Spring Quilt Market - 2013

Spring Market was incredible!!!  What a whirlwind weekend.  I thought I had taken a million pictures, turns out I took just over 100 and it still doesn't seem to do the weekend justice for everything I saw :)  I have been trying to figure how to best share this weekend with you and decided that it can be summed up in three words . . . Fabric, Friends, and Fun!!!!

FABRIC

So many wonderful, amazing, exciting new fabric lines coming our way.  I tell you!!  And of course, I can't share every single fabric picture I took (that would be one long post) but here are some of the lines that I am so excited for.

Violet Craft's Waterfront Park.   Oh, i just love those purples, and the quilt with the bridge, awesome!!

Sweetwater's Road 15.   So stinking cute!!  I got some at Sample Spree and have plans in the works for it :)

Tula Pink's Acacia.  Tula's fabrics are just a work of art, the details are amazing!!

Allison Harris of Cluck Cluck Sew's debut line Wallflowers.  It is just precious!!

Emily Herrick of Crazy Old Ladies super awesome Technicolor.  And her booth was one of my fav's!!!

Jeni Baker of In Color Order's Nordika.  It has such a fun Scandinavian feel to it!!

Vanessa Christensen's fabulous Simply Style.  Another Sample Spree bundle that I can't wait to cut into.

FRIENDS

I think my favorite thing about market is the friends!!!  I love getting to make new friends, meet friends that you have felt you have known forever though all your emails for the first time in person, and reconnect with friends from past quilty gatherings.

I was so excited to get to chat with some of my favorite designers, some of who I had met before and some for the first time.  I just love hearing all about their inspiration, their design process, and in general about them, their families, and their lives as a fabric designer!  Here's just a few that I remembered to take pictures with :)

I really admire Camille and all she does while still being a Mom so meeting her was a real treat!!

Meeting Heather Ross.  She is just amazing!!

Chatting with Vanessa. She is just so spunky!!  We had a really great time chatting and I really got to know her more.

It was also really fantastic to get to chat with some of my amazing sponsors!!!  I chat with these gals weekly through emails but being able to sit down in person is so much more fun!!!

Christa from Christa Quilts.  She met us for lunch before we flew out and I don't think we stopped talking for 3 hours!

Julie from The Intrepid Thread.  We bumped into each other so many times, and every time it was smiles and laughs.

Judy from Green Fairy Quilts.  As you can see, we were having a great time chatting :)  

 And then the last group of friends are my blogger gals!!  I loved, loved, loved, getting to hang out and chat with all of my wonderful friends from the blog world.  There were so many hugs and smiles and laughs!!  You just feel a connection with these gals.  And of course, since I felt like we were old time friends, I didn't think to take pictures.  So here's a shout out to my Market blogger gals, love you ladies:  Amy, Stephanie, Vickie, Lee, AnnMarie, Adrianne, Jenny,  Elizabeth, Sherri, Kerri, and  Tracey.

Tracey from TraceyJay Quilts.  This was right before we were about to leave for the airport so I think it spurred me to take a picture, finally :)

FUN

And of course, when it all comes down to it, Market is just lots and lots of fun!!

Me and some of the gals from Modern Baby doing our schoolhouse.  As you can see, there were a lot of laughs and we really just had a whole lot of fun :)

Later that day in Tula Pink's schoolhouse I won her 100 Modern Quilt Blocks book!!!  I squealed so loud and pretty much popped right out of my seat, so fun!!!  I can't wait to tear through my scrap bins on this.

And then later that evening, was Sample Spree.  And I don't know about you but hundreds of women going all sorts of crazy over fabric, doesn't get much more fun than that.  And I was so excited that even though I hung out in the very back of the line and waited for the crowds to die down a bit (I don't really handle the pushing and shoving all that well, I get a little claustrophobic) I still got what I was hoping to get ;)  Score!!

And as you all know, I am not a big fan of handwork, but I have to say, watching Heather Bailey embroider the side of her booth wall sure make handwork look like a lot of fun!! 

And I even got to get my groove on with the Quiltmaker's Shuffle.  This was so much fun!!!  I can't wait to see the video of it.  And I placed myself very well, just in the middle hidden behind everyone else :)  (My dance moves aren't anything to write home about :) 

Right before it was time to go, I got to watch Angela Walters do a little demo on her quilting.  So much fun!!!    It was like being inside one of her Craftsy classes :)

And last, but not least, Among all the Fabric, Friends and Fun, I still had a second to put my feet up and just enjoy taking it all in.

Part of the Micheal Miller Booth

And that about wraps it up :)  The Fabric, Friends, and Fun of Spring Quilt Market 2013!!!

I'm Home

And I had a plan to feature a wonderful post of my entire weekend, but . . .  between laundry, grocery shopping, unpacking, and the last week of school, I just don't see it happening.  Maybe tomorrow :)

So for now, I will leave you with a picture of my market haul, such wonderful fabric goodness!!!   At least there will be one thing that I put away today that will make me smile :)

Coming Home

We'll today is my last day at Market, and by the end of the day, I will be back home, tucking my little kiddie winkies into bed :)  

And then it will be off to the sewing room.  

I have got samples to make for my fast approaching classes in June.  I decided that rather than make new samples every time I teach basic block skills that it might save me a lot of time to just make some generic go to every time samples.  So I have cut out some squares and strips to show the step by step process of  No Waste Flying Geese, Half Square Triangles, Goose in the Corner, and Simple Lattice blocks.  I can't believe I didn't think of this the first time I taught a class ;)

And once I am done my samples, I get to cut into this lovely stack of goodness.  It's Simply Sweet by Lori Whitlock for Riley Blake Designs and it is so adorable!!!  These beautiful prints will be making an adorable baby blanket for my best friend who is expecting a new little wee one in July :)  And did I mention there will be a tutorial involved in all this :)  Stay tuned :)

See you on Monday with lots of Market goodness!!

A Bit of an Applique Challenge

As part of the Sweet Celebrations Book for Moda I designed and created this quilt for my husband.  Obviously, he is a U of U alumni.  Well ever since I finished this quilt, I have wanted to make another for me that would match his as my Alma Mater, SUU, also uses red, black, and white for it's school colors.

And I am so excited that I finally moved it onto the cutting table!!  A little while ago I drafted a design that I really fell in love with.   I was going for a matchy geometric look, but not the exact same pattern.  I started cutting, then sewing, add some pressing, and before you know it, I have a finished quilt top, basted and ready to be quilted!!  Yippee :)  (Sorry for the little sneak peek, I am saving the final reveal for a bit ;)

And here is where the challenge comes in.  My husband's applique of the U was a bit tricky but manageable.

My Alma Mater's logo is a bit trickier.  Seriously, this is by far the hardest applique design I have tackled.  Wish me luck, I really think I am going to need it :)

Star Value from Beejeeber's

So you remember my Star Value block tutorial ??  We'll it is the block that I asked my fabulous bee mates to make for me this month :)  And I have already received some fabulous squishy packages!!!  And can I just say, I am in love!!!

This block was made by Lindsay.  I love the way she fussy cut the purple center block, so cute!!!

And this block arrived from Bethany.  I just love the color combo in that center block!!

And I have to say, I freaked out a little when I laid them out to make the first row!!  So stinking fantastic!!!  Seriously, I loved the block, but I think I am just going to flip over the quilt top!!!  I seriously can't wait for all these to come in and stitch this top together :)  So exciting!!!

And there are already some more squishy packages in the mail on their way :)  I will be sure to share as soon as they arrive ;)

Leaving for Portland!!!

I am stepping out my front door and heading to Portland.  International Quilt Market here I come !!!  

I am so excited!!!  Like seriously, I can't stop smiling :)    This will be my second market so I feel a little more knowledgeable of how to take it all in. (but just a little :)   Oh, so much fabric, so many stunning booths, so many happy quilters, and oh so much fun!!!

I don't see myself getting anything posted about market while I am gone (I don't have a fancy phone and I doubt I will have internet in my room) but I promise to have a whole rundown come next week full of lots and lots of pictures :)  (anything in particular you want to see???)

In the meantime, I did a few scheduled posts of things I was working on earlier this week ;)  Wouldn't want it to get to quiet around here :)

So that's it for today :)  Next time we chat, I will be at Market, Squeal!!!

My New Mini, aka Julie is Awesome!!!

Isn't it just the cutest mini ever!!!!   I received this fantastic mini from Julie as part of the Fab Little Quilt Swap!!!  Julie could not have possibly made a more perfect mini for me!!!  I love it to pieces!!!

 I was so excited when I got this little squish in the mail and saw Julie's name on it!!  I had been stalking this mini in the group for weeks and just hoping that it might come my way!!

I have always loved cathedral windows and Julie even took the time to hand stitch each of these, amazing!!  The little tiny buttons in the points are just the cutest finish!!  And yes, I love, love, purple!!!

Photo courtesy of Julie

And if the mini wasn't enough to must make my day, there were also lots of fun goodies in the squish package!!!  Julie is just the nicest swapper ever!!

How cute is this little basket!!!  So adorable :)  It is now on my shelf and holds all of my precious cards and notes from sewing friends :)

And Julie loves purple just as much as I do and was so sweet to share some of her purple stash!!  Seriously, freaking out of what to make with all of this fabulous purple!!

And here it is on my wall of purple mini's right about the ironing board so I can ohh and ahh over it ever time I press!!!

Thank you a million times over Julie!!!  I could not be happier!!

Happy Mother's Day

Thank you to all of you who visited during the Celebrate Mom event!!!  I am sure, like me, that you enjoyed hearing all about how things run in households of some of our favorite mom bloggers!!  It was such a fun event and that is because of all of you!!!  So thank you!!!!  And a huge thank you goes out to Heather and Megan, Angela, Maureen, Natalia, and Jenny.  You were all fantastic!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

So let's give away a few Mother's Day Gifts!!!  It's time to choose the winner's from the Celebrate Mom event!!!  So exciting!!!

The winner of the Posy FQB  from Green Fairy Quilts is . . . Tracey

  

The winner of the Happy Go Lucky Jelly Roll from Fat Quarter Shop is . . .  Harley Dee

  

The winner of the Spring Fat Quarter Collection from The Scarlet Thread Quilt Co. is . . .  Joanne G

  

The winner of the Custom Color Bundle from Christa Quilts is . . . Chris S

  

The winner of the Madhuri Fat Quarters from The Intrepid Thread is . . . Stacy

  

The winner of the Happy Quilting Patterns is . . . Karen

Congratulations to all the Celebrate Mom Winners!!  

And since, with all of the Celebrate Mom fun, I forgot the 2 other giveaways . . . there are 2 more winners.

The winner of the 100 Blocks Magazine and 3 of my patterns is . . . Kacey

And the winner of the Between Heaven and Texas novel and 3 of my patterns is . . . mabear

And that about wraps it up!!!  Again, thank you so much for your participation in the Celebrate Mom Event!!!  You all are the greatest readers ever!!!