BostonSewer is back! I took a hiatus from blogging to work on my master’s thesis over on FlexAir. Are you wondering what my project was? Well, let’s just say it’s a mashup of my two worlds: quilting and technology. Let’s also say I hope you’ll see it at your favorite quilt shop and that you’ll be clamoring with thousands of other quilters to purchase it sometime in the near future.
It is fitting that I start my first post-hiatus blog post with a report from Quilt Market Fall 2010 in Houston. Yes, that’s right, as promised, I high-tailed it down to Texas again, in the hopes of signing a “record deal.” I was not able to sign such deal, but I met and reconnected with many textile design rock stars!
The first event I attended was Fabric 2.0, a mixer that is the brainchild of the dynamic Caroline Devoy, known to most of us as JCaroline. It was held at The Grove, a trendy restaurant in the shadow of the George R. Brown Convention Center, the hallowed site of Quilt Market. Caroline was the first person who greeted me when I entered the room in the back of the restaurant. I met her at Quilt Market in ’08 and she remembered me! Thank you for the warm welcome, J. Caroline!
So, what does one do upon entering a room full of textile rock stars and other people you don’t know? Head to the bar, naturally! I am not a drinker, so the strongest drink I had that night was H20. (The bartender was stoic the entire night but I got him to crack a smile when after requesting my third glass of water I said, “You’re going to have to cut me off pretty soon!”) Once I had my glass in my hand, what the heck was I going to do next? Everyone seemed engrossed in conversation. Thankfully, I saw my quilt teacher from Chicago, Bill Weeks, of FunQuilts! It was hilarious, because I had just seen him at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in NYC this past May. (No, Bill, I swear I am not stalking, you!) Bill was chatting with the Grande Dame of quilting textile design, Jane Sassaman. You hard core BostonSewer fans will remember that in ’08, I made her husband erase pictures that he had taken of her quilts! Thankfully, Jane did not hold that against me. I had a wonderful conversation with them. I was happy to be able to break the ice!
Whew! Now what? Well, Miss Sandi Henderson, the Portabellopixie herself walked in and I was able to chat with her a bit. She was wearing a lovely coat that she blogged about. How weird is it to have random people coming up to you talking about the coat you bought and refashioned? I met Sandi in ’08, too. I approached her with my designs and she gave me some words of wisdom, despite the fact I wouldn’t let her use the ladies restroom closest to her booth! That was good! Two down. Now, what?
Well, I eat a (mostly) vegan diet and all the hors d’oeuvres that were passed around had either meat or cheese. There was nothing purely vegetable. One of the servers offered to fix a special vegetable appetizer for me. Texas hospitality at its best! Now I had some energy and decided to approach someone I hadn’t actually met yet – Kate Spain. I had corresponded with her on her blog and I’d seen her fabulous booth at Surtex, also in NYC (and at the same venue as the ICFF). I didn’t get a chance to speak to her then, though, because she was mobbed. She is such a nice person and a great talent. She gave me lots of encouragement when I told her of my plans to shop my designs around.
Others I saw include: fabric world luminaries such as Kim Kight of True Up, Lizzy House, Cherri House, Patty Young and Betz White. I spoke with Lizzy and introduced myself as one of the first people to download her e-book on quilt fabric design. I told her she is a great inspiration -- and she is! She apparently had a rough time at market, so hopefully, my words helped her a bit!
I also spoke with Michelle and Gina up on Cloud 9. They were both very fun and energetic. I love their super soft organic fabric! Everytime I think of Cloud 9, I think of that Temptations song. It will be in my head for awhile!
Last but not least, I spoke with the editor-in-chief of Stitch magazine, Tricia Waddell. She is tall, has a fantastic fashion sense and possesses a most quiet elegance. I recognized her from her picture in her magazine and so I trotted over to introduce myself. I asked her how Stitch came about and she said she pitched the idea and it was accepted! Now that takes guts! I suppose you’ll never know if you don’t ask, right? In case you are wondering, if you sew, you will love Stitch! It’s packed with fun and easy sewing projects and also has stories about people who sew.
The party was still going on, but it was time for me to leave. I had to meet my friend, Deborah, at Sample Spree. I’m sure you’re wondering what that is all about! I’ll fill you in with the next post!
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