Sunday, May 19, 2013

Time To Put My Feet Up!

There was some fabric ordering going on today, this time we were in the Moda booth, a happy place to be!  These are some of the selections we made:

Soho Chic by Sandy Gervais

Wrens & Friends by Gina Martin, a new designer for Moda

Julie, our local rep for Moda.  She is right at home
with a big pile of swatches on the table.

Sweet Serenade by Basic Grey


There also are some select quilts on display in a traveling exhibit from all over the world.  Below is a closeup of a block in the larger quilt below that.  This was made by a Japanese woman, with all those little pieces sewn by hand (English Paper Piecing method) and also hand quilted.  Amazing!



We covered all the rest of the aisles before "last call", but we both wished we had another day.  We felt like we didn't really do justice to some of the booths in the last few aisles.  The good thing is we have a full list of all the vendors, so we can always have a way to look them up.

Part of the fun of attending Quilt Market is the chance to see friends and acquaintances from all over the country.  These are all people who have quilts and fabric and sewing as a common bond.  A very good group to be a part of!
So happy to see Bari (Bareroots patterns) and catch up on her creations
 and life in the Sierras.  She has a wonderful shop in Bishop, CA,
if you are ever lucky enough to go there.

Here's a teaser for an upcoming monthly club.
Better get my stitch on!
This comes from Under the Garden Moon.
Sometimes it's all about the color, and what appeals
 to us individually.  A simple design,
yet it really caught my eye and made me think
 "I should do that."!

And prettiest of all, Mother Nature's own designs
outside the Convention Center.
So that wraps it up for now.  Time to start packing up everything to fit into our suitcases.  We like to take home most of the patterns rather have them shipped, and I packed an empty suitcase on the way out here so we should have plenty of room.  Or else we will have to choose which shoes to wear on the trip and leave the rest behind, and I'm pretty sure that's not happening!

So fun to share some of our experiences at 
Quilt Market in Portland, OR, with you!
Pam

Wandering the Aisles at Quilt Market

This is the end of another wonderful day at International Quilt Market in Portland, OR.
Debbie and I made a little more progress in trying to cover all of the booths on the floor of the convention center.  Just to give you and idea, there are 27 rows of booths.  They are not all the same length, but so far we have covered 19 rows in 2 days.  Tomorrow the show closes at 4 instead of 6 as it has today and yesterday.  So if we pace ourselves well, and don't abuse our bathroom breaks, we should be just fine!  Of course, there are a few things that we still need to backtrack on, but that is a minor problem.

Here is a report on what we liked today:


Olive Ann Designs dresses for sweet little girls and their dollies.

Linda and Jack Hohag with Debbie at Linda's Brandywine Designs  booth.
Good to see the fine work of fellow Minnesotans!

Wildflowers by A Quilter's Dream, just one of several patterns that we purchased.

Always Blooming by P&B Fabrics, a bright and bold fabric group.


Debbie with Bill Kerr (of Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle), in front of another pattern that we purchased.
We had a really nice chat with Bill about the changing style and direction of the
quilting world.

Art Gallery's booth for Pure Elements, the yummy solids that we already have at the store.

Premiere Fabrics, our new source for decorator weight fabrics.
I see many great bags in our future!

Hemma Designs

Three's a Charm by Plum Tree Quilts--pattern includes 2 quilt sizes and tablerunner

Aurifloss, a new featured thread from our favorite thread company.
Sure to please our hand embroiderers!  A whole rack will soon be delivered to our doorstep.

A new design, Hook, Line and Sinker,  from Crabapple Hill Studio.

Stopping to chat with Terry Atkinson, in front of one of her new quilt designs.
Another great MN connection!

One of the quilts on display in the gallery of featured designs.
The quilting on this was awesome.

This little tooth fairy pillow is sporting the payoff for
some little child's lost tooth.  I lost a crown yesterday, do you
think I could collect?

Blueberry Backroads designer, Sarah, one more great MN designer!

Saturday, May 18, 2013

So Many Good Things!

 hWe have a lot of pictures to share with you tonight, after a full day of looking and choosing and deciding what to order for the coming months at Bear Patch.  Here are some highlights:
Shannon Fabrics Cuddle chevron
prints and solids in several colors.
Shannon Fabrics sculpted chevrons.

We met Anna Griffin, a wonderful designer of textiles.

Field Day by Blend Fabrics

Elianore by Anna Griffin

Field Day by Blend Fabrics

Elianore by Anna Griffin



We didn't order this fabric or pattern, but I really liked the quilting!

This & That hexagon purse
This & That new club with a Christmas theme


Little woolen purse and needlekeep from the Cottage at Cardiff Farm.

Abbey Lane's new book So Many Choices.
I think this has Sue's name on it!

Chevron Love in 3 sizes by Sweet Treasures

The fabric companies bring lots of examples of ways to use their fabrics.
Wish I could have this chair!

Amy Butler has re-issued some of her earlier fabrics
that we love now just as much as we did then!

Debbie and Amy Butler and some odd lady on the right who needs some sun.
She's even paler than this MN gal!

Prints by Joel Dewberry that are headed for Bear Patch


I had a special interest in these new designs by Buttermilk Basin.
Kristina did the hand applique and embroidery and I did the quilting!



We attended a class by Charlotte Angotti from 6-8, rode the light rail train back towards the hotel, ate at Rock Bottom Brewery because it was right by the train stop, then collapsed in our hotel room!  Back for Round 2 in the morning!

Pam






Friday, May 17, 2013

Quilt Market

We are sorting out our belongings, getting prepared for a full day of business at International Quilt Market.


We are in Portland, OR, for 3 days that are jam-packed with inspiration, people, events and seminars.  Everything aimed at making our quilt shop better than ever, so you, our loyal customers, will always love walking in the front door.

We arrived in Portland last night without mishap, unless you count the fact that Debbie's sinuses felt ready to explode and my stomach was doing flip-flops!



We are staying at Hotel 50 in downtown Portland right next to the Willamette River.  



It was very easy to find a nearby restaurant for our dinner last night, just a block to Dragonwell Bistro.

Then an exciting night on the town.  Well, not really!  We were pushing ourselves to stay up awhile to ignore the 2 hours time difference, but I still woke up way too early this morning.  So I will get my camera ready, walking shoes on, and snacks in my totebag so I don't run out of energy!  Watch for Debbie's updates on our Facebook page.  

Pam