Hey, Y'all!

The above is the proper greeting from someone who has been in Texas! Yup, that's right... Hubby and I high-tailed it down to Houston to the International Quilt Festival. For those of you who are in the know, yes, Festival... not Market. Market is the trade show I went to last year and met just about all of my textile design idols. Festival is for the general public and usually all the design houses have packed up and gone home to let the retailers in.

The retailers are quilt shops from all over the country and from other parts of the world. The venue (George R Brown Convention Center) is so huge that there is no way to see everything. I did get a program and mark off the things I wanted to see. I couldn't spend all my time there since I did want to explore H-town with Hubby. We both went to Preview Night, when show opens from 7-10 the night before the official opening. It was pretty crazy. I wanted Hubby to see what I had raved about so much last year. Preview Night was enough for him. I had to go it alone the other two days I was there :)

So, back to the retailers.... There are lots of small shops with their own patterns, vintage fabric vendors, yarn vendors, vintage and contemporary quilt vendors. I was amazed by the number of jewel vendors. If you like putting jewels or any kind of embellishment on your quilts, you could find it all there. Not only that, there was jewelry you could wear and items to make your own jewelry. Amazing! I was pretty good -- Everything I bought fit in a single bag -- and it's not a large bag, either!

-- Quilt-a-Card Kits from www.papercreations.com. They had a "make and take". I started a card, but I didn't complete it because Hubby was waiting for me.

-- A Few Pointers Quilt from Crooked Nickel Quilt Designs(http://www.crookednickel.com). They demonstrated a neat way to make quilts with sashing using a gridded fabric.

-- Notecards (from Home a la Mode -- http://www.homealamode.com) were super-cute -- I couldn't resist.

-- Purse Kit from Ellen Medlock (http://www.ellenmedlock.com). You buy the handle and make the fabric portion of the purse, which easily slips on and off. You can make several different bags and just reuse the handle.

-- Amy Butler's Softwares. I've been wanting this software, so when I saw it at the Electric Quilt booth, I couldn't resist.

-- Pashmina: There were lots of different vendors. These vendors claimed they were selling "real" pashminas from some remote place in Asia. I don't remember exactly where.

Vendors I didn't buy from but I liked...

-- Babylock Sashiko Sewing machine (http://www.babylock.com/quilting/sashiko/). I loved that, but for $1999, I had to let it go.

-- The Doll Loft (http://www.thedollloft.com). These are cute doll kits and clothing. I'm not into making dolls, but if I were, I would make these!

-- Felt Balls from (http://www.handbehg.com). This was such a fun booth. I just bought some felt balls, so I didn't get any, but the next time I need some, I'll order from them.

I have been designing some textiles. I did have some samples I sewed up in the event there would be some creative director types milling around Festival. I did meet Karen Smisek of Home a la Mode who promised to put me in touch with her Moda contact. Home a la Mode (mentioned above) does all things Moda for the home... hence the name. I am working here and there on more designs and samples. They are super cute and will make their BostonSewer debut soon!

I got to see my (former) bosses, Terri and Carol. It was like old times, only I wasn't working :) My roomie from last year, Deborah, invited us to stay with them. We spent our last night in Houston with Deborah and her husband, Geoff. I went to the big Moda party last year, with Deborah and her friend, Connie. Last year, Connie was at market, purchasing items for her new quilt shop. Well, her shop, , is up and running! Of course, I had to buy something. I ended up getting some fabric for Christmas stockings. I need very small projects, since I have a lot to do these days!

Debbie and Geoff were such great hosts. I told Deborah of my "veganism" before we got there. Little did I know she would go to such trouble. She made shish kabobs. Mine had veggies, of course. She also made corn on the cob, baked potatoes, vegan rolls and a vegan berry pie. I even has soy ice cream. OMG YUM YUM! I have never been so spoiled. They have a sprawling home on an acre of land north of Houston. Debbie has rooms for all her grown children, and they are decorated with all of her handiwork, as is the rest of her warm and inviting home. Deborah is a prolific quilter. She even made a darling wall quilt with the sashiko kit I gave her last year.

It was in the 70s and 80s there -- in October. We whiled the afternoon away sitting on the back porch with a view of a man made lake. It was absolutely gorgeous. What are we doing in Boston, again?

Last but not least, we stayed at the Four Seasons. I had a manicure there. If you go to Houston, please go see Carmen. She just set up the spa this summer. She does not mess around. My feet felt like a baby's bottom! She uses vegan products from SpaRitual (http://www.sparitual.com).

Connecticut

We decided to take a weekend trip to Connecticut. We had only been through on our way to other places, so it seemed high time we did something about that!

We love the show, “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” on the Food Network. We went to a restaurant featured on the show called Wilson’s BBQ down in Fairfield. Hubby enjoyed the smoky flavor of the ribs and thought it had more of a smoky flavor than most. I no longer eat any animal product, so I didn’t have any! All the sides are vegetarian. That helped – a bit. I requested sides that were dairy-free and got the beans and rice and black-eyed pea salad. It turned out that the beans and rice had butter (why?) so I didn’t have that. I got a garden salad with lime-chipotle dressing and pecans instead. The black-eyed pea salad was nice and mildly spicy, but had too much oil in the dressing for my taste. The garden salad was good, though I expected more spice in the dressing. I finished it off with sweet tea, which was refreshing and delicious. Hubby also got coleslaw, which was non-dairy! It was tangy, sweet, and crunchy. I bet it was delicious with those ribs!!

Our next stop was our hotel, the Mystic Hilton. It is smaller than most Hiltons, naturally, but it was a nice little hotel. The food there was pretty good. I got the linguine and vegetables (without the Alfredo sauce and parmesan cheese) and hubby got the BBQ chicken sandwich. Hubby enjoyed his sandwich and the fries were deliciously crispy. I enjoyed my pasta dish. The pasta was a little more than al dente and they gave a lot of it. I would have been happy with just the veggies, which were yellow and green zucchini with sundried tomatoes.

The next day we drove downtown. It was great to find on-street parking! Hubby wanted to have coffee, so we found a little café called Bartleby’s. Wow, what a find! They have a delicious wrap on the menu called the Goddess. It has lettuce, tomato, red onion, tahini sauce and veggie burger chunks. YUM! I enjoyed each every last bite. I was also able to find a chocolate chip cookie from the Alternative Baking Company, which is headquartered in Sacramento. It was the best vegan cookie I’ve had. (Of course, I have not had Sharona’s yet.)

We walked around and found Mystic Pizza – yes, the one from the movie. I doubt they have vegan pizza, and we had just eaten, so we didn’t bother going in. I hope I can get something to eat there next time. We walked around the neighborhood a bit. It is so nice and quaint and quintessential New England. It’s quite hilly, too, so the walk was good to burn off some calories.

We walked around some more and looked at shops. We found a Tim Horton’s, which we had seen only in Canada. Interesting that they are making their way stateside. Hubby thought the coffee wasn’t too bad there, so it will do when his beloved Dunkin Donuts is not around. I also found a store called, You’ve Got to be Beading, which sells beads and jewelry making supplies. Cute name and fabulous stuff inside. They also have kits, which I thought was a great idea! I bought a couple of things, but not as much as I would have liked. I don’t have too much time to start making jewelry again. When I do, however, I will get some things at that shop! I found Mystic Yarns, but they were closed! It looked like a fabulous store for yarn, supplies and books. I am looking for some yarn and I’m sure I could have found something there. Oh well. I have a reason to go back!

It’s September now. I can’t believe it! We only had a few weeks of summer this year. I am going to enjoy the bright, sparkling days we usually have this time of year and try not too think too much about the upcoming cold!

I'm Still Here...

For those of you who are still reading or looking for things to read... I am still here. I have been working on my thesis project, so I haven't had much time for blogging, sewing, or trips to NYC (though I did make it to Montreal and the Midwest)! I do have a crafty project that I completed with my mom, who was visiting last week. I will be sharing that soon.

Stay cool. And for those of you in the East, try to stay dry.

Project Runway 7 Has Started Taping!

Hey! I am sorry I've been so out of the loop. I've been working on my project that I've mentioned on my other blog, FlexAIR.

The big news is... PR7 is underway. I'm not sure when it will air, but wouldn't it be great to see it soon after PR6 finishes? :) PR6 is coming up sometime in August. Woooo Hoooo! I just ordered my Season 1 DVD. I waited patiently for it to go on sale. :) Season 5 DVDs will be available in August.

From Blogging Project Runway (where I get all my Project Runway info, by the way):

http://bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com/2009/06/project-runway-season-seven-taping.html

p.s. I will update a post on FlexAIR sometime in the near future, but I've got to get my proposal out!

Better Pic of the BBCQ and a Blurb

I thought I'd share the blurb I wrote for the BBCQ for the arts and crafts show at work and a better picture. Oh, and the blocks on the table were blocks that didn't come out right. I put them on the table so people could take a look at the seams without actually touching the quilt. Of course, that did not stop them!

Ahem.

This quilt, my Bento Box Christmas Quilt, is a work-in-progress. The Bento Box pattern, created by Tracey Brookshier, is one of the most popular quilt patterns ever designed. It's a simple pattern that allows the quilter's imagination to run wild using an infinite number of color combinations. The original pattern design is made of blocks that look like checkerboards, as in the corner blocks of my quilt. I put my own twist on the pattern by changing the inside blocks to look like reflections instead of checkerboards. The middle block is made up of each of the eight fabrics used in the quilt.

The piecing, which was done by machine, is complete. However, I am still working on the quilting, which is sewing the front, batting and back of the quilt together. I plan to hand-tie the quilt using a knotting technique.

I created the accompanying image using a computer program called Electric Quilt. I scanned the fabrics into my computer and using Electric Quilt, I drew the quilt pattern and then "painted" the pieces using my scanned fabric swatches. I saved lots of time by using Electric Quilt before cutting a single piece of fabric.


I am not including a larger picture of the display board, because it shows how I put the quilt together. I'm sure Ms. Brookshier would not approve of my putting her pattern out on the internet!

BBCQ On Display

Hello, anyone out there? It has been awhile -- I apologize. I have been keeping a low profile lately. A little too low, probably.

I showed the BBCQ at the Arts and Crafts fair held at my company May 1st. The theme was May Day and the training room was beautifully decorated. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the set up. I didn't even take pictures of my own table! I brought my camera, but I was busy talking to people about my quilt and forgot. Thankfully, I was able to get a few pictures from a friend.

Yes, it's only the quilt top. What can I say? No excuses. The good thing is I was getting tired of looking at it, so it was good to get so much positive feedback from my coworkers. I am encouraged to get it done now! What do you think of the quilt stand? Hubby made it. I'd been asking him for about a month, but naturally, he waited until about 8pm the night before the show to start on it. I must say, he did a great job! He always comes through!

In other news, "The Fashion Show" starring Isaac Mizrahi and Kelly Rowland premieres tonight!! I don't think I'll stay up for it. I am super duper tired so I hope to turn in early. Let's see how successful I am with that! :) Be sure to keep up with the show via the Blogging Project Runway gang's website: Blogging Bravo.

Project Runway is On! No Foolin'!

April Fool's Day is ending on a happy note. Project Runway Season 6 will show on Lifetime this summer. The suit was settled for an undisclosed sum, and now life can go on for those of us in PR withdrawal.

Read this update from Blogging Project Runway:

Blogging Project Runway Update

And, read this from the LA Times:

LA Times Update

I love LA, but I hope they will film in New York, like they should!