Red and White

In my last blog I told you that I had picked up some reds and some cream and white tone-on-tone fabrics. I thought you might like to see what I bought.

This week I'm busy working these into my latest quilt project. Each block has a different red and a different white/cream/white & red print.

What's great about vacation

Vacations are wonderful. Time to get away and relax. The other day I actually sat and read all day long! I cannot remember that last time I did that. Maybe never. It was wonderful. But the other great thing about vacations when you travel is that you get to stop by quilt shops. I've done just that on this trip. First I stopped at Calico House in Lincoln, Nebraska. Lincoln has several fine quilt shops, but this is the only one I was able to visit before closing time. Don't let the name fool you. This shop is hot with the latest fabrics and patterns. And being in Big Red country (a.k.a., University of Nebraska football) I was able to add some terrific fabrics to my red stash. Their selection of modern fabrics will make you drool! On down the road I stopped at The Quilt Rack in North Platte, Nebraska. Things were happening at this shop too, although in somewhat a different direction. You want cowboy fabric? Or any fabric with a western theme? This shop has them all. I feel in love with a simple western style quilt behind the cutting table. You have to stop by the see it! Added more to my red and cream stash and picked up a Dalmatian dog print for my friend Janette. Wool applique is also popular at The Quilt Rack. The owner dyes some of her own fabrics and they are yummy! After spending 3 glorious days in the mountains with no phone, no TV, no Internet, no iPad, just time to enjoy the scenery, we headed back down to civilization. Cabin Quilts and Stitches in Grand Lake, Colorado, was my stop this morning. Happy to say I left with a shopping full of fabric and patterns. This is the one store I can depend on for mountain theme fabrics and flannel. Not just cute baby flannel, but rows of all sorts of patterns in flannel. One disappointment was my stop in Estes Park, Colorado. After many, many years in business, Maggie Mae's Quilt Shop has closed and Maggie has retired. Sad to loose her lovely shop. Maggie taught me English paper piecing several years ago, and now I teach it to others. Back on the road tomorrow with more quilt shops on my list.

Hooray! It's Sunday and we all survived Quilt Market. What did I like best? The people! It was fun to make new friends, like the girls from Ribbon Candy Quilts, and Lore from James Button and Trim -- who knows her bling! And it was so good to see "old" friends, too, like Wenke, my friend from Norway who has a company called Northern Quilts. Her patterns are based on Scandinavian designs, as well as some very fun little penguins. Please check out her web side www.northernquilts.no. I missed seeing my friend Lola Newman. Her company is Stitchin' by the River. Her quilts and embroidery designs are really unique. I did stroll by Amy Barickman's Indigo Junction booth to glance at some of her new designs. Always fun to see what she's been up to. So many wonderful creative people. Quilting people are just the best!

Fans get to meet their favorite quilt book authors

Another great day at Spring Quilt Market in Portland. We had three book signings today: Sharon Smith and Devon Lavigne signed Fresh Quilts from the Prairies; Betsy Chutchian signed her new book, Lizzie's Legacy, a follow-up to her earlier book, Gone to Texas;and Carolyn McCormick signed her book, A Flock of Feathered Stars. People lined up to receive tickets to the book signings, and then lined up again to get their own autographed copy of their favorite book. Many said that lines were no problem -- being able to meet their favorite authors and get a signed copy of their book was the highlight of their trip to market and worth every minute spent in line. Tomorrow is our last day out here. Time to wrap up those last minute orders, pack everything into shipping crates, and say good bye to old and new friends until the next Quilt Market.

The official opening of Quilt Market was today. Quilters arrived by the 1000s. Kansas City Star hosted three very successful quilt book signings. Authors Christina McCourt Carolyn Nixon and Betsey Langford and Amy McClellan all autographed books for fans in the Kansas City Star Quilts booth. Such talented quilters!

Survived Sample Spree! As you can imagine, one of the most popular spots at Sample Spree is MODA, where you can purchase fat quarter packets of their new fabrics. Here is a sequence of Moda getting ready, the crowd attacking their corner of the room, and the aftermath. Time to put my poor, tired dogs to bed (it's 2:15 a.m. Kansas City time) and rejuvenate for another day at market.

O! The joy!

O! The joy! That is what Lewis supposedly said when the Corps of Discovery team viewed the Pacific Ocean from just north of here. And that is what I said today when I looked around the Oregon Convention Center. I'm especially excited to see the finished booths being set up by the fabric companies. They really outdo themselves. I promise photos on Friday. We didn't accomplish as much today as we had hoped. Only 2/3 of our floor tile made the trip. The other 1/3 is on its way to Portland as I write -- at least that is what Fed Ex promised. We start the day tomorrow with Schoolhouse Sessions. This is when our authors get 15 minutes to tell about their new book, show projects from the book, and encourage shop owners to purchase lots of copies from Kansas City Star Quilts. Each book author will give away a copy of their book to one very lucky attendee.I will be giving a 15 minutes talk in the morning about the latest news from KC Star Quilts and will give away a book from our new Star Stitch imprint. Then it's back to finish setting up the booth and hanging all the quilts, before dashing off to Shopping Spree. That's is when everyone who can possibly muster a ticket gets 2 hours to shop at wholesale prices. The line usually forms about 3 hours before the doors open. And when the doors do open, look out! It's like a big box store on Black Friday. Everyone rushes in to find their favorite vendors. I'm hoping we sell out early so I'll have time to shop. Time for bed. Tune in again tomorrow.