Follow the Yellow Brick Road...

 I have a floor!  There are still some details to finish up before I move in, but I couldn't resist plopping down in the middle of my new floor and stitching up the binding on my latest quilt.  

 I also couldn't resist hanging some curtains last week.

 How fitting that the pattern that I used for the quilt was Yellow Brick Road, because I feel like I have arrived in OZ! 

Some threads on my studio floor...Now it's official!

Let there be light & a giveaway winner!

 The electrician came by today and we have power!!  

 I agonized over which white to paint and am very happy with how it looks so far.

The flooring will be delivered tomorrow and installed "soon".  After that I can start MOVING IN...

I'm feeling pretty lucky right now, and so should Annik because she had the lucky # 2 comment on my quilt market posts.  I was hoping to post more often about market, but got distracted by trying to decide between  swan wing white and moon rise white...

Quilt Market Fun

I have had the pleasure of attending the Spring International Quilt Market for the past three years.  One of my favorite parts of Market is getting to meet the designers.  I have admired many of them for years and was pretty star-struck back in 2010.  Since then I have come to know that most of them are just regular folks... with INCREDIBLE talent!

Joel Dewberry is always so thoughtful.  He takes the time to talk to everyone and even remembered a conversation that we had two years ago.  He had a booth with some great new sewing patterns and dropped a heavy hint that he will announce a new fabric collection later this summer.  I can't wait!

We had some chuckles with  Monaluna (Jennifer Moore) who was at Market debuting two new collections of organic cotton.  Fox Hollow will be out soon and Havana will follow.  She added some SOLIDS! that go with both collections.  I am excited for a good organic solid.

Anna Maria Horner is as fun as she seems.  She didn't hesitate to move under the antlers displayed in her booth in order for me to catch her with horn-head.  She also didn't hesitate to adjust my name tag for me so that it didn't cover her beautiful ribbon that I used to trim the dress I was wearing.   Her new collection of fabrics coming out for FreeSpirit is called Field Study and is full of inspirations from nature.  

Getting to meet and chat with all the creative folks at Market is so inspiring and just plain FUN!  I come home not only excited about new collections of fabric, but also loaded with ideas on how to use them in my sewing.  

A Bright Future for Solids...

 A growing tend has been the use of solids in quilting.  I used to get a lot of grief  from the more traditional quilters that taught me to quilt back in the 90's for my "over-use" of solids.  I am SO glad that I have the backing of the entire Modern Quilt Movement in my love of solids.  I am also glad that nearly every fabric manufacturer is supporting me in my solid inclination.

 Pure Elements from Art Gallery Fabrics are right on task with a palette to match their gorgeous prints!  I placed my first order with Art Gallery and am excited to stock and sew with their luxurious fabric.

 23 new Kona solids were introduced by Robert Kaufmann, because 243 colors were not enough for us. I scored a charm pack of the new colors and ordered up some new color bundles for the shop.

I was also lucky enough to nab a wonderfully packaged color card from Michael Miller of their Cotton Couture collection.

I love each of these collections for a different reason and am afraid of a future garage full of one bolt of every   one of them.  Leave a comment about your favorite color, line, or use for SOLIDS in yet another chance to win the Bella giveaway!

Simply Beautiful

 Simply Color is the beautiful new collection from V and Co. for Moda.  It is a huge collection (around 40 prints) that combines some fresh basics with vintage inspired prints.

 These pillowcase dresses were made from a fantastic dot border print.

 Check out this hexy quilt!  Pretty sure a pattern will be available for that...

This Iphone photo doesn't do justice to the Bloom quilt pattern that uses the Ombre prints in the collection.  Jelly rolls will be available with just the Ombres needed for the quilt.  An Ombre is essentially a solid fabric that gradually changes shades from selvage to selvage creating light to dark shades of the same color in one piece.  They will be available in 7 colors: Pink, Orange, Green, Aqua, Blue, Purple and of course, Gray!

Here is  Vanessa Christenson in her booth at Quilt Market and yes, she was as sweet and kind as she looks.  I am really looking forward to digging in to this collection, but we will all have to wait until it is released in October.  Unless you were lucky enough to snag some at sample spree. I wasn't brave enough to fight the crowds that gathered for that one!

Surprise, Surprise!

I just returned from the whirlwind that is Quilt Market.  WOW!  is all I can say right now, but once my brain stops spinning, I will start a series of posts with the highlights.

 I was especially surprised and excited to receive a charm pack of the much anticipated and yet to be released new collection from Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics.  They call it Bella for a reason.  It is beautiful and it can be yours, because I am giving it away.  Just leave a comment on any of my posts labeled "quilt market" in the next two weeks for your chance to win.  I will pick a random winner on June 4th.

I got another big surprise when I arrived home from Kansas City last night.  STAIRS!!  No more climbing up a ladder to visit my soon-to-be dream studio.  The guys from Minneapolis Garage came by on Saturday...Yes Saturday! to work on my palace (some call it a garage).  Drywall is going up today and things are really taking shape.  Electricity, painting and shelving for fabric storage are just around the corner!

To Market, To Market...

The lilacs are in full aromatic bloom and I just realized that next spring, I will be smelling them from my new studio window!  I will be leaving the excitement/chaos of construction this week to attend the Spring International Quilt Market, where I will get sneak peeks of all the newest fabric collections and maybe even hob-knob with some fabric super-stars!  A FULL report will follow...