Since my reports and posts tend to run on and on, I've decided to try to limit myself by sticking to a brief list format. Here, in no particular order, are the things that excited me the most at the Houston Quilt Market last week!
1. Michael Miller has an amazing new line of Flower Fairy fabric coming - these are the classic Victorian illustrations by Cicely Barker, and MM really did it right - large panels, beautiful blocks and go-withs - it's going to be the prettiest little fairy land EVER. I know I will be stashing some. Expected at Pacific Fabrics stores in January!
2. Heather Bailey has patterns coming very soon - they are spectacularly sunny, playful and clever - look for pincushions, kids toys and a great reversible purse (two in one!).
3. Queen of fusible applique McKenna Ryan has both new patterns and new fabric coming in the next few months - there is a beautiful Christmas-themed Arctic animals quilt, a gorgeous line of fabric from Hoffman called Willow (we loved it so much, we ordered every piece) and she's working on a new owl themed quilt - and y'all may have picked up that I love owls. The picture at right shows McKenna and me. She's really nice in person, and ridiculously pretty.
4. While wandering around, I noticed a woman's nametag read Cherri House. "Omigosh! You are the woman who designed the I Do Quilt I'm working on right now!" She is an amazing designer and a really sweet person - I can't wait to show her my finished quilt! I'll be sure to post a picture on here for y'all, too - you can start your own - we have the pattern in our stores right now and there's a picture shown here on the left.
5. Quilting Treasures has plans to release both the next Wizard of Oz series (we've got the first three collections now), as well as an "I Love Lucy" fabric collection!
6. Hoffman has the most gorgeous ever Indonesian Batiks - new colors, new styles. Exquisite! Our head buyer, Sharon, already has a gorgeous jacket planned.
7. I bought my own set of AnglePlay templates (Set 1 and Set 2) - if you don't know what these are, they are these really cool templates that go with really cool patterns - we carry all the templates, as well as her wonderful book, Stunning AnglePlay Quilts. I can't wait to try my own!
8. I met Jay McCarroll, the winner of the first season of Project Runway! I am a huge fan of the show, and he has a wacky new line of fabric coming out soon - it's filled with trippy little bunnies and deer. I also got to watch Jay and Amy Butler have a mutual admiration fest - two great (and really nice) designers trading autographs and kudos. Here's a picture of the moment!
9. Anna Maria Horner signed her spectacular new book, "Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing" for me - I went back to my lonely hotel room, ran a bath, and read it cover to cover - she is a lively and exciting writer, and her book is perfect for beginners, since it spells out sewing tools and techniques in an engaging way, while her projects are challenging and creative enough to entice a more experienced crafty girl.
10. Moda Fabrics, creators of Jelly Rolls and Layercakes, have added an awesome new cut to their goody shop - Sweet Rolls! THese charming mini-jellies are only 1 1/2" wide, and are showing up in patterns already. There's just something so enticing about getting a whole fabric collection to make fun projects with that can fit in the palm of your hand. We are expecting to have them early in 2009, so start your creative engines!
Finally, my favorite moment of QM - I got two blissful hours of walking around the Exhibition, where I saw AMAZING quilts from international quilting geniuses. It was amazing, inspiring, fascinating, etc. So while I'm wandering, I notice one of the security guards, a young African-American man, who is walking around and staring at all of the quilts with an expression that mirrored my own. "Enjoying the quilt show?" I asked. He looked at me with this stunned look, and said in a tone of awe, "I had no idea. I thought a quilt was just a thing you put on your bed. This is amazing - I kind of want to try it." IT WAS SO COOL! So not your typical quilting demographic, and there he was, just as into it as me! The power of art and craft is amazing!
- Anna-Beth
Hello! I'm just came across this page, and it was so exciting to see my name up there. It was so good to meet you, and I can't wait to see your I Do! quilt.
Take care,
Cherri
Posted by: Cherri House | December 09, 2008 at 04:35 AM