After Market ~ What's New

Another trip to Houston has come and gone and this one seems to have put me further behind at this already overscheduled time of year!  Finally I have an excuse?!  As always, Quilt Market was full of inspiration, a respite from home and business obligations and an opportunity to take a fresh look at the world of quilting.  There is so much on display it is quite an overload and combined with the added bonus of some amazing quilt exhibits it is always a trip to revisit for weeks afterwards!    

Of course, I'm partial to the display of 1876 Centennial quilts, (a big shout out to Anne Dawson as the exhibit was selected to move on to Quilt Festival in Chicago!!) and the exhibit of Antique Quilts of the British Isles sponsored by Moda and Antique Textile Company was outstanding.  

Here are a few pictures from Quilt Market - from favorite quilts on display to fabric and pattern designer showcases!  

Janet Clare Machine Drawings

Military Coverlet by Isabelle Muzeau

Antique English Regency by Mary Gibbs 1812

Betsy Chutchian for Moda

Denise Burkitt for Freespirit

Kathy Doughty for Freespirit

Sew to Grow patterns

And now that my bags are unpacked and I'm getting to the bottom of the paperwork stack - the fun ideas and new products I spied at Quilt Market are starting to surface and the goodies I stowed away in my extra bag are finding their way onto the shop shelves with the new product orders coming in daily too! 

The rain is here to stay and it's a perfect time to get some stitching going!  We hope you'll stop by the shop soon and discover some of our latest finds! 

Wooly Block Adventure 2016

We are participating!!  This event is a short one - you only have until December 15th to pick up your free block pattern and stitch up something fabulous for some fun prizes!  The theme is Winter Wonderland - and there is a free 9th block design offered through the Wooly Block Adventure so get out and collect your block patterns!  

We framed our block with a bright red print so it looks more finished for display.  Some fancy threads, a few stitches and a bit of bling for the finishing touch.  It's always fun to see the before and after once the embellishing is complete and a bit more dimension gets created.  Of course you could go all out and embellish for days with these blocks - that's half the fun right?!  Thank you Suz for designing our block! 

If you want more information about this event - check out the details here.   

I'm off to Houston in the morning - hard to believe this will be my tenth trip to Fall Quilt Market.  Always fun to see what is new and different what is the same, and I'm thinking 85 degrees could be alright too!

Happy Stitching!

Market and Moda

Although I worked while I was in Houston at Quilt Market, the lines do get a bit blurred between work and play....I can't say that about my prior work travels at all, but this was my 9th trip to Houston and it was a fun treat to attend the dinner party for Moda, celebrating their 40th year.

The president, Mark Dunn had some great words to share with everyone attending, employees and customers alike.  Several Moda designers were in attendance and it was a festive event.  By complete luck of timing, we were seated at a table that included 4 ladies who held a unique place of honor at the event and here is a snapshot of their story....

There are 4 sisters and one next generation niece/daughter that collaborated to make a special gift quilt for Mr. Dunn.  They combined a crazy number of hours of labor (2700+), cross-country coordination (Florida to Arizona), secret access to the Moda fabric vault (who wouldn't want that opportunity) and much goal setting and task keeping went into the creation of this quilt.  The quilt was presented the day before market opened and represents an amazing snippet of fabric history for Moda.

The hand-applique includes a small swatch of fabric from ALL the fabric collections...ALL!  The stashes were combined and that's where the Moda vault was also accessed to fill in the gaps - a 2.5 inch square of each fabric was contributed.  I don't recall the specifics, but these ladies did own an impressive amount of the Moda vault amongst them!



Apparently 2 sisters have identical stitchery skills and they had the task of stitching all the Moda designers names around the perimeter borders.  Another sister took on the challenge to stitch the names of the fabric lines - onto the BACK of the quilt.  Here are some photos - look for more online if you want to see more of this project and it's story.

The quilt back

Thanks so much for sharing dinner and your story ladies!!
Andee Andriole, Candee Ferris, Cheryl Ann Edholm and Mary Andra Holmes

Feeling festive?

It is super wet now in Houston, and I'm catching up on details at the hotel now - getting ready for another day tomorrow.  A few classes, some time with fabric reps, walk the show floor and scout for great new stuff... And check out some great quilt exhibits!   Not all bad for sure!  

Sample by Kami Quessenberry

Inspired by Halloween Medallion Quilt Along at Michael Ann Made

Halloween Quilt Along Tutorial

Colorblock Quilt

Sample by Lynnsey Heaton

Pattern from "Quilting Every Angle" by Nancy Purvis

Sew Scary Quilt

Free pattern available at Quilting Treasures

Lola Textures and Salsa by Quilting Treasures

 Downtown Houston Friday Morning

Opening of Quilt Market 2015

Quilt Market download

It always seems like there will be plenty of time to take it all in, but the days slip by quickly and it is back to the airport in no time.  Here are some of my quick pictures from market - some of the displays, some of the vendor booths, and some of just stuff...hope it gives you a brief glimpse of all the variety there is to see.  

Ruby Jubilee Quilts

More Ruby Jubilee

1881 was a great year for quilting!

A new but timeless quilt

gorgeous colors!

Lucy Boston in bright shades

We are very excited to see more from Jen Kingwell.  We've carried the Steam Punk pattern for a few years now, and our Gypsy Wife class is underway...and soon we'll have some of Jen's new fabric collection from moda at the shop.  She is a great lady and we are excited to move forward with more of her offerings.  We do have Gypsy Wife pattern books available for sale if anyone is ready to tackle a fun sampler scrap quilt.

Of course there is no getting around the modern influence and some great new changes with fabric weights and fiber content...we'll be seeing more I think!

Heather Bailey 

Karen Styles collection for Marcus

Crazy Chaos before opening...

WE are talking crazy....!

This quilt with Jeanne is a sample reproduction and it is amazing how closely the fabric line resembles the original quilt which was also on display.  Fun stuff that is reproduction based, but not so far from classic modern stuff either.  

Jeanne Horton

Some quilts from the Andover below, Jo Morton school house lecture.  Certainly no photographer here, but the quilts are always better in person even with a good picture!

Coming in to Houston

Downtown...it was 80 degrees and balmy

Market Opening

That's it...3 days packed with events, lectures, too many quilts and lots of goodies.  Now to get back to business at home.

Quilt market - Portland

Here are some additional photos of some of the things we were inspired by at quilt market in Portland...
I can't believe how quickly our summer is flying by.  Thanks to everyone who came and sewed at our first "Sew-in Retreat"...I think everyone got a little something accomplished along with enjoying the day!