I Give You PB-Complete!

I've finally finished PB-Complete!  I've come a long way since I blogged about completing my collection of Pearl Bracelets here.  After I got my quilt back from longarm quilter Krista Ellis, I created the binding with Bright Star (white) using my AccuQuilt Go to cut the strips.  This is the first quilt I've made of this size and with binding.  It seemed like an eternity to hand-sew it on.

We went out to take pictures of the quilt and I thought I was in good shape but then I remembered that I needed to make a sleeve and a label.  At 3 am Sunday morning, it was all complete.  And to top it off, I fell asleep under my quilt and got up at 8 am!

I am so happy and proud that I finished it.  It will be on display at the BMQG show as part of the Lowell Quilt Festival at Appleton Mills.  For more info, visit http://www.lowellquiltfestival.org/partners.html.

The description that will accompany my quilt at the show... Ahem.

I am obsessed with Lizzy House's Pearl Bracelet fabric line and I am obsessed with hexagons!  When I saw that Jacquie Gering was teaching a class on making a hexagon quilt at QuiltCon, I knew a hexagon quilt would be the perfect pairing for Pearl Bracelet. 

To organize the colors, I decided to use the seasons.  Each season is represented by three rows in this order:  Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn.  Lucky for me there are 28 colors (plus white) so each season is represented with seven colors and the border is white.  The fact that the colors range from light to dark from top to bottom is a happy accident! 

QuiltCon: Denyse Schmidt

My friend, Deborah, who came up from Houston to see the quilts said, “I’m surprised you came.” She said that because I was just in Texas a few months ago for Fall Quilt Market. Even though I had just made a trip, how could I resist an event put on by the Modern Quilt Guild?

I’ve said before that I became a modern quilter once I picked up the Modern Quilt Workshop by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr. That was in 2005. I was so moved by what I saw in their book that I looked them up and took their class on quilt design. (Sorry, I don’t remember the name!) Seeing the work of Weeks and Bill, the work of Denyse Schmidt and seeing the exhibit, The Quilts of Gee’s Bend, made me feel as though I’d found my quilting home. My journey as a quilter started around the same time the modern movement started. That’s why I had to go to QuiltCon. And I’m so glad I did.

Many bloggers and tweeters have shared the pictures they took of the quilts. I will share mine later. But first, I want to talk about Denyse Schmidt and her class I took: String Pieced Zippy Purse. Yup. I got to take a class with one of my heroes. I was in awe. But I was also a bit frazzled as I had just flown into Austin and entered the class a bit late. She didn’t mind though. She just had me jump right in. Denyse is a great teacher. She is easy going and helpful. It felt as if I’d already known her!

If you are a fan of Denyse you know that she is known for her improvisational quilts. She had us use improvisational piecing to create a small purse with a zipper. We sewed strips of fabric of different sizes onto an oilcloth rectangle. We then put in a zipper, folded the rectangle and sewed up the sides. I have never tried improvisational piecing on my own, but I will certainly try it now. And the zippy purse is something you can whip up in no time and makes a great gift.

Denyse was also the keynote speaker for QuiltCon. She talked about her influences: her parents, who grew up during the depression, saved everything and made everything; her work at RISD, namely a stone cutting class; graphic design and eventually quilting. A few points really resonated with me. Denyse spoke of an assignment in one of her early classes.

She created a small book based on personality traits. The things we wanted people to think about us were on light pages. The things we really feel were on dark pages. The design came from the content.

She was introduced to Appalachian music and from it she learned the importance of cultivating your own style.

She spoke of Anna Williams, a woman who made beautiful improvisational quilts in a tiny room, not in a spacious studio. Work with what you’ve got.

Finally, Denyse peppered the slides that accompanied her talk with sayings from famous people. My favorites:

Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. -- Oscar Wilde

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. -- Jack London

After all the eloquent words from Denyse, I feel bad subjecting you to my zippy purse, but here it is in all its glory.  I accidentally sliced through my bag with my rotary cutter.  Not to worry, a nice stitch on one of the Janome machines provided for the class fixed it right up!

BostonSewer at Fabric 2.0

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!

This Little Piggy's Going to Market... Again!

If there are any readers left out there... I'm heading to Quilt Market again this year. Woo Hoo! Full reports when I return! I will be twittering here, so you can read those for up-to-the minute reports!

(I have been working on my project over at FlexAIR and have had no time to post. I will post some of the things there I learned along the way!)

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).

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.

If only everything in life were so easy...

Did you get the clues I left in the last post? I met Anita Bradshaw at Quilt Market in October! Yes, there is another Quilt Market adventure that I didn't mention.

You might recall that I worked during Quilt Market. Well, since I was from out of town, my boss, Terri, found me a roommate. It turns out that I was assigned Deborah. If you have ever met anyone from Houston, you might know that their kindess spreads as far as the state of Texas! I met so many nice people there. Terri and Deborah were just two of them.

Deborah and I became fast friends. She took me under her wing and showed me the ropes when I needed showin'! A friend of Deborah's, Connie, was opening up a new fabric store in Houston, so she was at Market to buy supplies for her store. As it turned out, Connie was invited to a party given by Moda, the very large fabric manufacturer. In turn, they invited me! Deborah, her friend Connie, and Connie's sisters and I headed down to the grand ballroom, fashionably late, of course. I didn't know what to expect. I thought it might be an intimate gathering where we'd get to meet some representatives from Moda.

The ballroom was enormous. There were hundreds of people seated and eating dinner. I believe the entrees were chicken or fish. That really didn't matter, since there were no more tables. So, we were standing around kicking ourselves for taking our time getting to the ballroom. Before we knew it, the waiters rolled in big, round tables and set them with tablecloths and dishes. Voila! If only everything in life were so easy. Apparently they ran out of the chicken/fish and we ended up with filet mignon! I should have closed my eyes and asked for a waterfront condo!

We sat down and during dinner began chatting with two ladies, Anita Bradshaw of Another by Anita and Dianne Springer of Quilt in a Cup. They were two of the nicest, most talented and creative ladies. The following day at Market, I bought a few of Anita's patterns and one of Dianne's Quilt in a Mousepad designs. As if I didn't need more projects to work on... So, I am happy to share with Cathy!

After the delicious dinner, the real fun started. Those nice ladies I saw walking around the booths at Market turned into party animals! Deborah, Connie and the rest of the posse were satisfied with chatting and getting to know one another, and so was I.

Seams to Me!

No, that is not a misspelling! That is the title of Anna Maria Horner's new book, "Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing", that I forgot to mention in my last post. Silly moi!

I forgot to mention that there were a ton of Anna's books in her booth. I asked if I could purchase one, and she gave me an enthusiastic "Yes!" I was told that because it was Quilt Market (trade only) and not Quilt Festival (general public), that I wouldn't be able to buy anything. So, I was both surprised and quite pleased when I found out I could purchase the book. Just between us, it was discounted. Of course, I had to buy a ticket to Houston and share a room at the Hilton to get that discount!! Anna signed it for me, so that is, of course, priceless!

I read Anna's book on the plane on the way home. New reasons to love sewing is right! The book is full of fun crafty ideas to wear and for around the home -- some of which I have not seen in other books.

I am looking forward to making the pin cushion caddy. Imagine a bread bowl made of fabric. You can stick pins in it like a pincusion and put sewing notions in the middle. What a novel idea! I would like to make one of those for my mom.

There are also instructions on how to make a garment bag, cleverly entitled "The Great Dress Escape". I bought some fabric awhile back that I have been meaning to make a garment bag with. It is to die for! Can't wait to share that!

The other project that caught my eye is called "Fabric Is Fine Art." It shows you how to take an "inspirational image," as Anna calls it, and reproduce it with fabric!

Lastly, I really like the purses, entitled "Taxi Tote" and "I'll Have One of Everything Bag." I cannot wait to get started!

Guarding Jane Sassaman's Quilt

Quilt Market was full of fun and funny incidents, as you've read. Another funny incident occurred when I was working as a quilt guardian. Little did I know what I was in for when I selected to guard the art quilts. This set of quilts was particulary hard to guard because they were not to be photgraphed! Naturally, I didn't find out about this until I reached the area. The area wasn't too big, but for one person, it was a challenge. It was a mini-maze of sorts, with pictures on the outside and inside. If I was telling someone outside that they couldn't take pictures, there could very well be someone inside that I wouldn't catch! After being there awhile, I was told that I had to ask people to delete pictures if they took any. The things we do to be part of Market!

Thankfully, most people were cooperative. There were a few who were taking pictures when they knew they shouldn't have. Shame on you! :) There was a reporter with a camera man in the area. I watched them start setting up near the art quilts. I was thinking to myself, "Are they serious? They are going to start filming right here?" LOL. This was even more surprising, because these people appeared to be working for the show! So, I had to go up and tell them that they couldn't film in the area. Whew!

I went back to the inside of the maze to find another gentleman about to take a picture of one of Jane Sassaman's quilts. I went up to him and told him the quilts were not to be photographed, and that he'd have to delete any pictures he took. (Wow, how did I get so assertive?) He told me it was his wife's quilt! LOL. He deleted the picture, though. We had a friendly chat. I told him that I love his wife's work -- which was true! Sunday, during my travels through Market, I happened upon Mr. Sassaman in a booth -- his wife's. He said to Jane, "Hey, there's the lady who made me delete my picture of your quilt!" Gee, thanks. What a nice way to meet Jane. Oh well. Maybe we'll meet under better circumstances in the future. Be sure to check out Jane's website. You'll see why I like her work so much!

Amy Butler

Can you believe I met Amy Butler at Quilt Market? I gotta say, how cool is it when you can find all your heroines in the same place at the same time? I didn't even have to try too hard to find these people. I'd just walk around and run into them!

Amy is the nicest person. I told her of my desire to be a textile designer. She suggested I be sure and get a non-disclosure agreement before showing my completed line. I didn't think of that at all, so of course I was grateful for that information. I purchased Amy's new book, Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones and she signed it! I told her that I had a copy of Midwest Modern (thanks to the giveaway by Lisa of U-Handblog), but I didn't have it with me. Well, Amy had a solution to that problem. She said I could send an email to her assistant, who would make sure I get a signed bookplate to put in my copy! Hooray!

Of course, Amy's booth was beautifully decorated with her fabrics and items made from them. Her dapper father was there to help her, too! It's wonderful seeing family members helping out in such endeavors.

For some reason, Amy called me Linda. It was funny because she caught herself, and said, "Linda? You don't even look like a Linda!" So that was the joke for the few minutes I was in her booth. Of course, Lots of people wanted to talk with Amy, so I didn't get to show her my designs. But, I was thankful for her kindness, her time, and her advice.

Sandi Henderson, the Portabellopixie!

Quilt Market is a trade show, which generally speaking, means mere mortals such as myself are not allowed to attend. I did attend, however, because I signed up to work at the show. My first job was to be hanging quilts. I was reassigned to security duty, if you can believe that. For nearly 8 hours, I sat in a chair and told people that they couldn't use the washroom that was closest to me. GRB management wanted to keep the area clear of non-convention center personnel because of the heavy equipment in the area.

Well, I stuck it out like the trooper I am. Sometime during Friday evening, while vendors were setting up their stalls, a woman came by, headed to the bathroom. I stopped her and told her she had to use the other washroom that was much further away. I then realized it was Sandi Henderson! I said, "Sandi!" She looked at me with surprise, because of course, she didn't know who I was! I said, "I read your blog!" LOL. She asked if that meant she could use the closer washroom. Sadly, I had to tell her no. LOL.

I did tell her a funny story about the Lei print of her Ginger Blossom line. At the Lowell Quilt Festival, I saw that one of the vendors had the Lei print there. I asked her if they happened to have the corduroy version. The woman, visibly irritated, said, "This is a _quilt_ show. No one sells corduroy here!" Well! Sandi and I both laughed at that one.

Sandi asked why I was at Market and not Festival (which is for the general public), I told Sandi I wanted to be home for Halloween. She understood, unlike most people who gave me a strange look when I said that.

I think I was introduced to Sandi's work a year or so ago, via Heather Bailey's website. I believe Sandi initially made children's clothing using Heather's Freshcut line. Sandi branched out and created two lines of her own, Ginger Blossom and Farmer's Market. They are both bright, fun and colorful fabric lines.

Sunday, I found Sandi's booth, part of the bright and beautifully decorated Michael Miller aisle. I had corresponded with Sandi via email before. I said that to her when I re-introduced myself. The first thing she said was, "Did I write you back?" LOL. I know she is crazy busy and she was concerned that perhaps she didn't get to me, but of course she had returned my notes. (She told the others who were there that I didn't let her use the washroom the night before. There is a similar story involving Jane Sassaman!)

I showed Sandi my portfolio. She really liked it and had positive things to say. I'm glad she was the first person I showed my portfolio to, because her encouragement really steeled me for the rest of the contacts I made that day!

Sandi's husband was there, also, and he was very nice as well. I asked Sandi how the kiddies were doing, and she said she missed them terribly. I'm sure they missed her, too, but how lucky are they to have such a mom. And she's a cool mom, too, because she makes the most awesome Halloween costumes!

Sandi is one of my textile heroines. I'm looking forward to what she'll think of next!

Worlds are Colliding!

I've returned from International Quilt Market/Houston (http://www.quilts.com/)! My first report is on Jay McCarroll, winner of Project Runway, season one!!

You may have heard that Jay McCarroll has designed a line of fabrics for Free Spirit. I had already planned to go to Market when I heard that Jay had designed a line and was going to be there! Of course, as a quilter, up-and-coming textile designer, and Project Runway fanatic, I knew I had to go and meet Jay.


International Quilt Market, for those of you who don't know, is the main convention for quilt shops, fabric houses, and designers -- basically, anyone who has anything to do with the world of quilting. Fall Market is always held in Houston, while Spring Market is held in other cities. If you think this is not a big deal, think again. Each season, there are two shows in one -- Market for the trade, and Festival for the general public. In 2007, there were 54,000 people at Quilt Festival alone in four days. Yup, quilting is a big thing.



Thankfully, two of my favorite worlds, fashion and quilting have converged in the form of Woodland Wonderland and Garden Friends, Jay's new fabric lines! Jay was the first person I sought out when I hit the market floor full of fabric and sewing machine vendors. I was surprised to find that he had an entire corner booth to himself, but not surprised to see that there were several people who wanted to talk with him and take pictures. When it was my turn, Jay was so nice and so personable and easy to talk to. I told him that I loved his finale collection on PR and that I noticed that some of the pieces were quilted. He thanked me and told me that he grew up with quilting. He said that he found everyone in the quilting world to be really friendly. Jay was only too happy to take a picture with me and give me an autographed picture. He also offered me some button pins, made up of the lovable little creatures in his line.



My time with Jay was short, as a Free Spirit representative came up to talk with Jay about what sounded like a new fabric line or a twist on the current ones. It is a trade show, after all, and I wasn't buying, so I had to step aside.

I hope Jay's new endeavor does well and that we'll see new lines soon. Read about Jay and see his new line here: http://www.freespiritfabric.com/core-pages/designer_detail.php?des_id=56



(The title of this post comes from George Costanza on a Seinfeld episode... one in which I think Elaine and George's fiancee were becoming friends. George didn't want his worlds to collide, but I am only too happy to have mine do so!)

This Little Piggy's Going to Market!

I'm sure that phrase has been over-used, but I couldn't resist. Yup, that's right. I'll be heading to Houston for 3 wonderful days of the International Quilt Market! I will be working at the show and meeting all my heroines: Heather Bailey, Anna Maria Horner, Gina (of Quilter's Buzz), Cherri House, Amy Butler and more!

Lot 8, the store owned by Chloe Dao, winner of Project Runway season 2, is in Houston. Also, Jay McCarroll, who won Project Runway season 1 will be there as well, since he's created a new line of fabric designs for Free Spirit. Let's hope I run into them while I'm there!

BPR Linked to Me!

Hello!

You all know how much I love Project Runway. My go-to site for all things PR is Blogging Project Runway. I've been in touch with Laura K via email since I went to Martha's show (Tim Gunn was the special guest). I told her that I was at Fashion Week, too, so she's linked to my Fashion Week Post. Hurrah! Thanks Laura! Thanks to BPR, too, for all you do to keep us informed on all the PR happenings and designers. BPR is a home away from home for PR designers.

Here is a link to the BPR post that links to me. It's somewhat of an infinite loop, for all you programmer types who might happen to be reading. :)

BPR at the AMEX Skybox during Fashion Week!

NY Fashion Week -- Spring '09!

I'm back from Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in NYC! Hubby and I attended the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fundraiser for emerging designers, which was sponsored by American Express. The featured designer was none other than Zac Posen! Thank you, American Express, for the opportunity to attend a show under the tent at Bryant Park!

The atmosphere inside the tent was festive. There were several vendor booths, including iGoogle, Judith Ripka, Havaianas and Office Max, believe it or not. Amex puts on a good show, I must say. Servers passed around drinks and hors d'oerves while we waited for the runway to open. The DJ played an array of R&B tunes from the early 80's. There's nothing like old-school funk to get a party started!

When the runway opened, there was a lot of pushing a jockeying for position! I saw Malan Breton, designer from Season 3 of Project Runway, as I was going in. I said, "Hi Malan!" He responded, "Hello, Daaahling, how are you?" It was as if we'd known each other forever! Malan was eliminated from Project Runway early on, but he is a truly talented designer and has shown during Fashion Week since then. I am glad to see that he looks happy and is doing well in the industry despite his early departure from Project Runway.

We were given green wristbands upon entering the tent. Once we got to the runway, we were happy to discover that the green wristbands had the better seats. The runway looked just as it does on TV. All the chairs and walls are black. The runway and the backdrop from which the models enter are white. For the Zac Posen show, the runway backdrop was decorated with dozens of clear chairs that looked like the Phillipe Starck Ghost Chair. They looked as though they were just randomly thrown up on the wall and they stuck. The chairs were a great effect. They provided an interesting back drop without taking away from the presentation.

Andre Leon Talley, Vogue's editor-at-large, was sitting in the front row. Zac had already shown earlier in the week. This show was a re-do and a fundraiser for the CFDA, as I mentioned. Thus, I knew the "real" fashionistas had already seen Zac's "real" show earlier, so, I was surprised to see Mr. Talley there. As it turned out, he was the emcee. Those of us fashionista wannabees were giddy with excitement and self-importance, since we were in the exclusive runway at Bryant Park! We were of all ages, sizes, and colors. We all had a fashion for passion (except for maybe, Hubby). There were those who were dressed to impress and looking around to see and be seen. Several people were taking pictures and having people take pictures of them on the runway. How fun! Eventually, production assistants pulled the protective plastic off the runway and lights went down. The show was about to begin!

The show started with five models wearing shimmery, lingerie-like pastel dresses and handbags. They were beautiful and powerful in full makeup and flowy big hair. They were robotic in a way, but not completely. They reminded me of the fembots in the Austin Powers movie. The collection was absolutely beautiful. There were lots of gorgeous, floaty, pastel fabrics. I am not a fan of animal prints, but I do like the way Zac did them. There were leopard prints that were enlarged and faded on flowy dresses. There were slim fitting dressses that were cleverly decorated with paillete "stripes". Other dresses were billowy, ruffly and seemed to glide across the runway. There were lots of jewels on the garments, which I found surprising on outfits for spring. One can see that Zac is a true artist. It was amazing to see Zac's vision and artistry come to life.

Andre Leon Talley interviewed Zac for a few minutes after the show. Zac explained that he had been working in the industry since he was 17. He went to London at that young age, as well. His family is a huge part of his company and thus his success! Zac did seem to be exhausted. It was probably near 11 pm at that time, so that is understandable. He is thoughtful person who really cares about his customers. The sheer volume of garments was impressive. Zac Posen is one of my big three, along with Carolina Herrera and Michael Kors, so I am glad I got to see him!

Hubby and I were pretty tired ourselves, after our whirlwind NYC trip. Before we went to Bryant Park, we did manage to visit the Magazine Cafe (I'd received a flyer earlier in the day). I liked Magazine Cafe. It's got just about any type of fashion magazine you'd want, from countries such as Canada, Italy, France and Australia. There are also home decorating magazines and finance magazines. I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy that YSL collector's edition magazine, which featured looks from each of his collections. Looks like I can order it online, so maybe I'll do that, if I don't visit sometime soon. :) It's a little light on the "cafe" side. I saw only a small area up front that you could have a coffee. However, they do sell a nice cup of coffee. It's also a good place for inexpensive "I heart NY" tchotchkes.

We were in the mood for steak, and so we went to Keen's Steakhouse, as suggested by the concierge at the Marriott (we didn't stay there by the way, but concierges are usually happy to make a recommendation to anyone). Keen's is an old New York steakhouse. The waitstaff was quite helpful and the steak was delicious. We chose potato leek soup and Caesar salad as appetizers. The soup had a nice flavor, but it was not thick -- the way I like my potato soup. The Caesar salad was very good. We had crispy fries and glazed carrots as sides. Delish! The ceiling is decorated with hundreds of old pipes. They look as though they were old enough to be smoked by the native Americans who sold Manhattan! I do like Keen's, but a few of the patrons seemed to have had a little too much to drink. I'd probably refrain from staying there too late at night. I love finding "spots" -- places I know I can return to when I visit the city again. Magazine Cafe and Keen's are definitely spots when I'm in the Garment District.

I've attended a couple of Fashion Week shows now. Let's hope I actually get to work one, next time. Behind the scenes, of course. :)

Red Barn Sewing and Yarn

Surprise, surprise. It's raining again in Boston. This is definitely the rainiest summer I've experienced in my 15 years here. I don't know what else to say about it. Grin and bear it, I guess.

Another booth I visited at the Lowell Quilt Festival is Red Barn Sewing and Yarn! How cool is that rhyme? I have visited them every year I've been to the festival. I must admit that I already know the owners, Helen and Linda, so I would visit them anyway. They always have a great set up at the quilt festival.

I have been to their shop as well. It's in Merrimac, MA. It's a bit of a hike, but definitely worth it! They have converted a red barn into a quaint and fabric-packed quilt shop. They also have a great selection of Japanese fabrics as well as sashiko supplies. Linda, Helen, and the other staff members are always very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. I bought some of my fabric there for my Bento Box Christmas Quilt. I hope to take the quilt to the shop for their opinion as I'm putting it together.

I must say that I know Helen and Linda through Danielle (Linda's daughter and Helen's niece. Oh, did I mention Linda and Helen are sisters?). Danielle was our wedding coordinator. I got really lucky when I found her... online! Danielle is the owner of Details Within, a premier wedding planning service. Danielle is a true professional. She knows how to handle the stresses of a wedding day and make it look effortless. She leaves no detail unanswered. She helped my wedding day go off without a hitch. I also helped her at a wedding once upon a time, so I've seen her on both sides! If you are looking for a wedding planner, I highly recommend Danielle.

Lowell Quilt Festival

Hello!

Yes, it's been awhile, as I was reminded by one of my readers last week. Hi DW! :) I've been busy this summer. Since I'm waiting for a thesis director to be assigned to me, I decided to take a Flash class at Massachusetts Collge of Art and Design (MassArt). I made a prototype of my thesis project. Hooray! The project is more concrete in my brain. I suppose I'll have more information on all that later. But basically, it's the reason for my other blog, FlexAIR (which I have not updated for months, by the way). I think I should rename it FlashAIR, since it doesn't look like I'll be using Flex. Anyway.... I finished that and started painting my upstairs bathrom. I thought I would paint it in a day. Hubby used to do this kind of work in another life and had other plans for me, like sanding the walls down first. Oy to the vey. Let's just say I've been doing it for a week and I'm not done yet. I have just the door to do, though, and I'll be finished. I could have finished it today, but I went to the....

Lowell Quilt Festival. There were some really nice quilts there. However, I have to say that the quilts of the 2006 and 2004 festivals were much better. I took so many pictures those years. In fact, in 2004, I went back the second day to get more pictures. I was not too heartbroken that my camera battery died today. I did happen to get the picture of the quilted car cover! How cool is that? It was quilted to advertise the New England Quilt Museum. I got a few pictures of quilts on my cell phone that I will have to figure out how to get on the computer. I don't currently subscribe to the email option on my cell phone, so I'll have to work something out. I took a picture of a really cool double wedding ring quilt. I was surprised it didn't get any awards, as was one woman who also admired the quilt.

There are also lots of vendors at the show. There aren't as many as have been in years past. I think the transportation costs has prevented people from far away from coming. I like to patronize the vendors who've come from so far. I also like finding out about local shops that I can visit.

I will talk about the vendors I visited in upcoming posts. The first vendor I'll share is Fabric Peddlers of Nederland, CO. They are a husband and wife team who have a great rapport. The husband is a bit of a jokester, which keeps things interesting between them, I'm sure. I bought a beautiful Asian fabric. They have some other beautiful Asian fabrics that I'd never seen before. I could have done some damage there, but I bought just one fabric. (I went to the show with a $50 bill and promised myself that I would not spend more than that -- including the $12 admission and $5 parking). They also had beautiful Aboriginal Australian fabric and batiks. I guess the Aboriginal fabrics are becoming popular or I'm behind the times. Lots of vendors had them, so the latter is probably true.

Note... I will post the picture of the car cover after charging the camera!

Direction - The International Textile Design Show

In a previous post, I mentioned that I am starting my textile design business. I met the artist and clothing designer, Sigrid Olsen, at a talk she gave at the Peabody Essex Museum awhile back. I told her about my plans, and she suggested I attend Direction, which is exactly what I did this week. Hubby and I got up super early so I could catch the 6:20 am (!!) Acela out of Back Bay Station. I arrived at Penn Station at around 9:45 or so.

The show was held at the Penn Plaza Pavilion, which is just across 7th Avenue from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. Upon first glance, the show was smaller than I'd expected. But, I wasn't disappointed. I got my badge and went upstairs to the booths. Each booth housed a design shop that presented its wares to buyers. Basically, the buyers walk around, choose a booth, introduce themselves and have a seat. Design shop reps show them their fabric designs one-by-one. The buyers choose the ones they like and the reps set them aside. I saw some people taking orders, which is the ultimate goal, of course. I do hear that the textile design business is a tough one, but just about everyone was really nice.

I talked with a few people and showed them my portfolio from my U4ia class at MassArt (Massachusetts Collge of Art and Design). I got kudos from everyone on the presentation :) and I got some good critique on my work as well. Of course, they were not there to help me get started, they were there to do busines for themselves, so I do appreciate those who took the time to talk with me.

There were so many beautiful designs. There are truly talented artists out there who are doing this work. I am not an artist, per se, but I do have an eye for design, and I think I can do well. I talked with a few students from FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in NYC. They were part of the "Forward Leap" section of the show, in which students from several schools displayed their work. The FIT students were all in a one-year textile design program. I'd already read about that program and have been wanting to do it since I found out about it! It was interesting to see their work. There are so many people who want to do this work, I've discovered. Still, I'm not deterred just yet.

There were forecasters as well. Forecasters do a lot of research to determine what the "in" thing will be the next season. They forecast style, motifs, themes, and colors, among other things. This must be a big business, because although they were out-numbered by the design houses, they were well represented. There was also a booth on fashion inspiration, Studio C Vintage. Reps from such companies travel the world to gather vintage clothing and fabric and sell them to fashion and design houses. They do insure that their items are in the public domain, so if you do base something on an item, you are safe legally. The idea is to use these pieces as inspiration, not to directly copy them. The rep there was so nice and helpful. She looked at my book, carefully, and really gave me some good points. She is a Cali girl, like myself. We have to stick together! Should I need some vintage inspiration, I will definitely use their service.

I attended a seminar given by Steve Greenberg of Pointcarre. Pointcarre is a textile design software package. He demonstrated what to do with a print once you've purchased it. If you own a print, you can manipulate it in anyway you wish, by removing or adding motifs or changing colors, for example. I used U4ia, as I mentioned, which took some getting used to (and that's putting it mildly). Pointcarre is much more intuitive.

I spoke with Steve after his talk. He told me that U4ia is no longer being distributed. (It looks like Lectra, the U4ia vendor, now markets a product called Kaledo.) Well! I was told a U4ia license costs thousands of dollars, so that doesn't surprise me. The FIT students all used Adobe Illustrator for their work, which is much less expensive, comparatively speaking. Of course, Illustrator can be used for all types of design, so there are limitations when using it for textile design. Pointcarre is specifically for textile design. I got the impression that it is quite expensive as well. Being a programmer myself, I have an idea of what goes into writing such a package, and I can't say I blame them at all.

What is a visit to NYC without a visit to Mood? More on that in the next post!

Original Sewing and Quilt Expo

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. Where does the time go? Thought I'd write about the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo, which takes place every year in several cities across the U.S. I have known about this for years, but have yet to attend for one reason or another. How dare the BostonSewer not attend the event of the year! This year, the reason I won't be going is due to the work on my project over on FlexAIR. If I were to attend, I'd be packing up and heading out to Worcester, MA for the weekend. I really hope I can attend next year.

I do have news. I will be attending a different kind of show in NYC! More about that later...