Blog Hop Warm Up

I am suggesting that you start doing a little stretching, 'cause there's gonna be a whole of HOPPING going on! Starting Wednesday:

• Stop here to see who the designers are for the day.
• Link over to their blogs, enjoy FREE projects!
• Download the free projects and print them out.
• Download the free super cute project book cover (thanks, Jill Finley!) and print it out.
• Collect the secret word (17 total) from each designer.
• Many of the designers will be sponsoring a giveaway, so make sure to enter those.
• At the end of the hop on December 7, assemble the free cover and all of the projects you have printed out into a FREE book, stuffed with 17 fabulous holiday projects.
• HOP OVER to the Henry Glass blog and enter to win an ENORMOUS SUPER FABULOUS GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY! You will need to comment with all 17 of the secret words (just the secret words, not the designers' names) by 8 pm EST December 9. The winner will receive a gift from Henry Glass, PLUS a gift from EACH of the 17 participating designers! I know- can you believe it???

 I think that's everything. If anything was confusing, let me know and I will try to clarify. This is going to be a lot of fun, I know I am going to really enjoy seeing all of the projects that everyone has come up with. And I really wish I could enter the Grand Prize Giveaway... 

Here is a link to the Project Book Cover- Print it out and make a cute book with all of the projects you've collected during the blog hop.

See you here on Wednesday!!!!

Still Here!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I am just popping in to say a quick "Hello"- I am so ready for bed right now! It is 9:53 PM Sunday night of what has been a long weekend, but good, full of family and food and fun. Quick recap- Wednesday night- cooked; Thursday- Thanksgiving (fell asleep on the couch watching a movie at 8 pm); Friday- family portrait sitting, saw one of daughter's friends who we haven't seen for ages, hugs all around; Saturday- Harry Potter movie (so crowded!), Christmas shopping, lunch at Mexican restaurant with family; Sunday- Church, lunch with both daughters and a couple of friends (wonderful!), more Christmas shopping, working on my blog. In a day or two, I will be posting all the particulars of the upcoming Henry Glass Project Parade Blog Hop. There are going to be TONS of giveaways and free projects for this, so make sure you stop back.

Yawn..... Good night...

Trim Tramp, Fabric Floozy, Button Bimbo

This week, I have been working on my book for Kansas City Star. I have done a lot- but there's still so much left to do! I am trying to get myself organized- seems there are things just scattered all over the studio and I have to get myself straightened out.  I'm excited- I think it's going to be really cute (of course, that's just my opinion). I am doing a lot of illustrations for it  (I do love to paint). A little sneak peak at some stuff I've done this week:

Oh I have one more thing to show you from Market. A vendor there had spool upon spool of vintage and antique trims, laces and ribbons. I kind of went crazy. I found myself in the booth, singing (literally, really, I was singing) that song sung by Ado Annie in "Oklahoma": I'm just a girl who can't say No, I'm in a terrible fix, I always say c'mon let's go, just when I oughtta say nix! And it occurred to me that maybe I should have a Tshirt printed up that says: Trim Tramp, Fabric Floozy, Button Bimbo.  This is what well over $100 worth of vintage trim and antique buttons looks like:

How much over $100? Well I'm not telling, so stop asking.

This & That

I have just a few more photos from Quilt Market to share.

Me and Lynette Anderson.

More Australian designers, the girls from Melly and Me.
One of the really fun things about Market is Sample Spree, where things can get a little crowded:

My friend Marie, a quilt shop owner, came to Market to help me with my booth. Here she is at our table as we set up for Sample Spree. I made a lot of wool pins to sell, and also sold patterns.

Something kind of funny happened at Sample Spree. Marie put her hand on the back of a chair, and something sharp cut her hand. So then, because she couldn't see anything on the chair, she ran her other hand along it to find the problem, and you can guess what happened.

So then she went to the first aid station to get some bandages. And she was gone a long time, because they wanted to take her to the hospital, but of course she refused, and had to sign a waiver, yada yada yada. She  came back to the table, but then a few minutes later we see a couple of armed security guards walking towards us. Apparently, they had some forms and reports to fill out, too. They were right next to my table, and people were wondering what was going on. So I asked them, only half jokingly, to move away from my table while they "questioned" Marie. And she's standing there, with her hands out, not realizing that she looks like they are interrogating her for shoplifting.  Eventually everything got sorted out. And the guard told her to have a nice evening, and maybe find some nicer friends (because I asked her to step away from my table during the "interrogation,"... oh and then I suggested that maybe if she dropped to the floor and faked a seizure, it would draw more customers to my table...) It's always interesting...

Check out this website that I just found about - FreeQuiltPatterns.com. Full of hundreds of free quilt patterns for you to download. My pattern Pinwheel Patch is on the front page this week. Leave a comment: one winner will receive a collection of Moda Turnovers from Free Quilt Patterns, and another will win a bundle of Sewing Room Social fat quarters from me! Winners will be chosen on Thursday, so hurry on over!

I just added a bunch of new pins available for sale on my website.

Now I've been back for 2 weeks already (don't know where that time went). I am almost caught up. I managed to catch a bad cold and have spent the last 2 days on the couch, coughing, sneezing and wheezing.  I'm so glad we can use blogs to "visit" without spreading germs around. My friend Brenda from Acorn Quilts is sick too- I am coining a new term, Post-Market Immune Deficiency. Seems it leaves us terribly run-down! I was supposed to have my mom and dad over for dinner yesterday, but had to cancel so I wouldn't give them my malady before their trip to Florida tomorrow. Hope to get some work done tomorrow. I have a book to work on, among other things! Time to get a cup of tea.

Joy, Love, Peace, Noel

I am happy to show you my newest fabric line from Henry Glass Fabrics, called Joy, Love, Peace, Noel. It will be in stores next May, which will give stitchers the whole summer to get all of their holiday sewing done (no excuses!).
The line includes florals, stripes, polka dots, and novelty prints, in addition to a panel and a stocking panel (I don't have an image for the stocking, but I have to say, it's pretty darn cute).

 

I was actually sketching out ideas for this line at the beach this summer. It's a good thing I really like Christmas, it didn't take much to put me in a holiday mood, even in 90 degree weather. I remember sitting in the living room at the beach house, making up stories with my kids about the little forest animals, wondering out loud what they do on Christmas eve. I imagined them gathering in the forest for a tree trimming party, laughing and singing, and then solemnly processing to a midnight church service, while singing "The First Noel." Here is the "story" I wrote:

What happens in the forest on Christmas Eve? Do the inhabitants perceive what a special and divine night it is?  Sometimes I imagine the little creatures gathering with their family & friends much like we do.... Making merry, basking in the comfort of one another's company, singing their favorite hymns and carols. Perhaps they gaze upon the indigo sky, and search for that One Special Star... and delight in the sentiments of the season- Joy, Love, Peace, Noel.

Big Blog-Hop Announcement!!!!!

Oh my, this is going to be fun! All of the Henry Glass Fabrics designers are getting together to bring you..... (drumroll, please)

The Henry Glass Designers 
Holiday Project Parade

The Blog Hop will run from December 1-7. There are 19 designers participating, and every one of us will be sharing a free project with you- that's a lot of free projects! And you will be able to download them and print them out and make a keepsake project booklet to refer to for years to come. And of course, lots and lots of giveaways and goodies-including a Grand Prize Giveaway- trust me, you don't want to miss out on that! Stay tuned for more information!

Market Aftermath

Today I spent the day being a housewife- and it was wonderful! I am a domestic diva- it took me 3 hours to clean the family and dining room- just an indication of how long it's been since I cleaned. I did a few loads of laundry, and even made a homemade dinner of creamy pumpkin soup and grilled ham, cheddar, and pear sandwiches. I haven't cooked in quite a while either, and I had fun.

Before I left for Market, I mentioned (only half jokingly) to youngest daughter that I wouldn't mind having a pumpkin layer cake with goat cheese frosting that I saw on Martha Stewart waiting for me when I got home. Sweetheart that she is..... there it was. And it was yummy. Recipe can be found here, and also in the November issue of the magazine.

I also returned to this:

That is over 20 bolts of fabric and 30 yards of batting. I have no idea where I am going to put them. Hubby needs to start building the addition onto the house this weekend.


 Also, I started to worry just a little because the boxes that I shipped from the convention center, containing my entire booth, had not arrived yet. I called the company, the lady said that she didn't have a tracking number, but she was sure they were on the way. The good news is that they arrived this afternoon. The bad news, is that they looked like this:

The boxes were from FedEx but they were delivered by UPS. Generally, UPS has not been kind to my boxes. Clearly, this time was no exception.

Something which did arrive safely (because I put them in my suitcase- I wasn't taking any chances) was these fat quarters which I picked up at Sample Spree.

 The ones in the front (blue and green, Celia by Benartex) are for the lady who helped me get ready for market by doing so much of my piecing and quilting. The rest are for me! (and I said I wasn't going to buy any, but you know how that goes....) I am going to use them for a quilt I am making for my book with Kansas City Star. The ones in the back are Lovely by Moda,  the ones on the left are Wing It by Moda, and the ones on the right are Le Jardin Papillons by Clothworks.

Have a great weekend, enjoy whatever it is you decide to do. And of course, enjoy your extra hour of sleep on Saturday night when we turn the clocks back (I know I will....)

Home from Houston- phew!

I had a great time at Quilt Market in Houston. My fabric line sold out!!!!!! Yay! It was basically 5 days of caffeine, adrenaline, and very little sleep. We also debuted the new line, called Joy, Love, Peace, Noel. Next post, I will show it to you.

So for now.... photos from Market.

 Me doing my best Vanna White impression in my booth.

I needed flowers for my booth, and my "booth neighbor," fellow Henry Glass designer Carrie Nelson from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co., kindly went out and bought me this gorgeous bouquet.

 And here is a photo of me with Carrie in her booth. She is super nice and fun and so, so helpful. It was wonderful getting to know her.

Pam and Janet from Buggy Barn. Their quilts are beautiful, as you can see. They also own a quilt shop, and design fabric for Henry Glass. I don't know how they do it all.....

 Here is Barbara Jones from Quilt Soup, also a Henry Glass designer. Aren't her colors bright and fun- Barbara is also really nice, and she laughed at all my jokes, which makes her tops in my book!

More photos to come!

Just 2 More

So I have just 2 more new patterns to show you. Right about now, International Quilt Market Fall 2010 is history and I will be back soon with photos and stories from that little adventure....

Hugs 'n Kisses features 2 colorways- one perfect for a little boy, the other perfect for a little girl. I think it's neat that these were both created from a single fabric line (mine, of course, haha....) but they look so different. The X and O blocks were both machine appliqued.

The design below is called Spring Fling, because the colors to me are light and carefree and breezy, the way spring is....

Do you recognize these from the sneak peek a little while ago?? Both patterns are available on my website. So I will say it just one last time, all of the above projects were created using my Sewing Room Social fabric line for Henry Glass Fabrics. (there, you probably never have to hear that again....)

Can't wait to show you pictures of my booth with all of the projects displayed together.
TTFN (remember Tigger from Winnie the Pooh?) TaTa for now!