What a great time we had at Quilt Market! Five of us ended up going, and boy did we have fun! We left early on Wednesday morning so that we could stop at a few quilt shops on our way up. We visited three nice shops and got to Minneapolis just in time for dinner.
Theresa and I being silly pretending to be each other - I think she got me pretty well!
We started each with morning classes - mine were usually about merchandising, or something grown-up. The girls took some fucn classes to learn about new techniques, tools and other fun stuff.
Thursday is technically the day before market and they run a couple of great programs. From 10-6 they have Schoolhouse. It was crazy, fun and exhausting. The day is divided into 15 and 30 minute segments and you are given a list of about 15 different presentations to choose from in each period. You don't get the list until shortly before the Schoolhouse starts, so planning is rather rushed. The presentations vary from previews of upcoming fabric lines to demos of new products, books and patterns. It is hard to decide where to go, and sometimes the rooms are full when you get there, so you just go to something nearby and try to learn something new. It is a fantastic opportunity to learn all kinds of things and keep up with what's new. Here are a few pictures from some of the Schoolhouse presentations that I attended:
Edyta Sitar Shows one of her new quilts and a bag. Her new fabric line is really neat, some of it is batiks and part is reproduction. It is just Lovely!
Blue Hill Fabrics did two presentations - first there was one by Margo Krager who is coming out with a line of pinks. The quilt that inspired the line is pictured on the left. It was made by a friend of hers using scraps of double pinks from the 1800s. The stars are only 2 or 3" finished. It was absolutely gorgeous. Margo is a well known quilt historian and she also talked about how double pinks came about, and how they got their name. Margo's line was gorgeous, too, so naturally I had to order some.
The other presentation was about another new line which is based on wallpapers and other textiles from the
House of the Seven Gables Historic Site. The lady with the poster is Anita Blackaby, Executive Director. She spoke about the history of the House and Nathanial Hawthorne. Then she talked about how they had chosen the patterns for the fabrics, and she even had some pieces of the original wallpaper. It was just fascinating! The fabric was pretty, too - and, yes, I did order some.
Renee Plains and Edie McGinness holding one of Renee's cute quilts. Renee's new book, A Bird in the Hand, is available at the shop. She had many of the quilts from that and she talked about how the book came about. She is so cute! We got some of her new patterns at Market
Renee Nanemann showed gorgeous quilts made from her upcoming book and fabric line. You may recognize local designer, Lynn Schmitt Cibulka holding a quilt that she designed using Renee's upcoming line. Isn't it pretty? Yes, I ordered some of this fabric - it was too hard to resist!
Jo Morton showed some of the quilts from her new book - we have a few copies left in the shop, but don't wait too long, the are going fast! The quilt on the top left is made from her newest line, Companions. Isn't it pretty?
These are just two of a large collection of feedsacks that were shown at one of the other demos that I went to. You would be amazed if you were to see all the different varietys.
This photo was taken at a Schoolhouse presentation that I attended that featured a new book called Tile Quilt Revival. The quilts in the demo were a little artsy fartsy for me, but it was fascinating, and I actually won a copy of the book. When I get a few minutes (don't hold your breath) I am going to see if I want to try to apply the technique to our more traditional types of quilts. It is a quilt form from the past, so I think it goes with our shop. Traditional tile quilts are reminiscent of Crazy quilts. Very interesting. Here is a traditional tile quilt made by Hattie Burdick about 1876. It's in the collection of the
International Quilt Study Center:
For more about the book and tile quilting check out Barbara Brackman's Blog.
Kay Capps-Cross showing off one of her "interesting" quilts in her Schoolhouse Presentation
As some of you may know, Kay and I have known each other since we were both babies in the business. She is such a delightful and fun lady, which makes it much easier for me to overlook her strange fascination with Black & White quilts. Very stark and contemporary - not exactly my look! I have been working hard to bring her to the "dark side," after all, she is half way there with the black! I may have finally made some headway - her next book has a black and tan quilt, sort of a tribute to yours truly. I can't wait to see it. She gave me a few hints at market, but I will keep the secret until the book comes out in a couple of months.
The Pieceful Crew picnics on the floor while we wait to get into Sample Spree!
Sample Spree is one of the craziest things at market. Some of the vendors participate, but not all, and they offer their latest wares for you to purchase right there so that you can go home and get started on samples for your shop. We are usually able to pick up some fat quarter bundles of lines that we will be getting in the fall, or new patterns from some of our favorite designers in packages with one each of all their newest - instead of the usual minimum orders required to get the wholesale price. It was a great opportunity for the girls to pick up some stuff to try out for possible quilts or classes. Lots of fun!
Ok - More to come on the fun times we had at Quilt Market, and some of the great ideas we have for upcoming classes and events.
Stay Tuned!
Carrie
