Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Market...

Market... What an exciting time... Having a fabric line was something I had hoped would come at some point mostly because of my art background...  And all that PLAY in fabric certainly gets one thinking about what kind of fabrics I like to use.   I'm so happy with the way they came out,and I can not wait for them to hit the stores... perhaps in about two months or so... I will certainly let you all know when they ship. So here is the booth for Newcastle fabrics.  QUILT MARKET is all about showing off all the new products in the industry... So,new books, fabrics, threads, patterns etc etc etc... You name it, if it is something you buy in a quilt shop, it's here at market, and shops are there to buy and order.

It's all about showing off what you got!  So,  our newest lines at Newcastle are what we were highlighting in our booth. Using our new Christmas line, Wishes as our starting point for inspiration, we made Christmas stockings from many of the lines, and ornaments from them as well.



Besides the booth, We have Schoolhouse presentations... MANY new products do these presentations that are either 15 minutes long or 30 minutes. About 20 of these go on, at one time, in various rooms, so shops can pop around from presentation to presentation to see what's new; Hearing about the items, see them up close, etc. etc... So...


I did one for my Fabric line, SONNET , showing off the new line, talking about it, how it came to be, inspiration...How I use it, show products made with it, give ideas how you can use it in your shop for classes.... etc.  rather like an infomerical!  I also was a part of the MODERN BABY book schoolhouse presentation for Martingale...


People fill up the room, goodies are given away for free, because we all love FREE! Samples are passed around, questions are asked etc. We have a raffle, and everyone moves on to the next...  It's fun too!



After I was done I popped in on Pat Sloan's Aurifil Schoolhouse, where she presented the quilt that was part of the 2012 Designer BOM project that I was included in... Which by the way, the blocks, pattern etc, are always online and available! (as are the other past projects) The top right block(below) was mine, I had MARCH... (click those BOLD links)

So now I'm home, and preparing for the end of the school year, and summer!  Our road trip to MN, and teaching in MN, IOWA, WI, and IL will keep me busy for the next couple weeks... Time will fly by, and I must get off my duff and get cracking...
Check my schedule HERE to see if I will be in your area... Come say hi!

Speaking of saying HI... Bill Volkening came by to say hi, as we are featured together as the DOUBLE KNIT TWINS.... Our collections of Double Knit quilts is featured in the newest issue of Generation Q magazine ( DO YOU HAVE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION? Love the magazine and it keeps getting better and better! LOVE IT! fun read, humorous and clever) this month. Now I know who I am often bidding against! LOL!  Super nice guy... You can tell we were already having way to much fun...

So, what else helps after market? the consumer telling their shops, (because we all need those LQshops!) to go buy our favorite products... magazines, threads, fabrics, books etc.... so if you see something you like, here or anywhere, be sure to tell your shops to carry these products... They also need to know what YOU want.

Me? I'd like more TIME please! LOL!
...and more double knit quilts too!  hehe!

Sunday, May 19, 2013

KICK OFF YOUR HEELS!

"When Crows Fly"

I meant to put up a "Bloggers quilt festival" quilt... But never got my quilt, quilted...
To busy with stuff, I guess...drat...
Oh well... This quilt, you may recall the story of how it went together, since it was quite recently! If you missed it, you can pop over HERE to read about it. It's definitely a favorite of the minute... Double edged love would probably be the other...

I'm  just home from Market...WIPED OUT....so I will KICK OFFMY HEELS!



TOMORROW!  Well, depending on when you read this....MONDAY!!!!
The KICK OFF YOUR HEELS auction starts!!!

Please buy these babies up! You know I love a  GREAT CAUSE!!!!

CLICK here for INFO
http://kickoffyourheelsfundraiser.blogspot.com/2013/05/kick-off-your-heels-let-fundraiser-begin.html?m=1



PLEASE GIVE THESE A GOOD HOME!  
"CRAZY 4 U" Shoes, By Victoria Findlay Wolfe

We're excited to tell you about how you can own a pair of art-full high heels,
 that benefit the women's heart wing of Cedar's Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles!  

The sale of the shoes will begin at 8:00 a.m. EST  Monday May 20, 2013 and will be 
available for purchase over the course of the week as follows:

Shoes can be purchased for $300 on  May 20 and 21, 2013 beginning at 8:00 a.m. EST
Shoes can be purchased for $200 on May 22 and 23, 2013 beginning at 8:00 a.m. EST
Shoes can be purchased for $100 on May 24 and 25, 2013 beginning at 8:00 a.m. EST

Click here to visit the website we set up so you can preview ALL the shoes before the 
sale begins.

Set your calendar alarms for Monday, May 20, 2013 and check out the website for your 
favorite pair of artisan made high heels!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

last minute things




visit Newcastle blog today!


Off to pack! Heading to Portland for Spring Quilt Market!



**********
Whose that chick with the double knit?

http://generationqmagazine.com/2013/05/packing-our-bags-for-portland-and-look-whats-in-em/

Do you have any double knit quilts, in your possession?

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Mother's day


My Mother's day was spent doing what I love!  I taught a class on 15 Minutes of PLAY!   A lovely day, and I came out all inspired by my students...

I wish this pic was in focus... Pink, oranges, mint purples... GORGEOUS... Now I want o go buy more of these colors to make something too!

Orange was definitely a color of choice today! It's funny how certain color are CATHCY!  This bird was inspired by  "My bird, Pierre" Quilt...I can't wait to see how she finishes it. ;-) It makes me smile!





Some Y seam PLAY happened as well.... SUCCESS!


It was a lovely Mother's day to be sewing...
Happy Mother's day to you!

Hope yours was lovely too!

Did you do anything special?


Cynthia Knapp! You won a copy of Marie's book!
CONGRATS!  ( I will email you)

Saturday, May 11, 2013

really?


Quilting is finally done on TINY DANCER... circa Jan 2012....
here's the OLD post on this journey....


Last night at about 6 pm, I decide I need to finish this quilt, Tiny Dancer,  that has been sitting here for over a year, basted, and ready to be quilted...  I did all the quilting up to a point, a bit that needed to be ripped out and redone...  this is at 9pm last night, of course... and do you think I can find the 4 new seam rippers I bought last week?

Can someone please tell me where they run off too?

12a.m. this morning, I did actually find a TINY seam ripper from QUILTCON, after I had used my sharp scissors to rip most of it out...  Of course, I could only find the COVER of  one of the new seam rippers....  I had just cleaned my studio, cutting table was clean... except for a 6" scrap of fabric I was saving for a later project....


 10 hours later, I found it.
Guess where it was? 
Under that 6" scrap of fabric, on the clean cutting table.



I'm sure you can relate right? Thanks Laurie for sending me the cartoon! I still have only found one of three.. but, oh well, the quilt is done... YAY!

So. Quilt backs...
Do you Piece your backs or
use a pretty piece across the entire thing?

And:
favorite seam ripper?

(my answer? a found one!)

Friday, May 10, 2013

A visit with Joe



HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

Last night Joe Cunningham, (who doesn't have a favorite color but he loves pink) came by the studio, and so I asked him if we could share a bit of our visit...  ;-)

Topic of the day?
OUR STASH... 

photo from Joe's website. go visit his blog and say hi!

Visit:
http://joethequilter.com/
http://joethequiltercunningham.blogspot.com/





;-)  Tell me about your stash....

What color do you buy the most of?
what do you go to first in the quilt shop?
clearance?
Sale?
Color?




***********************************************************************



WINNER: LJ!   Congrats on your win of the MODERN BABY BOOK!

WALL STREET JOURNAL



***ALSO, There is an Article in the WALL STREET JOURNAL today about Modern quilting!
YAY!
An article about modern quilting in the Wall Street Journal today!  Victoria Findlay Wolfe, Lisa Sipes, Jacquie Gering ,Alissa Haight Carlton, Charlotte Newland.
(if the link doesn't work, then google the title - you'll be able to read it from the google links)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324326504578467273484511136.html 




http://weallsew.com/2013/05/10/sew-to-serve-with-bumble-beans-basics/
Happy Friday!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

A GIFT!





Hilde was in NYC and came by to say hi, 
and delivered the most beautiful tea box to me!
Made with MADE FABRIC in my favorite colors! 
See how nice it blends in with my quilts?

Isn't stunning!!!
Swing by her blog and say hi.



I'm off to have a cup of tea... (and fill my special box with my favorite kinds! )

besides fresh ginger tea or fresh mint tea, one of my favorites is 

Got a favorite tea you like?