Quilt Market Pals

The people I have met through Quilt Market are really wonderful... Me with Brenda from Acorn Quilt and Gift Company. I am so fond of Brenda- she has been so generous with her wisdom and advice. And of course, her designs are just gorgeous. She has a wonderful new line of fabric with Lecien called "Celebration."

Me and Lynette Anderson, a popular designer (and lovely lady) from Australia. You will love her designs, featuring applique and embroidery.
The girls from Melly and Me, also from Australia. It was my first chance to meet them, they are as fun as their wonderful designs. You will definitely be hearing more about them!

A couple of other designers from Down Under are Hatched and Patched and Hugs n Kisses. The Australians are taking America by storm! And with good reason- these are all very talented and creative ladies.

For a fun look at a newbies perspective on Quilt Market, go to this post by Lizabeth Rolfson. It will make you feel like you were right there at Market.

Fall Quilt Market 2009- The Frenzy Begins!

OK so just to prove to all you that I am not vain, here is a photo of me that hubby took- shortly after we got off the plane in Houston, we stopped at Taco Cabana for something to eat, and here I am eating a taco salad. It was quite yummy. When reflecting on this photo, please be kind and remember that I had been up since 4 am and was not wearing any makeup!

One of the best things about Quilt Market is going to Sample Spree the night before the show opens. It is a chance for shop owners and designers to get the newest fabrics to make up samples quilts and projects with. Sample Spree is, well, kind of a frenzy.....Shoppers at the Moda table! Crazy!!!

Below, hubbies wait patiently (and guard the bags and bags of loot!) while wives shop (and shop and shop and shop.....)Above is a photo of the Benartex table- I got several fat quarter packs from them as well as Moda (see below). I haven't opened them up yet- I told daughter I would wait for her to get her homework done so we could open them together..... like Christmas morning!

A view of the convention center floor from the upper level.
Me in my booth opening morning.

I will have lots more photos next post.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Catching Up

Got back from Quilt Market in Houston last night.... came home with my head buzzing with new ideas.... I really want to play with these....But there is unpacking to do, and orders to fill, and of course, I came home to this....

and this.....

....so playing will have to wait for just a little while....

Hope whatever you are doing today, you take time to do something creative and fun!

Happy Wednesday!

A Day of HOPE

A couple of Saturdays ago, hubby and I and a group from our church travelled to Hagerstown, MD to volunteer for a community outreach sponsored by Convoy of Hope. Thousands of flyers were sent out, notifying the community of what would be offered: free groceries, lunch, clothing and much much more.... Over 1000 people volunteered at the event!


Our church group met at 4 am..... considering the hour, I think we look pretty good! (This is me on the right, with my friends JoAnn and "Papa" Chris.)


Truck loads of food and clothing were brought in for distribution. 5,000 bags of groceries were assembled by volunteers of every age....
Four thousand people waited in line in the rain to get in....

In addition to free groceries, there were tents featuring various available services to the community, a job fair, resume assistance, a health care tent.....

Also offered was a kid zone with games etc., hair cuts, family portraits, and a prayer tent...
IT WAS ALL FREE.

The fact that 4,000 people were willing to stand in the rain to get in tells me that people are hurting....



The fact that over 1,000 people offered up a Saturday to help tells me even more about our capacity for compassion for our neighbors.....



Read an excellent article in the Hagerstown, MD local newspaper HERE. You will be inspired!

Those of us who volunteered are not special, everyone can do something....
Step out today and do something good for someone else...
You will be so glad that you did!!!

By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. John 13:35

"Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me.' Matthew 25:37-40

The Dog-Gone Cutest Thing on the Inter-web

You have to go to this website- it is sooooo cute!

http://www.idodogtricks.com/index_flash.html

Type in the following commands and see what happens:
Shake
Roll over
Play dead
Fetch
Dance
Kiss (save this one for last- it is the cutest!)

Have a great weekend!

More New Patterns

Here are some more of our new patterns that are just being released. A Peck of Pears is the perfect size for a wall hanging- I can't wait to hang this in my office. Most of the fabrics I used are from the Simple Abundance and Old Mill House lines from Moda, which should be in stores now. I hand appliqued this one and it went pretty quickly, the pattern contains directions for both hand applique and fusible machine applique.

Does anyone remember the "cat poop" quilt?? Well this is it- minus the stains, thanks to the dry cleaners. It's called Noelle, it is a Christmas wall hanging with a very cottage-y look. There are button flowers in the applique design, as well as lots of buttons scattered in the bottom border for some extra fun....
Finally, a pattern for a Ruffled Flower Pin shows how to make a pin in 2 different sizes, and you can use wool, cotton, ribbon, etc. There are lots of variations for this pattern, so you might just get carried away making tons of these for gifts! You can even use up the selvedges off of your pretty cotton fabrics that usually just get thrown away.

All of the patterns are available on the website.
It's time to do some last minute packing so we can fly off to Houston for Quilt Market- yay!
Maybe I will see some of you there- I will be in booth #1037. See ya!

New Patterns!

Our New Patterns are finally here! They are now available on our website.

David's Playmates- this is perfect for any little boy! I've had lots of customers request a design for the boys, so here it is. It is done with easy fusible machine applique.


Savannah Wool Table Runner- Flowers are vibrant against a black background. Includes directions and diagrams for easy embroidery stitches. This is a very pretty project, I really like how it came out. It reminds me of a garden at midnight, which made me think of that book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I have never read the book, but I knew it took place in Savannah, Georgia, hence the name. Maybe someday I will actually get around to reading the book (OK, probably not.)

More new patterns in my next post... off to Quilt Market in a few days! So exciting!!!!!

More Quilts

A few more quilts that we really liked at the quilt show.

Hope you enjoyed these photos- of course, photos don't do justice to the real thing.

We are getting ready to leave for Quilt Market soon- I am trying not to overpack (especially now that the airlines charge you for every bag!) but I am afraid of forgetting something. I have never been to Houston, hopefully there will be time to see a little bit of the city while we are there.

Does anyone have any suggestions for good places to eat near the convention center (this is very important to me - HA HA!)