Recaps and Answers and New Stuff Oh My...

So this is how it goes around here...

We prep for Market.

We make ourselves a bit nuts in the process [read all about that from my darling husband Eric in a previous post :-)]. We don't sleep. We eat nonsense. We wonder if there is any way that it is all going to get done. But it does get done. Usually. More or less. Well… the lawn might be brown and the and my hair most definitely needs a bit of color, but more or less is about right. I guess it all depends on what the less is...

We go to Market and always enjoy being with our industry friends and colleagues, talking to customers and presenting our newest products. Always. We usually have much more fun than we expect.  

Thank goodness that most of live by the rule of what happens at Market, stays at Market  LOL.

 

If you have more questions about this photo, I will have to refer you to the previously mentioned Market Rule...

How could we not have fun when we have some very important people at MODA channelling Kevin Bacon in both dress and dance from Footloose? Oh yeah….if nothing else, MODA knows how to throw a party and have fun. Serious fun. Unfortunately no photos on that one… but trust me! He's a keeper that Josh Dunn.

So we get home from Market. We make grand plans. Always. Without fail. And then the post-Market coma hits. Seriously. It should be categorized as an actual condition, so many of us experience the exact same thing. We should call it PMC.

For some, it just lasts a few days or maybe a week. For others, we find ourselves losing several weeks before we can drag ourselves back to regularly scheduled programming…. like blogging and cleaning up the studio and showering :-).

I'm afraid that I fall in the later category. Its like one of those therapy moments when they tell you that you need the same amount of time to recover that you experienced the original trauma. Well if that was the case, I would still be deep in PMC. Hey… maybe I should cut myself a bit of a break?

Now don't get me wrong, I have to start back to work the moment I get back from Market. There is no escaping that. There are orders to process, Market commitments to work out, quilt shows to organize, etc. There is usually a flurry of activity but only the things that absolutely HAVE TO GET DONE, DO GET DONE. You don't even really want any more info about that.

And now we skip to the present. Its a few weeks after Market. I really should have already done a Market Re-Cap. I should have finished that bag pattern I promised you guys. I should have started working on a few new projects that I promised I would have done soon. I should have shaved my legs…. too much information??

So here is the question… do I just start fresh today and pretend that I have already done all of those things? Or do I try to go back and do things that I really should have done about 2 weeks ago….

Given that I would really like to share a few things with you, I am deciding to go back in time and pretend that this is just a few days after Market! Just go with me on this one...

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Hello everyone! We are back from Market and so excited to share some photos with you! We just had a MODA Designer space this time around so our space is small but as usual, we somehow managed to squeeze all of our nonsense into said space….

… first off I apologize if the color is a bit weird. the convention center lighting gods were not working in my favor this time around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for the INSTAGRAM contest to name the new bag trio we finished up at the very last minute [literally at Market in the hotel room on Lisa Bongean's JUKI]… we have chosen to use the name Feedsacks which was first suggested by @cathyquiltingonmainstreet from Instragram. So if you are Cathy… thank you so much and email me for some goodies...

 

I am actively trying to get that pattern to print before we go on a legendary family vacation coming up and I will keep you posted on my progress… now that I have officially and out loud said that I had woken up from my PMC, I guess I don't have any excuse to not finish it!

And then there are so many questions that I never ever get to answer on Instagram so I am hoping to answer a few here:

1. The design wall in my studio that I show is made from two mounted vertical wooden bars [designed in a scallop] with 2 horizontal rods across [the kind for hanging clothes in a closet]. Then I measured across and attached cotton batting [3 layers I believe] across the top bar, pinned it into place around the rod and stretched it to fit under the bottom rod and pinned that into place. I will show more photos of it soon but thought I would at least answer the basic construction.

2. Most of the goodies that you guys see and ask where I have gotten it… pretty much you can bet that I got it at HomeGoods [which is the home-store version of TJMaxx]. We have several in our area and I stock them semi-regularly.

3. I am all good on editors and sewers right now. But thank you so very much for your willingness and interest in helping me out. 

4. Most of bowls are from Anthropologie. I am completely addicted and I am so very glad to know that so many of you share my sickness!

5. Yes, we are releasing a line of Fig Tree colors of wool with Weeks Dye Works. We are crazy excited to share more with you as soon as we finalize everything later on this summer. 

6. We are also doing some fun things with thread so stay tuned for more info on that.

7. We unfortunately do not have any more spots in any of the BOMs and we do not plan on running the same program more than once. We purchase a limited amount of fabric, create as many spots as we can and then usually the fabric becomes unavailable so even if we wanted to do it again, we couldn't. We are so sorry that we can't accommodate more of you guys. It already takes us a few days to package and send out each of the programs because there are SO MANY of you who have signed up! We love doing them and will continue so no worries. Hopefully you can get in on the next one.

8. My newest CRAFTSY class is all about angles and I really, really do think that anyone can learn to work with angles by taking that class. Really. I don't usually feel so confident to claim that something I am doing will end in a particular result for my students…but I really do feel that confident about this. Really.

9. I think that Farmhouse might be most favorite collection in a long time. I think I went a little crazy when I placed my order with MODA. Just in case :-)

10. I going to try really hard to blog more. I know that Instagram is kind of addictive and crazy easy, but I am going to try to regularly blog with more content here. Keep me accountable and feel free to bug me if you don't see me here! Really!!

 

That's it for now… and we have a few fun oldies but goodies that we have found on the shelves as we have prepped for upcoming fabrics. They are on the shop homepage.

Click HERE if you would like to take a look.

 

Updates and pictures coming next week on both the YULETIDE BOM and the MYSTERY SAMPLER BOM.

And a bit more about Market on Monday… something about someone else besides me this time LOL!

Oh… and we still have MARKET SWAG to give out!! Geesh… I guess I will have to blog a couple times next week!

 

MARKET RECAP

The whirlwind known as Portland QUILT Market has finished up and we are home digging ourselves out... literally! You would not believe the mess we create around here as we prep for Market!

We have managed to unpack most of our stuff, sent out most of our orders and started to process distributor requests as we speak! We have also taken several long naps... just to be real LOL!

For those of you who have been following along, we hope you enjoyed the ride! For those of you who haven't had a chance to see the craziness that is market, you can take a look at our facebook posts or follow the Fat Quarter Shop gals as they post all kinds of fun stuff about market, schoolhouse and all the other goings-on!

As for us, here are a few shots of our booth. As usual, we didn't get out of our booth much so didn't get as much of a chance as we would have liked to visit with everyone else exhibiting. Hope you all had as great a market as we did!

We apologize for the sometimes ood lighting. You gotta love convention center lights!

.. special note: the carpet in the convention center was bright, bright royal blue. We just couldn't have that in the picture LOL!!

We had a lot of fun showcasing some photography again this time around [back left side of the photo].

 

...  making those FIG TREE letters just about did us in. Let's just say that it was a much bigger and more involved project than we ever anticipated. But I have do have to admit that we loved the result!

.. added in a couple painted ladders and we were good to go. True confessions: we may or may not have painted those suckers the night before market started in a friend's backyard. In the dark. I think if you look closely you will see that it was indeed in the dark! LOL!

... our LOVE YOU MORE quilt was a bit hit. Here it is in MODA BELLA SOLIDS, clover and snow with snuggles on the back. Pretty sure that this is the one everyone will be fighting over at home. That is as soon as it comes out of the box!

 

... thinking of making the LIFESAVERS runner into a baby quilt. It would be perfect 3 x 3 blocks and a couple borders!

... the ONE PIECE BAG was a huge hit! I can't even tell you how many times I opened the pattern to show store owners how simple it is to contruct. Really! We think you all need to whip one up for the summer. Perfect pool or beach bag. I will be using mine this weekend!

Hope you enjoyed the shots. We will have more pattern showcases coming up so you can get more detailed info about each pattern.

Also stay tuned for a fun pattern announcement tomorrow!!

Our trip to PIQF

Each year we vend at the Pacific International Quilt Festival and each year we are humbled and surprised by how many of you travel to visit us from near and far. This is the only retail show that we do and we love the opportunity to say hi to our customers and hear from you so.... THANK YOU for stopping by and chatting and letting us know what your favorite products and patterns are. We appreciate you and all your amazing support of our business!

This year our whole family participated, our oldest on the cash register for several days, our middle trying his hand at the register as well for a few hours and our youngest.... well, she will tell anyone who will listen that she is famous as she is our cover model for many of the patterns!

As usual, it takes us much longer to dig out than we expect and we are still unpacking boxes, sending out orders and and re-approriating quilts... all while trying to get new products ready for Market. Makes me a bit tired just thinking about it all.

So here are a few shots of our booth....

 

... a few of our bestselling TAPESTRY patterns, SPARKLE and PINEAPPLE & FIGS [ a few kits have come back from the show so if you missed out on them the first time around, nab one now], topped off with my seasonal favorite, CINDERELLA PUMPKINS [ we have a few kits of that one too].

 

... DANCING DOLLIES & PRAIRIE ROSE in the foreground and the yummy PINEAPPLE & FIGS in the background.

 

... a lot of little goodies and our brand new MILKY WAY pattern done in reds and taupes [pattern will be available next week I promise].

 

... a truly yummy combination: JELLY PARFAIT on the table, the Halloween version of our LOLLIPOPS pattern on the right, a quilt from our new WITH FABRIC & THREAD BOOK on the top left [the cute little red purse is from the book too, the pumpkin with the initial is a mini project from a Fresh Vintage issue.

 

... a little bit of everything...

 

... MILKY WAY, POSTAGE STAMP Series, MARIGOLDS in the corner.

 

... MILKY WAY [pattern coming] and the BLOSSOM quilt from the book. 

 

 

 

 ... our brand new pattern LOLLIPOPS in the HARVEST version [ a few kits available]. This quilt is my current autumn love. Graphic and bold but wonderfully autumny feeling [pretty sure that is not a word but you know what I mean]! SPARKLE in the background.

 

... same yumminess as above.

 

There was SO MUCH MORE TO SEE than our little corner of the show and we have a couple good links that I will share this weekend, but at least this is what we looked at for 4 days so thought we would share the view!

 

More info on new patterns coming very soon. To see the above kits we have available from the show, GO HERE. 

More Market... can you stand it?

I know, I know. It is a bit silly showing Market photos this late in the game. But maybe you have actually managed to start missing some Market posts at this point... maybe?

 

MORE BOOK PROJECTS IN THE BOOTH

... the Summer Soiree quilt. Mixing some of my favorite Fig Tree fabrics with Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett and other more contemporary designers was so much fun. Always happy to show people that our Fig Tree colors and contemporary colors go so well together!

 

... more book projects in the foreground.

 

 

... the slipper pattern from the book. Comes in every conceivable children's and women's sizes! 

 

NEW PATTERN: MARIGOLDS

 

... both Marigolds and Sparkle.

 

NEW PATTERN: SPARKLE

... pattern is done in a cream colorway, a plum colorway and even as a single table topper to show you all the different variations that can be done. It is possibly one of the easiest patterns I have done in a while. Each star seems to come together in what seems like an hour.

 

 TAPESTRY COLLECTION

... one of our lovely MODA reps showing our collection to a customer.

 

... don't you just love it when its all laid out like this?

 

A FEW MORE FAVORITES...

... lunchbags from the book, both quilted and made from laminated fabric. So versatile!

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the pics... even if seriously delayed!

Stay tuned for tomorrow for a special little sale.

 

Joanna 

 

 

From Market...

I am sure that some of you remember that I promised booth shots yesterday. But then again I am sure that some others of you remember that I sometimes promise things and can't manage to get them here in time LOL!

Well, today my day aligned and I found a moment to upload a whole LOT of Market pictures... way more than I would guess most of you would ever want to se!. But here are some of my favorites and I promise that tomorrow I will show some more.... promises, promises!

 

A FEW FAVORITE CLOSEUPS FROM MARKET...

... a bowl full of candy goodness. These new mini swatches are called MODA CANDIES and they are good enough to eat. We will have plenty of them available for your snacking pleasure in the fall!

 

... simple little pins from the new book, WITH FABRIC & THREAD.

 

... a stack of our new brochures for stores.

 

... my new book in the booth.

 

... a closeup of the left side of the booth. Where many of the projects from the book resided.

 

NEW PATTERN: PINEAPPLE & FIGS

 

 

 

MORE BOOTH PRODUCT SHOTS

... one of my favorite quilts from the book, dressing a mannequin like a jacket.

 

... a little booth embellishment.

 

... me in the booth. Doesn't it look like I need that chair to hold myself up with?

 

BOOTH SHOTS

... right side of the booth.

 

... middle of the booth. Table filled with goodies from the book and new patterns too.

 

 

... the whole booth.

 

... center right.

 

... the book side or the left side.

 

More shots tomorrow. Not sure you guys could load it all up if I kept going today!

Joanna

 

To Market, to Market to Make a Silly Video

I know we all say this when we hear our own voices... but I guess I will be unoriginal and say it all again....

Do I really sound like that? And is it THAT uncomfortable for everyone who sees themselves on video or is it just me?

I mean, you would think that I would have gotten used to it all, with lovely Gene chasing after us with that blasted video camera year after year, Market after Market... but I don't! Every time I see a new video, I have to shut it off or at least I have to leave the room so that others can watch it.

Just an odd experience that I can't seem to get used to...oh well.

But, anyway, in the absence of having edited any of my Market photos [hope to start having those for you by tomorrow], here is the lovely video that the lovely Gene took for the lovely folks at MODA and they, in all of their loveliness, felt the need to share it with the world :-) :-).....

 

 

 

Happy viewing,

Joanna

MODA Booth Love

Although it seems that I barely made it out of my booth this time around in order to walk the show and take my obligatory photos of friends and colleagues, I did get a little series of pics of the MODA booths right after closing one day.

It's actually my favorite time to take pictures. When it is all quiet and everyone has gone back to their hotel for the day, there is a quiet beauty to the booths without any people in them. Helps to look at all the little details that I miss during the day.

I thought it was a great representation of the amazing job that MODA does every single Market, every single year, year in, year out. I don't think that anyone would disagree that for years now the quality and the professionalism that MODA puts out there as a leading company in our industry not only drives the industry itself but motivates all the rest of us to greater work.

Thank you MODA for another wonderful Market!

 

Welcome to the MODA Country Fair....

 

... did you see the ferris wheel? It was fully functional by the way. And there is our booth to the far left.

 

... possibly my favorite version of the STEMS quilt hanging there in the middle. Love that pattern.

 

 

... loving those lights. Am currently in search of some for our back porch for the summer. Don't you think they would be fabulous. So simple.

 

 

You gotta love working with these lovely folks! I mean, really, who else could look good alongside a purple carpet LOL!?

 

xoxo

Joanna

Tired of Market yet?

The Country Fair banners throughout all of our MODA booths tied us all together and they were easily one of my favorite little additions to this years's decorations. Something about them is so festive. And they are so simple to make, 10" long, 8" wide, cut on an angle with fusible webbing inside 2 pieces of fabric. That's it. I glue gunned mine to a twill tape but if you had the time you could of course also sew them in place. Perfect for parties of any kind, just pick a thematic fabric for that event and you've got instant atmosphere!

 

 

... my favorite sign in the booth. Only some people got the joke. Do you remember BABE the pig? If you don't, then this wont' make any sense to you whatsoever. But that's okay, Eric and I chuckled about it all weekend long!

... here's a pic of me in my favorite new "little black dress" not knowing what to do with my hands.

 

 

... still don't know what to do with my hands. You would think that after the umpteenth person asked me to take a picture of me in my booth, I would have figured out what to do with me hands, but no. Here I am trying to figure out where on earth to put those things to make them look natural. Again. At another market. I think I am going to start holding something at all times! Any other ideas? :-)

xoxox

 

A bit more Market

A few more shots today. Too tired for much commentary. That post market exhaustion has officially hit me.

   

... new charm pack pillow pattern. I am in love with the look of my fabrics mixed with linen!

 

 

... my favorite corner of the booth, with the beautiful green fruit cart that MODA let me use for my booth. Just love it. Wouldn't mind it in the middle of my living room! How about it Lissa?

 

xoxoxo

Joanna

From Market, from Market

You know, as opposed to "To Market, to Market..." :-) You gotta cut me some slack as I am just a bit slap happy today! So glad to be home after our trip to Salt Lake City and then New York, more on that later.

But for now, I thought I would start to share some of the pics of my booth. Starting with a bundle of the new collection, Butterscotch & Rose. It is a warmer, fall line inspired by a trip to Sonoma Valley in the wine country. Its a bit more of a traditional line with a good mix of florals, little prints and my favorite geranium print that I can't wait to use on something for our home. Don't know what yet! I'll let you know as soon as I figure it out.

Our booth theme was Country Fair, along with the MODA booths [stay tuned for some great shots of the MODA booths tomorrow] and we decorated it with signs and fruit and crates and baskets to look like a stand at your local country fair. I don't know about you, but the outcome for me is that I am dieing to go to an actual country fair this summer. Planning it already. Any suggestions for Northern California? We're willing to travel a bit to get there, not too much though.....

 

... I'll have to share some of the funniest "Best Livestock" comments from market. Although the hub might not quite appreciate those being broadcast on the blog :-)...

 

.... these is our newest series of postage stamp inspired wall hangings. For those of you applique lovers out there, these are a perfect combo of applique and a little embroidery. More on those later this week.

I have a million more photos so stay tuned and sign up for our newsletter if you aren't already cuz we are going to have a fun giveaway there later this week!

xoxoxo Joanna