International Quilt Festival Fun

Hi Everyone!

Guess where I was this past weekend!  If you guessed Houston and the International Quilt Festival, well, you guessed right!  What an amazing event!  The quilts were unbelievably beautiful and I was in awe at the level of artistry that was displayed.  Everything from traditional hand-pieced, hand-quilted beauties to thread painted works of art to modern-art deco was hanging in the George Brown Convention Center.  I could have spent days and days and days enjoying the beauty and craftsmanship that went into each and everyone of them. 

 

Now, you're probably wondering, "Where are the pictures?" and I'm sorry to say, I only took about three pictures.  Why?  I was so enthralled with what I was seeing that it completely slipped my mind!  I started out well enough... 

 

As we entered there was a photo-op spot so my hubby took this...

 

 

I gotta say, I have THE best husband!  Not only did he drive the 3.5 hours to Houston and endure an ENTIRE day of looking at quilts, but he also let me shop without complaint!  Here he is posing under the banner:

 

 

 

Now, once I finished oohing and awing over all the quilts, I got down to some serious shopping.  It was amazing to have all those vendors and shops in one location.  In lots of ways it was sensory overload.  The vendors were set up in long rows and every major quilty brand was there.. Aurifil, Hobbs, Gammill, Accuquilt, Red Crinoline Quilts, Handiquilter, Olfa, Bernina, Pfaff, Mary Flannigan Woolens! and the list goes on and on!  Lots of quilt shops were there too! Some of them I have seen in my summer travels...Back Door Quilts, Stitchin' Heaven'... and some are my favorite online shopping shops (Primitve Gatherings).  Needless to say, I did not leave empty handed.

 

I did go with an idea of what I did and didn't need.  For example, I do not need any more wool.  I love wool and almost every vendor was selling wool.  I nearly lost my mind when I saw Mary Flannigan Woolens. But, I managed to control myself and feel and admire her wonderful wool but not buy any! 

 

However, I did need some civil war shirtings for a scrappy project that I've been saving civil war scraps for.  Civil War reproduction fabrics are getting harder and harder to find and even harder is finding the shirting in white or near-white colors.  Lots of creams and tans out there but white?  Forget it.  I also have been looking for the Sulky 12 wt thread that I like to use for embroidery and and Aurifil Lana Thread for wool applique.  I  was also desperate for Aurifil Mako 50 wt which is my favorite thread to use for piecing.  Mako is easy to find but, darn!  It has gotten so expensive! Some places were selling it for $12 a spool!  I did find one vendor with reasonable prices- $9 a spool.  But they had the big cone for $40 so I went with that. Unfortunately, they are wholesalers which means I should have bought two :-P  I also needed new snips for loose threads and hand work. My Famore's are my favorite because they have a little hook at the tip which makes un-sewing a little easier.  Imagine my joy when I found the Famore booth! (I bought two of my favorite snips only to find out I can send them to Famore for sharpening.)   Looky, looky, here.   SCORE!

 

 

I found a few patterns I couldn't live without

 

 

and after spending an evening with Bonnie Hunter on QuiltCam I had to pick up her book "Ring Around the Hexies"

 

 

 

But my greatest find at the Festival is my 1914 "Singer For The Girls".

 

 

 

Not only does it still have it's clamp, it also has the original box, instructions, key AND needles!  I love the selling points on the box...

 

 

"As the twig is bent the trees inclined"  Fabulous!

 

I started collecting these about a year ago, this is my fifth one (although truth be told I already had this version although not as complete!)  Here are the other four that I have:

 

 

The third from the left is my "double".  Aren't they cute?  My research tells me that there are 22 different models.  I hope I one day find them all.

 

 

I also got to meet some quilter celebrities...

 

 

This is me with Alex Anderson!

 

 

And Pat Sloan!

 

Eleanor Burns of "Quilt in a Day" fame was there too, but she was surrounded by a ton of people and I couldn't even get close enough to take her pic :-/

 

I had so much fun!

 

I've gotten some quilting done too.. 

 

 

This is called "A Quilt for Abraham" which is designed by Roxie & Joe Wood of ThimbleCreek Quilts.  I was able to use my Accuquilt Studio to cut out the million-billion little pieces that this quilt required.  It made the sewing so easy as every piece was so accurately cut.  I love the colors.  All I have left to do is the sashing and it will be ready for Gammill Bea.

 

Well, I better get busy.  I need to finish a bunch of projects before Bonnie Hunter divulges the first clue of her new mystery quilt, Celtic Solstice. .  This is my first opportunity to start one of her mystery quilts and I am so excited!  If your interested, you can click the link on the left to read all about it.

 

Until we meet again, stitch on!

 

Irene

 

Washington Shops and a couple of Projects

Hi Everyone,

 

How was your week and weekend? 

Did you get any quality quilting done? 

Well, I've been hard at work on a project

 and I am happy to say that I finished a top! 

This is called Autumn All Around 
and it's a pattern from

the Summer 2013 issue of Primitive Quilts.

 

 

It's 31" X 36" and has 94 "pennies". 

I love autumn/Halloween/Fall stuff and
this wool applique has it all! 

Now all I have to do is get it
loaded onto Gammill Bea!  :-)

How do you think it should be quilted?

 

Another project that I brought along with me is

Merry Merry Snowman. 

It's a Bunny Hill Design pattern and I bought it as a

block of the month about two years ago (oops).

In any case I did get it started, finally, and block one is now complete!

 

 

 I think I'm going to add black buttons for the eyes

of the snowman at the top.

 The french knots don't seem enough... 
what do you think?

So that's what I've been doing the last few days but I promised to finish filling you in about the shops that I visited in Washington so lets do that now...

Des Moines, WA

 

This is Country Carriage Quilts and this

is an AMAZING Shop. 

 It's about 15 minutes from

SeaTac International Airport

so if you're heading through there make sure

that you give yourself some time to go...

I promise, you won't be sorry! 

This shop is worth missing a flight over!

It's also a Quilt Sampler Featured Shop and

 as we take our tour you'll see why!

 

 

This is their sale area... Lot's of great kits and

$5 wool scrap bags.

 

Here's the contents of mine...

 

 

 

This shop has everything and

very cleverly and artfully displayed. 

There's a lot in this shop but you can see it all.

 

 

 

So, along with my bag of wool scraps,

I did find one more thing to purchase...

 

Another block of the month!

 

It's called Minglewood and here are a few shots

 of the sample they had hanging in shop: 

 

 

They had it hanging in a hallway so

I wasn't able to take a head-on shot.

Isn't it gorgeous?!?!  How could I resist?! 

 My mom couldn't resist either :-)

 

Anacortes, WA

 

 

In Stitches is in Anacortes, Washington which is

 as far west as you can get without a boat .

I understand that new owners have taken over

as the original owner retired. 

 

It's a nice shop with helpful staff.

 

 

 

 

Mt Vernon, WA

 

Last, but certainly not least, is Calico Creations

 

 

 

This shop has a lovely selection of patterns

 

And lots and lots of fabrics to choose from

It's well lit and the layout lets you see all their wonderful offerings!

 

 

But I have to say that my favorite part

 of the shop was the wool!!!

 

 

  

 

And as it so happened, my mom and I arrived

 just after the shop received a new shipment!

 

SCORE!

 

The only problem was how to choose

from the 100 or so colors? 

This is just a few of the choices!

 

Here's what I bought...

Aren't they GORGEOUS! 
These are Mary Flanagan Woolens and

if I had hit the lottery,
trust me, I would have bought
a LOT more.

Of course, I bought wool from other shops so,

truth be told, this is only about half

 of all the wool I acquired on this trip.

  I guess I better get started on some wool applique projects!

 So, that's my Washington Quilt Shop Experience. 

It was so much fun traveling from
shop to shop with my mom...

 we always have such a good time! 

 I still have to tell you about all the
INDIANA shops I've been visiting
so make sure you come back in a few days!

Until then,

Happy Quilting!

Irene

 

 

Phoenix Shops

Today I write to you from Phoenix, Arizona.  My hubby, Dave, and I took the little (15 hour) road trip up to visit with Dave's dad while Dave's mom is away visiting Dave's sister...boy that's a bit convoluted :)  Of course the men immediately hit the golf links first thing in the morning so I had to find a way to entertain myself.  What better way then to go on my own personal shop hop?  Armed with a Google list of shops and my trusty GPS I headed out. Now, for those of you unfamiliar with the Phoenix area, it's a bit sprawled out and consists of a LOT of little towns.  I figured I'd start with the shops farthest away and hop my way back toward home.

First up,

Cutting Edge Quilts is in Chandler, AZ and has a great location; lots of restaurants and little shops in the historic district.  Although the fabric selection was a little limited the folks were very friendly. By the way...In case you're wondering, that's Kilo (short for Kilometer) and he travels with me wherever I go. He doesn't mind having his picture taken so you'll find him in almost all of my pictures.

From Chandler, I headed to Tempe, AZ to

This is another small shop with friendly staff. 

However, the reason I traveled the hour south to these two shops was because of the third one...

Yep, you are reading that right...3 Dudes Quilting.  Now, as you probably know, the quilting world, until the last decade or so, has been a woman's world.  Of course, times have changed and you read about a lot of different men who have not only entered the quilting world but are very successful at it. I couldn't wait to see what these 3 Dudes had to offer.  It was a nice shop with great fabric selection. You know how when you go into a quilt shop the shop has taken on the personality of the owners?  Well, this shop was no exception.  Many shops have that comfy, quilty, homey feel...you know what I'm talking about.  This shop had a decidedly "business" atmosphere.  The 2 Dudes that were working in the shop were knowledgeable and helpful and provided great customer service in a very professional manner.  Everything from the layout of the store to the advice and instructions were efficient and logical.  I really liked the shop but it definitely had a different feel to it. 

The Bernina Connection is in Phoenix and a little deceiving when you first go in.  At first glance it seems small but as you move to the back of the store you realize it's bigger than it appears.

Now one of my favorite shops on this private hop was

 This shop was so nice that I took pictures of the inside

Isn't this a great shop!  Lots of fabric and tools without over-crowding and lots of LIGHT all which makes it easy to see everything. 

Not to be out done, there is the

Also in Phoenix, I have been to this shop a few times but it was in a different location and was very overcrowded which made it hard to see everything.  Now they are in this new location and what a difference!  Here's a picture of the inside...

Now it's not the best picture (all of these hop pics were taken with my iPhone) but believe me when I say it's huge! Definitely a shop to meet all your needs...they offer the usual fare...fabric, batting, thread, notions...as well as sewing machine sales and repairs, cabinets and mid-arm machines.  Excellent!

By the time I hit the Quilter's Bee, in Peoria AZ, it was getting a little late in the day and I was getting tired so it was a quick trip in and out.  Nice shop though.  Here's a shot of the inside...

They were very helpful and welcoming in spite of the fact that they were swamped! You can't see the other 10 or so people at the back of the store or the 4 standing in line at the register!

Last but not least...

So, I hit Sun Valley Quilts, Sun City, AZ, at 3:50 pm.  The shop closes at 4 pm so I am sure that the employees were ready to go home. But, one of my pet peeves is any business that advertises a closing time and then gets irritated when customers come in a few minutes before that time.  In fact, this shop turned their sign from 'open' to 'closed' at 3:55 and was noticeably upset when a customer walked in at 3:57 (all these times were by my iPhone...maybe their clock was set differently).  In any case, why get upset at a paying customer?  It's a nice shop with a pretty good selection of fabrics and in it's defense when I've been there before (in the middle of shop hours) they are helpful though not overtly friendly.

So, that was my own personal shop hop and here's what I have to show for it....

Now, you are probably wondering what all the plaids are about... I'm adding them to my stash because it is getting really hard to find them.  I like them and I hate that they are getting so hard to find!

In case you are wondering, here are the stats of that hop.... 119 miles, 7 shops, 31 items purchased.  I won't put down the dollars spent in case my husband decides to check out my blog :-0

Okay, so that was Saturday and while this is getting a little long I want to quickly share my progress on my UFOs...

Last time we met I had started the Civil War BOM and finished the 18' block.  I now have the 12" block done as well so month 1 is complete!  I contemplated working on month 2 but decided to change it up a bit so I pulled out a halloween quilt that I started last summer (but bought about 5 years ago) while staying at my BFF Brenda's house (Brenda is a non-quilter and cannot understand my obsession with all things quilting but nobody is perfect).  This quilt is called Boo! and is a Pieces from the Heart pattern. These are the all the blocks and I got them all done during the month I was visiting with her:

  The centers are fussy cut from a panel fabric with the exception of the witches hat block which I hand-embroidered.  Lots of 1 ½ inch squares!  Next step is the sashing

I've started constructing the rows but failed to take pics :-( Oh well, you know I'll be posting the finished project.  My other project that I have been working on is my "travel" project. This is a hand project that I take with me wherever I go. 

This is a finished block. There are NINE of these and I have finished two. Sorry, I probably should have ironed it before the picture but I hate ironing :p

Here is the block in progress..

The quilt is called Antique Rose and was designed by Robert Callaham and featured in McCall's Quilting Jan/Feb 2010 issue.  It's only 2012 so it's a relatively new project for me LOL.  I'm using a template free technique that I really like.  In fact, until I learned this technique I really hated to do hand-applique.  I have been inspired to bring this quilt and get-'er-done because my mom started it in November and already is as far along as I am!  Yikes!

Well, I guess this post is a little long so I'll close for now.  Please leave your comments and/or sign up to follow my blog.  I love seeing the comments and many of you are posting them to my FB page but I'd love to see them here!

Keep on Quilting!

Irene