel it.  So luscious.

 

And even a shot of the infamous Allie and Juliana:

I’ll include Sandi Henderson’s booth here too since she won Best Merchandising.  Another gorgeous line I’ll have to add to my stash.  And patterns too!

 

I’ll include the other Michael Miller designers in another post.

Next up is a close look at the Windham booth (we won 2^nd place for multiple booth!) and my section in it.

JT

121: consider this

your official invite.  If you'll at Quilt Market, come meet me.  I mean it.  I'll be hanging at the Windham booths.

Life's crazy with all the prep, but I had a little fun today.  I actually got to drive out and visit the Windham offices and warehouse.  I guess I'm a total fabric geek, but it was thrilling for me.  Seeing all those bolts stacked up, and inside seeing all the different storyboards and swatches...

I can't wait to see stacks of my own fabric. 

JT

***Notes: 

The bag hanging on the chair is made from the Catalina Sling pattern by Pink Sand Beach Designs.

The Dress is the Gracie pattern from Sandi Henderson.

The larger bag is Black Forest by Melly & Me.

120: in a field of gold

I know things have been pretty quite here lately.  I have some gorgeous pictures of Theo's constrcution party to share with you, but I just don't have the time to put it all together.  And we had the most marvelous day for Aurora's birthday at the farm...could not have been more gorgeous.  So hopefully soon with those.

But for now how about a peek at some of the samples I made with my spoonflowered Timber?  

What's taking up all my time lately is making up samples for Quilt Market.  As soon as I take some pictures I'll share those too.

These picture of Aurora modeling for me are from the same day I took the ones of her pillowcase dress.  What a sport she was.  :)

JT

117: a beautiful thing

Look at that nice fat stack of my very own fabrics!  That's right, Timber strike-offs have arrived...

This is only the first round but I have actual yardage because even though it still needs to be color corrected, this is what I have to make samples with for market.  And it even says my name on selvedge and everything.  It's for real...I swear!

I must say, it's a little intimidating to think about cutting into it.  I feel like I need to plan out every last thing I might want to make, so I don't run out.  I mean it's not like I can go to the store and buy more!

Anyway, I'll be getting busy with it soon (after I get more work done on Aurora's party, that is).  If there are any of you domestic sewing goddesses out there that are wanting to help me make samples or maybe give me free patterns to use for my samples, just give me a shout out.  I always give credit where credit is due.

ciao.

JT

101: Quilt Market part 5: shopping, quilts, and big news

This is the last installment in my Quilt Market adventures.  Just some little loose ends to cover.

I'll start with the "big" news.  I've signed with Windham Fabrics to produce my first line of fabric, Timber.  To me this news is just HUGE!  It was a long process to get it all together for Quilt Market and I'm so happy to be moving forward.  I had  tough time deciding which company to work with because really every single person I met with at market was super nice and I could imagine working with them.  But I went with Windham, and I couldn't be happier.  I wish I had more to show you on the topic, but it will be a while longer.  Bear with me...soon I promise...

Anway, the rest of the loose ends are about Quilt Market itself.  Like how I went vintage fabric shopping with Heather Bailey.  OK, OK, maybe not some much "with" as "near".  We just both happened to browsing on of the few booths actually selling fabric at the same time.  Some seriously cool vintage feed sacks and the like.  She was, of course, lovely as we rummaged through the piles together.

These 4 pieces/sacks are what I landed on.  I have plans to make a pillowcase dress for Aurora out of the bottom one.

Anyway, there were several quilt shows (and even a costume/fashion one) on display.  Here are just a few of my favorites:

Spring in Japan - by Akiko Kawata

Grandmother's Quilt - A Cathedral Window - by Manon B. Gagliardi

The Kiss: An Homage to Kilmt - Mary Barry

Cinda's Circles - Karen Pharr

When Sun Departs - Laura Stauffer

Winter to Spring - Kathy York

Blue Ridge Springtime - Sandra Werlich

Sedona Dream - Janet Lasher

English Garden Romance - Tracy Anna Bader

Guys, thanx so much for all the well wishes about my Market endeavors and such.  I mean it!

JT

99: Quilt Market part 4: more of the same

So, at Quilt Market I was so lucky to meet some really fabulous people.  It's amazing how quickly you can instantly connect when you share one big common interest.  

On Saturday night I went out to dinner some fun ladies that I didn't know before, but now feel like I'm good friends with:  Mirynda (Fabric Hound), Renee, Kristen (Gocks's Frocks), Jamie (Maricopa Fabrics), and her mom Lori.  We went to this really nice restaurant up on hill looking out at this view:

Food was delicious and we even had a a free bottle of champagne sent over to us by the Seven Islands guys (who import Echino) because apparently Mirynda did a lot of shopping with them that day!

We rode down a incline tram thingy afterwards.  Some of them thought the giant foot long pencils were too cool and brought them back for the kids.  Things got a little funny later with the "knitting" with them...

Anyway, I've got a ton more booth pictures to share, so here we go:

Indygo Junction Patterns (the tunic Myrinda was wearing above was so in demand I couldn't even get a copy)

Vanilla House Designs.  

Check out their cute baby "activity" mat.

Lecien.  Those adorable bags are a free pattern by Melly and Me.  I'n sure I'll be making one in the near future.

Loved these pinwheels at Lakehouse.

This is Amy Hamberlin's Kati Cupcake booth.  Too cute.

And while we're looking at patterns, we can't forget Favorite Things.  I especially love the coat.

Art Gallery Fabrics had a really beautiful vibe.

And, of course, the yumminess over at the Seven Island section.

Heather Ross had a book signing, but sadly I missed it.

Oliver + S always has such a beautiful clean aesthetic. 

It was sad how few pictures I got of the Free Spirit section.  Just a couple quilts.  the first is Dena Designs new collection, Monaco, for which Scott Hansen designed/made the quilt.

And Erin McMorris's new collection, Wildwood.

OK I'm almost done with the Market stuff.  I have some shots of the beautiful quilts on display that I'll share next time.

JT

98: Quilt Market part 3: getting busy

I feel like this Quilt Market coverage is dragging on a bit.  But then again I've only been home a week.

Friday and Saturday were actually pretty busy for me.  I was peddling my fabric line wherever I went!  To share a bit about my experience doing that, since some people have already asked, it was well received.  I was VERY well prepared and met with plenty of companies, and I must say that everyone I spoke to was nothing but professional, courteous, and even encouraging.  Even if they weren't interested.  I know that's not the experience everyone has had, so I was grateful.

So, today I'm going to work on showing you more of the booths (in no particular order) that I actually got photos of:

Bari J., and her beautiful new Full Bloom line.

And Genvieve's Flower Bucket.

Lila Tuller won best new exhibitor for her booth.

The adorable Pink Fig Patterns.

Taylor Made Designs...love the robes.

A little section of the Moda Home stuff.

The soothing and elegant Sweetwater booth in the Moda section.

Serendipity patterns.  I couldn't resist the Wonderland trench coat (you can't really see it) and had to buy the pattern.  I'm sure you'll be seeing my version soon.  :)

This is Brandon Mably sewing in his and Kaffe Fasset's booth.

Well, that's it for tonight.  I'll be back with more later.  Hope you're having a great holiday weekend.

JT

97: Quilt Market part two: tweet tweet

Yes, there was a bit of tweeting going on a market.  And yes, I succumbed to peer pressure and signed up for Twitter when I got home.  Soon I'll figure out how to add a little button on my sidebar, but for now, I'm jessica_levitt if you want to follow me.

So, I realized that on my last post, I forgot to share my "most embarrassing moment at market" story.  Why do I tell you this, you ask?  I dunno.  Because I guess I feel I've got to be able to laugh at myself.  Anyway, it's not a huge big deal.  I'm walking over to the hotel for the fake Fabric 2.0 party (wearing the not-comfortable-but-cute shoes I wouldn't have worn had I known I was walking) when I realized my shirt was on inside out!  Now it was a mesh material that looks the same on both sides and has a sort of "deconstructed" look anyway, so since the tag was hidden under a cardigan I'm sure no one noticed.  (I excused myself to the bathroom right away to remedy the situation.)  But here I am meeting all these great designers face-to-face for the first time and I nearly did it with the stupid hanger ribbon thingys showing.  Brilliant.

OK, now I'll start showing you some of the actual booths.  I didn't get pix of them all (impossible) but I'm discovering I have a lot so it might take quite a few posts to get through this all.  :)

I'll start with Amy Butler since she's the biggest celebrity there.

I didn't actually meet her.  I could have, but then I just felt like she talks to hundreds of people and why does she need one more?  But I did buy her new software.  If nothing else I'll use the fabrics that are loaded in on EQ6.

Next up is the lovely Paula Prass.  I got the opportunity to speak with her on several occasions and she is as gracious and fabulous in person as you might imagine.

As you can see, her booth really "popped" because of all the bright colored fabric.

Next to her (the Michael Miller designers each had one of the 4 corners at the ends of their "section") was Patty Young.  And I even got my picture with her!

It was her birthday on friday so you can see a few balloons peeking out.

On the other end of Michael Miller was Laura Gunn's fabulous both.  Her gorgeous paintings translated so well into fabric and I cant wait to get my hands on some.  Plus, she was just as sweet as can be!

And rounding out the MM designers was a quick look at Pillow and Maxfield's Whimsy.

Alright, that's enough for tonight.  I'll be back with more later...

JT

96: Quilt Market part one: the day before

Hi all.

I'm back from my amazing trip to Quilt Market.  Now, if you really don't want to hear all about, I suggest you tune out for the next week or so, because I'm pretty sure I'm going to ramble on a bit.  When I'm the one sitting at home, I want to hear all the gritty details, so now I shall aim to provide that for you!

If you don't know what Market is (I do have some family/friends readers that aren't deep into the crafty world like the rest of us), here's the low-down:  It's a giant trade show of fabrics, patterns, notions, and other stuff for quilters and sewers.  It happens twice a year, once in Houston in October and once somewhere else in the spring.  You have to be in the industry to attend (it's not hard to get credentials) and most are shop owners or exhibitors.  This was the first time I attended, and it did not disappoint.

This is a shot of less than half the floor during set-up.  (If you look closely you'll see Patty Young striking a pose.)

I do think I'll have some good news regarding my fabric designs in a short while, but you're going to have to wait on that.  Sorry!  

Anyhoo...Market runs Fri, Sat, and Sun, but on Thursday they have something called Schoolhouses.  They're little product demos or fabric presentations.  I went to get an idea what they were and check out some new stuff.

I saw Amy Butler's (no pic of her b/c they really weren't flattering and that's just mean) in which she talked about her new line of Sweet Life bags, her new software, and patterns.  

I saw several other fabric designers showcasing their lines, including the whole Michael Miller gang, Kaffe Fasset,

Valori Wells, and more.

It was an informative and enjoyable afternoon.

Later that evening was a little gathering we were calling "Faux 2.0".  Similar to the previous shows'  Fabric 2.0 parties for designers and bloggers, except not so much a planned party as a gathering in a hotel lobby.

The Omni Hotel was gorgeous with its chandeliers etc, and I spent the whole night hob nobbing with designers and fun bloggers and shop owners.  Yes, indeed, I felt like I was running with the "cool crowd".  And I have to say, EVERYONE WAS SO NICE.  It seemed like I used that phrase a million times while I was there, but it was so true.  I showed my designs around and everyone was very encouraging.  Drinks were flowing and the laughing got louder as night progressed.  

Here's a look at who was there:

Joey and Jona from Fabritopia (who I believe organized the whole thing),

Patty Young (of Michael Miller), Myrinda (of Fabric Hound), Jenean Morrison (of Free Spirit),

Genevieve Gail and Bari J. (of Windham), 

Heather Bailey (Free Spirit) and Laura Gunn (her sister-in-law debuting for Michael Miller),

Paula Prass (Michael Miller) (and her daughter Jennifer Storey, not shown), the mysterious Jenny McClean (AKA Tula Pink for Moda) and Myrinda again.

Others included: Angela Yosten (Moda Home Mom) and Camille Roskelley (Thimble Blossoms), Scott Hansen (Blue Nickel Studios), Susanne Woods (C&T Publishing), Sandi Henderson (Michael Miller), Sarah Phillips (In Town Quilters), Mary Abreu (Confessions of Craft Addict), Mary Beth Eastman (True Up), and really more people that I feel bad I'm not listing but I didn't get business cards and it's getting so late and would take me forever to get all the names together.  But you've got the idea...

It was so great to put some faces to names and blog names.  And it was so fun to realize some people actually know me from my blog as well.  Who knew?

I refrained from drinking too much, but I did stay up quite late which, of course, I paid for later.  More details for the next few days to come...

JT