Vending at Blue Springs, MO

Last weekend I had the pleasure of vending at the Blue Springs, MO Quilt Show!  It was a great show and they really treated the vendors like royalty.  I will definitely be going back next year.  I thought I would share some pictures from the show.  We all like eye candy!

First, here is a picture of my booth.  I made a huge muslin hanger to pin my quilts to which hung at the back of the booth.  This was the first time I used it so I thought I would takes a few pictures to see what it "really" looked like and next time I would revise how I hang them.  I would sure welcome your comments and suggestions about how I can improve the look of my booth.  It looks cluttered to me.

I put my patterns out front and my EQ products along the side.  The easel out front really worked to sell alot of that pattern!  I also had my projector set up and could demo EQ7 for anyonw who wanted to see it.  That was nice but didn't result in many sales.  But a lot of people took my business card so perhaps there will be future business out of it.

There were some absolutely fabulous mini quilts at this show.  Some were in their silent auction and others were on display.  Here are a few of my favorites.  Kathy Fisher, the quilt show chair, was also the creator of several of these spectacular gems.

And then the BIG suprise, hanging in the show was a quilt made from ONE OF MY PATTERNS!  How fun is that?  I absolutely love to see my quilt patterns made up by someone else.  Each quilter puts her own creative stamp on it and the subtle difference in fabric, style, and technique always make me excited.  This one was all HAND APPLIQUED. . .can you believe it?  LOL  My quilts are all machine appliqlued with fusible web and blanket stitch.  I like the look of both, but this one by Kathy Fisher really looks incredible!

She didn't use the pink and turqoise borders, binding and piping I used.  Here border and binding are lavendar.  And her vine is thinner and a darker green.  But her flowers blow mine out of the water!  I just love to see my designs in the hands of a master.  The small picture is a corner of my quilt.  The big pictures is Kathy's.

And since my company is Morning Glory Designs,  I had to take some pictures of this quilt with Morning Glories weaving all over it.  I think this is the one that won the viewer's choice at the show.  It certainly deserves it!

The other mad impulsive thing I did at this quilt show was buy a new Bernina 440QE.  I have lusted after that Bernina Stitch Regulator for so long that I was starting to drool.  LOL  I am scheduled to take my first  class on the new machine next Friday and am really looking forward to learning all the cool things this machine will do.

Finally, take a look at my tutorial page.  I put up a new EQ tutorial that I am experimenting with.  It has a few still pictures and two videos.  I am playing around with JING (thanks to Jennifer!!) and the first vids don't have any sound.  I am going to remake them this weekend with sound, and hopefully figure out how to embed the vids in the blog so you don't have to go away to view them.  So much to learn.  But give them a look and let me know what you think.

More on my first meeting of our new EQ Club in my next post.

Tulip Tiles Free BOM-- Block 10 Posted. . . And the winner is. . .

Hey, I am getting better at getting the Block of the Month block posted on time.  I am only 1 day late this month.  That could be a record for me!  Hahaha 

Anyway, mosey on over to the BOM page and download the FREE instructions for Block 10.  This is the corner blocks for the pieced border, so you will be able to put on the remaining borders you made last month. 

Only two months left in this BOM -- can you believe it??  This year has gone so fast.  I am working on ideas for next year already, and am thinking I will return to an all pieced quilt rather than the combination pieced and applique quilt I did this year.  What do you think?

Please let me know what you would like to see for next year's free BOM:
    __1___ Pieced - no applique
    __2___ Pieced with some Applique
    __3___ Pieced with LOTS of Applique

And then what style should we work on:
    __A___ Traditional Setting (like Midnight Posies)
    __B___ Medallion setting (like Tulip Tiles)
    __C___ Row by Row

Please go VOTE by leaving a comment.  I will draw one voter at random to receive a FREE Morning Glory Design Pattern of your choice!!!  Whoooo Hooooo

Now. . . the Winner of the Free EQ Stash Program is. . . . .

Rebecca Fiedler!

Congratulations Rebecca.  Send me your snail mail address by email and I will get your free copy of STASH in the mail to you right away.  Thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions.  I really appreciate your ideas and suggestions.  I am going to start working on EQ7 lessons to share on my blog this week.  Watch for the first one in a few days.

Working on an Idea for Teaching EQ7 online -- And a Give Away!

I have had a number of suggestions from readers and students who would like more instruction on EQ7.  I think this is a great idea, and am working on a way to do this in a live, interactive format.  In the mean time I am going to start working on a tutorial for my website.  I thought I would cover some of the basics and then take "requests" for tutorials which address specific skills. 

I am starting up and EQ7 Club at my LQS which meets monthly to work on a new skill or project each month.  What would you think about me sharing that lesson here on my blog as well?  I am so loving EQ7 and all the new tools that are available in it, that I want to share that with all my readers as well as the great folks who have purchased the program from me.  Should I put them up for free or charge for the lesson?  Hmmmm, I could sure use some input. 

Hey I have an idea!!!!!  Leave a comment letting me know what it is about EQ7 you would like to learn and how you think I ought to set up lessons.  I will select a comment at random and give away a free STASH program to some lucky EQ owner who takes the time to offer suggestions or ideas.

On another note, I recently found out I have a block accepted for publication in the upcoming

Quiltmakers 100 Blocks Vol. 2!!!

Now that has me totally jazzed and my blog will be included on the BLOG TOUR which will be organized around the publiclation of this issue in early November.  I will be having a Give Away for several free issues of the newest version which will inclue my block and all 99 others as well!!  LOL

I can't wait to see which ones they chose of all the hundreds of blocks submitted.  I sent in two blocks and don't know which one they picked.  So it will be a suprise for me as well! 

In addition to the magazine give-away there will be other prizes including Free Patterns and Free FQ bundles.  What could be better than that???  More details to come.

Oh, and one more piece of good news!  I just got my first quilt pattern published in a magazine. 

Check out Quilters World October 2010 issue and look on page 36.  Here is what you will see:

It is called Spinning Sunflowers and the pattern is published in the current issue.  I am pretty much beside myself seeing my first magazine pattern in print.  Go out and buy the current issue and tell everyone you know.  Better yet, make the quilt!!  The first person to send me a picture of your completed project  will receive a Morning Glory Designs Pattern of your choice!

Holy smokes, I am giving so much stuff away this time that I can't stand it.  I better sit down!  Thanks for sharing my joy with me today while I do my little happy dance.

Pieced Borders are ready for the Tulip Tiles BOM

It's ready!  The instructions for the pieced border for the Tulip Tiles BOM are ready for download on the Block of the Month Page.  They are super easy foundation pieced blocks that will add a touch of elegance to your quilt top.The reversed pair of blocks, repeated along the edge of the quilt center are a dramatic element which looks difficult but is really easy to do.

Before you know it, you will be ready to do the final scalloped border.  So far so good!  I would love to see pictures of your blocks or pieced quilt center.  I will post them here on the blog to inspire and motivate all of you who are doing this Block of the Month.

Remember . . . if you are missing any of the earlier blocks you can still get them on my website.

Day 3 Handi-Quilter Retreat

The third (and last) day of the Handi-Quilter Beginner Retreat began with a shopping frenzy!  We all wanted to get our orders in for all the great gadgets and gizmos we wanted to take home with us.  We packe and repacked our suitcases hoping we could get everything (including all our sewing projects) in.  My suitcase just barely zipped and had to have them ship my new Micro Handles (my big purchase!!).

Our final class was trapunto!  I had never been very interested in do it before, but the quilts they showed us and the techniques they taught us made it seam easy and fun.  They showed us this pink quilt made by inserting bright pink fabric between the white muslin top and the batting after the first layer of trapunto batting had been added and stitched in place.

Then the yellow one, made by one of the HQ Educators blew us away too.

This quilt was one that was marked and stitched but not yet quilted.

For our projects we did a quick technique where batting was placed under an applique piece and then edge stitched onto the quilt.  We used our little practice tops to make cute bags.

This one is mine before quilting it. Somewhere I have and AFTER picture and will add it as soon as I find where I put it!!  LOL  What was so cool was that we made the whole bag on the longarm!  How cool is that?  The only thing it needed was handles.

We had an incredible saladbar lunch and then we had. . . GRADUATION!  How fun is that??  We each got a certificate, some great recipes (from some of our previous meals) and a picture.

Back row: (L-R) Janet, Terri, Melanie, Reeze, Carol, Marianne, Ella, Debbi and Jeri.

Front row: Sandy (standing), Diane (kneeling in front of her), Dyanne, Hope, Dennis, Linda, Candie.

We also had to take a sisters picture since we had 4 sets of Sisters in this group!!!

Terri & Melanie (back row left)

Dyanne & Hope (front row left)

Sandy and Diane (middle)

Ella and Debbie (right standing and sitting)

Of course we had to get a picture of our great teachers as well.

L-R: Kathi Salter, Cheryl Duncan, Vicki Hoth, Hatty Brown

Before our van swooped us off to the airport I had to take a few more pictures of quilts around the lobby of this incredible building!!

So off we all went to our various planes, trains, and automobiles.  I learned so much in this class and hope I have the opportunity to take another one soon.  I highly recommend it.  Of course as soon as i got home I had to load a practice quilt and try out all my new tools, technique.  Hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride.

Day 2 Handi-Quilter Retreat

Day two began with a review of the products offered by Handi-Quilter.  OK, what quilter can resist an array of gadgets and gizmos geared just to their needs?  Not this quilter!  LOL  It was fun – and tempting -- to see all the cool tools available by and for HQ, and to shop for them right there on the spot.  WARNING – save room in your suitcase to take those babies home with you.  I ended up buying a set of micro-handles for my machine and had to have them shipped because my suitcase was too full of class samples, books and other goodies I purchased.  I tucked all the other goodies I purchased into my carry on so I could fondle them all the way home on the plane!

  

Then we went to work finishing up the bobbin work we started the day before.  It really was amazing how great it worked and was relatively simple to do.  My sample was a bit hard to see on my fabric with the thread color I chose, but many of the other retreaters had some fabulous bobbin work.  I want to try it, now that I am home, when I have the time to do it slowly and concentrate on my fabric and thread a bit more seriously.

Vickie spent most of the morning teaching us to do feathers.  This was totally fun.  While I have practiced feathers a lot, watched a number of DVD’s on how to do them, read some books, etc., it was really valuable to watch Vickie’s lessons and then practice, practice, practice on our fabric.  I have lots and lots more practice to do, but I feel like I made some real progress in learning to do feathers.

OK, so I won’t win any award for these feathers – but it was really fun to practice.  I have loaded my practice fabric on my HQ16 at home and am doing more rows of practice feathers so I don’t forget what I learned!!!

Lunch was catered in and as usual it was delicious.  They sure know how to feed quilters!  Did I mention that there was always a table full of snacks, chocolate, sodas and water out for us all day?  Oh my, no chance of losing weight on this retreat!!  :-)  Ok, so I am not complaining.

After fueling up we had a demo on using the micro-handles and another one on using Groovy Boards.  These are so cool, and it was very tempting to want to buy some, but I resisted the urge. Barely.  After the demonstration on Groovy Boards we had a really valuable class on pantographs.  This was terrific class, taught by Hatty, and we made a quilt with a border to border panto with a separate panto for the boarder.  Then Hatty taught us how to turn the quilt to complete the borders on the sides.  This was something I had always wanted to learn and not only got to watch but got to do!  I just barely finished this project when the bus came to pick us up for dinner. 

Whew, after a second day on my feet, my dogs were barking!!  But my second wind came when we arrived at this marvelous Chinese Restaurant and the food began to appear in bowl after bowl.  Oh my.  All I can say is. . . . the shrimp was incredible.  I even resisted dessert just so I could have more of the shrimp.  It was that good. 

It rained and poured while we were inside eating but I am pretty sure none of us noticed.  Between being exhausted, famished, and overwhelmed by the quality of the wonderful meal, we almost missed the magnificent rainbow which formed over the valley as we drove back to our hotel.

I drug my sorry back side down to the pool that evening and soaked in the hot tub till I turned lobster pink then went up to bed and slept like a log.

One more day to go and I couldn’t wait to learn more.  Tomorrow. . . .Day 3.

Reeze

Day 1 Handi-Quilter Retreat

Almost a year ago I decided I needed to take lessons on my new Handi-Quilter long arm machine.  But when I looked at the schedule of classes I found that this August was the first date I could get away.  So I booked my retreat and spent a year preparing and dreaming about it.  The retreat is offered by the Handi-Quilter Education Staff at their corporate offices in Bountiful, Utah, near Salt Lake City.  Finally the day came and I boarded the plane for Utah!  What a surprise, it was beautiful.  Ringed by mountains, the high desert of SLC was spectacular and the weather was perfect.

But the bigger surprise was the incredibly warm welcome we received from the Handi-Quilter staff, including CEO Mark Hyland.  They fed us like royalty all week, clearly to keep our energy up as they proceeded to work us like Border Collies on a herd of sheep!  It was wonderful.  They lodged us in a wonderful hotel and shuttled everywhere we needed to go.

Day one began with an incredible overview of the Handi-Quilter machine and an in-depth tour of the manufacturing plant led by CEO Mark Hyland.   He marched us around the plant showing us where the machines are assembled, tested and inspected.  It was great to see where my HQ16 was born.  We watched as they assembled machines, put them in the “burn in” room to run for 4 hours, and then saw where they tested them for 20 minutes of sewing.  It was amazing to watch the process and see how my HQ 16 was made. 

Here are more pictures of the plant.

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After the tour our morning class was an incredible class on how to use the machine, how to load quilts and how to do ruler work.  Our incredible instruction staff was led by Vicki Hoth, Hatty Brown, Cheryl Duncan, and Kathi Salter.  Kathi led our morning class and got us to work on our machines right away.

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You would not believe the corporate offices where we took our classes.  Their studio was incredible and the building was full of quilts.  I took lots of pictures of the quilts and here are a few of them.

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In addition to learning about the machine, we spent the afternoon learning about threads and tension, loading 10 different threads on the machine and learning to adjust the machine tension for every different thread!  OMG, now that was a challenge.  We ended up with a lesson in bobbin work and embellishment that was wonderful.

Later that night, after an incredible catered dinner of roast beast and mashed potatoes we went to a quilt shop and had a ball shopping. There were great quilts in the shop also, and had to take some pictures of those as well. I bought a couple of patterns, – like I really need more patterns!! – and then they took us back to our hotel to crash in a pile, exhausted to the bone.

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Ok, so that was Day 1.  Tomorrow I will show you what we did on Day 2!  Till then. . .

Reeze

 

 

I am just not good with deadlines

Deadlines and me are not friends.  For someone who is generally well organized and for the most part punctual, I often find myself stymied by deadlines.  I know I tend to procrastinate, but I am also often weighing WHICH deadline do I adhere to and which do I let slide.  My calendar for the past two weeks has been jammed including but not limited to. . . .

• work (my day job),
• a trip to Cincinnati and back for a convention and family visit,
• a night of Bunco with the girls,
• a set of swap blocks to complete and mail off
• a tax class at the local community college,
• a guild presentation on EQ6,
• an EQ7 class at my local quilt shop,
• a Late Night sewing evening at my local quilt shop,
• an all-day Retreat for Sylvia’s Bridal Sampler BOM,
• an all-day UFO sewing day with my small group,
• another Guild Presentation on “Setting Odd Blocks,” and
• a 4 day retreat in Houston

This week I have

• a Charm Tote class on Thursday night
• a BOM for my guild
• the next Tulip Tiles BOM
• another 5 sets of swap blocks to complete
• and Bus Trip to the Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, NE on Saturday, and the next week
• a 4-day class in Salt Lake City, UT on how to use my HQ16 mid-arm sewing machine.
• not to mention an Aug 4 deadline for 2 quilts which will be published in a magazine next year, for which I have only had a month’s notice.
• oh. . . and did I mention my day job?

Ok, so maybe the trouble isn’t so much with deadlines but with being over-booked!  I do have a calendar on which I organize my life, but it is pocket size and it may well be that I need a larger one to get my schedule life sized.  What I really need is a wife!  You know, someone to take care of all the details that I am to busy to deal with.  I really think most professional women need a wife, or a secretary, or an assistant, an editor, a driver, a receptionist and a fashion consultant.  I already have a husband and a house keeper, but somehow that doesn’t seem like enough!  LOL!  At least I got one thing done today after I got home form the airport, read all my mail, unpacked, took a nap, walked the dog, gave the cat her pill, made supper and waded through a pile of email.

Let me present . . .without further ado. . . this month’s FREE Tulip Tiles BOM installment  "Block 8 Sashing.”  I know you have been waiting for this because it is the element that ties the whole quilt center together.   If you have all the blocks, setting triangles and corner triangles completed you will be able to assemble the whole quilt center with this month’s block instructions.  Block 8 will be available for FREE for 2 months, and then will be available for purchase on my website after September 20, 2010.  You can download the pattern and instructions for Block 8 on my Block of the Month Page.  Click the Page Tab at the top page.

Reeze

First time vending at a quilt show. . . and so much more!

The weekend before last I had my first gig as a quilt show vender.  WOW, talk about a learning curve.  It was a great experience and I had a blast selling my patterns and EQ products.  I was even able to make some great connections with local quilt shops and guilds for some classes and lectures.  Altogether it was a wonderful time.

Now as to my booth, I have a lot to learn in this department.  The display of patterns and quilts worked ok, but I need a better way to display some of my wall hangings.  There are just so many and I want them to all be visible!  I had a tent and lights inside the tent, and found that to be a little dark.  I don’t think I will use it next time.  Here is a picture of my booth!

My sign left something to be desired, especially since I had to clamp it onto my tent awning with big honking clamps!  LOL

The display of EQ products in the back was nice and several people liked looking at the program on my laptop.  The quilt on the easel in the front left really worked to showcase my signature Morning Glory Pattern, and I sold out of those patterns the first day!  Whooo hooooo!  The second day I put my quilt pattern that was featured in Keepsake Quilting catalog on the easel and that really got a lot of attention (and sales) for that pattern too.

But the real attraction of the booth, you can’t exactly see to well in this photo, is the Make-and-Take table at the far right.  I think it shows up better in this next picture.  I set up a little table with  a bin full of beads and charms and directions for making a key chain or scissor fob. 

For $3.00 they could sit in my swirly office chair and make their own beaded fob. The project was inspired by the fact that I had three bags of alphabet beads that I purchased for a project and never used.  I thought this would be a great way to get rid of those beads by having kids put their names on beaded key chains.  Also,  I thought it would be a good thing for parents to pay $3.00 for 15 minutes of baby sitting while they looked through my booth!  Little did I know that it would be the parents and grandparents who sat in my chair and made key rings for all their friends, neighbors, and grandkids! It was hysterical.  I sold a ton of these things and it really got people to stop and visit my booth.   Here is picture of a few that I made as samples.  People really went wild over these, and the result is that I was invited to vend at other quilt shows, with the proviso that I “bring those cute bead thingies!”  LOL

This week I have been working on 2 new designs that will be published in QUILT WORLD magazine next year.  I have to get them done by August 4, so I have been totally under the gun and that has kept me at my machine lately.  I can give you a sneak peak of the one I am nearly finished with.  It is a small wall hanging with a wintry background of frosty tumbling blocks and an unexpected red carnation appliqué motif.  There is a picture of the quilt in a different colorway on the left margin of my blog under current projects.   I revised the applique quite a bit for this quilt and offer it as a winter quilt with the January flower of the month.  I think they will be publishing this in the February edition of QUILT WORLD next year.  I have really had fun making it, and used Marti Michell templates for the tumbling blocks.  WOW did that ever make them easy to do!  Special thanks to my friend Barb for teaching me how to use them!!

Now back to stitching down applique!  I promise to try to post more often, but July is a really busy month for me.  Hope you enjoy the show!

Reeze