Fall Quilt Market 2010 - My Whirlwind Version

Last weekend I went to QuiltMarket for the second time. It was a completely different trip from my first Quiltmarket this spring in Minneapolis. Last time, I went to meet people, get the lay of the land, and experience what exactly this whole “Market” thing is about. The intention was that when I came back in the fall, to pitch my fabric line, I wouldn’t be so intimidated. Oh. Well. So much for that.

Ever since my trip in May, I’ve been working on my fabric line. I’d been compiling a book of “inspiration” long before that. I ended up with five designs in three colorways that I was happy with. Ones that I felt were strong enough to be presented. I had loads of other designs that I had started on, that were either unfinished, or “unworthy”.

I had the guide from the Minneapolis market, so I reached out to a number of companies to make appointments to show my work. After all was said and done, I had four set appointments and a few “stop bys”.

I met with the Art Directors of companies, and got some great, solid feedback. There were shortcomings in my line, which were universally pointed out by all of the companies. The positive in that, is that because the feedback was so consistent, I know exactly what I need to do to fix it. The negative part was that I had to hear “we need more than this” so many times in a row.

My path ahead is quite clear. I know exactly what I need to do. Three of the four Art Directors clearly said, make the changes and come back to me. That’s a heck of a lot better than “take this junk out of my booth and don’t ever come back here”.

One of my big goals is to blog about my sewing adventures, at a minimum of once a week. My goal for 2011 is twice a week. I hope you’ll all hold me to it.

Until then, here are the few measly pictures I took of quilt market between my appointments:

My roomie and pattern designer, fabric designer, all around sewing guru extraordinaire Bari’s amazing first booth ever



AMAZING and so Bari...loved it.

A bad blurry shot of the amazing Amy Butler’s booth, with her raincoat (I already have this pattern; I’m waiting to find just the right laminate to make it in).


And a really great quilt in Tula Pink’s booth with modern graphic alphabet letters.

This Week's Projects

This whole BOM thing is working out pretty nicely. I can usually get them done in about 45 minutes or so and I really feel like I accomplished something. Here is this month's block. I was really happy with how my points came out, until I saw what they looked like in the photo! I tried doing all of the light points first this time, just to try something new. It seemed to help with those points, but then, some of the others seemed more off as a result. Hmmmm.



My second quick project for the long weekend was this ADORABLE bag, in the Fall 2010 issue of Quilts & More magazine. The pattern is by Monica Solorio-Snow, also known as Happy Zombie. She is amazingly talented, and this quick bag is one example.





In the magazine they're shown with "treats" for Halloween, but I made mine with something else in mind. I used some Amy Butler Love for the main body and some Oliver & S City Weekend for the coordinating bottom and inside (one of my spring Quiltmarket Sample Spree scores!).



It is the perfect size and shape to hold a gift card with a little bit of tissue sticking out. I'm going to make a whole bunch of these for teacher gifts for the holidays to put coffee gift cards in. I'll probably make some for the friends and family too. They go together super quickly, about 35 minutes for my first one (bet I'll be a lot faster now too) and they are like instant gratification. I also used some vintage grosgrain ribbon from my stash. What's better than that?



I'm trying to work on a last round of edits for my designs that I'm taking to Quiltmarket at the end of the month. I can't wait to share how that goes.

Quilt Market Part 2 - Including a GIVEAWAY!

One of the highlights of my trip to market was the opportunity to act as "camera girl" for some interviews that my roommate Bari J. did for Boutique Cafe. She interviewed some fabulous designers, including Pat Bravo, Lizzy House, Amy Butler, and more! The first was the amazing and very gracious Pat Bravo, here is what some of her booth looked like.




Pat designs up to four lines a year, has an amazing pattern line, and her new Grab 'n Sew kits. Talk about prolific!

I was lucky enough to be invited to the second (annual?) Cake Party hosted by Lizzy House as well. Everyone had cake to celebrate her mom's (Cherri House) new book City Quilts (among other things!). It was a great little gathering, with not one cake, but FIVE! I had carrot cake.



Above are Melissa Averinos of Yummygoods and Jana of Izzy & Ivy Designs.

This is the Melissa's friend Unicorn, taking a quick snooze while we all ate cake.



And in this photo are Lizzy, Betz White, and Patty Young...all enjoying cake and nice mid-afternoon chat.


Here are some adorable owls from the Bunny Hill Booth.


I loved these letters that say "SEW WHAT".


These are two pictures from the adorable notions area inside the Riley Blake booth. I LOVE me some rickrack!! Wow, talk about eye candy!




This is a shot from the amazing Kokka booth. I adore the Sleeping Beauty print by Heather Ross on the bag to the left.




These are some of the amazing display quilts that were part of the exhibits in the center of the show. They were part of a series of quilts (I think in a competition) about doorways. These just really spoke to me. The two in the second photo are clearly of Venice, and reminded me of my honeymoon.





Last but not least, I enjoyed an amazing tapas dinner on Saturday night with this group of ladies.



I'm on the far left, then there's Violet, Betz, Bari, Brooke, Michelle and Gina (Cloud 9), then Cherri and Lizzy House (in the center front).

In honor of the amazing time I had at my first, of what I hope to be MANY quiltmarkets, I have two giveaways. Both were part of my wonderful scores at Sample Spree. To enter, you can:

1.) Follow my blog!
2.) Follow me on Twitter (@restitcherator)
3.) You can reply here with your favorite quiltmarket memory, or
4.) You can reply here about why YOU want to go to quiltmarket.

You can have multiple entries, just email and let me know what you did. I'll randomly pick two winners from the entries a week from tomorrow, Monday, June 7.

The first is Pieces of My Heart Pattern and Charm Pack (& more) by Sandy Gervais! It comes in a sweet little Moda drawstring bag, and the pattern is for a 25" x 29" quilt called "Oopsie Daisy" and the bag has everything you need except the thread and backing fabric!



The second is Me and My Sisters Desgins pattern set (including THREE designs!), and fabric to make a pattern called "Happy" shown as #6 on the pattern booklet. It also has the fabric to make the whole top and the binding, and comes in a Moda drawstring bag. It's a nice size lap quilt at 44" x 53"!!



I can't wait to see all of your entries! Good luck, and thanks for sharing my first Quiltmarket experience with me.

My first Quiltmarket...set the bar HIGH

I literally do not know where to start. Somehow, between sheer grit and determination, and the stars aligning, I not only went to Spring Quiltmarket, but it more than exceeded my wildest dreams. I met so many Twitter friends, bloggers, fabric designers, pattern designers, quilt designers, shop owners and all kinds of wonderful people. Without exception, they were warm, friendly, open and a lot of fun to be around.




These are pictures of the winning multiple booth by Michael Miller Fabrics. It was like walking into a magical snowy land of glittery gorgeousness. This was the home of the super gracious and lovely Sandi Henderson, whose new book "Sewing Bits and Pieces" I bought and she signed for me.




It was also home to Patty Young, and her new line "Playdate".



I attended my first Sample Spree, and with people lining up a full four hours ahead of time, it made the Filene's Basement Bridal Sale look like a walk in the park. I will say *blowing on fingertips and rubbing them on my shirt* I DID manage to get all THREE colorways of Lizzy House's new line Castle Peeps, AND a fat quarter pack of Oliver & S's new line for Moda. That's right. BOTH of the things I wanted. Some of the hardened Quiltmarket pros were impressed with my skills. All that shopping has to come in handy somewhere right??

I have so much more to share....but I had the time of my life. I made connections. I got great information, and insight. Best of all, I have new friends. My roomie, the fabulous Bari J. was there to promote her new line "Country Lane", which is simply to die for. She answered my endless questions, she introduced me to EVERYONE, and she even put up with my constant tweeting and bumping into her while we walked. She was recently featured in Better Homes & Gardens Quilts and More with a designer feature AND an adorable project. Check it out!




I have loads more to come, and some super awesome pictures to share. So sit tight, and check back...I'll post a few times this week.

I will go to bed tonight with visions of fabric and thread in my head. Just how I like it.