More Quilt Market

Sara Beth helped Debbie choose the Camilla collection by Anna Griffin fabrics to make the quilt below--

quilt design by Metropolitan Quilt

This & That patterns has a wonderful booth display of so many great quilts and little projects.  Many of them include an embroidery portion, like the pumpkins below.

Margaret is probably not going to thank me for this picture!  She was showing us Free Spirit and Westminster fabrics here, we really liked the illustrations spread out on the table here so some of those will find a home on the BP shelves.  Margaret is a local rep for those companies, so we also work with the fabric reps when they come into the store and show us what's new.
Pictured below is Jerry and his harem!  Jerry is another of our local fabric reps and such a good guy to work with.  You can see that his customers really love him!

At the Abbey Lane booth we heard all about her newest book, Just 4 Fun.  There are 4 fun quilts and even instructions for a wreath to match!  She has a good style that uses colors in an easy-to-master setting.

Madison Cottage Design was a new company name to us and we saw a couple of patterns that we purchased.  Her patterns all have food names!  She is from Idaho, and if you are on the mailing list for Keepsake Quilting, her Rhubarb Pie quilt is on the cover of the newest catalog.

JayBird Quilts is a big part of the "modern quilt movement", and even though we are far from young we find some common ground with her style and design sense.

Indygo Junction's designer, Amy Barickman, had a lot of new things to show us in their booth.  Some really cute garments and bag ideas with an emphasis on re-using clothing and textiles in new ways.

This small quilt was a feast for my eyes because it gives me an idea of what all those little hexagon blocks will become when I get enough stitched up.  This is a preview of a class I am going to do at the store starting in the fall.  Get your needle and thread ready!   Patchwork with Busy Fingers is a great source for English paper piecing designs and applique.

The inspiration comes from this Aussie designer, Sue Daley.  Debbie and I also went to a class that she taught and we learned how to make those curved clamshell pieces in the little quilt behind her.  A couple of the blocks in This Goes With That are shown below--

International Quilt Market Day 2

We continue with our visit to Kansas City for the Spring Quilt Market--

We met Sandy (of Totes by Sandy) and bought some of her patterns.  She is from Colorado.

This was my favorite, I think it was called the Shirley Purse.

Castilleja Cotton came to our attention when Emily made a little wallhanging last spring called Bunny Flip Flop.  We stopped in their booth and found a couple more things that we will be bringing back to the store.  Thinking of Sue for the bargello tablerunner.

New patterns from Sandy Gervais for Door Decor-- watch for them as a monthly series in the future.

Sandy was busy totaling up Debbies's tally!  Sandy is the creative genius behind Pieces From My Heart and designs many fun fabrics for Moda.  Plus, she's a grad of the famous Jackson High School class of '72 with my husband!

This stop at Starry Pines might have been the highlight of my day!  I talked with designer Connie Huddleston about the wool applique crazy quilt in the background of this picture, and I decided to take it on as a block-of-the-month club for the store!  My fingers are itchin' for some wool stitchin'!

Here's another find for all of you embroiderers!  Pictured above is Pretty Princess of Pretty P and Mama B.  What a cute gal!  And cute designs!

Jon and Jerry of CleoAndMe were minding the store while the womenfolk were away--and managed to sell us a few patterns!  More hand embroidery, of course!

That's only a partial recap of our Saturday, it was a productive and fun time for us and so many nice people in the convention center.  Can't wait to get home and unpack all of our goodies.  A lot of the time, especially when we have the convenience of driving, we are able to purchase and take home the patterns that we want.  A few have to be sent to us in the next few weeks.  A lot of the fabric that we order is due for delivery anytime from now to Christmas.  It is a challenge to stay focused on what we can imagine that our customers will like and what we can reasonably expect to use for store samples and classes.  It is so easy to imagine that every fun quilt or design is something that we can either make ourselves or involve other teachers/employees to make for the store.  Kind of like that old saying "the eyes are bigger than the stomach" and we all know how that ends!  In this case, the eyes might be bigger than the time available to do it all!

International Quilt Market continued

Shopping for Bear Patch is a tough job, but somebody has to do it!  More pictures of our findings for our great customers--

Laurel and Debbie with Marilyn Forman, the genius behind great patterns from Quilt Moments.  Another fabulous MN designer, that quilt in the background will be popping up at the shop sometime soon if Laurel can just get a few minutes at her machine!  Watch for it on a future class list.

Rick Rasmussen is a super sales rep for Norhtcott Fabric.  He tempted us with many lovely choices, and we couldn't resist this darling childrens' line Robotex.  Looks like another quilt for my #1 grandson!

Laurel with Gudrun E. of GE Designs.  This one's for you, Anne!

Here I am with 2 lovely ladies from Whistlepig Creek, some of our favorite bag ladies!  They assist Sue so she can come up with more great designs.  That black and white one in the background is also made up in colors and was my personal favorite.

Bari J. designed a gorgeous line of fabric called Lilly Belle for Art Gallery Fabrics and it was too good to pass up.  Plus she was so welcoming and great to talk to about ideas for her fabric.

This is Fabiana, the Art Gallery Fabrics rep that helped us choose coordinates to go with the Lilly Belle fabrics.  She was so fun to work with because we could tell she really was excited about her work.  Don't you love it when you meet people like that?

We wrapped up the day with a stop at Buttermilk Basin to talk with Stacy West.  This one's for you, Kristina!  Another fabulous MN designer, I don't understand how she continues to produce more great ideas that make me want to gather up my wool and stitch.  Many of the samples displayed in her booth bear the mark of Kristina, a ghost stitcher for Stacy to get everything done.  And I have to admit my own little special interest in Stacy's patterns because she lets me do some quilting for her!

That sums up most of what we did on Day One, except for the pictures in Debbie's camera that we can't download yet.  More fun to come!

International Quilt Market 2012 in Kansas City - Day 1

Here we go....
entering the trade show floor.

Debbie and Terry of Atkinson Designs, signing up the store for Groovy Girls Mingle and Make event

Mary, Laurel and Debbie at the MH Designs booth

Mary's new paper piecing pattern -- Presents

Debbie and Kathy, the designer of Hemma Design patterns.

Laurel, Linda Hohag and Debbie.  Linda is the designer of Brandywine Design patterns.  Linda's new patterns/books for Wooly Critters and Dolly Playhouse are wonderful!

Laurel and Diana, designer of Pleasant Valley Creations.  We love her vibrant, colorful quilt patterns and currently have Double Diamond hanging in the shop for an upcoming class.

Emily Herrick of Crazy Old Ladies.  We purchased Geared For Guys, a book of 8 new patterns geared for the guys in your life.

Mary and Marianne Fons with Debbie.  We purchased the new Quilty magazine that they are publishing.  

We found a newbie, Lisa, with her fresh handbag designs and just had to purchase some of them because we can never have too many bags!  Her company is Around the Bobbin and she's from Minnesota!

This covers part of what we did today, there will be more coming soon but right now, the feet need to be elevated and time to relax!  And look over some of what we purchased and considered for purchase today!

Winner!

Kathy C. of New Hope is the winner of the Twin Cities Shop Hop prize from Bear Patch.  It is a set of sewing organizers and totes valued at over $200!  The bottom tote is wheeled and large enough for a machine.  The middle sized bag is great for packing projects, and the little bag is for all those small necessities that need to go along, and is already packed with goodies.    Kathy is ready to roll with this great combo.  Ask us about getting your own set of really great bags that will keep your machine safe and projects organized whenever you hit the road. 

So Many Choices

We have a wonderful front window display area in the store, and we love to fill it up with samples we have made.  This time, we decided to make use of several patterns that come from Villa Rosa Designs.  Almost all of them are available in kits, and they are easy to stitch up and make a wonderful present for friends, family, or maybe even yourself!  Because they are mostly a lap quilt size, they are very affordable to put together.  We used some great fabric groups to make them up, but they could easily be made from any selection that you choose.  One big draw for these patterns is that they are only $2.25 each, so you can make a whole library of these little gems!

Wonderful Wool

 We have Mary Mittelstadt from Prior Lake visiting our store today and displaying her awesome designs for wool applique.  These designs really caught our attentions from the get-go.  They have a slightly different flair and style from the norm.  Mary has sewn and quilted before, but has developed a love of wool that is very obvious.  These are done by hand, and some incorporate tiny beads and/or metallic threads for an accent. 

 

 Mary's patterns are very well-written and thorough, teaching some of the basics of wool applique if you haven't done it before.  Her background as a teacher means she is good with directions!

We will have her patterns in stock, there are several more than those pictured here.  Please stop in and check them out and support another great local designer!