Stop staring and start sewing!

Quilt Market - it's about the people really

 We all love fabric and it's always a real treat to see the up and coming fabric collections, sewing patterns, gadgets and notions...  But the best part of Quilt Market is always, always, always the people.  We speak the same language, we understand each other, and we are all each others' biggest fans.  People come from all over the world to attend Quilt Market.  The best people ever.  I'm sure of it.  Here are just a few of them.

Bari Ackerman of Bari J. (whom I first met at market 5 years ago and now she's my local bestie!) and Jane "Quiltjane" Davidson.  I love both of these women and I'm lucky enough to get to see Bari often since we both live in the Phoenix area.  But Jane lives in Brisbane, Australia (where the BeeGees grew up!) and I only get to see her at market.  She's simply the sweetest, funnest gal and she showers us with TimTams.  I love her.

 

Here is my pal Scott Hansen stitching during school house.  I'm pleased to say he finished his project in time and then spent some time at a "Man Spa" getting all shaved and spiffed up for the rest of market.  The life of a man-quilter.  You can also find Scott on the cover of the Shirtless Man and Spicy Burrito Calendar (it's for a good cause and you can look at shirtless men, burritoes, and quilts all year!).

 

Here are Mary and Barb from Me and My Sister for Moda.  I don't get to see them as much since Mary moved from Phoenix to New Mexico (dangit).  They are always loads of fun and giggles.

 

This is Valori Wells' booth but that's Jenean Morrison cracking up about something in it.  Jenean had a great school house presentation.  Her presentations are always fun because they feel interactive (she asks questions and we ask questions and it's all a hoot).  She's the best.

 

Here is Vanessa Christenson of V and Co. in her booth over in the Moda corridor.  I like Vanessa.  She's chipper and kind but spunky.  Oh, and beautifully talented.  My kind of gal.

 

 Here is my friend (and neighbor!) Heather Bailey chatting with some gals at her booth.  Sometimes I run into Heather when I schlep up to the corner market here at home but there's something fun about getting to chat at Quilt Market.  It's a special event and we are both wearing makeup.

 

The Modern Quilt Guilt Meet-up is always loads of fun and another opportunity to run into some great folks.  Here are my homies Christy Fincher of Purple Daisies, LLC (her business with her mom Sharon Schamber) and Alyssa Lichner of Pile o' Fabric, and Bari.  They are all my local friends and for some reason it's just exciting to get together at market even though we can get together at home any time.

 

Here is Camille Roskelley and her cute husband Jarom.  I always wonder what the husbands think about having to stop and pose for pictures all the time.  Jarom looked like he had it all figure out by the time I came around for a picture.  Camille is a warm, fun gal and she gave me some great Disneyland advice (we're both fans).

 

Here are Alyssa Haight Carlton and Jacquie Gehring giving away prizes (lots and lots including a baby lock serger!) at the MQG Meet-up.  They were very popular that night.  I didn't win anything but that did not lower my opinion of them in any way.

 

And Scott again (check out those new sideburns from his man spa visit) chatting with the ever nice, Kate Spain.  Two nice people have a nice (I'm sure of it) conversation (while being stalked by me).  Nice.

 These are just a few of the people who make market worth the trip (and expense).  I've never met a mean person at quilt market (well, maybe just one but I've banished her from my psyche).  The folks are just as friendly as they are talented.  That's why it's worth going.

 

More Quilt Market pics....

 The best part of Quilt Market, for me, is getting to see all of my favorite fabric friends in one place.  Mo Bedell is easily a favorite and she's so darn nice and funny.  Her new collection, Full Moon Lagoon, is pretty and vibrant.  The colors are my favorites (pinks, aquas, oranges...) and her booth was a real traffic stopper.

 

She won the well deserved ribbon for Best New Exhibitor.

 

Isn't this dreamy??

 

Mo was sweet enough to send me some yardage for a skirt and I love it!  This is the best picture of it I have so far (I'll take a more detailed picture soon).

 

Here is another shot of her booth.  It was Bikini Bottom worthy.

 

I caught this candid shot of Rashida Coleman-Hale in her smartly soothing booth.  I loved the wall "treatment" she used.  So clever.

 

Her fabric collection is called Tsuru, which means "crane", and it's popping up everywhere now.

 

I'm in love with this chair and footstool.

 

And in the Free Spirit corridor there were lots of beautiful new things to see.  

Anna Maria Horner's latest release.  Some familiar prints but in completely new colors.  What more could you ask for?

 

I love Erin McMorris's newest collection "Astrid".  This might be my favorite from Erin so far.

 

Denyse Schmidt's new "Florence" collection is spot on perfect.  And that dress!

 

Valori Wells had a beautiful booth and is releasing some amazing knit fabrics.

 

And here is Tula Pink in her brilliant booth.  Her new book 100 Modern Quilt Blocks is a must have.

 

And Heather Bailey won Most Creative Booth award for her giant embroidered wall.  Isn't it beautiful?

 

That "floor" is real grass.  You could smell the fresh scent throughout the area.

 

Her new collection of embroidery designs will completely blow you away.  I'm getting some so I have something to work on during our upcoming road trips.  Swoonworthy stuff.

More pictures coming!

Back from market....pics, pics, and more

The winner of last weeks drawing is Chen!  Sorry for taking so long but I tried to post from my iPad while in Portland and it wouldn't work (everything was ready to go but the little "publish" button wouldn't work when I touched it.

I'm back from Quilt Market in Portland and while I'm happy to be home, it sure was a beautiful trip.  Smoothest flights ever, which is a biggie since I'm the Dramamine Queen.  I gave a 20 minute presentation on my book which was nerve wracking but I covered all of my points and most folks were beyond friendly (I'm just excited they chose my presentation out of the dozens available in that time slot!).

Anyway, on to all the pictures.  I'm just going to flood my blog with them all week so I hope you like them.  I used my iPad for taking pictures so some of them are not as focused as I'd like.  Next time I'll go back to hauling my camera around just to get good shots.

Here is Bari's stunning Bijoux booth.  It was fun seeing everybody oohing and aahing over this collection.  I really think the rich colors (and mustard!) put it over the top.  Check out the lining and collage edge on this dress!

 

Her wall quilts were incredible and such a fantastic way to showcase the versatility of this fabric (and her great design skills).

 

 

Here is Carrie Bloomston's first booth and it was fantastic.  Her fabric collection is aptly named Collage. Carrie lives in the Phoenix area (as does Bari) and it's fun getting to know her.  

 

 

Fantastic!

 

 

 

Windham even covered their chairs in her fabric! 

 

Here are some pretty colors from the Kaufman booth.

 

 

I love this booth (Kaufman again)!

 

 

 

This is the Doglandia collection in Anna Griffin's booth.  I seriously love this.  Perfect for boys!

 

 

 

A darling display in Anna Griffin's booth.

 

 

 

Josephine Hemmerling.  Gorgeous colors.

 

 

 

Another sweet display.  I would love to load up on these fabrics.

 

 

 

Zen Chic.  Calm, classy, nice.

 

 

 

And a bike.

 

To market! And a give away!

I'm absolutely scrambling to finish one last skirt here.  My flight leaves in 10 hours and, as usual, I'm last minute frantic.  Quilt Market is this week and the best part is it's in Portland, my home town.  I have to give a presentation on my book in front of dozens of folks and I'm not ready for that either.  But, oh well.

I'm happy to take a second to show you some of the stuff I've been up to and give you a chance to win something amazing.

Here is a closeup of the combination of fabrics in my skirt made out of my friend Bari J. Ackerman's gorgeous new Bijoux collection (in stores now!).  The colors are so rich and the fabric is incredibly soft, like lawn.

And here is my skirt and Bari's skirt.  They are both from patterns in my book The Essential A-Line.  Hers is the Contrast Pleat pattern (pg 79) and mine is the Contrast Layer pattern (pg 60).  Cute, right?

 

And look at the great give away Bari is having!

 

Bijoux has started shipping to stores, so soon you'll be able to add a little bit of her to your life. But right now, this very moment, you can enter to win a giveaway! Bari is giving one lucky winner a bundle of 10 Bijoux fat quarters. This giveaway has a quick turnaround, so be sure to enter right away. You'll have 24 hours to enter, and I'll choose the winner, randomly, on Thursday.

This group of blogs has already had their drawing but please visit them to see their beautiful creations made from Bijoux, and be inspired.

May 8: Melanie Dramatic
May 9: Sew Much Like Mom
May 10: 100 Billion Stars
May 11: I'm Doing Stuff
(mother's day, no stop on the 12th)
May 13: Imagine Gnats

 

Check out these blogs the rest of the week for more chances to win a gorgeous bundle!

May 15: Mommy for Reals
May 16: Olive and Ollie
May 17: Pile O' Fabric
May 18: Sally's Angel Works
May 19: JM Maxman

Back with a winner soon and then lots of great pictures from Quilt Market (it's going to be great!).

Booths, booths, and more booths (another Quilt Market post)

This is my last Quilt Market post so I'm just loading it with pictures of booths.

 This darling booth belongs to Mary Jane Butters.  Her new collection is called Glamping and this booth exemplified that from the martini shaker to the cushy cot.

 Sweet!

 Cloud 9 fabrics.  Great stuff there!  Organic too!

 Zen Chic....love this quilt.

Seven Island Fabrics...so cute....always.

 And their always cute softies.

 Folkloric Blooms at Kaufman.

 Newcomer Carolyn Friedlander (and her sister).  Keep an eye on this girl.  Such a new, fresh style.

 More of Carolyn's designs....check out that floor.

 Melody Miller's incredible booth.

 Always cute.  Always retro.  Always hip.  And now in great quilting weights too.

 Lila Tueller had a fantastic booth and her new collection is just in shades of black and white.  Stunning!

 Sarah Watson with Art Gallery.  Smart, creative, beautiful!

Trenna Travis with Kathy Miller.  Great stripes and geometrics.

 Craftsy has it going on...go over and check out all of their amazing classes (including cake decorating, hello!)

 Jeni Baker with Art Gallery....so cute and such bright, fun fabric designs.

 Jan DiCintio from Daisy Janie....organic, bright, fun!

 

Amy Butler....rayons, organics, and voiles...oh my!

 

David Butler fabrics....strong enough for a man but made for a woman.  Love this stuff!

That's all for now....whew!  Back soon!

People...people who need fabric...are the luckiest people...

I wasn't even planning on going to Quilt Market this year but my friend Bari J. Ackerman asked if I would be her co-pilot and, after much thought, I realized it was time to get out of my funk and get back in the game.  So we drove all the way to Houston from Phoenix (making 1000 miles to San Antonio the first day!).  As soon as we arrived we started setting up her booth.  It was a lot of physical labor and it felt good after these long months sitting behind my sewing machine.

She had one of the prettiest booths there and her ruffled duvet was a huge hit.  People were coming from all over the place just to look at it and touch it (tutorial coming soon on Bari's blog).  Her new duffle bag pattern is the perfect size and shape for a great travel bag.

She has some gorgeous clothing patterns designed with the skill and talent of Suzy-Homemaker.  That darling coat pattern has me missing having little girls to sew for.

Simply gorgeous.  Be looking for Bari's Splendor 1920 fabric to be hitting the stores soon.

 

Two of my very favorite people, Carla Crim and Jennifer Paganelli.  Such a team they make with Jennifer's fabric and Carla's sewing patterns!  And you couldn't find two nicer people!  I snagged a copy of Jennifer's new Happy Home book....swoon.

The beautiful and talented Dena Fishbein.  I've been a huge fan for years and I finally got to shake her hand and gush about how much I love her (I'm sure she was enchanted).

 

Two of my favoritest people ever, Keith and Kay Whitt.  Always fun to chat with and always up to something new and amazing.

 

The Australians were out in full force at market and they are the best!  One of my very favorite quilt market new friends was Jane Davidson of Quilt Jane fame (I also snagged a copy of Sweet Celebrations, one of the newest collaborative books from Stash Books, which has Jane's work in it.  Fun!).  Jane is from Brisbane, and everyone knows the BeeGees grew up in Brisbane so that makes it a wonderful place.  I had to steal this picture from Jane's blog because every time we were together I was sitting right next to her.  Meeting her was truly one of the best parts of being at market.  And I was so excited to finally meet Linda Lum DeBono (pictured on the right) whom I chat with a lot on facebook but finally got to hug in real life.  She is so witty and talented and I wish we could've spent more time together.

Also from Australia, Sarah Fielke, of Material Obsession fame.  She's so much fun and such a hoot.  Sarah is so talented and she has a design look that is completely her own.  You can spot her work a mile away because it's so unique and vibrant.  And she plays a pretty mean game of Word With Friends on facebook.  Here she is with Amy Lobsiger (not from Australia but equally delightful) of Mrs. Schmenkman Quilts.  She is so nice and her outfits are seriously cute.

Another friend I've known for years online is Louise Stuart of iSewAcademy.  She's a doll and brought the best candy from Australia (I spent a lot of time around her booth).  The boys from Timeless Treasures seemed to like her too.  :)  Those Australian gals are great fun and I hope they all make it to the upcoming Quilt Market in Portland.

 

 

Rashida Coleman-Hale, Emily Herrick, and Jemellia Hilfiger.  I've known Jemellia for years online and this was our first time meeting in real life.  I always liked her before and now I just love her....as much as I like online friendships there's just something about sitting down and talking with a person that you can't get from your computer.  Chatting about kids, and hair, and husbands, and fabric....it's really the best part of Quilt Market.

Cristy Fincher standing near the booth she shares with her mom Sharon Schamber.  Cristy lives here in the Phoenix area and is part of our Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild but it was SO much fun to really get to know her and spend time chatting over the crazy-ness of Quilt Market.

 

Amy Butler and Joel Dewberry giggling near Joel's uber-cool booth.

The lovely Long Ladies from Marie-Madeline Studio.  I love these girls.  They are so much fun and such a sweet bunch!

I'll try to fit the rest of my pictures in one more Quilt Market post (I've got work to do here so I need to wrap things up!).  I hope you're loving everything.  Be sure to visit all the blogs I've linked to and get to know these wonderful, creative people!  It's Monday....let's make it a GREAT week!