Happy Halloween

I had so hoped to show you the Halloween Quilt that I've been working on, complete with
AccuQuilt cats & bats, along with free-motion quilted spider webs, pumpkins and other interesting designs.  But, something very wicked happened yesterday.



The very bad Computer Witch put a spell on my computer.  No blue screen of death, just a complete black screen. 


So, I hope you understand why I'm hiding out for awhile. The good news is I have my computerized sewing machine with me, plenty of UFO projects, etc., so I have some fun things to do even though I can't share insights with you.   I'm not sure when it will be safe to post (able to post).  But, as I do have some fun insights to share, I hope it is soon. 

In the meantime, you may want to check out the page on my blog labeled "Free-Motion Quilt Challenge" as it will give you a sneak peak on something I've been working on.

I do hope you have a Spooktacular Halloween.  Just be sure to remember to back up your computer, should any goblins or bad witches want to zap it.

And, remember, if you don't hear from me for awhile I'm still in hiding from the bad Computer Witch (or out shopping for a new computer).


UPDATE:  The PC Medical Examiner decided a death certificate was not appropriate for my computer.  A PC doctor was able to get my PC back in good health.  I'm definitely going to do a backup this evening!

UPDATE #2 - EMTS were called later this evening.  Hopefully tomorrow we'll have a better diagnosis for Mr. Red computer.  In the meantime, I'm back in the ranks of borrowing a computer when one becomes available for loan.  {not fun}.

Bloggers Quilt Festival: Sweet Lullaby Quilt

For those that may be visiting for the first time, Welcome!  For those of you that are familiar with SewCalGal, but may be wondering what is the Bloggers Quilt Festival, it is a really fun virtual quilt show hosted by Amy's Creative Side during Quilt Market, every Fall and Spring.  And, I'm participating by sharing my Sweet Lullaby Quilt today.

Sadly, my camera doesn't do a great job taking photos and it really shows with this quilt.  The yellow-green fabric in the borders and sashing is really a very soft yellow-green, that almost looks off white.  Still, I wanted to share this quilt with you today and tell you some insights on why I think it is so special.

First, this design is really very easy to make and I even posted a free tutorial for my Sweet Lullaby Quilt yesterday, should you want to make it, or make a version of this design.

I had fun stitching out the machine embroidery (ME) designs by Marjorie Busby.  Many of her designs allow for multiple colors of thread, but for the most part I opted to stitch these designs out in one or two colors.

I used Aurifil threads for piecing, machine embroidery (ME) and free-motion quilting.  And,  Aurifil stitched out beautifully from start to finish of this quilt without a single thread break!  Love it!

Marjorie has many wonderful machine embroidery (ME) designs that have the least number of jumps that I've ever seen!

For this Sweet Lullaby Quilt, I selected Marjorie's designs that I thought would work well with a baby quilt.

And, and I selected designs that I had AccuQuilt dies for, to cut the shapes (no scissor cutting of applique shapes for me).  But, while "you" could manually cut these shapes and use Marjorie's designs, the AccuQuilt pre-cuts really help make this project be fast and fun! 

I've now ordered the AccuQuilt GO! Sunbonnet Sue & Sam dies and look forward to using Marjories' designs with these dies too!

To clarify, Marjories designs are actually collections, where you get the shape digitized in several different embellished ME stitch designs. For example, her GO! Calico Cat collection has 4 different designs.  Her GO! Stars collection has 20 different designs!  And, every collection includes a PDF that provides insights on adhesives for applique' pre-cuts, stitch count per design, ME design size in inches and milimeters, number of thread colors per design, minimum hoop size per design, placement info and visual, where appropriate.  And, you can always ask questions and she is willing to help.

Marjorie is also adding more designs to her store, that work with AccuQuilt GO! pre-cuts, all the time! So, if you don't see a machine embroidery design for a die you are interested in, ask her, and there is  a good chance she'll have it released shortly.

I hope you like this Sweet Lullaby Quilt that I created with Marjorie's beautiful machine embroidery designs.  I think her designs really make this quilt be a very special baby quilt! And, it was truly so easy and fast to create.

As I mentioned that this quilt was made using AccuQuilt products, and I also created a tutorial for it, I also wanted to let you know that AccuQuilt will give you 22 Free patterns when you sign up for their email.  Just click the button below if you are interested in getting these free quilt patterns.

And, if you visit the "giveaway" page on my blog, you'll also find insights on various giveaways for AccuQuilt products too!

Amy's Blogger Quilt Festival starts today and continues thru November 4th.  I hope you'll visit this show and have fun seeing all the beautiful quilts entered.

Where you can find Marjorie Busby:
blog:  http://b-quilts.com/blog/
Store: http://shop.b-quilts.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/marjorie.busby

Sweet Lullaby Quilt Tutorial

I'm holding off sharing a photo of the quilt made with tutorial(s) I'm sharing today, at least till tomorrow.  Today's tutorial will offer something for a variety of quilting interests, and the design is very forgiving and very flexible.  While, I'm sharing this tutorial for a baby quilt, it would easily work as a table runner, table topper, wallhanging, or even a large quilt.  It is a fun design that works well to show off focal fabrics, photos on fabrics, applique blocks, machine embroidery designs, etc.

I'll provide a variety of formats to make this quilt using traditional cutting methods, or with an AccuQuilt GO!.  And, for those that are EQ7 Users I'm also providing a simple tutorial so that you can take this design into EQ7

First, I've learned to prefer to look at a quilt design without any predefined colors.  For those that do use Electric Quilt software, you may also enjoy the ease of being able to take a basic quilt design and play with colors, to decide how you want to make a quilt.  Others, may sketch the design on paper and use colored pencils. 

What would you want to put in the main blocks?

You'll find out what I did with those center blocks tomorrow.

As mentioned earlier, you can easily adapt this quilt to just about any size you wish.  It works well for table runners, wall hangings and large quilts.  Insights I'm sharing with you today will create a 36"x36" baby quilt or wallhanging. 

Fabric Requirements for baby quilt top:

• center squares:  3/8 yard
• 24 - diamonds:     3/8 yard
• Remaining sashing & borders:  1 yard

Tutorial for EQ7 Users

EQ7 makes it very easy to adapt this design to a variety of sizes.  You may be a proficient EQ7 user and not need this simple tool, but as I periodically hear from new EQ7 users that want more tips & tutorials, I'm including these simple instructions so that you can also use this quilt design to learn more about EQ7.

Before I begin, I want to share that the Electric Quilt Company has many wonderful online lessons that are free.  This lesson was leveraged from insights on their lessons, as I've learned so much about EQ from their free lessons, and their great reference books too.  I also love their Quilting Design software packages, which are currently on sale.  The main 6" block in this quilt design would also look great in a solid fabric, or soft design, that could show off some beautiful free-motion quilting using one or more of EQ's Quilting design software packages too!

BASIC STARTING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Open EQ7.
2. Name a new project: Sweet Lullaby Quilt
3. Click OK.    

SET UP YOUR QUILT

1. Click WORKTABLE > Work on Quilt.
2. Click QUILT > New Quilt > Horizontal.
3. Click the Layout tab (at the bottom of your screen).
4. Make the sizes here look like this:
   Number of blocks:
   3 Horicontal
   3 Vertical
   Finished size of blocks
   Width 6.00
   Height 6.00
5. Click Add to Sketchbook 

6.  Click on the Layout tab (at the bottom of your screen.

7.  In the Layout window check the box to select "include sashing" and set the width and height = 3".

8.  Click on the Borders tab (at the bottom of your screen).

9.  In the Borders window select your border style of Mitred and set the left, top, right and bottom borders to 3.00. 

10.  Click on Layer 1 tab

11.  Click on Block button

12. click on Add to Sketchbook.

 13.  Click on the line drawing tool

 14.  Set the measurements for this block for a width = 3" and height = 6".  Draw four lines to create the diamond in the center of this 3x6 block.   

15.  click on Add to Sketchbook.



16.  Click on "work on Quilt " icon

17.  Click on "Layer 1" tab


18. Click on "set Block button" and use your mouse to paint the blocks in your quilt layout for which ones should be solid blocks vs HST.



19.  Click on the Diamond in the Sketchbook Blocks window.

20.  Click on the sashing blocks to add the Diamond block. To clarify, click on this block in your Sketchbook window and then click on a block in your sashing that will need to be made with the Diamond block.

21.  In the window for the Sketchbook Fabrics and Colors you can click on the tab for fabrics or colors and use the scroll bar, at the bottom of this window, to view more choices.  Select fabric choices or colors to paint your quilt top, as you like.

22.  Click the save to Sketchbook.





23.  Click the save button.


Congratulations.  You have now created the Sweet Lullaby Quilt in EQ7. 


To print Fabric Requirements, Click File, Print, Fabric Yardage and Print.

Sweet Lullaby Quilt  - Traditional cutting Tutorial:

Wallhanging:
Cut 9  6.5" squares by cutting 2 strips of fabric that are 6.5" the width of your fabric and subcut into 6.5" squares to create 9-6.5" squares. 

Cut 4 3.5" strips of fabric for your borders.

 

 

For the Diamond Sashing there are several different techniques to create the diamonds.  I have two favorites that I'll share with you, and you can decide which you prefer to use. 

  Option 1) Paper piecing requires you to create a template that measures 3.5"x6.5" and has the a 1/4" frame drawn. Within that frame, draw the diamond motif drawn in the center.  Follow traditional paper piecing techniques (too detailed to include in this tutorial) to create this diamond.

Option 2) Use the Quilt in a Day Triangle in a Square ruler to create 2-3.5" half diamonds and sew them together to create a complete diamond block that measures 3.5"x6.5", using their instructions to make the triangle in a square.

Cut 1 - 3.5" strip for the center squares of your 8 point diamonds and subcut to create 16-3.5" squares.

First, sew all of your diamonds in a square.  Then sew two diamonds in a square together to create your diamond blocks.

Sew your rows together with your primary blocks and diamond sashing.

Sew your rows together of your sashing.

Sew  your rows together.


Add your borders.

 

 

Congratulations, you've finished your Sweet Lullaby QuiltTop.

AccuQuilt Tutorial for Seet Lullaby Quilt:

Cut 24 sets of  3" finished Triangles in a square with die #55027 
    use the same color for your border fabric for the outer part of the triangle.  Note:  I would pre-cut a strip that measured 3 1/4" or3 1/2" and place on this die blades to cut the shapes.



use the fabric for the center of your diamonds for the triangle on this die.

Cut 16 3.5"  squares with the GO! Square die # 55006 with the fabric you want to use in the center of your 8 point stars.  I would pre-cut a strip that measures 3 1/4" or 3 1/2" to use to cut with this die.  As I don't have this die, I manually cut this size square with my rotary and ruler.

You can also use a strip die and doe a cross cut, to create this square.

Cut 4- 3.5" strips, width of fabric, with your GO! Strip Cutter 3 1/2" die #55032 using the fabric you have selected for your border.  As I don't have this die, I manual cut these strips with my rotary and ruler.

Sew your triangles in a square together, create your diamond blocks, sew your rows together as described in the traditional cutting method listed earlier in this post.

Congratulations, you've finished making your Sweet Lullaby Quilt top using your AccuQuilt GO!



If you have any questions or feedback on this tutorial, please email me. I will update this tutorial to make it easier to follow, based on your feedback.

 

 

Guess the Designer Challenge - Part 1 & Part 2

PART I of II  

How good are you at recognizing designer patterns, styles, fabrics, and works by famous people, etc? If you have been a follower of my blog, for awhile, you probably know I've been trying to build my skills in being able to recognize designers by their work (and ultimately the work of their students).
In part one of these Guess the Designer Challenge posts, I share photos of projects made by the designer that I'm showcasing in this challenge. Your challenge is to see if you can look at the collection of photos I share and correctly guess who the designer is.

The first person to correctly guess the designer will be recognized in part two of this post, as well as be recognized on Designer Challenge Page of my blog.

I may add more clues (photos, insights) to this post, every couple of hours, if no one correctly guesses the designer.  So, check back. 

PART II   

Who Guessed it: Rafael's Mum

Who is this designer:  Bari J. Ackerman (Bari J.)

My attention was drawn to Bari J. when she was nominated to the Golden Quilter Awards.  As she hadn't previously been on my radar, I used that nomination as a trigger for me to take time to investigate and learn more about Bari J.  She is a designer that debuted her line of handbags and accessories in 2004.  In 2009, she began to introduce fabric and sewing patterns.  And, in January 2011 she introduced her first book "Inspired to Sew", which is a wonderful book, that I'll share more insights about in the near future.

You may already be aware that Bari J. is a very talented person.  She has designed various lines of fabric, including the very popular line "Paris Apartment" with Lecien Fabrics.  She even created a very cute free pattern for this fabric line too.



Bari J. worked with SLICE to create a memory card that cuts beautiful applique' pieces for the Paris Apartment theme.


There are a number of very cute designs that are included on this memory card.

And, these applique' pieces help you make beautiful quilts, wallhangings, table runners, embellishing, clothing, and even make very cute pillows. 



Fairly recently, I also attended a class with Bari J. through RickRack Thread Therapy for Sewers, which is part of the Virtue Radio Network.  While I'll share more about this in a future post, this class was wonderful.  Bari J. is an excellent teacher and RickRack's virtual class structure was one of the best I've ever seen.  If you ever have a chance to take a course through RickRack and/or Bari J. definitely take it.  You'll have a blast and learn a lot!


Very recently, Bari J. started a wonderful blog called "We Love French Knots" which is dedicated to modern embroidery. 

Where you can find Bari J.:


Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/BariJ
Facebook;  https://www.facebook.com/BariJdesigns 

Bari J. (blog):   http://www.barij.typepad.com/

We Love French Knots:  http://www.welovefrenchknots.com/
Other products:  http://www.zazzle.com/bari_j_designs

The BIG BOOK of PATCHWORK

The BIG BOOK of PATCHWORK: 50 Fabulous Quilts, from Judy Hopkins, published by Martingale & Company, home of That Patchwork Place, is definitely a book that lives up its' name.  There truly are 50 amazing projects packed into this very "thick" quilting book.  Clearly, it is easy to understand why this book has become a "best seller"!

Even better, this book is packed with so many beautiful projects, for quilters of all levels, that there is definitely going to be many projects in here that you will want to make to keep, and to give as gifts.

Projects range in size from a table runner  (19"x 71 1/2") to full size quilts (77 3/8" x 92 1/4").

There is an excellent section for Basic Quiltmaking Instructions, including insights on fabric selection, rotary cutting, piecing, squaring up blocks, setting blocks for a variety of layouts, including on point, trimming and straightening the quilt, adding binding, and making a label.

All 50 of the designs have easy to follow step-by-step instructions, with material requirements, great visuals and a photo of a completed project.

The designs shared have a traditional style, with many tips shared for speed quilting by way of sewing strips together that are then cut to help make the beautiful blocks.

Many of the projects are also perfect for scrap quilts, making this book an excellent reference when trying to reduce your stash.

I also enjoyed the section where  helpers who pieced the beautiful quilts in this book, were invited to share a little insight about themselves.

SewCalGal views this as a "must have" book for quilters of all levels.  This is definitely one of the best values I've ever seen for any quilting book, so if you are only going to purchase one quilt book this year definitely consider this being the one.

There are many books that were written by Judy Hopkins over the years. She wrote 17 books, which were published by Martingale & Company, between 1989 and 2011.   She contributed dearly in making our world of quilting so wonderful.  While she passed away in March, of this year, she left a wonderful legacy and will be missed by many.  This book is a great way for quilters to create and carry on with enjoying quilting, which Judy enjoyed so very much.

I hope you get a chance to check out this book at your local quilt store, or online at Martingale & Company.

http://www.martingale-pub.com

Heading to Quilt Market or IQF Houston Quilt Show? - Don't miss this

This post is really written to share insights with those lucky enough to go to Fall Quilt Market and/or the IQF Houston Quilt Show, but even if you are not attending either of these events I hope you find some insights of interest to you.

I also want to share a tip on how I approach attending a large quilting event.  I will do pre-event research and create a prioritized list of what I want to see.  While I try to see everything, I refer to the printed copy of my notes, to ensure that I do not leave the event until I verify I've not overlooked an opportunity on my notes.  Thus, I'm hoping my insights may help you kick-off your own list.

 

Quilt Market is held twice each year, hosted by Quilts, Inc.  This is a Trade Show event, for those in the business (e.g. Store Owners/Buyers, Manufacturers, etc.).  Those in the business have beautiful booths to showcase their products and take orders to fill stores with merchandise that quilters will later have the opportunity to see and buy.To clarify, typical quilters are not allowed to attend Quilt Market. The exception are those that might attend, to help someone in the business.

Rolling totes are allowed at Quilt Market, but not allowed at Festival! 

There are also classes (School House) at Quilt Market, including some wonderful classes to help quilt shops get demonstrations, as well as hear presentations on tips & tricks to build their businesses.

Quilt Market

October 27th - 31st

Houston, Texas

After Quilt Market, is the IQF Quilt Festival (aka Festival) which is opened to the public. 

I'd love to be able to attend Quilt Market as I love to research to learn about new products, designers and just about anything happening in our world of quilting.  Unfortunately, as I don't make money from blogging, I haven't been able to justify the cost. Thus, I research and try to chat with as many people as I can, to find out about what new items are going to be introduced and attendees should check out.  I also try to follow up and research on many of the new products to share insights after Quilt Market.   

Quilt Festival

October 30th - November 6th

Houston, Texas

The IQF Quilt Show in Houston is one of the premiere quilt shows world-wide, with quilts being entered from quilters all over the world, and attendees to this show coming from all over the world.  There are also a vast number of exception vendors, as well as world class workshops for quilters to learn new techniques and/or build on their current skills.  Festival is also famous for Pokey Bolton's Make-it University, where for a nominal fee, quilters can have a hands on time learning from top artists and taking away a fun project.

Rolling totes are NOT allowed at Quilt Festival due to crowds (but allowed at Market).

One good way to find out about Quilt Market activity is to be on Twitter.  Many attendees will tweet insights using the hashtag #QuiltMarket, thus this is a great tool to feeling like you are actually there.










Facebook users can also find out about Quilt Market by being a fan of Quilt Market on Facebook. I just hope more attendees will share insights in real time on Facebook, like what tends to get shared on Twitter. 




Some attendees have blogs and will share insights on their blog while attending Quilt Market and/or Festival.  Here are some that you may want to follow:

•  Susan Brubaker Knapp's (Blue Moon River) will be attending Market and Festival.
• Kelly Jackson (I Have A Notion) will be attending Market.

For those going to Quilt Market, don't miss stopping in these opportunities:

• AccuQuilt  (Booth/s 344, 46, 445, 47) will announce a new collection if dies to cut fabrics, one of which will be a Designer Collection to cut fabric for Sarah Vedeler's beautiful Heather Feathers machine embroidery designs.  This new die collection will also use AccuQuilts new two-tone die set that you can learn about at Market too!  It is way cool!

While you can do free-motion or blanket stitch applique', Sarah is also introducing her new Jazzilicious machine embroidery design collection that works with pre-cuts from the above AccuQuilt dies.

You'll also be able to find Sarah at Quilt Market on:

Friday, Oct 28 - AURIfil School House, 1:55pm-2:10pm, room 372D

Saturday, Oct 29 - AccuQuilt Booth 344, 100am-noon

Monday, Oct 31 - Brewer Booth 1224, 11:00am-close

Aurifil USA, Inc. (Booth/s 1356, 58, 1457, 59)

There is also a new integrated retail program with Aurifil, AccuQuilt , Sharon Pederson and Lyn Kenny for using these products to create machine embroidered designs with the Rose of Sharon motifs.  SewCalGal issues a "warning" as the prior Rose of Sharon machine embroider design with Sharon Pederson, AccuQuilt and OESD did not result in a quality product as the OESD and AccuQuilt designs were clearly not compatible.  SewCalGal has not been able to evaluate the new Kenny Creation machine embroidery designs.  While hopeful, SewCalGal remains skeptical on these new machine embroidery designs and their compatibility with AccuQuilt pre-cuts.  As such, SewCalGal would love to hear feedback on this from those attending Quilt Market.

Cozy Quilt Designs  (Booth/s 931, 33) has wonderful patterns and books.  They'll actually be introducing two new books at Quilt Market that I highly recommend you check out.

Electric Quilt Company, The ( Booth/s 808, 10, 12) Check out their new EQ Boutique and Fall Stash 2011.

Kaleidoscope Collections, LLC  (Booth/s 200) They will introduce some new template packets for Kaledoscope Kreator.

Martingale & Co. (Booth/s 700, 01, 02, 03). Definitely visit their booth and sign up for their book giveaway that will be held every hour.  Plus, pick up one of these very cute pins.  If you get an extra pin, SewCalGal would really love to have one too! 


P3 Designs ( Booth/s 656) will be introducing some amazing applique' designs.

Quilt In a Day ( Booth/s 1458) will be introducing Eleanor's new book "Tales of First Ladies and Their Quilt Blocks", which quilters can place pre-orders now for December shipment of this book.  They also have a coupon for 25% off items in their booth that you may want to print and bring with you to Festival.

Quilter's Paradise - CA (Booth/s 158) is a booth all quilt store owners & buyers should visit to see their existing laser cut kits that are quite popular with quilters, as well as learn how you can have your designs custom cut with their laser.

Quilting Arts – div of Interweave Press – (Booth/s 1145, 47) 

Robin Quilts, Etc. (Booth/s 1102) is a booth to visit as Robin has some very popular quilt designs and purse designs too.  Definitely check out her versatile Letty Bag!

Sizzix (Booth/s 209, 11)  check out their new dies for cutting fabric

Websites For Quilters ( Booth/s 509) Talk to Dan Purcell to learn about some new tools he has created that can help market your business and help you increase your sales.   Sadly, I see many quilting businesses that are struggling and while many may think this isn't the right time to invest in a new, or upgrade of your website, in many cases this can be the trick to really help a business be more successful.  But, even without the thought of a new or upgraded website, Dan has many tools and insights that can help a Quilt business be more successful.   So, if you are in the quilt business, I recommend you make time to chat with Dan while you are at Market.

Susan McNeil will be also be at Market introducing her new book 'Zen-sational Stitches for Quilting". She is giving a "Zentangle on Bags' class, presenting at the 'Quilting Forum', 'Applique' Forum', and the 'Sampler' events.

Susan Brubaker Knapp is also someone that you will want to try to connect with, at Quilt Market, to find out about her new book and her new DVD too.  Here is her schedule:

Friday, Oct. 28: 

12:10 p.m. – Schoolhouse session for C&T Publishing to promote my new book

1:55 p.m. – Schoolhouse session for Studioe Fabrics on attracting art quilters

Saturday, Oct. 29:
10-11 a.m., and possibly on and off throughout that day – working in Dolce Amico Pet Portraits booth with my friend Faith Cleary

Sunday, Oct. 30:
11 a.m. to noon – book signing in Moda/United Notions’ booth

Alphabetical list of  vendors at Quilt Market:  http://tinyurl.com/3lrbf4u

For those going to Festival, don't miss stopping in these opportunities:

First, there are a few classes that still have openings and some classes will have last minute opportunities.  You may want to check the class schedule and come prepared for some classes that you'd like to attend, if there is availability.  Simply check in early morning with the class registration booth to see if a space has opened up for what you are interested in, as well as try to get wait listed for classes in advanced.

Amidon Quiltworks (Booth 356, 58, 60) will have some amazing applique' patterns, as well as other designs.

Craftsy (Booth 858) check out their books & DVDs and also learn more about their online classes, forum, and website.

Havel's Sewing (Booth 700, 02) is always a great place to visit as they have such a wonderful selecting of tools.  Darn, I need some new embroidery scissors.  Sure wish I could visit their booth at Festival.

Irena Bluhm Designs (Booth 237) has a wonderful booth that is like a mini-quilt exhibit.  Have fun visiting with the talented Irena to pick up insights on how she does excellent free-motion quilting with techniques that work on a longarm, or home sewing machine. Her embellishment on fabric is also spectacular.  Do check out her great collection of books and other products too!

Little Windows® (Booth 202) has amazing products to help you create jewelry and a variety of art.  Their products enable you to create items for yourself, as well as to create beautiful gifts. And, their products would also make great Christmas gifts too.  Heck, I know I'd love to receive some Little Windows kits too.  Definitely take time to visit their booth and get familiar with their products. 

Paper Pieces (Booth 1449) is a great booth to visit.  While many premiere quilt shops carry Paper Pieces products, it is rare to find the opportunity to see all of their products in one place.  If you haven't ever tried Paper Pieces (or paper piecing) I hope you'll give it a try.  Great stash buster, plus works beautiful with coordinated fabrics.  Excellent project for traveling, but also just a fun project for quilters of all levels.  And, it is extremely reasonably priced. I just wish I had the opportunity to visit their booth at Festival.Yumm!

Picturesmith Productions, the creators of Stitched, will release Stretching for Quilters featuring textile artist and fitness professional Randall Cook. The 40-minute DVD will be released at the International Quilt Festival in Houston in November. This program will help quilters and others work out some of the tension caused by sitting for hours. Cook will be leading an exercise program on Saturday, Nov. 5. And Stitched will be screened twice during the festival. Picturesmith will also operate Booth 413 during the festival and will be selling its line of DVDs and t-shirts.
Susan McNeil will be also be at Festival introducing her new book 'Zen-sational Stitches for Quilting".  She is giving a "Zentangle on Bags' class, presenting at the 'Quilting Forum', 'Applique' Forum', and the 'Sampler' events.

Quilt In a Day ( Booth/s 1458) will be introducing Eleanor's new book "Tales of First Ladies and Their Quilt Blocks", which quilters can place pre-orders now for December shipment of this book.

Quilted in Clay (Booth 659, 61) has spectacular jewelry for quilters.  I'm always amazed when I wear my Quilted in Clay jewelry how many compliments I get, as well as questions as to where did I find it.  I've found this jewelry to be high quality, last for ages, easy to clean.  What can I say, but I love it.  And, it is very reasonably priced and also makes for a great Christmas gift.   

X-Blocks Quilt Queen Designs (Booth 1660) continually comes out with new and amazing designs and tools that are excellent for quilters of all levels.  Plus, they are fast and fun projects to make. 

Sarah Vedeler will also be at Festival and can be found in in The Quilt Show booth 714 on Friday, Nov 4, 10am-noon and 2pm-4pm.

Susan Brubaker Knapp is also someone that you will want to try to connect with, at Quilt Festival, to find out about her new book and her new DVD too. Here is her schedule:

Monday, Oct. 31:
All day — “Crazy Beading” class with Nancy Eha (!!!)

Tuesday, Nov. 1:
All day – “Confetti Naturescapes” class with Noriko Endo (!!!)
6-8 p.m. – IQA Winners’ Circle Celebration

Wednesday, Nov. 2
8:30 to noon – IQA Board Meeting
noon to 2 p.m. –Winners’ Circle Luncheon
2 to 4 p.m. – IQA Board Meeting
5:15 to 6:15 p.m.– IQA General Meeting
6:30 to 8:30 –Quiltapalooza
Thursday, Nov. 3:
All day – teaching “Wholecloth Painting” class (class is full!)
Friday, Nov. 4:
All day – teaching“Start With a Photo” class (class is full!)

Saturday, Nov. 5:
All day – teaching“Thread Sketching–Dragonfly” (class is full!)
7 to 9:30 p.m. –Gala on the Green
Sunday, Nov. 6:
11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Open Studios (near Make It University)

Alphabetical list of vendors at Quilt Festival:  http://tinyurl.com/67skwms

If you have additional insights about Fall Quilt Market and/or Festival, please feel free to post a comment to share and/or email me.

One good way to find out about Quilt Festival activity is to be on Twitter. Many attendees will tweet insights using the hashtag #QuiltFestival, thus this is a great tool to feeling like you are actually there.








Facebook users can also find out about Quilt Festival by being a fan of Quilt Festival on Facebook.  I just hope more attendees will share insights in real time on Facebook, like what tends to get shared on Twitter.  There is a great deal of inspiration shared on this Facebook page and they have also been known to give away free tickets to Festival to randomly selected Facebook fans.




Remember, both Market and Festival are really large events. Wear comfy shoes and bring a bottle of water.  And, if you don't want to overlook a great opportunity, be sure to bring a printed list of all the things that you want to see.  Festival can have 60,000+ visitors so having a game plan on what you want to see is important!