Spring Quilt Market, Pittsburgh

This post is all about Tammy and Kris' excellent adventure to Spring Quilt Market in Pittsburgh! (I know this post is long overdue - better late than never!!)

I was so lucky to attend Quilt Market with Tammy Rommel, owner of Stiched in Stone. This was a great opportunity for me to see Quilt Market (Quilt Market is our indutry's trade show - all of the new products are shown) from the shop owner's perspective. I don't know how she does it - so much temptation in one place!!! (She's got some great fabric coming in!!)

We started out on a dreary Thursday morning at 6 AM at a coffe stop in Andover, MA. We then hit the road, full of enthusiasm - we had the usual slowdown in Hartford, CT but then it was smooth sailin' straight through to Pittsburgh! We stopped once in Wilkes-Barre to gas up and get a bite to eat. We really enjoyed the barns and cows on the PA turnpike - so scenic.

We arrived at our hotel in Pittsburgh at 6:30 pm - a beautiful hotel (Pittsburgh Marriot Downtown). I'd recommend this hotel to anyone visiting the Steel City. We were close to nice restaurants in the cultural district - and right on the waters of the Allegheny River! We had to register so immediately we went to the David L. Lawrence Conference Center which I have to say is a gorgeous building. (Nerdy note here - this building is LEED certified - which means it meets standards set forth by the US Green Building Council - these buildings usually have loads of natural light -energy savings -a great venue to view quilts at!)

When market opened the folowing day, Tammy had loads of appointments to attend and orders to make- she was quite busy! She's a popular lady with the manufacturers! I had the pleasure of walking around seeing great booths and quilts. Click here to see examples of some of the booths at the show. At the same time, there was a juried quilt show there - unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time to see these quilts (they were breathtaking) - click here for a tour of these quilts.

I had camera amnesia while I was there - I did not take as many photos as I would have liked! Here is a photo of the Blank Quilting booth -they featured my Sew and Go Totes along with other great quilty items. The Sew and Go Totes were all done up in Sketchbook collection designed by Yolanda Fundora. (More about this in a later post!) It was great to meet the folks at Blank also!

I was able to catch up with some of my quilt show buddies and meet some new ones. I did have my picture taken with Fabio at the Starwood booth ;)and had a chance to talk with Penel at the Pattern Peddlers booth. My buddy Karen Dumont (Karie Patch Designs) had a beautiful booth - her first time! She is quite an artist and inspiration. Check out her "Hip Chicks"!! I even had the pleasure of meeting Joan Hawley (of Lazy Girl Designs)- she's even nicer in person!

All in all, it was an excellent adventure - we had loads of laughs, great food and fun!
Tammy was so generous to invite me to take this trip with her! Thanks so much Tammy!

Keep Quilting!

-Kris

Sneak Peak at Turning Leaves

Coming out soon for fall - Turning Leaves Tote! Stay tuned...here is a peak! This tote will have loads of pockets; some zipped, some not. Even had a request for a key fob - it's an option!

Can't show you the whole thing now...shhhhh...it's not out yet!

Also stay tuned for Kris and Tammy's excellent adventure! (Hint: We're heading to Pittsburgh...)

Happy Quilting!

-Kris

Appreciate Your Library!

I am a big fan of public libraries! I remember being able to walk to the library when I attended middle school. I took out so many books - can't remember which books, but I do remember that giddy sense of exhilaration - I had a new book to read!

I still go to our library and still experience the thrill of a subject or story undiscovered. Our library has provided me with business plans, tax advice, and Michael Connolly mysteries.

This past Saturday, I gave a talk on Quilted Tote Bags at the Derry Public Library. I approached the library staff with my proposal for this program, admitting also that I hadn't given it before. They were to be my guinea pigs. The staff was so encouraging all along the way. The day of the talk went smoothly – all of the attendees were such a delight! Aren’t quilters happy people? (Good thing, because I had no success with that extra large grommet!)

I just want to thank my library– and if you’re reading this, thank a librarian today!

Rising Star!

Quilters are amazing! Teagan (shown here) is just 9 years old and so talented! She is modeling her Sampler Tote that she made during the kid's quilt classes at Stitched in Stone.

She was eager to show her teacher at school when she finished it - I'll bet her teacher was impressed! Teagan has been encouraged by her proud grandmother Gail!

What an inspiration!

Keep Quilting! -Kris

Project Inspiration from Washington DC

We're back! My husband, 2 boys and I took a short trip to Washington DC last week during the boys' April vacation. What a great time we had - the boys really loved it - they are at the perfect ages to enjoy it (11 and 14).

As a quilter, I looked for quilt inspiration everywhere. Paintings, sculpture, landscaping, architecture... I found it in the oddest spot - covering drainage on Capital Hill (this is certainly not a comment on what may drain out of the hill...). I think this grate could be a table runner or a quilt stencil. What do you think?