While Mom's Away . . .

Today I started quilting my newest quilt and I am hoping to finish it so I can link it up with blogger's quilt festival :)  Sometimes I wonder why things always seem to get pushed to the last minute , ah well :)

I am trying a new free motion design.  It's similar to my interlocking circles design I used for my Ring Around quilt, just a different shape.  Interlocking squares (and rectangles but that's a mouthful :)

And let me share a little funny (but not so ha ha at the moment)  from my morning.  I went to get my tripod to record me quilting so I could make another FMQ video tutorial for ya'll and come to find that my wee ones decided while I was gone that the tripod was a really fun toy.  I tried to put it back together only  to find a piece missing.  After searching high and low and still no piece, I resorted to the next best thing . . . tape :)  Ya gotta use what works :)

Here's hoping I have a new quilt, video tutorial, and pattern to share very soon :)  All though, most likely not all at the same time :)  I'm off to do some more quilting :)

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 :)