Notes from the Patch

Quilt Market - Day 4

First I want to thank you all for encouraging me. I loved reporting from the floor of quilt market and every time I would read a comment thanking me for sharing it made me want to share all the more. I guess you could say I work cheap. Your appreciation is all I need to want to do this and share.

This market, without a doubt, was my favorite in years!! I think it was obvious from the photos over the last three days that the baton has been passed and the younger designers with their fresh modern looks were everywhere. There was new energy in the market. So many bright clean colors, designs and ideas. Everything I absolutely love! There was no searching for brights in a room full of muddy colors. It was like shopping in a rainbow, each booth brighter and more excitingly electrifying than the last.

I couldn't believe how many designers offered to come to Strawberry Patches for book signings, workshops and events. In twenty six years I've never had so many talented women so willing to come and share. Could it be our fabulous new store and huge classroom that makes them want to come? Don't know, but I'm so excited to bring these talented ladies to Strawberry Patches.

I have just a few photos to show you of the last day. We are always rushed to meet with those last few reps and then comb the aisles one last time for those nuggets we may have overlooked.

Here is Happy Mochi Yum Yum by Monica Solorio-Snow of The Happy Zombie. I bought the majority of this collection due in the stores this summer.

 Here is Sandi Henderson of Portabellopixie

We loved her new line for Michael Miller, Secret Garden

and bought most of the patterns shown here.

 It's funny, but after spending three days looking at thousands of fabric designs, I am always more aware of design around me. I usually look at the carpeting in the hotels and airports and say, "That would make a great fabric". In Utah, the inspiration came from above.

Even the colors were trendy.

Thank you Salt Lake for your hospitality, snow capped mountains, clean air and lovely people. We can't wait to return!

Encourage one another,

 

Quilt Market - Day 3 - More celebrities and a give away

Today started with a three hour appointment with Moda and hobnobbing with some major Moda celebrities.

Here's Joanna Figueroa from Fig Tree showing us her Slice designs. What a lovely, talented lady!

This is cutie patootie Camille Roskelley from Bonnie and Camille. Her new fabric line, Ruby just blew us away. You might say we got a bit carried away with our ordering. So exciting and our favorite collection by far from Camille!

This is Circa 1934 by Cosmo Cricket.  Love the rich reds, worn yellows and sage greens with its typewriter key caps and vintage numbers.

Here's Aneela Hoey with her Little Apples collection. She was so gracious and offered me this goody bag with 2" charms of each of her 42 new prints along with an embroidery pattern.

Tell me why you'd like to win this adorable mini fabric sampler and one lucky reader will win the fabric, tattoo and pattern.

Here is Karri Ming from French General

Karri reads my blog and wondered if I might like her to come to Strawberry Patches to teach a workshop.

Ummm. YES!! OMG how fun. Plan on hanging out with Karri sometime this fall.

This is Rebecka Merkle and her new group England Swings for Timeless Treasures.

 Go to www.amoretti-designs.com to read her bio and see her cute kids clothes.

Here are the lanterns that were hanging in her booth. We will have Rebekah's new prints in stock later this summer.

 Annette and I died over these!

This is Joel Dewberry and his cute wife Laurie.  We loved his new clothing pattern line Eclectic Modern.

 Heirloom is his new group of fabric and included some yummy voiles.

 Loved these in the maxi dress Laurie is wearing and added them to our fabric order with Westminster.

Here's Allison Harris from Cluck Cluck Sew. We have several of her patterns in the store.

 Here is the Art to Heart booth with projects from Nancy Halvorsen's new book,  Jingle All the Way.

 We sell hundred's of her books every year and I can't wait to whip up one or two or those adorable pillows! (The books are in my suitcase and the buttons and jingle bells are on their way).

 Another cute project from Nancy's book...

That's it for tonight. We have another full day tomorrow before we hop on the plane and head for home.

Don't forget to leave a comment and tell me why you'd like to win those darling charm square's.

See you tomorrow!

Encourage one another,

 

 

Quilt Market - Day 2 - Lost and found and celebrity sightings

We got off to a rather rocky start.

Annette forgot her cell phone, I forgot my list of appointments and if that weren't enough I forgot my flat iron. So there we were, communications compromised, no clue where to go and who to see, all while having a bad hair day. Thanks to Bill we were able to recreate our list and hopefully didn't miss any appointments. Unfortunately Bill couldn't help me with my hair issues.

29 aisles and 2900 booths.

Here are some of today's highlights.

We are huge fans of Riley Blake and they did not disappoint us. There was inspiration at every turn.

Sarah Jane is a new designer for Micheal Miller. Her little boys prints were so sweet.

This is another new designer for Michael Miller, Emily Herrick. We loved the fun prints in her first collection, Going Coastal.

Crabapple Hill is always a treat.

Speaking of treats. Here is Jillily Studio. They were serving these tiny ice cream cones with their quilts. We'll be visiting them again tomorrow.

Here's the always lovely Amy Butler

Anna Maria Horner

Jennifer Paganelli, Erin McMorris and Jenean Morrison.

New fabrics by Kokka - Far Far Away by Heather Ross

and Pam Vieira-McGinnis from Pam Kitty Morning. You've asked for her fabrics and boy are you getting them.  Sometimes it's just so hard to choose and when there isn't a bad print in the group there is but one thing to do. You just buy them all. We hope to have Pam in the store in the fall for a Pam Kitty Morning event. Go here to put in a good word for me. K?

Here's me and Annette in the Kona booth. We do "heart" our yummy Kona solids at Strawberry Patches!

This is a new designer for Robert Kaufman, Amanda Murphy. We loved her bright collection Veranda and will be having a trunk show in September with kits for several of her quilts.

This strip quilt by Cozy Quilts is done in Robert Kaufman's new and much needed light batik precuts. We'll have kits for this in the early fall.

I'll leave you with a few shots of our Thursday afternoon in Park City.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering,

they do serve alcohol in Utah.

Encourage one another,

 

Quilt Market - Day 1

As most of you read this post we will be in the air on our way to Salt Lake City and Spring Quilt Market.

This time it's a couples trip with Annette and I taking our sweet hubs along.  We will be touring Park City tonight before being immersed in a three day fabric shop-a-thon.

My plan is to show you some highlights of Quilt Market as we experience it. If you see something you like be sure to let us know. After all, YOU are the reason we go.

So without further ado...

...let the shopping begin!

Encourage one another,

Put a fork in it

We're done!

 
We finally finished the last of our goody bags for our upcoming shop hop.

They were fun to do...for awhile.

Doing six hundred of anything can get to be a bit of a drag after, oh, I don't know, the first hundred or so.

Thirty pounds of Jelly Bellies

Six hundred zippers.

Hundreds of yards of fabric.

A few too many bolts of Fusible Fleece.  = )

Four hundred and fifty million gazillion flower seeds.

Enough curly ribbon (that didn't want to curl) to go from here to Pumpkin Center and back.

Sheez...

It was just a lot of a lot of good things!

But they're done and we are so excited to see you all and spoil you with a fun new store, fabulous goody bags, lots of demos and lunch.

Yes, there is such a thing as a free lunch and we have our returning handsome guest chef on board to serving it up.

We have just one tinsy little thing to do before we welcome you. We're flying off to Salt Lake City on Thursday for three days of crazy non stop shopping at Spring Quilt Market. Then it's home to put the finishing touches on our big party.

See you May 20, 21 and 22  for the Heart of the Valley Shop Hop.

Be sure to come hungry!

It's going to be great fun.

Encourage one another,

Tutorial Tuesday - #35 Pleated Flowers

 

Here's another video from Maya Road this time showing us how to make those cute little flowers using their pleated satin trim. We stock all six colors and I love the way they look with a bit of bling in  the center. They are quick and easy to make and add that finishing touch to any project.

Here's the video:

 

               

  Encourage one another,

Happy Mother's Day

 

Encourage one another,

Thank heaven for little girls who wear their darling dresses to Strawberry Patches

Working at Strawberry Patches definitely has its perks!

These beautiiful little girls have such talented mommies!

Sophia's dress pattern is by Indygo Junction. 

 

Audrey's mommy made her sundress and ruffled petty coat. This was the first project she has ever sewn! Oh, my goodness...Amanda and I can't wait to make these slips!

Talk about a living doll.

Awkk. I can hardly stand the cuteness!

Thank you ladies for making our day.

Encourage one another,

My early Mother's Day gift from Bill

Everyone that works with me knows I'm pretty fastidious about keeping the new store's floor spotlessly clean.

I think I've over heard the word obsessed whispered (or was that possessed?) a time or two behind my back

So when Bill dropped by with this early Mother's Day present I was more than thrilled!

Seriously. This is the coolest invention. Ever.

You just dust as you walk! Don't be surprised if you don't see a big basket of these just outside the front doors with a sign:

Encourage one another,

 

 

Now this takes the cake!

We were there the day they met.

We were there the day he proposed.

We were there the day they said I do.

So it only seemed right that we were there the moment they found out.

Boy or Girl?

The ultrasound technician slipped the results of the twenty week ultrasound into an envelope and it was delivered to the bakery where the inner frosting would reveal the babies sex.

No one including Amanda and Lang knew the results of the ultrasound and it wasn't until after a lovely dinner and the cake was served, that the babies sex was revealed.

Hidden inside

beneath the yummy outer frosting was this.

It's a GIRL! (Toe rings never lie)!

Congratulations!

Let the shopping and sewing begin!