I had my very own random generator, pick a winner. Her name is Susan Stiff, so blame her if you didn’t win, hug her if you did. She drew 2 names from the hopper.
The winner is ……………………..opps I mean the winners are John from Cary,North Carolina and
She Sews and Scraps. Send me your shiping addresses. Thanks!Enjoy!
I will be at QUILT MARKET very soon. I will Tweet, blog, facebook and have a wonderful time. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.
Just in case you have not checked them out, read sandy gervais’s blog for a behind the scenes look at her getting the quilts done for Market.
And check out what all is happening over at Sweetwater.
For those of you that do not know this, quilt Market is 2 weeks earlier this year. In the long run this will be a good thing but in the meantime I think it is STRESSING out a few people. I have been reading designers blogs who are designing, writing, sewing, stressing. Seriously, there is not enough Chocolate or Pizza to go around this time of year. Don’t believe me, just read Sandy Gervais blog. This time of year is like Christmas, you can’t change the date. It is coming no matter what. The only thing that is stopping it is the deadline. If Market was later, we would all try and do more and more and more. Look at it this way… now there will be more time between Market, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. (Opps didn’t mean to stress you out more !)
The girls are going to kill me but I have done this any way. DISCLAIMER: It is Saturday here, No makeup and they did not know what I was going to do with these pictures. I think they will be tooooooo busy to sign on to the computer until after Market. Here is the tutorial: When you read this you MUST follow along and do it.!
STEP 1: RAISE YOUR RIGHT ARM STRAIGHT UP IN THE AIR
Mariza and Esperanna- Sample DeptCarolyn- Queen of everythingSTEP 2: BEND YOUR ARM BACK AND TOUCH YOUR LEFT SHOULDER.Eladia and Outlaw-Sampling and book and pattern buyerSTEP 3: PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK! GREAT JOB EVERYONE!(are you following along? Stand up and pat your self on the back. This is a tutorial you can do right now. Do it!)Sorry Outlaw but I had to use this picture. Outlaw always shuts her eyes in pictures so I clicked the camera quick to try and get her. PRICELESS!Pat someone else on the back, then laugh and have some fun! Okay back to work!!
Taking inspiration from the fresh smell of clothes hung on the line the entire moda booth was designed as an outdoor clothesline. Every detail from the market invitation to the clothespin bag signs shined in the brightly lite Pittsburgh convention center. The natural light was a little overwhelming in the morning, but I guess you could say the future is bright with moda. If your salesperson comes home with a tan you can certainly see why by this picture. (quilts shown- Close to my heart tablerunner & quilt by Laundry Basket, Aster Manor by 3 sisters, Blessings by Brannock & Patek)Sandy Gervais from Pieces from my Heart always has an adorable booth. Her entire booth was recreated as a Thanksgiving dinner. The quilt shown here is a turnover quilt featuring her Gobble, Gobble line of fabric due in stores in August. Great, quick easy project because using the turnovers all the triangles are already cut for you. Sew them together and applique the turkey!Sandy covered her pans with a piece of her fabric. She said she couldn’t cook anything since she packed her pans to use in the booth.
It was hard to walk past her booth without getting hungry. What a great idea for a store display! Moda Jelly Rolls for the big feast!
A quilt that was in the United Notions booth that I loved is this quilt from Lori at Bee in my Bonnet.
This picture does not due the quilt justice. There is so much detail that every where you look there is something else that makes you smile. More pictures coming soon…….
Due to the limited flights and travel time from Dallas we actually came in a day earlier than normal. This gave us a day to relax and get situated in Pittsburgh. We met some local musicans. We went into a local dining spot and there she was…the queen of market, Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill. We knew we had to be in the right place.
Of course we had to get our Market energy.Here is a before picture. Looks simple, right? We have put down almost 4o00 sq ft of flooring. We got alot more down today but I did not get many pictures. Afterall I had to stay focused on my actual job. I promise I will take more pictures tomorrow.If you have never seen what set-up is all about. It is ALOT of work. If you don’t believe me just look how hard Joanna from Fig Tree is working. You thought she just did pretty fabrics and patterns! Her booth is going to be beautiful, I think. ( her new fabric is laying on the table)Wish you were here,
Here I am at quilt market. 2 days of set up, 3 days of show and 4 hours to take it all down. Tell me what you would like for me to blog about while I am here.?
Hello to all,
I learned something about blogger. If you make a post and save it to be posted at another time, it doesn’t work like that. It was a tie between Alesiha and Another Amy with both guessing 987. The number is 985. I guess officially Another Amy is the winner because her guess came in first. (Aleshia I will send you something for second place)
Working hard on fantastic new stuff for Quilt Market. The new things will be avavilable in Stores beginning September. Check some of the things out by going to the moda designers blogs listed in my side bar.
I thought I could at least show you a sneek peek of 2 of the projects i am working on. When it is quilt market time we tag team on alot of projects. I think one of the quilts has about 6 different people working on it. I wish i could tell you more but the shops get to see it first in Pittsburgh. Check out the moda designers blogs!I maybe posting a few twitters bits of info as the countdown to market continues.
The retreat was not in Vegas but in Bennigton, KS at Lynne Hagmeier’s. No pictures can do the place justice. It should be on the National Museum register. It should also be featured in all decorating and collecting magazines. INCREDIBLE! (we all said, “How does she dust?”)
Some information does stay at the retreat………….. How much food we ate….Any of our new boyfriends…………………………Any discussions of politics or religion………….. So some of the stuff I can talk about.
Why does it take 14 hours for an 8 hour road trip?
Well, first stop and first credit card swipe was Oklahoma City Quiltworks. Love this shop! I can always find something different here. (thank goodness the many antique shops did not open until 10:30 or else we would have turned it into an 18 hour road trip.)Another “A-word” Antiquing. In Wichita, KS at Paramount Antique Antique Mall, there were only 3 of us, but it is still a race to get inside to the treasures. We pushed on to arrive in Bennington in the dark. I live in Dallas so driving dark country roads with no signs was an adventure also. The retreat officially began. Lots of laughing and visiting by all. Day 1: Imagine shopping with Sandy Gervais of Pieces from my Heart, Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs, Amy Bradley of Amy Bradley Designs,Sandy Klop of American Jane, Barb and Mary of Me & My Sister, Terry Thompson of Peace Creek, Laurie Simpson of Minick & Simpson, Jan Patek of Jan Patek Quilts, Barbara Brackman (check out her new blog-post a comment and tell her I sent you) and of course our hostess, Lynne Hagmeier. Yes it was heaven. Sandy Klop was shopping for props for her booth at market with scads of suggestions by all of us. (secret!?) By the last day we were all shopping for each other. Through the power of technology, we actually did some shopping for some of the designers that were not there. Take a picture, send it to them…you want it or not? This group is just that kind of crew, always looking out for each other and willing to help spend each others $$.DAY 2: More shopping. Oh, did you think retreat meant we would be sewing?
We also hit any quilt shop in our tracks. The Quilting Bee in Salina, KS had a display of Lynne’s fabrics so I couldn’t resist making Lynne strike a pose. (you know they all hate me taking pictures-Thank you, Lynne) We played games. Read all about it on Laurie’s blog. We ate lunch in Abilene, KS at Mr. K’s Farmhouse Restaurant. Ed and June Kuntz
welcomed us. (June is a quilter and Ed could talk quilt.) Ed took our picture and asked us to say “muslin” instead of cheese. He won us over! Alma is holding a jar of their homemade salad dressing. All the pie boxes are hidden. Go to their site to read the history, salivate over the menu and learn more about President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Abilene. Material Girls Quilt Shop was closed by the time we got there, boo hiss. Maybe next time. I even found an outfit to wear to Market. What do you think? Flats or heels?
I am so energized by all the talent, creativity and knowledge that was shared. I could go on and on about my 3 days in Kansas but that is it for now. Oh ya, road trip home, 9 hours, only 1 detour and 1 speeding ticket scare. Whew! He got someone else. We were already trying to figure if we could talk him out of a ticket with moda fabrics.
Here is the pincushion that goes with the bookazine giveaway listed below!!
Okay, who is hungry? for projects to use the moda precuts that is. A beautiful book by Edie McGinnis from Kansas City Star is hitting the shelves. KCS has been so kind to let me share with you an excerpt of the book making it one of my favorites.YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY! Another of my favorite things is the new Bags, Pillows and Pincushions issue from American Patchwork & Quilting. It is a BOOKAZINE. What is that? A book and a magazine morphed into one. Who doesn’t want that? Leave me a comment here about your favorite project on the Moda Bake Shop and you will be entered in a drawing for this bookazine and a Big & Bold pincushion made by yours truly- me. Designed by Jill Abeloe Mead. I am also making the Wool & Whimsy pincushion by Roseann Meehan Kermes but I am keeping it for myself. (I will post a picture of the pincushion as soon as I get my camera fixed. Drawing this weekend.)
Another one of my favorite things is the new book I received in the mail. Wonderful eye candy for any quilter.
A Beautiful book by Gwen Marston. Photographed by my friend Gregory Case. Each of the quilts are beautifully photographed full size as well as a close up to show detail.
I am thinking the bella solids would be wonderful for any of these.
We have been honored to have Gregory take pictures of the moda booth during quilt market. Can you imagine trying to gather all these people to get in 1 picture? Well Gregory did with a little help from Elena and myself. (I am hiding in the very back)
A small part of the special people that bring moda to you!!
They are my very Favorite things (except my family) Oops gotta go.. Bachelor is on.
The funny thing about Market is that no one seems to talk about what happens before or after. I guess that is due to how fun the during is! I can compare it to is childbirth. Ya, it is fun making “them”, but then you have stretch marks, lack of sleep, poopy diapers…..need I say more?
I thought I would show you some of the after pictures of our booth area. (thanks, Jen) I was glad she did not have her camera when I was stuck on the crate full of uprights and table covers! Once the salesmen have gone! the quilts are taken down!
A very clean shot of the area……………the trashy side is out of picture range
The moda crates. We pack and ship 2- 18 wheelers full of TREASURES! 110 chairs and chaircovers, 40 some odd tables, water and snacks to make sure our salesreps are nourished. Sometimes we don’t even let them go to the bathroom. (Note to self: Pack an outhouse to go behind the uprights)
Some of the quilt samples ready to be packed up!
The most amazing thing about it all is………… it takes us 2 very long days to set it up and less than four hours to take it down. This year we had some help from our Australian friends, Patrickand Shane, so we finished in record time, 2 hours and 45 minutes. Kuddos to the crew…..you know who you are!!
I use to be obsessed about winning a prize for the best booth but I soon learned to it hard to keep a neat, cute booth with 40 salespeople with 40 trash cans!! Imagine 40 people in your house for a weekend. Opps that makes me think of the upcoming Thanksgiving at my house!
So officially I give myself a prize according to the following:
Did all “the kids” get along?
Did anyone have to go to the hospital? we were close this time only 1 wheelchair was involved but no ambulance. thank you nurse, Amy
The salesforce of moda fabrics arrived at the Dallas offices for meetings before Quilt Market began. The sales force was divided into 3 SEWORITES. Well that is where the fun and games began. This is quite a competitive crew and we did not know what the sewority moms Amy Matheny, Kathy Bauer and Debbie Duckworth had in store. It was no time at all when the Beta Omega Ombres (BOO) pulled out of their bags “Togas” made from moda muslin or the hotel sheets. Couldn’t tell for sure. This left the two other seworites with some work to do. The Lambda Lambda Wools tried to remain above it all, but we soon saw signs all over the offices and warehouse BAAAAHHH! The Delta Delta Dotties (DDD) as know in their college days were a feisty bunch. However, BOO quickly took over any innocent bystander. Our fearless leader, Mark Dunn had been toga-ed by the Ombres. He took their shenanigans all in stride.
The salesforce had a day full of classes just like we do when we have a moda U retreat for shop owners. The highlight was the sales team sewing their Sweet Treat Bags. Several of the office staff demoed the newest notions and gadgets. They also had classes on many of the continuing advances in technology. Angela Yosten showed everyone all the added patterns and fabrics on Fabricmatcher. Pranks for each of the groups happened throughout the day. This was just day 1 of the meetings. They had not even seen all the new moda fabrics, quilts, books, patterns, and notions.
Al Lamborn and Ed Wilson study their instructions before they start sewing on their Purse. Later named, MEURSE (Man-Purse)Thank you to Mary Ann Yeager for supplying all the featherweight machines for the reps to sew on. I have heard through the grapevine that one of the reps has since taken up quilting. (Don’t worry John your secret is safe with me) Pat Roberts and Angela Worrell demo some of the new notions for Tom&Cindy Williams. Ron Wiggins and Jospeh Galza learn about Learn to Sew kits and paper hexagons from Jen McLean and Alison Scully.
Did I say I have the greatest job in the world? I do!