Red and White!

So while Jeanne and I were working the Heritage Park Quilt Festival in Calgary, we stayed with our very very good friend Janet Samuels! It's always such a delight to spend time with her, someone who understands quilting like we do!
Now in case you haven't been keeping up with everything that's going on here at The Quilt Patch (and I can hardly blame you if you haven't been! I can hardly keep up and I'm living it!!) we are having a Red and White quilt display during our Outdoor Quilt Show on Sunday July 22!

But the night before, Saturday July 21st, we are having a dinner at the beautiful Temple Gardens Miner Spa Hotel, which also includes a guest speaker, which just happens to be....Janet Samuels!
Janet has caught the red and white bug! Big time! And Jeanne and I were able to get a small sample of what she will be showing you at the dinner! Without giving anything away, I wanted to offer you a tiny glimpse also to just wet your appetite, or like me....get you on the red and white bandwagon!!

You are going to be blown away when you see the amazing quilts Janet has to show you!
Now only does she have a stack of red and white quilts, but she's busy sewing up a storm!

I can't wait for you to see the quilt she's made using these teensy weensy little 3 inch stars!! AMAZING!!!

Hope that little preview sparked your interest! I know I came home from Calgary ready to whip up something red and white! If you are interested in attending the dinner, with speaker and trunk show, please call or drop an email, or come into the store for a ticket! Tickets are $45 each and seating will be limited.
Check our newsletter for more info on having a quilt displayed in the park!!

Back From Quilt Market!

Wow! What a trip! We were in Kansas City, MO for one week attending Quilt Market, and just returned late last night!

I think this may have been the largest convention centre we've been in yet!!

Jo - our office manager, wholesale manager, and general keeps us in damn line manager!

Not only do we attend Market as shop owners, but also as vendors. We have a booth and sell our patterns wholesale as well. We planned a Christmas theme for our booth, and because we have to ship our stuff across the border, (which is an adventure every time!!) we do work with a minimal amount of structure and 'fluff'!

Kind of a jumbled mess at this point!

Jeanne LOVES getting her picture taken!

So in order to make out booth look more Christmasy with minimal stuff shipped, we decided to ship a roll of wrapping paper and ribbon, scrounge empty boxes and.......

wrapped, wrapped, wrapped!

It did add a little something to the booth!

Here are a few more pics of our booth:

I wish I could explain exactly how HUGE International Quilt Market is!! It's ginormous!!
Let me try..... It's an industry show and open to shop owners, patterns designers, etc. You must have credentials to get in. Quilt market happens twice a year. It happens in October in Houston, TX every year, and in the Spring it moves around. So last year we were in Salt Lake City, Kansas City this Spring and next Spring we will be in Portland!

A view of the show floor from above

So the pics above are actually from Salt Lake City. It gives you some idea of how extremely large this show is. I read somewhere that if you walked up and down every single aisle in the show, you'd have covered 3-1/2 miles!! As well, Quilt Market combined with Quilt Festival (which opens to the public) is the LARGEST convention that Houston hosts every year. Now isn't that something!?

I'm going to post some more fun Market pics on our Facebook page - so be sure to check that out as well!

I Like Everything Chocolate!

Is chocolate a food group yet? Well it should be! I mean really...who DOESN'T like chocolate?!
I like my chocolate in all forms.....cake, bars, balls, melted....I even like my fabric kind dark and delicious!

MMMMMMM.......

Kind dark and sexy isn't it??

Espresso flannel bundle

The most popular bundles we sell right now are the Espresso bundles! Whether it's cotton or flannel, people are loving this colorway. I personally think these are great 'GUY' quilts! The colours are so rich, deep and delicious, with that hint of mocha! Whoever you choose to make this quilt for, your brother, maybe your son, or maybe a very special friend - you must be sure to back it with Plush Cuddle fabric....or Minky as it's often referred to!

I backed mine in black! And the quilting looks fabulous!! But the chocolate looks equally amazing!! Who wouldn't want to roll around naked in this quilt!? I certainly do!

Now wouldn't you know it, this always seems to be just my luck....I heard that very very close to the convention centre we were just at in the Toronto area, was not only a Lindt chocolate store....but better yet.....A LINDT OUTLET STORE!!!

My very favourite kind of chocolate, in an outlet store? That would kind of be like I'd died a little death! My two favourite things! Chocolate and a deal!! Sigh.....maybe next time.....

I love these chocolate balls!

Or maybe......just maybe.........someone will........

So next time you see a lot of DARK quilts in The Quilt Patch:

Remember.......sometimes a girl is just a little sweeter after a little chocolate!

Oh....and the wine can't hurt either!

After Hours!

So Jeanne and I just returned from Winnipeg where we worked at our booth during their amazing three day show! The hours are long after you factor in setting up and standing on those cement floors for so long, but we enjoy what we do! We also enjoy seeing good friends that we get to catch up with during show season! Friends like Pauline, from Hamels Fabric out in Chilliwack, BC.  We went out for dinner after the show closed on Saturday.....however because she didn't have a vehicle there and we had only a cargo van.....seats being limited, Jeanne offered to sit on an empty rubbermaid tub, and Pauline offered to drive!

As you can see, it was quite an adventure for Jeanne - and I was laughing so hard I could barely take the picture....which explains the blurriness!
After dinner we had another destination in mind......

Unh huh, that's right....

We went shopping!

Now as luck would have it - Pauline's hotel room was right next to ours! However....she got this ginormous African themed suite, with....

And......

In case you are wondering....it's carpet!! Not kidding - told you...African themed.
So after lots of great visiting, much wine, we all ended up:

So, I could have blogged about our booth. I could have blogged about the show. I could have blogged about lots of things....but I wanted to give you another 'behind the scenes' look at The Quilt Patch life!

It's Official!!

So finally after much back and forth with our AMAZING travel agent, it's all official!
We are cruising baby!

We are SOOOO excited!!! We'd be thrilled if you could join us!
Now just as an FYI - Neither Jeanne nor myself has cruised before!! So don't be shy! You either are in the same boat...pardon the pun! Or you can be our expert chaperones! Either way - we are sure to have a wonderful time!

Dirty Little Secret!

Ok, I'm feeling a little remiss in my blogging skills!
Jeanne and I recently attended our first engagement of the Spring season, out in Bonnyville, AB. It was a fabulous time! Both Jeanne and I taught classes on the Saturday, after a Friday evening of AMAZING food....oh ya and we did a trunk show also!! But the food....wow!

So for the past few weeks on Wednesday's, I've had a standing date with my granddaughter for a few hours each evening! I have been sneaking away from work early to pick her up, make her dinner, play, then relinquish her back to her mom! I'm going to miss those Wednesdays when she goes back to her regular sitter! It's WAY more fun being a grandma than a parent!!

Only a Grandma would let her dip her strawberries in sugar!

But how could you not??

Ok, now on to my dirty little secret.
Are you ready for this......
I COLLECT MENS NECKTIES.
There. I said it out loud.
And not just any old kind of necktie....but old, used neckties! I have never bought a new necktie. Why do I do this when I have a perfectly good STORE full of brand new fabric? I don't really know. It's like an addiction. I have bins and bins of ties. Under beds, in closets. And right now....all over my sewing room floor!

Messy ties littering my sewing room floor!

I do use the ties! I make quilts with them. I don't have a lot of time to play in my ties. I'm usually sewing something that is for the shop. The next sample we need or the next book project, or the next something new. But I do try to make one project a year with them - not a lot, I know, but it's something I do for ME.
So the project I'm working on now is called Eclectic Pickle. It is a Quilt Patch Pattern Co pattern!
It's a paper piecing project, but I use a fusible interfacing! (I'd be happy to share any tips - just drop me an email!)

Eclectic Pickle hanging in my house

As you can see - this won't be my first Eclectic Pickle quilt! I have this one hanging in my basement. It's 60" x 60" and I think it's one of my all time favourite quilts I've made with ties.
So back to my sewing room....when I use the ties in a quilt, I sometimes mix in silks with the ties. Yes...another thing I collect!

I love the process of choosing a specific tie and pairing it up with either another tie, or the perfect color of silk to complement the tie! I could spend hours doing just that! I have little piles all over my sewing room! It's soooo incredibly messy when I drag out the ties! Not just the random piles all over - but taking the ties apart creates little threads that linger everywhere. Paper piecing creates random bits of garbage, silk frays quite a lot, and well...in general, I'd be the first to admit - I'm a messy sewer!

Ties pairs with silk

Ties paired with ties

So did you notice how I sometimes substituted a few piece here and there? That's because with a tie....you only get so much fabric! And if you don't have enough - it's not like you can run out and buy some more!

Close up of Eclectic Pickle

So that's it my friends.....as you can see, what I do for myself, is a little different from what you see Jeanne and I do the store and in our books. If you'd like to donate to my addiction, please feel free, I appreciate each one! If you'd like a tip or two on how to use ties you may have - leave me a comment, drop me an email or come in to the store! I'm always happy to share! (Just not my ties!)