I want to share with you the last 36 hours or so of the life of a pattern designer getting ready for Quilt Market.

My design studio, Threaded Pear Studio, has the opportunity to receive cuts of fabric from fabric companies, before it's official debut. We get to play and design with it. Fondle it. Hold it. Love it.  Most of the time we have a couple weeks before market to get make up a bunch of quilt samples!

However, the pressure was really on this Market...we have the opportunity to design patterns for Holly Holderman, of Lakeshouse Dry Goods, and received the goods on Wed and Thursday...literally, just a few days before we jump on a plane and head for Quilt Market.

So here is a snap shot of the last 36 hours at Threaded Pear Studio. A bit of a photo essay for your enjoyment.

1. Get "hot off the press fabric" Fed-xed to the studio.  (Received package one at 11:40 Wed. Package Two comes 24 hours later on Thursday.) 

2.  Need to make 7 quilts and 1 apron in 2 days. Call in all sewing favors and friends.

3.  Wow! Super Cool fabric New From Holly at Lakeshouse.  Fabric is so cool we decide we can make 8 quilts instead of 7.  What?! Yup, it is that cool!

4. Cut. Sew Press. Repeat as needed.

5. Get them ready to quilt on my Gammill machines--- lucky we have 4 long arms in the next room at Cranberry Quiltworks, my Gammill Dealership.

6. Quilt. Quilt Quilt.

7. Make and sew on binding.  Take home to hand bind while watching LOST.

8. Meet back at studio in the early am.

9. Quick take photos of finished or nearly finished products for brochure which needed to be at the printer last week.

10. Mission accomplished.  Whew! 

The above steps only works well when you have wonderful friends willing to do whatever it takes to get a quilt done!  Plus, if you pay them off with the leftover fabrics--they sign up to do it all over again in 5 months.

Thanks to the cast and crew at Threaded Pear Studio and Cranberry Quiltworks for making it all possible! Hats off to Stephanie, Kaye, Cathy, Ginger, Joyce, Corni, Pat, Tina, Hal, and Carrie! And Pamala, Derryl, Rachel. 

 

 WE DID IT! Eight quilts. One apron. Start to finish in about a day and a half!

Thanks Holly for designing great fabrics and letting us play.

Sorry, we cannot show you the finished quilts just yet...they await their debut in a few days in the Lakehouse Dry Goods booth at Quilt Market.

This Friday at Quilt Market in Portland, Threaded Pear will launch 12 new quilt and apron patterns.  Look for them on our website and at your favorite quilt shop. 

 

I am looking forward to see this fabric yummy…New from Free Spirit Fabrics “Sugar Snap”.  Here is a quick sneak peek from Yummy Goods creator (and blogger) Melissa Averinos…and a bit more about her Sugar Snap line.

This line will be previewed at Spring Market next week, and will be available in the fall.

From Melissa:
Sugar Snap, my debut line for Free Spirit Fabrics, is composed of 7 different designs rendered in a total of 22 ways. I am tap-tap-tapping my foot until its release in August of 2008. As the title suggests, Sugar Snap is a sweet collection with some flair!

Bold colors waltz with pastels; Organic elements twirl alongside geometrics. Orchestrated to stand alone or dance with their partners, the fabrics in the Sugar Snap line will also mingle charmingly with other collections.

And here are a few tidbits about Melissa:

I like honey on my pizza and salt on my watermelon (but only if it needs it).
I like my metal rusty, my scones warm, and my pillows flat.

I'm 5'2" on a good day.
I'm a Cape Cod girl.
I love to dance, practice yoga and laugh my butt off.
Though I long to sing, I truly cannot carry a tune (I don't even sing to myself); Color, pattern, and texture have become my voice, my artwork my song.
I really love pie.

I checked out Melissa’s Blog, "Yummy Goods", and yes, I can confirm that she does like rust and strawberry/rhubarb pie.  Check out this one photo from her collection of rusty stuff posted on her blog. 

  Also, she is an admitted Pack Rat and here is another photo to prove that.

Melissa, I can’t wait to see the line in person.  Thanks for the “yummy” sneaky peek.

 

Cool rust huh?

I checked in with Amy B. and she had few minutes to give us a studio update.  Amy has new fabrics, new patterns and new "solids" fabrics.
 

Below is a personal sneak preview from Amy Butler and what she is showing at International Quilt Market:

Happy Spring Everyone!

It's such a lovely time of year!  It's gorgeous in Ohio and everything is coming
to life. I'm finding it hard to focus in the studio because all I want todo is get in my garden! My favorite spring flowers are my hellebores (happily pictured to the right) and they are exploding with bloom.  The new growth and energy is completely inspiring and refreshing.  I'm totally in the spirit of the season and I can't think of a better time of year to launch new collections.  Quilt Market is around the corner and I'm bringing some new fabrics and new patterns along
to share with everyone.  Here's a little sneak peak at what's coming up.

My newest quilting collection Midwest Modern has been a blast to work with!
I've got a pile of swatches & snips in front of me while I scheme and create projects and samples for inspiration.  I'll be sampling a lot of projects for my quilt market booth, including my two new sewing patterns; the Birdie Sling and my laptop Cover and MP3 Case. The Birdie is a honey of a bag!  With it's modern style and dynamic size, it's a great carryall. It's also very easy to make- perfect for beginners. I've been using my laptop cover and mp3 case that I made for my Midwest Modern book and I  really love them. It's great to be able to make utility beautiful, and both cases provide superior protection.  I had many requests to make the covers into a pattern, so it's nice to bring them to market knowing that folks will enjoy using them, plus, I wore my other ones out!

After Free Cone Day from Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream and 31 cent Cone Day from

Baskin Robbins, now what? Reader, Blogger, Quilter and Comic Booker Cheryl made a comment notifying u all about Free Comic Book Day.

I don't imagine that quilters will love Free Comic Book Day as much as they love free or nearly free ice cream but the whole idea does crack me up. Ice cream and comic books in May - ahh if I was nine years old again!

Check out this quilt made from an X-Men comic book from GeekCrafts blog.

It is just what I need...a good comic book and a waffle cone of sherbet...life is crazy with Quilt Market close approaching...

Answer This Question: What other crazy quilts have you made or seen?

Talk to me...Make a comment and I will send you some fat quarters.  Three Winners will be picked from comments made before May 7 midnight Pacific Time. 

Cheers. Gina 

 

The International Quilt Market show for Spring is just a few weeks away. It all kicks off on May 15^th and runs through the 18^th at the Oregon Convention Center.

For me, planning for Market means anticipation, crazy hours the next few weeks and the opportunity to see lots of my quilting friends.

For those not familiar with International Quilt Market, it is a trade show focused on “the art and the business of quilting.” For me, it is just fun. Unfortunately, Quilt Market is not open to the general public but is for vendors and buyers of quilting supplies, quilting machines, quilt patterns, and fabric, fabric, fabric! – you get the picture.

In addition to covering all of the festivities (check out photos from 2007 Spring Market in Salt Lake City) and reporting it back to you on Quiltersbuzz, I will also be there showing and selling the latest pattern designs from my quilt pattern studio, Threaded Pear. And I will also keep an eye out for the latest notions, tools, gadgets and fabrics. The best part is chatting with the top designers of fabrics and patterns.

So my flight is booked. I am actually traveling from Kansas City for the Machine Quilter’s Showcase (selling my long arm quilting machine supplies and Gammill quilting machines) and then to Portland for Quilt Market in Portland. I am hoping no more airlines go out of business between now and then.

 

We all love quilts. But I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.

Somehow I missed Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day yesterday. It was news to me but every year on April 29^th, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream gives away free cones of their tasty cold treat at their Scoop Shops. Did any of you cash in yesterday with a scoop of Chunky Monkey, Cherry Garcia or New York Super Fudge Chunk? Let me know. I wonder if there were large crowds. Last year Ben & Jerry’s served more than one million scoops.

If you missed the Ben & Jerry’s promo but still want a deal on some ice cream, your local Baskin Robbins is the place to be tonight. Today, April 30^th from 5 pm to 10 pm local time, you can get a scoop from any of the 31 flavors of Baskin Robbins for only 31 cents each. I just love these competitive promotional deals!!

And your indulgence also is for a good cause.....

Whimsical and Fun!  That is what these two young designers are!  Their "Lizzie B Cre8ive" booth at Quilt Market was the best…I unofficially crowned it the funnest brightest booth in the place!  They even made the bean bag chair in thier booth...and had lots of requests for them to make a bean bag chair pattern.

They have patterns for quilts, backpacks (I use mine daily) blocks of the month, memory books and more.  I saw this flower quilt in a tiny shop in Colorado and knew it was their pattern!

Here are the two Elizabeth Hawkins' (sisters-in-law with the same name!) from “Lizzie B Cre8ive” to tell you more!

Once upon a time there lived two girls who had an awful lot in common! 

They each had four children, they each learned to quilt when their kids were young (learning that it was much easier to control a quilt crisis than one of a toddler!), they each learned a passion for creating new things (to try to escape the fact that they now have teens!); but of all the things they shared the thing they shared the most was THEIR NAME!  (And coincidentally, in-laws…but that’s another story altogether….). 

They had always thought it would be fun to start a business together, having the same name.  How fun to print ONE business card with ONE name on it for TWO people.  Thus the Lizzie B Cre8ive pattern company was born.  Meet Elizabeth Hawkins....

Lizzie – (Liz) resides in Pennsylvania and loves the conception and design side of Lizzie B.  She has a background in Fine Arts and Watercolor and takes her sketchbook wherever she goes because she never knows when a quilt might pop into her head!

When she’s not sketching, she’s busy stitching. (OR running kids to and fro and implementing her own “quilter fitness routine”; drive, wait, stitch….drive, wait, stitch…repeat ad nauseam.)

B – (Beth) resides in Arizona and is a quilter extraordinaire!  She has a background in business and experience in a quilt shop.  Give her a design, an array of fabrics, a super big gulp of Diet Coke; click the heels three times and a Lizzie B quilt pattern is born!  She does the pattern writing (and thankfully, the math!) so that even right-brained Liz can understand them. 

Cre8ive – Together Liz and Beth are finding their way in the quilting world.  They strive for uniqueness in their designs. 

They look for inspiration in the things that they love and find comfort in (jazz music and umm, chocolate?).  Traditional is not their focus.  Whimsical is!  They both enjoy appliqué (because they can take it with them anywhere!) then like adding detail and texture with embroidery and simple notions.  They have a bright future ahead with talk of fabric design, a book or two, quilts featured in an upcoming issue of Quilter’s Home Magazine and a quilt in a calendar for 2009.  Not to mention many, many more whimsical patterns. 

Fresh and NEW for Spring! 

 
 

Ready to see our new handbag???  Here you go!  Wait till you see it in person, it's so darn cute!  Patterns are being printed as we speak and will be posted on www.shoplizzieb.com in May.

And It’s Official They Are Writing a Book!

It's official....we JUST signed on with Kansas City Star to put a home dec book due out next spring! 

Most of all, Liz and Beth hope to inspire quilter’s everywhere to B Cre8ive!   

 
To find their fun patterns, try your local quilt shop, OR the online Lizzie B retail site at www.shoplizzieb.com

 

I am looking forward to seeing them at the next Market.  They promised I could join their “Mom’s with four kids club”—even though my name is not Elizabeth Hawkins--if I buy them a diet coke--extra large.

 (Photos thanks to Elizabeth Hawkins and Elizbeth Hawkins.)

 

 

 

It is my pleasure to feature the creative design team of Polly Minick and Laurie Simpson… I have always been a fan of folk art and primitives and these gals are some of the best around.  I had a chance to chat with this sister team bit at last Quilt Market and to see their latest fabric line with Moda, Prairie Paisley.  They also have a line called "Winter" (see Fat Quarter bundle photo.) coming out in July. (Threaded Pear designed a quilt out of the "Winter" line and will be posting it soon.)

Prairie Paisley is literally flying off the shelves at quilt shops. This red, cream and blue line is perfect with an Americana flair…(It has nearly sold out and has been re-ordered and it has just been out a few weeks!)  Plus, here is a sneak peak of their next line, "American Primer" (Shown here) which will debut in a few weeks at Quilt Market. This line will be available in October.

These two authors and artists are certainly busy, but they agreed to tell us more about what they do and how they do it!

Here are Polly and Laurie:

We are pleased to write this for your readers - as we find ourselves involved in a totally "dream" job - we want to share a little about ourselves, what we like, how we do it! I guess we realize first and foremost that being able to design fabric for Moda Fabrics would be a dream job for most everyone, so knowing that is maybe what makes us work so hard.

We are always on the hunt, talking, planning, collecting and trying to stay ahead in this work, as soon as you turn in your collection - bingo you can enjoy it for a day and then back to the drawing board as they say. Yes we LOVE working for Moda and we so enjoy our fellow designers, we only hope that you all get a chance to meet the fabulous staff at Moda that makes this possible and keeps you in the wonderful fabric that you love. We find as we travel we are always asked pretty much the same questions, so we thought we would try and answer them for you and in doing that you will get to know us just a little bit.

The most commonly asked questions:
#1!!! How did YOU get this job! We hope after you read this you will maybe think we do belong!
How do you keep coming up with new designs?
Do you get to pick your colors or are they given to you?
What comes first - the colors or the theme?
How do you do this when you two live so far apart?
Where do you get your inspiration?
How did YOU get to do this when you do not sew!!??!!

OK, let's begin. Keep in mind that we pinch ourselves daily for getting the opportunity to do this, as they always say "find something you really love and figure out a way to do that for your work!" I think that we spend a part of each day on our -job- if you want to call it a job. We are always in search of the next item that will inspire us, discuss colors that will work, and what we can add, a theme that we both like. We may be making a piece in our studio, designing a new pattern, putting colors together, it is always something to make sure your next collection will be well loved!

How do you keep coming up with new designs? Thankfully for me this may be the easiest part, I think when we chat with our fellow designers, we all have something that is easier for us - be it they are a true artist and can paint or draw anything thought they have in their head - or are skillful with their sewing, understand color or are creative - we all have something that is easier for us. For me, it is thinking of new ideas and themes! I guess our minds never stop, we are almost on the next project before we mail in the current one.

Our studios have photos on bulletin boards, photos stacked up, or for me antique items stashed away for the "just the right moment!" For me, it is just to look up from my current rug and look around me. I have been a collector for Americana and folk art for many, many years - and our house is always a house of props - I just see something a little different one day, and bingo it is a thought for a future project. My collections include: vintage patriotic sand pails, game boards, Noah's Arks, early textiles, trade signs, blue sponge ware - so just to look through what you love will give you some inspiration for a future collection. I always tell people - just look around you! Laurie and I are both collectors, not all the same things which is another plus when gathering our wits for the next idea. I may get a call from Laurie as she is walking through a show or flea market and she hits upon something that triggers a good idea, and the same for me - a thought will come to my head and I will jot it down in the back of my checkbook or call Laurie - and we are off and running. This works equally for us and makes that part - maybe the easiest!

 A bit from Laurie:

What inspires us in our designs of quilts, rugs and fabric for Moda?  Well, just about everything as Polly has said.  It certainly helps to bounce ideas off each other.  I know if a topic is brought up by one of us and the conversation moves quickly back and forth - that is a good sign for us.  Often, because we have the same cultural and familial references, we speak in half sentences and single words and the other one totally understands what we mean.  That is certainly one of the perks of designing with your sister.

We love anything old and poking through antique stores has given us more inspiration than you can imagine.  You know when they tell aspiring writers to "write what you know"?  Well, I would tell aspiring designers to work with ideas and motifs that you know well and love.  If you love something, you will be amazed to find you are your very own expert on it!  One thought leads to another and one image leads to another. 

For instance, when we were working on the Airedale quilt and rug for our first book, Folk Art Friends, we of course were working long distance.  Polly asked me what colors was I thinking of?  "Well, we know what color Dixie is" I said. (her Airedale at that time)  "When I think of Dixie it reminds me of the Scotty Dog quilts from the 1930's.  Except, our projects won't be pastels like the 30's quilts, but Dixie's colors make me think of Bakelite - which is certainly from the 1930's.........." (See above photo with Polly and her dog!)

Does that sound like gibberish to you?  Polly knew exactly what I meant and when we pulled fabric swatches for our projects we found we matched perfectly.  Reds, golds, ambers, browns - just like vintage Bakelite jewelry.   We have found we always visualize this way - one thought, then another until the entire project is down on paper.  Works the same way with a fabric collection.

Prairie Paisley was started from a conversation about an antique fabric swatch and within an hour - we had a concept for the entire collection.  Imagine someone collecting fabrics all with a paisley image on them - all from many eras and places and yet they all work because of a common color palette and a love of paisley.  We envisioned a rich, layered grouping of linens and quilt fabrics collected over a period of time.  We are crazy about Prairie Paisley and we hope you are too

More from Polly:
Before I was lucky enough to join Moda - I was a long time contributing editor to Country Home and Coastal Living magazine. I was also a stylist for them and went off on many an assignment to film houses - so my brain has been crammed with many beautiful photos and ideas and I am thankful for that! With all we have going on now, I do not have time to "style" anymore, but I am always writing and sending in thoughts on an item or story they may like - I so appreciated and loved my work with the magazines. I am a self-taught interior designer and so often look at most all I do with a "decorator" eye. I am so thankful for these previous endeavors, as they are a great help to me daily.

What comes first - the color or the theme? Always depends, we may get excited about colors we put together and work from there. But usually I must admit it is the theme that gets us fired up and ready to charge ahead. Certainly we look at everything each day with a thought to a future project and that makes each day fun - we always quickly call the other to see if possibly they may like it as well~ When we did our books together - we would do a hooked rug and quilt that would work together. The same happened while doing the books - maybe I finished a rug that inspired Laurie to get busy and do a quilt -- or maybe I saw a beautiful quilt she was working on and it spoke to me in such a way I could not wait to find a way to design a rug that would work. It always just seems to work out! And do we pick our colors or are we given colors?? No, we are not given colors, we all have a "niche" area and we are free to work within that area!

Continue reading on next page.... 

She a talented one...this Sandi Henderson, a children's clothing designer and maker and a fabric designer...Tracey catches up with Sandi as she readies her second line of fabric and for Spring Quilt Market. Plus, she is giving us a free pillow pattern!   Read Sandi's blog to keep up with her new line and the on goings of her pattern line. Thanks Sandi!  

Spring is “Blossom”ing as Ginger Blossom, Sandi Henderson’s debut fabric line for Michael Miller, flies off store shelves. The QB caught a few moments with Sandi as she prepares for the launch of her second line at Spring Market in May. She offers insight to her fabulous designs and her terrific Ruffle Pillow Pattern … read on!

 Is there a Ginger Blossom project you'd care to share with our readers?

 Oh sure!  Here is a link to the free pattern for my Ruffle Pillows. Pillows are a staple in home decorating and adding a ruffle brings fun whimsical twist to a room!

 So how does it feel to see your drawings adorning fabric on store shelves, and what about seeing people's finished projects, it must be pretty cool.

 It is so cool!  Still a little unreal though. When I received the very first strike offs, I just kept marveling at how they looked just like the drawings and artwork I had sent in, except it was on fabric. Obviously I knew it would be like that, but to actually see it was very cool. And, yes, it is very cool to start seeing finished projects by others popping up around the place.

 You mentioned your daughter as being an influence in your work. Does she have a say in the design process?

 She has a say in that I don't get to work when either her or her brother want something!  :)  But if I gave her any input into actual designs it would be all cupcakes and ice cream and princesses. Cute, but not quite me!  I do have to say though, even though she is only 3, her artistic style is starting to show through and it's very similar to mine. Who knows, maybe 20 years from now she will be an artist herself and we can look back on this interview and smile. She also loves fabric.

 Do you have favorite project? Does your daughter?

 It's probably a little obvious by now but I love to make children's clothing! Making clothing in general is so fun, I can't think of a better way to express "who" you are than by creating something for yourself to wear. And making things for the children in your life is even more special. I heard one of my church leaders once say, "Children spell love, T-I-M-E." Giving them gifts and money doesn't show them love, but they know they are loved when you give them time. To me, when I create something for my children by hand I am telling them I love them enough to take the time to do it.

 What's on the horizon? A book, TV, magazine appearance?

 
Oh boy. There have been offers for the above, but so far I have had to pass on them up to this point due to time constraints. I am very careful about the projects I pick and the time I choose to do them. I'm pretty adamant on being a mom and wife first and a designer second and if the time isn't there, then it's a sign that it isn't the right project to sign on to at that time. I've learned the hard way to not take on more than I really can do. That being said, our schedule for 2008 is looking bright!  We'll be adding a few employees in the next little bit to help with sample making and other odds and ends, which will free up a lot of my time.  So after our pattern line launches in May, I will have the liberty of taking on a book or other large project. I'll keep you posted.  ;)

 
Before all that, a new quilting weight collection of fabric will be debuting at the Spring Quilt Market and so will our first line of sewing patterns!  We are starting with a line of children's patterns, very much like what you have seen from me in the past!

 
How does your blog play into all of this?

The blog (Portabellopixie) is the new wave of keeping in touch with people. There are family blogs, business blogs, and craft blogs. Mine is a little bit of all of them.  I started Portabellopixie the blog when I wanted to give my customers and friends a place to get to really know me. Buying a few yards of pretty fabric and sewing something up with it is fun. But when my blog readers go pick out my fabric, they will have watched the process from start to finish. They know how I picked out my colors, they watched as I went through my strike offs.  Basically, it's a way for me to bring along everyone for the ride. It's also a way for me to really connect with the crafters out there and to hear what they are looking for in fabrics.

 

Sandi was interviewed by Tracey Lamphere, a QB reporter and fabric fan.

Photos and graphics thanks to Sandi.

 

I had the chance to sit in on a filming of The Quilt Show today.  My plan was to sneak in the back, watch the process of filming this "TV Show for the Internet" and to get the lay of the land and figure out what to expect when I film tomorrow with the hosts Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims.

Needless to say, things did not go quite as planned...

I showed up a bit late (I did not know what time the filming started), and what I thought was the back door was the front door, and I got ushered into the front row and quickly became a part of the studio audience.  Then my cell phone rang.  So right off I broke the only two rules of the show...don't be late and turn off your cell phone!

However, Alex and the gang welcomed me and said wonderful things about QuiltersBuzz.  I instantly felt welcome and wanted to be a part of the action taking place. 

As a studio audience member, we practiced up on our enthusiastic clapping, laughing and "oohhing." 

As hosts, Alex and Ricky have a wonderful chemistry and a true desire to promote and support the quilting industry.  They have compiled a staff and crew of "big namers" in the television world who travel from their full-time jobs to work this show.  All were kind and gracious.

My buddy, Gregory Case, the Photo Man, filmed a small segment on the show today and did a terriffic job.  Gina Perkes, an award winning long-arm quilter showed as how she works her quilting magic.  The crew from Gammill provided some long-arm quilting machines for demonstrations by Merrily Parker who gave Ricky and Alex a lesson in long arming. 

I was most impressed with guest Sue Garman, a master at hand applique and design.  Her original quilts were outstanding. The photo above is a quilt named "Lily Rosenberry"---quite stunning. She agreed to guest write on the QuiltersBuzz. 

Sorry, I do not have any photos of the shoot...I did not want to break any more rules (no photos allowed during filming) and jeopardize my shoot in the morning. (This other photo is of the back room at the studio, where my quilts and demos items were shipped.)

But, I think they like me, they asked me to tell a joke to entertain the crowd during the down time...That was easy!

Wish me luck. 

I am very excited to be on the Quilt Show.