Houston Fall Market

The Fall Quilt Market has been great fun. Market started on Saturday with retailers checking out the newest patterns, fabrics, buttons, and other miscellaneous sewing and quilting items. On Saturday, Roxane--quilt shop owner--and I walked the entire floor to see what things were new and the vendors that were there. After lunch we started on the first row to stop at most of the booths to see their wares and make notes on items she wanted to order. Many of the smaller items, like patterns, she purchased and took with her. Some of the items were ordered to be shipped ASAP.

It was fun to talk with the vendors. The our other two people worked Vicky's booth which was selling her latest patterns. Her newest pattern, splitting image, has been a big hit. It is a very simple pattern but looks complex and is an awesome quilt. This quilt is made with fabric from Marcus Brothers called Mocha Meringue. Roxanne and I work the booth during lunch when Vicky and Jeanette need a break.

I have chatted with people from all over the US and also met three ladies from New Zealand. There were such fun. We are across the aisle from Thangles and the owners are a very nice couple.

I am having a good time. I spent some time today walking through the quilt show. The quilts are great pieces of art. I always feel like such a neophyte after seeing quilts at a national show...I'll include pictures when I have time to upload them.

Houston here we come

It was an uneventful 14 hours of driving today. I am in Houston to attend market with Roxane from the Overbrook Quilt Connection and help Vicky set up her booth for market. Then we will change gears and set up the booth for OQC and be here for the quilt festival.

Yesterday afternoon, I headed to the quilt shop to help load the trailer. It had been raining all day in Kansas, so we had to contend with that. But we loaded everything in fine time.

Pictures and more information later in the week.

Two exciting events

Becky from the Kansas City area had her ticket drawn Sunday afternoon at the end of the quilt show as winner of the donation quilt. She came to my house today to retrieve her treasure and we spent a fun hour talking quilting. This is the second quilt that she has won from this area--she won a quilt from the Overbrook Quilt Connection after the April quilt shop hop. In fact, she purchased her winning ticket for this quilt at the shop hop. It was great fun to meet her and to know that she will cherish our quilt.

The donation quilt of the Santa Fe Trail Quilt Guild was the most extraordinary that I have ever seen made by many members of a guild. I know I was part of making it, but I still love it. All members were given a piece of the focus fabric and then asked to make a block of their choice. The blocks were set together and then it was quilted by JoAnn Rodgers, our present secretary and a former president of the guild. Her quilting helped made it a great quilt.

This afternoon I attended the 830 Bernina party at Bob's Bernina in Lawrence. It was fun to learn more about the newest Bernina. I would have to get a job to afford it at the present time. I did get to sew on the machine and also watch it embroider a design--1000 stitches per minute. Refreshments, a goodie bag, prize drawings, and new friends made this a great afternoon.

Bernina's 830

The 2008 SFT Quilt Show is history!

Carol Vermillion received the large quilt viewers' choice ribbon. Her quilt was a sunflowerquilt with an applique center and pieced blocks. She was thrilled with the honor. Her quilt is the one pictured.

Monica Prim received the small quilt viewers' choice ribbon. The quilt was a hand-embroidery, colored block center with 30's reproduction fabrics. I will try to get a picture of the quilt later. Congratulations to both winners.

The Donation quilt was won by a lady from Kansas City who had visited the show on Saturday. She was just tickled that I had called her and so surprised that she had won. We talked for quite a while as the idea of winning the quilt sunk in...I am so happy it went to someone so overjoyed to have it.

The quilt show was a great unifying experience for all the guild members. Everyone was there to help set up the show and everyone was there to help tear it down. We started at 4 pm and we were all walking out the door one hour later. Everyone just quietly went to work taking the quilts off of the frames, with others dismantling frames, and then carrying the frame to the trailers to be taken to storage.
Everyone enjoyed the quilt show. We usually have a show every third year, but there is talk of having a show every other year. It has been fun to be part of this group.

Santa Fe Trail Quilt Show

The quilt show is great! Everyone showed up at 6pm last night to help set up the quilt show. We had purchased some used wooden frames that were only partially put together. So after everything looking like chaos for an hour because all the holes were drilled differently, we made progress getting them together. In another hour we had the frames set up. At 10 we had the gym cleaned up and ready for the show. Everyone pitched in and made the work enjoyable.

We have 139 quilts in the show. I was worried that we would have just a few quilts, but everyone brought out their best for display. We are a small guild with 20 members but we are growing and learning from each other. Visitors have the opportunity to vote on their favorite quilts. Half of the quilts had points as I left this evening. We have a variety of quilts that tickles someone's fancy.

I have met several people who I have only known online. It was so nice for them to visit the show and introduce themselves. Quilters are so friendly and love to talk about their work and know about the work of others.

We will be open tomorrow afternoon. Then it planning for the next show...

Holiday Redwork

It is finished! This morning I stitched out the corner snowflakes and put the top and bottom borders on. I had it hanging on the design wall and was admiring it when I saw the "Let it snow" blocks said "It let snow". I had looked at that for two days and never read it...With a little unstitching and some restitching I really did have the top completed in another 30 minutes. Now to decide how to quilt it.

I am very, very pleased with it. The quilt is called Holiday Redwork by The Stitch Connection. I purchased it as a kit from a vendor at the Wichita Quilt show.

My guild's quilt show is this weekend, so stopped at the school in Overbrook to see what I needed to know about our space. Then checked on the frames to see if we would need more hanging straps and what they looked like so I could make a few extras. I think we should be ready for set-up tomorrow evening after school. We are not a big group but we should have some fantastic quilts.

It's almost completed!

The Christmas quilt is almost finished. I still have the top and bottom borders to stitch onto the quilt. My sewing time was cut short today because of going to Topeka for a medical test for my husband.

I did get him to make a quick stop at JoAnn's for some pins and a pattern. I have a couple of older quilts from which I want to make memory bears. Lucy's blog shows the bears that she is making from her mother's clothes. I really like her pattern and plan to use it.