Thursday, October 27, 2011

Quilt Market Here I Come

Well, the time has come to pack my bag and head off to Quilt Market. In fact I'm leaving in less than an hour. I've already got the butterflies in my stomach (flying makes me nervous) but I am so excited! Can't wait to see what's new in the quilt world. I'm looking forward to connecting with various editors in order to cement our relationships.

This year I am attending as an up and coming fabric designer for Northcott. Along with my trusty sidekick Leslie. I will be attending my first Northcott Sales meeting and we'll have a designer dinner Saturday night. What fun -- I'm really excited to meet the other designers and get to know them.

Check back next week for my post-Quilt Market blog. If I get a chance, I'll try to add a blog while I'm there to tell you all about some of the things that are new, but I make no promises!

Ta Ta!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Strange Things Happen.....

I'm sitting here shaking my head at how crazy things are again. Just the other day, my Northcott design director told me that they decided to go with my second collection, Cocktails at Eight, instead of my first collection, Louetta's Garden due to the amount of 1930's and 1940's reproduction fabrics already out there. I'm fine with that -- I really love the Cocktails collection -- it's fun, fresh, and funky 1950's! So, okay, time to switch gears. This collection will launch in January 2012 and will be available in late spring/summer in quilt shops. I'm so excited about this -- I haven't been able to sleep for a couple days! Now I need to get the artwork done PRONTO, design some quilts, and then come up with another collection for my second collection. Hmmmmmm.

This week end I'm hoping to do some more fabric dyeing so that I have everything that I need for my upcoming fabric dyeing article in Quilter's World June 2012. Hopefully the weather will hold and will stay dry.

Last week end, I went to a fun indoor flea market and of course there was a quilt waiting there for me -- an ingido and white double irish chain in great condition, pretty much only needing a bath. I'm thinking circa 1915 or so.




I'm also trying to get everything ready (and into a carryon) for next week's Quilt Market in Houston. It's my second time going. My pal, Leslie, is going with me again and we're going to have an amazing time! Check back to read my Quilt Market blog(s) in a couple weeks!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

It's Fall!

Fall in finally here in NW PA. Sadly, the bad winds and rain today are knocking all the leaves off the trees! It's snowing leaves!

I'm still working hard on my two quilts for the House of White Birches book. I'm making headway, but still have lots to do. Here's a quick pic teaser for you!




Ta Ta for now!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Playing Catch Up / Orphan Quilt Update

Do you know the old saying, "When it rains, it pours?" Well, that pretty much sums up the last week or so for me. After I returned from my quilt vacation at Chautauqua, I made a list of items I wanted to make for people for Christmas. I even made some Pittsburgh Steelers pillow cases for my brother in law and I gathered up additional supplies that I would need for my special one of a kind Christmas gifts for my friends and family.

I was on a roll and getting ready to start my next holiday project when I received an email from Quilter's World magazine -- an acceptance for an article for the June 2012 issue. Super!

Then in the afternoon, I received another acceptance from Quiler's World -- this time for two quilts for an upcoming House of White Birches book! I was ecstatic, but there was a catch -- a deadline of Nov. 8th, which is only about four weeks away. Oh my!

Of course, I found all this out this past Monday and I had to work all day on Tuesday. I called one of my local quilt shops and begged them to stay open a little later so that I could get the fabric for one of the quilt projects so that I could get started that night. And they did! It took me about fiftenn minutes but when I walked out of the shop, I had the perfect fabrics for the first of the quilt projects and the perfect backing to boot! Let's hear it for our local quilt shops -- you wouldn't find that kind of service at a chain store, would you?

By the way, today is Friday and the first quilt top was DONE yesterday. That's three days, not too bad for a throw-sized quilt top, eh?

ORPHAN QUILT UPDATE:

A few blogs ago, I included a photo of Nancy's orphan quilt, which she made from blocks purchased at an antique shop. Well, Nancy emailed me back to say that she won a ribbon at the Fair! Well Done, Nancy!

Valerie sent me this photo of her orphan quilt -- sorry it's taken me so long to get this on the blog. The blocks were hand-pieced by her great grandmother. Great quilt, Val!




Recently, I also reconnected with a very dear quilt friend who moved to Colorado three years ago. She emailed me and then called me shortly thereafter. My friend, Dot told me a little bit about her home in the mountains -- she can see Pike's Pike from the potty in her upstairs bathroom! Anyway, she asked me for my mailing address because she said she had something for me. I figured that she might have come across some old blocks and thought of me.

A large box arrived the other day. Inside the box was a treasure trove of vintage fabrics, old blocks AND newer blocks, a pieced apron, a prairie hat, and even a few quilt tops. I was speechless. Completely. Just thinking about Dot makes me smile. She never was a quiet quilter -- always prefering red and orange and purple with a splash of lime green. It was Dot who taught me how to dye fabrics and got me hooked. I've really missed her a lot in the past several years. I'm so happy to reconnect with her.