Holiday Memories

Happy Holidays! I hope you all had a Happy Holiday. Ours was wonderful, our children and grandchildren were here and the 'grand dog' too.

My granddaughter loves 'sock monkey'. That is an understatement. Last fall I found a 'sock monkey' at the Houston Quilt Show s0 that was one gift taken care of. I also had bought 'sock monkey' fabric. I made her a quilt with the fabric and put it and the monkey under the tree. It warmed all of our hearts to see the joy on her face. All afternoon the quilt and monkey were her constant companions.

this is why we make quilts, to make memories. The quilt may be dragged on the floor and shared with the dog. Decades from now the quilt may no longer exist but the memory of this Christmas will stay with her as an old woman and told to her grandchildren.

I hope your Christmas and holidays were memory makers too.

It's Snowing

It's snowing in Virginia. The first snow of the season. Wet sloppy stuff. No fun at all. It made the drive to the fabric store watchful of the road and the other drivers. I know I should have made the trip the day before or wait another day but I just have to buy the remaining item and finish the project.
The holidays are quickly upon us and I still have two more quilts to finish for Christmas. The outside decorations are up, we did that last week when the temperature was 68. Tomorrow we will start on the inside. I guess I'll get up an hour early next and spend it in the sewing room.

And the winner is...

Wow, what a wonderful response to the Blog Tour. All the comments were positive and supportive. I made my self leave the house around noon. I kept going to the computer to see if any more visitors had come by. I checked again just before going to bed. It was like Christmas - checking to see if any more presents had been put under the tree.

Ok, here is what you want to know. The winner from CPG Designs, winning a free issue of 'Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks from Today's Top Designers' goes to
Kris Paquette of Michigan. Congratulations.

Enjoy the rest of the week's sites. Happy Quilting

Today is the day!

Today is the day. I feel like I'm having a very important dinner guest. Oh - I am having an important guest. You!

Welcome! Thank you for coming to the Quiltmaker Blog Tour. I visited the sites yesterday and what fun. Everyone has different style. Please enjoy my blog and be sure to leave your name and address in the comment section. Someone will win a free copy of the '100 Blocks magazine. Your privacy will be respected.

My goal in designing quilt blocks as three points to meet.

First - To focus on the fabric. The beauty of the fabric is often why we bought it.

Second - Designs that are beginner friendly. Experienced quilters will appreciate the quick and easy projects they can create.

Third - Versatile in the types of projects ie. quilts, wall hangings, table runners. The block should have ability to be used over and over again.

Ahoy meets that goal. I have posted here and on the flickr site. http://www.flickr.com./groups/100blocks2009/ some suggestions using the Ahoy block in different fabrics and layouts. I hope it will be just the beginning for your creations. Bon' Appetite.

I am in a magazine

I am pleased to say that I have a quilt block included in a special issue of 'Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks from Today's Top Designers'. What an honor to be included with some of the well known names in the industry.

As a celebration 'Quiltmaker' is having a Blog Tour. Follow the 100 Blocks Blog Tour daily Nov. 9-13 (Monday - Friday) at http://www.quiltmaker.com/quiltypleasures for inspiration, ideas, and giveaways galore! Look for 100 Blocks from Today's Top Designers in local quilt shop, or purchase it at quiltmaker.com/100blocks. I happen to know there are lots of great giveaways.

I am to be featured on Tuesday Nov. 10th, please visit my website and/ or blog. My website is http://www.cpgdesigns.com/ or here on this blog. A link is on my website to bring you back to this blog. If you go to http://www.flickr.com/groups/100blocks2009/ you will be some great picture of projects connected with this Quiltmaker project.

Come visit me on Tuesday. One visitor will receive a free issue of this magazine. Remember there are 100 blocks - that's 100 possible quilts you could make in the coming year. ;)

Thank a Vendor

I've been home a week from the Houston Quilt Festival. I have finally caught up on my sleep. Now its time to catch up on everything else.

Festival was an amazing experience. One sees another side of festival as a vendor. First there is a considerable effort vendors put into bringing their products to the attendees. They must arrange for the booth, electric, flooring, and displays. These items have to be planned, arranged, and paid for before the event takes place. Vendors function on faith that the attendees will make it all worth while.

Vendors can spend the season traveling from show to show. Sometimes packing up on Sunday evening and traveling thousands of miles to the next show. Often friendships develop among the vendors on the same circuits, and after a few years friendships between vendors and customers.

So next time you attend a show you might think about thanking a vendor for their effort.

Houston Quilt Market

It's 10 p.m. and I just finished sewing the binding down on a quilt. There is nothing unusual about that ...except I'm in a hotel room in Houston Texas. Today was the last day of Quilt Market in Houston. All the vendors, manufacturers and designers are packing up and disappearing into the night.

Three days of beauty and function filled the convention floor. We were inspired by the coming treads in color and textures of the fabrics. A return of 'minkee' like fabric is available in great colors and embossed textures. They were stunning. The browns in the animal prints were very elegant. Lots of pastels too.

We saw a lot of pastels, a popular trend of lavenders and chartreuse was noticeable. Earth tones are still popular and very nice. And yet we did see some deep saturated colors. Something for everyone. Watch for Windham's Flannel Rose and Baby collection. Hoffman's Batiks are always to die for.

The Warm and Natural folks are importing a fabric group from the U.K. The group has several collections ranging from oversize flowers, Asian inspired, to Picotage dots. I bought fat quarters of the Picotage dots in Black & White, Rust (the new color trend) & White, Tan & White.

Now why was I binding a quilt in a hotel room in Houston, because I am going to be a vendor of my pattern line at Festival. I need the quilt as a sample. More about Festival later.