OK So I just have to do a plug for this thread.

I am so excited about this thread….why? It’s FABULOUS!

I am not getting paid to plug this or anything…I just like sharing when I find something new.

My friend Char in OK…sent me a bit of a cone she had left. Told me to try it out because she really loves it. It’s embroidery thread….but she uses it for piecing in her DSM and also in her INNOVA. She swears by it….it’s pretty much all she uses.

So I thought …”sure…I’ll check it out.”

I am a fan of glide thread…I have only been using it on my own quilts because it has a really soft sparkly sheen to it…and I was preserving it. I don’t get much access other than on-line and shows. So Char assured me I would love Metro thread..same effect but a fraction of the cost.

Per Char’s instructions..I tightened the tension on the top, loosened my bobbin and it ran like a dream. The particular color she sent me looked like a gold metallic without any of the metallic thread issues. I really *heart* that!

So I placed a HUGE order…it arrived this week. But I wanted to share because I know many people are always inquiring about different threads…..I think this is really the best buy you can get. They have pretty regular sales..and the big cones are 5000 meters..which is pretty huge….so you get lots for your money!

So for you longarmers…I would suggest you try this thread…..and this week they have another special….you can link up here!

great price, great thread!

Blessings

C

I should be out of the funk…but i seem to always be that way when i get home from any trip. I always need a few days of recovery. Fun or not. It’s the way I am. It makes it hard to leave home because I know I am this way. I had several bargello panels made up when I left….I had made one of them but not both of them…..so I finished up the second center last night. Now I just need to put borders on both of them. Borders are not my favorite thing to do..and instead of torture myself I decided to wait until I could muster up the  ambition to get them done. I also have several bindings I need to get finished up…I don’t have that much time to get my Haiti money in…so i need to get crackin.  If any of you want raffle tickets for my raffle quilt…drawing is june first…tickets 1$

Last week I made a spur of the moment purchase..Did I need it? no.  But it just made smile so I bought it.

There is a line of fabric …I bought it at my Local Quilt Shop , The Fabric Patch. They have yardage and the panel.

It is so funny!

I made a quilt…it’s all Moda, Keep it Sassy….except the news print is by timeless treasures which my shop also has. I used some FQ’s to frame in the panels. I got some close up pics so you can see the funny sayings.

This is my favorite one

Here are some of the fabrics:

Isn’t that hilarious?

I am also using the fabric for the backing…..if you want this fabric..my shop has plenty( as of last week anyway) and i think they do flat rate shipping. I just thought I would share….I hope you all get a smile out of it too!

Honestly it was the reason I took out my camera…..I loved her embroidered wall.

Sometimes I took pictures just because I liked the colors.

Or an Idea:

Loved this luggage!

Loved the simplicity of this…and the colors.

I got a picture of this booth because I follow Jeni Bakers blog and wanted to capture it….she is sweet….I told her she didn’t have to be in the picture..cause none of us really like being in the pic.

I took a picture of this quilt because i liked it…there is no pattern yet… she hasn’t even finished it…but i think it represents many of us quilters..we always have UFO’s and we share them anyway.

Sometimes its just something that makes you happy when you see it.

I also wanted a reminder of a book I wanted to get because I loved all of her projects….It’s a Christmas book….in a modern style. very cute!

I took this because I loved her booth….and my shop doesn’t ever order her fabric. she also won a ribbon…beautiful!

I took this picture for quilty inspiration..isn’t it cute?

and also this one:

and this one:

I saw this design on several and thought I should capture because i really loved the movement it created…but I have no idea who actually quilted them? I just wanted to save it for when I can actually try the design myself….I would totally give credit where credit is due…

There were plenty of traditional booths…but it seems my local shop gravitates towards that alot….and so do many other shops…..naturally my eye is going to gravitate towards bright, fresh, fun and modern type booths and fabrics.

Please leave a comment on this post and I will draw a winner for lots of prizes I got at market! Tell me what your favorite style is?

Tula Pink.

I went to a school house class of hers..and got a sneak peak of her quilts. I have to say she is HILARIOUS! Some school house classes were “YAWNERS” So much in fact it made me think of those medical insurance meetings I used to have to attend a lifetime ago when I billed medical insurance for a living. Can we say painful?…I don’t think anyone can say that about Tula.  Tula was funny, energetic and nice.  I am just sure she would fit in with me and my girlfriends….
She isn’t like some of the others…she has tats and kind of the edgy style of dress. Which I think makes her real. I love real. She isn’t changing herself to appeal to anyone. 

The funny thing is that my friend Sabrina….who I think is one of my biggest fans…thought Tula should know who I was..and introduced Tula to me. My face was bright red..and I tried to explain to Sabrina ( she is so sweet) that I am a nobody. LOL   But Sab just knows how I adore Tula’s books and fabs….so she just wanted her to know…I suppose?

Do you all have Tula’s new book? 100 Modern quilt blocks? I have news on this later…..stay tuned.

I also absolutely ADORE Angela Walters..as many of you know..and also adore her. She is down to earth…just like us. She is also willing to share and help anyone around her. which is a true definition of success. I was just going to look in her booth and see her new line and look at her wonderful quilting…..she recognized me and gave me a wonderful hug! I went back to her booth the next day for some ink….LOL. She was drawing ( with marker) quilting designs on people….it was fun.

I am not a real fan of having my photo taken….or shared…but I am showing this one..cause well ..I need to get over it. LOL Do you like my pink streaks? Pretty wild for a girl like me…? That’s the best it’s gonna get. I can’t see myself wearing leather or tats….but hair…heh…it washes out.

This was Camille Roskelly’s booth. I couldn’t talk to her..she always seemed busy and I didn’t want to interrupt. See how weird I am…..isn’t that why they are there?

SO there are a few of the many people who are there. The people that inspire us..and create beautiful things so we can turn them into beautiful things…and gift beautiful things. It’s amazing that so many gifted, talented people can be in one area. And to think I get to be a part of it…I get to surround myself with this everyday rather than medical claims..Can I get an AMEN?!!!

Anyway…..I don’t even know where to start really?

Friday was the first day of market. Thursday night before market starts they have “Sample Spree” We pay 15$ to stand in line for several hours before sample spree. ( for the record I did not do that…I opted to have dinner at Red Robin instead….I just love their fries) I showed up about 20 minutes before they opened the doors to sample spree and waited out of line…it’s INSANE! These People ( mostly Women) RUN into the venue to find their wanted items. Sample spree is basically where several vendors set up booths and sell samples of their products so that shop owners can go home with a snipet of fabric and patterns…at wholesale ( no minimum order) so they can make a sample or show off the product. The only table that I did not see was the Moda table because it was push and shove only…I am not an aggressive person and buying fabric was not that important to me. My shop always buys moda..so I know I will see it eventually….who cares if I have to pay full price anyway..it’s only pre-cuts and I am not a huge pre-cut fan. I prefer yardage. All of the other tables were perfectly fine and there was no scramble to get in and get what you wanted. I liked the Lecien table and the Art gallery table. The prices were good….I got a bundle of half yard cuts from Angela Walter’s line called “Textures”….but her new line is not yet available…but her new line is called “Legacy”.. it is just as beautiful. There were several bundles of other fabrics I really liked…and Art gallery fabric feels so nice…it’s hard to pass up….but I was trying to have restraint..cause fabric isn’t really what I need. At the Lecien table I bought a fat quarter pack of a line called “Sugar”. My shop rarely carries this brand of fabric..and I love most of their fabs. So I thought if I really wanted it..I should get it. They gave me a really cute bag to go with it. 

But do I think I “need” to go to sample spree? Probably not..I think it’s a mad house and I am not all that excited about fighting people off. So I think it’s perfectly fine to go in after the crowd has died down a bit. I also won’t wait in a line for 5 hours to get inside..that’s just craziness.

Friday I walked through the market.. it was set up kind of funny. Many people were not crazy about the set up…we kept getting disoriented. They usually have everything lined up the same…and give several regulars the same booth numbers..ect. This year they didn’t. It was set up in kind of an L shape. Several exits and entrances…and confusing.

I didn’t make any purchases this day…..that I can think of? Oh yes I did. I bought this line of fabrics:

OMGOODNESS! this fabric is so cute! They had the cutest patterns to use them but had sold out…..Mike got one of them..so he is going to send me the pattern ( when he’s finished…also I will probably be the one to quilt his quilt…so pics will be coming…someday.)….and you all will just die it’s super cute!  I also bought a beautiful scarf from this company. But I thought I would show that price tag ..so if you wanted to visit them on Fb or their site you could have the info. Here is a link to their blog. (p.s. I got them all half price….wholesale! YAY!)

The quilts on display for a quilt show..was not huge…..it didn’t take long to go through at all. I didn’t even take pictures of my most favorite? I think I was distracted by looking at them. ? I am not sure? But here are a few:

Then this one: All pieced and quilted by hand…amazing work!

I loved the colors in this one…especially the purple sky.

This next one is STUNNING!

There were several others….that is just a bit.

We finished off this night at Chang’s Mongolian grill. Faith, Roger and Angela met us for dinner …we had a great time and ate plenty of food. We went back to Faith’s house for lots of sharing and sorting. I will be back tomorrow to share what I did on Saturday…..It was a much more exciting day!

Blessings

C

I have so much to share…so I think I should start from the beginning….my LQS ( The Fabric Patch) goes to market once each year..if Spring is on the west coast they go n Spring…Fall market is always in Houston…so if Spring market is on the East coast they go in fall.

Cindi and Brianna are always very busy because they have to methodically go through market finding the newest treasure or technique to bring to the shop. They also have several appointments with their reps so they can place their orders. They go off on their own. But as a perk their employees can go and just see the market. In my group I went with Cindi, Brianna, Mike, and Sabrina. We all work for the shop…I am the quilter. So I don’t get to do any shopping……which is nice because I am free to do what I want. I really wanted to see the quilts and meet some famous designers. See all the new lines because I tend to keep up on fabric designers ( which was a funny thing at market because I think I may be the only one in my group who does that?)

So we arrived Wednesday night ( drove 5-6 hours) and went on a dinner cruise with the Fab Shop. Cindi is part of the Fab Shop network and they do tons of door prizes, Cindi actually won a basket of goodies that night…which was fun!  We had a nice dinner and cruised the waterfront…looking at dream houses that we will never be able to afford.

We actually  to Faith’s house ( before the cruise). I met Faith on the QB…..well kind of…we chatted a few times..but I really met her and her group at the Pacific Northwest quilt show last year when I had a booth. She offered to host us and I have to say she was the “hostess with the mostest.” When we arrived she had made appetizers for us…YUMMY! Her marinated shrimp was EXCELLENT! WOW! Her husband, Roger was a good sport to have us “Quilt Invaders” ..we kept them up late and laughed lots. I can’t forget to mention their 3 pound dog named Cujo..who had quite the fan club….all of us adored him. It was a mutual love.

Thursday was a day of classes. While the vendors are setting up on Thursday..they all host a series called School House. So we all sat and planned our schedules..divide and conquer was the name of the game. We all tried to take different classes..so we could meet at the end of the day and discuss new ideas, techniques and fabrics. Hear the latest. All geared towards Shop owners…of course.  I went to a few geared towards machine embroidery because that is a new feature at my LQS (and for me)…I went to an omnigrid class for a ruler demo( got a free ruler..yahoo!) But when there was a class offered for a meet and greet type of thing…if I was able to go I wanted to go for some of my favorite designers. Amy Butler, Tula Pink, Robyn Pandolph, Jinny Beyer….and a few others.

I have to say I am not one of those gushy fans. I don’t really go out of my way…..I would say Amy is my MOST favorite fabric designer on Earth…she always has been ..since I picked up a magazine and saw her fabric. I took her school house class…didn’t stop and ask for her autograph…she also had meets and greets in her booth….I didn’t go. I wouldn’t know what to say..I don’t want to seem crazy or anything..so I just observe from a distance. I have to tell you she is REALLY nice. Sweet and real. I love that she is that way and it makes me love her more. I don’t want to be a fan of someone who is mean or fake. I won’t support that kind of person. So I am REALLY glad she is nice and down to earth. Otherwise I might have to dump my 1000 yards of fabric …that’s a bad thing. She didn’t have a booth this year on her own…it was her first time having just a section in the Westminster booth….but she was there with her little section. I didn’t even get a picture..because I felt I couldn’t invade on her..isn’t that strange? I did for many others….but for some reason I couldn’t take a step into the booth. I am weird.

Anyway Friday was the first day of market….I took my camera that day…and that was the only day. When you are there you have so much to carry it became uncomfortable…so I quit taking a bag and everything in….to be free. But I do have plenty of pics….to share. I have to get ready for my lunch date…so I will make another post later….

But I wanted to to a GIVE away!!!!!!!!

I have this Journal….I bought it at the E.E. Schenk Warehouse..I will tell you about the experience….WOW!

I just feel in love with it….and bought several….so I thought I would start my give -aways with this…since I will be journaling my trip on here…you may need one for a special trip …sketches or memories.

Not only is there blank pages for writings and drawings there is also graph paper…..the cover is embroidered..which is what made me fall in love with it.

How sweet…right?

So all you have to do is tell me…Who is your favorite fabric designer? If you don’t have one…tell me your favorite line of fabric( I can probably tell you who the designer is..LOL) or your favorite quilt pattern…..leave a comment and I will pick a winner for all my GIVE aways this Friday! I have several things to giveaway..I still have to go through my pile of goodies..but here is a peak!

I made one quilt from Amy’s scraps to send to her for her birthday that year…I had also pieced the back from those cuts of fabrics..cause she didn’t have all that many scraps. She sent cuts of fabric..and maybe a few small scraps..nothing to difficult. There wasn’t all that much left after I made her quilt…..I had lots of ideas..but I had been in a whirlwind during that first year. CRAZY!

So when I came up with the scrappy trade game..I thought I would send out her box of scraps with binding tape rolls and see what we could get done. Diane did a wonderful job using them! There is hardly anything left! She did a great job! Better than anything I would have come up with!  I am always impressed by you ladies!

I know one is a string quilt…I don’t the pattern name of the other one. Amy’s birthday just passed…so I say better late than Never! She has a birthday box arriving anytime! With these two lovelies in there!

Thanks Diane for helping me be successful! Thanks Amy so always being so supportive! I still owe you some LAQ! so send some quilts along!

I hope you all have great friends to share this life with! Cause I sure do!

Blessings!

C

All Kaffe——-drool!

You know how I feel about his Fabs…..heart palpitations! I am hoping I find lots of stuff while at market.

Anyway I quilted this in my typical style of curved log cabins. These last two quilts are for the same person…and this is her first time bringing me quilts…so although I have used this design before it won’t bother her because …”if it ain’t broke…don’t fix it’ Right? If I made one for myself this is how I would quilt it… I always think that’s a pretty good gauge for someone who doesn’t know what they want already.

I quilted feathers in the burgundy color..& swirls in all the bright Kaffe pathways. Awe! brings such life to the quilt *heart*

Thanks Delores! Love this quilt…you can always leave it with me if you like?

Delores is a local quilter here…and she owns her own Innova…but says that I am so far ahead of her ( skillwise) that she wants me to quilt her special quilts for her. She was actually working at the shop when I started working there all those years ago…..:)

I know God gave me this gift.

Anyway she made this fabulous quilt for her sister as a gift. I used metro thread for the first time on this quilt. I heard about it from my friend Char….apparently it’s embroidery thread..but it’s really shiny and can be used for piecing and long arm quilting. So i thought I would try it out. she sent me part of a spool in her favorite color and it honestly looks like gold metallic thread…but it behaves so much better in my long arm. I can use metallic thread..but I have to make lots of adjustments and  i will only buy superior. But this stuff is now a new love of mine! WOW! Who needs metallic threads anymore? I can use this is several colors and have all types of metallics and a FRACTION of the cost of other metallics. That’s what I love about the quilting community…for the most part all of us are nice to each other and we are willing to share our “secrets’ and help one another out.    I fele that way anyway..I am always willing to share info and insight when asked.

Delores did a great job on her piecing and choice of fabrics. It was easy for me to come in and finish this and bring out all of her work. Love it!

Thanks D! It’s a pleasure working with you!

Blessings

Bev asked that I quilt this but not quilt over the appliques. she needle turn appliqued all of these…and I don’t blame her for wanting them left alone. I wonder if this is a Bunny hill Pattern? I am not sure? It looks like it could be? But I love the ribbons in the corners..& the stork! He’s so adorable! Bev did a great job! It’s a beauty! I echoed around every other design and then filled in different design in the opposite squares. I quilted loops,& charisma curls. I just wanted to give some life to this quilt…it’s a perfect gift!

Thanks Beverly! It’s a pleasure working with you! Have a great show!

Blessings

C