Market 3

Every path has its puddle. - English proverb

We are looking at Spring Market in the rear view mirror. I don't quite know how to explain this market. It was fantastic for the Sliver Thimble Quilt Co.but we were not sure at times how it all would turn out. We were slammed busy at times and other times we were not so busy, in the end we had great sucess!! We loved our booth, we loved our new designs, we loved the people we met and treasure the old friends that faithfully visit us each market. THANK YOU SALT LAKE CITY for your hospitality.

We had some real stars in the booth!!! Jan Patek loved our stuff and was such a sweetheart. She has a killer book coming out soon COUNTRY QUILTS FOR YOUR SOUL? published by the Quiltmania folks. What a treat her visit was...I will be purchasing that book for sure.


Connie and Mary from Country Threads. Two more outstanding friends who are absolutely INDUSTRY TRAIL BLAZERS. It has been my pleasure to call them friends!


We all owe a debt to the above ladies. I have more photos of friends and quilts but frankly I cannot look at current day quilting and the future of the quilt industry without acknowledging these ladies. The fact they loved my work, and spent time in my little corner of the world was more than wonderful to me.

New Technique

Here we go..brace yourself!

 This is Karin. She is contemplating  telling me that she has a new technique to reveal to me (and others). She is not a person who loves applique. So what did Karin do? She signed up at Sweet Home Quilt Co. to be a part of their Comfort & Joy Block of the Month...you guessed it. Our pattern which includes applique.
Insert lovely photo of most excellent quilt...below!

Karin decides she will tell me about STAPLIQUE' a new technique for applique which involves the use of a stapler as a means of attaching applique motifs to a block. Yes people you heard me right! STAPLIQUE'.

 

After I was revived and the paramedics had left the building I began to think about the rest of 2011. This BOM runs through early Fall. Do you think I can hide from you know who until then? Eric Rudolf hid in the Smoky Mountains for years. I could find out about that, and make a run for it. No, that would involve sleeping in a cave and I'm kind of a Ritz Carlton sort of girl. And I really can't eat beans from a can for months on end.

Staplique' maybe she is on to something here. Maybe this would open up a new market for my patterns.

NAHHH...NOPE...ABSOLUTELY NOT. 

I talked to Karin, I appealed to her love of sewing. Encouraging her to take up the needle. Respect our quilting ancestors. I talked to her about sewing,reflecting on life, and the joy that comes with the quiet solitude of hand work.

This was her reaction...she mocked me. She mocked me in front of 30 other people. Not only that... she told me that she was going to go to Office Depot and see if she could buy an "air gun stapler" and that she was going to do RAW EDGE SPAPLIQUE'.

I'm leaving...retiring from teaching quilt classes. That is it! I can't take it anymore. Karin is in charge now! The Smoky Mountains can't be that bad.

Standing

 Love the moment and the energy of the moment will spread beyond all boundaries.

-Corita Kent

I was working in my sewing room (studio, work room, woman cave, paradise, prison, creative heaven, creative hell... it is all of this and more!) .  I was squaring up some units and I snapped a couple of photos to illustrate something I talk about in my classes all the time. You probably know this but I'm going to show you something anyway. Why? Well because I'm tired of talking about being busy and how stressful Market preparations can be. I'll save that for later. When I'm even busier, more tired and more cranky.

Ok, so when you are cutting DO YOU STAND? OR DO YOU SIT? When you are cutting small segments (aka sub cutting) DO YOU STAND? OR DO YOU SIT? When you are squaring up blocks (please tell me you square up units and  blocks) DO YOU STAND OR DO YOU SIT? Here are a couple of photos I took of the process with some comments from my peanut gallery (studio, workroom, blah blah blah.)

EXHIBIT A: Photo taken of a half square triangle I was about to square up. Photo taken while sitting. See the shadow of my head (I'm a girl that really knows how to take a great photo).

 Exhibit B: Photo taken when STANDING...over the same unit.

Do you see the difference in PERSPECTIVE of the said unit?In Exhibit A the half square triangle looks rectangular, even tho it is closer in appearance. In Exhibit B the unit looks completely  SQUARE!  Standing makes a huge difference in PERSPECTIVE. This is why artists use EASELS. It is all about the perspective of the view of your piece. Good perspective = Accuracy.


Ok so maybe you can't stand for lengths of time. Try this, get a tall stool and prop the BUM on the stool and pull up to a lower table..At lease you will be OVER YOUR CUTTING and not at an angle. Standing is preferred but this is better than sitting low in a chair.


Believe it or not this can also apply to the sewing machine. (calm down, I'm not saying that we should stand at the sewing machine.) I do think it is helpful to sit as high as possible and pull that machine as close to you as you can. My friend Debbie actually sits on a stool at her sewing machine and looks down on her work. I should do this as I have more padding, (you know where), than Debbie does and could probably be quite comfortable. (I'll get back to you on that).


Class dismissed..Time for  RECESS.

Thimbles OH My!

 Be yourself! Who else is better qualified?

-Frank J. Giblin

April Thimbles met and was another convergence of amazing amounts of the funnest fun that ever was fun! Here is  the FACT straight from the head Thimble (that would be me). The show and tell that these chicks (my homage to Easter) provide is very bit as good as any guild! They just start whipping out the finished quilts and I cannot believe my eyes! You ALL will need to come to the burbs of Atlanta sometime when the THIMBLES ARE IN SESSION. Put off that trip to the Grand Canyon it can wait, it is just a bunch of Mountains and a river, you need to head to Atlanta!....we will not disappoint, I promise, cross my heart, stick a thimble in my eye!

Here is my evidence you may be the judge. (photo rich blog post from here..hope you have time to stick around and enjoy)

Ginny with her big bag. It is made from that new fabric that is laminated...it is jumbo. You can put a giant turkey in this bag!

Julie and her Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt. A mystery no longer. Sooper Doooper.

Juile's BOM. I just love Blue and Yellow. I just love blue and anything...but really I just love Julie!

Barb and her STRING,FLANNEL SHAGGY RAGGY QUILT (that was a mouth full!) She said that it was going to be her camping quilt. Camping...that is where she lost me!

 

Elaine and her lovely green and red. I think this quilt needed to be photographed closer. The air was sucked out of the room when she opened it up. It was sooo beautiful.

Karin and her big Twister, Lil Twister quilt. Karin will be getting her own special blog post in the coming days on another subject..stay tuned.

And the back of Karin's quilt. She is setting a trend with the Thimbles. She is now making Schnibble quilts and putting them on the backs of her quilts. Somebody needs to tell Carrie about this!

Another Twister quilt. Sarah's quilt, Sir Quilt Dude wants the quilt BAD. I will be making this quilt just so he will be happy. I'm all about happy you know.

Karin and her "Lilac Hill" quilt. If you are looking for this fabric line FORGET IT, Karin has purchase every piece of it. Isn't her quilt great? She will be getting another very special blog post from me on another subject..but I said that already.

Tricia and her trees. She is my SIL and I think she should hang this quilt on the wall in her great room. She looked at me like I was crazy. I stand by my opinion. Please tell her I'm right.

Tricia's heart quilt. After she hangs the above quilt in her great room she should give this quilt to me. (insert another dirty look from my SIL we love each other don't worry)

Fall Frolic, a quilt we made in our club...Cindi is behind the quilt. She is short.

Plaid Goose...another club kit quilt...and short Cindi behind the quilt again! Quilt is made with all plaid homespun fabrics. Very cuddly.

Gretchen and her completed Eventide quilt. Somebody needs to tell Carrie! This quilt is very huge and very wonderful. I wish I had been closer. I was running with my camera it went up and down fast.

 Gretchen's quilt made for her most beloved little niece Mackenzie.

Hmm I'm forgetting something. Who is behind that quilt? Me thinks it is Julie...!

Mary Agnes and her Homeward Bound Quilt. Many flying geese!

Mary Agnes and her bright baby quilt. Lucky baby!

Those are Sarah's Toes and that is Sarah's eagle quilt. Hand appliqued I might add!

And what would a Thimbles meeting be without a visit from Moda Man. He left Fat Quarter (girl friend) behind she was still in bed , also Bolt (dog) and Thimble (cat) they were playing in the scraps I guess. 

Check out these blogs with posts from others about this past weekend.  Becky, Brenda, Gretchen,Karmen

Back to work. Market = 3 weeks...HOLEY BUCKETS! Anxiety abounds.

I'm Fine

Her needlework both plain and ornamental was excellent, and she might have put a sewing machine to shame.  ~James Edward Austen-Leigh, about Jane Austen 

(oh how I love Jane Austen, Pat)

I am recovering from a serious case of jealously. I can't believe how much I wish I had gone to New York to see the "Quilts of Infinite Variety" exhibition.  The only relief I have gotten for my regret is... THERE IS AN AP FOR THAT!!!! Yes I have the photos in high def on my ipad...and the book is coming out so I'll just have to live with that and my regrets.

I'm wrapping up sewing for market this week. Loving the new stuff and can't wait to post some photos. As for today I wanted to share a personal story with a photo and explanation. 

This is my Son In Love..The baby he is holding is NOT my grand baby. Nope. My fabulous daughter sent me this very mean photo. I think she thought she might toy with my emotions. So mean!!!! and I did not raise my children to be mean!

Let me say that I am fine with the fact that Russ is holding this precious boy. I'm fine with the fact that I am not a grand mother.. I'm fine with the fact that I got two emails from dear friends with photos of their new grand babies. I'm just fine. Thrilled! Happy!!! for them... I'm just fine. In fact I'm so fine I think I'll just go buy baby gifts. Yes, that will be fun retail therapy in the baby department of Macy's. yup I'm just fine. 


In light of the jealous issue in paragraph #1 and the above baby talk..maybe I'm not so fine. I'll just stick to the market preparations I'm safe there. 

Tuesday Small Group

Veni, Vidi, Velcro.  I came, I saw, I stuck around.  ~Author Unknown

Yesterday was a lovely day of sewing with dear friends. It was my turn to host..we sat around the dining room table and talked non stop, laughed and stitched away..or at least a little. Just look at the table! What a bunch of stuff was piled up on my Easter table.  We had every quilt magazine, food, sewing stuff mixed with jelly beans and coffee. Here is my plate of salad with my little box of binding clips next to it on the left and a compote of cheese straws on the right a bottle of ranch dressing, poppyseed dressing and 10,000 other things.

All the way at the end of the table by Becky there are two jars of moisturizer beside her. Think of us as product testers!!!! HAVE MERCY Yes sireee, I sure do know how to set a pretty table!!!!My mother (aka Scarlett O'Hara is rolling over in heaven at my lack of southern etiquette)

And then there is this photo. I will make an attempt to explain. I'm chatting with Suzanne and she is talking away suggesting we all go to the beach (we all look extra special in bathing suits, I digress).  While she is talking to me she is kinda shoving that quilt between her legs (think of it as a built in quilt vise).  I started cracking up...which led to general mayhem from the group. I guess you can just run with your own imagination for the rest of the story. She did thrown two grapes at me for taking this picture.

 

I gotta go now, I better call Suz and apologize for this blog post. I really love her a lot. Nothing like good girl fun right?

The best ideas

I find I always have to write something on a steamed mirror.  

Elaine Dundy

This quote is so appropriate for me! Here is the crazy creative process at work in my world. The other day I was struggling with some borders for a new quilt design for spring market. (ok I can hear you whining cuz I'm not going to show the finished quilt to you right now! You know the drill). Back to our story.... I was in the shower scrub-a-dub-dub...Steamy shower glass. When BAM the idea for the borders came to me. I proceeded to draw the borders on the glass of the shower. I'M NOT KIDDING EITHER. The idea is now in fabric and I'm tickled pink with the look of the quilt! A couple of months ago the same thing happened in the shower with two fantastic ideas for new projects. Apparently I need to spend more time in the shower.