Quilt Market 2012 Report #3

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Plaid Portico

All right, I have so many photos it is going to take a long time to sort through them all, so I shall post in small groups at a time. So stay tuned, as we will have Quilt Market Houston 2012 content for at least a month here. First of all, let’s recap. Who attends Quilt Market? The intended buyer is the quilt store owner. The exhibitors therefore are anyone that wholesales to quilt stores including fabric companies, sewing equipment companies, notions and distributors, and pattern companies – of which there are many and varied!!

Some of the fabric designers from the fabric companies have a booth either on their own or connected with their company, and many of those also have their own pattern business. Many pattern companies later go on to design fabric. What is a pattern business? Someone who design original patterns for quilts, bags, apparel or anything that uses the fabrics that these store sells. So the pattern companies display projects made with their patterns, and the fabric companies display projects made with their fabric. So it all makes for a varied and colorful display all around.

First off is Green Bee Designs and Patterns out of Nashville with clean trendy booth design and very appealing, modern sewing patterns and fabric choices for quilts, clothes and bags. Alexia Marcelle Abegg is an artist, designer and seamstress, who also runs a sewing school. She is joined by Rob Bancroft who has his first fabric collection coming out with Cloud 9 fabrics in November, and Michelle Abegg, who has sewn since a child, and creates sewing patterns with Green Bee. They were super nice and I am in love with that quilt.

Green Bee Design & Patterns

Green Bee Designs and Patterns

Next up for today is Me and My Sister Designs. A corner booth with one of my favorite displays with mannequins wrapped in fabric, you can’t miss it and makes you look! Very friendly, just like their fun friendly patterns, these two sisters started by quilting, then bought a quilt shop, and then designed patterns, and also have designed fabrics for Moda. Phew! Take a peek…

Me and My Sister Designs

Modern Quilt Guild Exhibition at Quilt Market Houston 2012

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Plaid Portico

The Modern Quilt Guild Exhibition at Quilt Market 2012 in Houston

Yesterday I got a chance to look at the quilt exhibitions at Quilt Market 2012, and started out with the Modern Quilt Guild‘s exhibition. Gorgeous gorgeous, I took photos of the ones that really struck me, and since I take the photo first and then look and see who designed the quilt second, I got surprised a couple times to see I had chosen quilts people from my own East Bay Modern Guild. Hooray!

Without further ado, my picks and pics -keep in mind there are limitations photographing in this environment and there are at times things obstructing a view of the whole quilt, but enjoy anyway!

Ripple by Daniel Rouse, Oakland, CA

Close-up of Ripple by Daniel Rouse

Bits and Ripples by Alison Schmidt, Oakland, CA

$Refracted Sunset by Kati Spencer$

Refracted Sunset by Heather Scrimsher

Pixelated Color Wheel by Kati Spencer
Taylorsville, UT

The Kelp Quilt by Rossie Huchinson and The Mid Mod Quilt Bee
quilted by Bernie Olszewski

Shattered by Jacquie Gering and Angela Walters
Chicago, IL

Mainframe Derez by Violet Craft
Portland, OR

Hugs & Hugs by Hannah Talecki
Columbia Missouri

5-HTP Squared by Jennifer Carlton-Bailly
Portland, OR

Cutting Edge Conglomerate by Earamichia Brown and the NYC Metro Mod Quilters, quilted by Jackie Kunkel

Firedrill by Elizabeth Hartman
Hillsboro OR
Original design from her book Modern Patchwork

Tail Wind by Stephanie Ruyle
Denver Co

Tail Wind by Stephanie Ruyle
Denver, CO

What’s for Breakfast by Karen Anderson-Abraham
Santa Barbara, CA

Quilt Market 2012 Houston

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Plaid Portico

If you’ve never been to Quilt Market, take a little journey with me…

Well, what fun. Today the actual market opens, but there have already been several days of antics. For me, it started with an Andover Fabrics sales meeting and company dinner with lots of news of good things to come–new offerings in the batiks and solids (more to come on that), sponsorship of QuiltCon, and most exciting, a look at the new collections coming out. Quite invigorating. More on Andover when I report on the fabric company booths later.

Last year I went to all the Andover schoolhouses which are incredibly well attended and have great give-aways. This year I branched out and spontaneously went to where my nose led me, and I have some pics to show for it! Then last night was the fabric 2.0 opening party, a place to meet new people, catch up with old friends, and meet in person people I’ve known online. No pics of that so sorry, but here goes for some schoolhouse action–remember there are a million sessions and one cannot be everywhere at once – I wish!

First up was Dena of Dena Designs, the gal with one of the coolest booths at Surtex, showing her new fabric line “Happi”and projects she’s made with it. Dena handpaints everything, and has a new book coming out, The Painted Home.

Dena Designs

The Painted Home by Dena

Next was Jennifer Paganelli, showing her new collection Happy Land, a fun video she did with Downy and a second book coming out called Happy Home. Jennifer was accompanied by Carla Hegeman Crim, who writes many of the Sis Boom patterns and has her own book out now, Sewn Hats.

Jennifer Paganelli at Quilt Market 2012 Schoolhouse

Sis Boom

Sewn Hats by Carla Hegeman Crim

Valori Wells was there with her new line “Novella”, some quilt patterns to go with it, a slideshow that included her photography that serves as inspiration, and new sewing cards.

Valori Wells

Anna Maria Horner came with a variety of new fabrics (velveteen, voile, rayon) in her Field Study collection, her embroidery flosses and pearl cotton threads and projects that use all of these things together in new ways. Oh, and a new book, Anna Maria’s Needlework Notebook.

Anna Maria Horner

Anna Maria’s Needleworks Notebook

Amy Butler arrived with colorful projects using Alchemy and studio collections in satine, rayon, voile, velveteen and linen. We were treated to a fashion show with music, and an appealing slide show of spreads from her new online project, Blossom Magazine, launching in November–patterns, photography and inspiration galore. Its sort of a whole culture all its own.

Amy Butler

Next I went one to see some of the new designers at Art Gallery. First up, Angela Walters, machine quilter extraordinaire, with her new fabric line “textures”

Angela Walters

Then there was Bari J with her second collection with Art Gallery, Splendor 1920.

Bari J

And Sarah Watson, Illustrator, with Luxe in Bloom.

Sarah Watson

And Jeni Baker, with her Color Me Retro due Feb 2013.

Jeni Baker

And Pat Bravo, the creative force behind Art Gallery Fabrics concluded the schoolhouse with a video and a view of her new collection, Rock ‘n Romance.

Pat Bravo

That’s it for now. In the next few days I will continue to report on my Quilt Market 2012 journey and share pics of booths, designers, cool projects, and the quilt exhibitions. Follow along!

Quilting Circles with “I want to cut you”

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Plaid Portico

Lauren of “I want to cut you” fame and the East Bay Modern Quilt Guild updated her progress on her quilt using Tokyo Rococo and it is simply stunning. The tutorial for the quilt top can be found by clicking here, and for the quilting (gorgeous!) by clicking here. All about circles! I love the combinations of neutrals with the quilt stitching and then the printed fabrics are like little accents on the rich layering of neutral textures.

Take a gander!