In case you missed our Quilt Market Wrap-up event – here are a few pictures from Quilt Market. I’m really excited about all the new fabrics and books coming out on the market. Enjoy!
Trains, Planes …. but no Automobile!
May
24
2013
Sometimes our best laid plans are not meant to be! Case in point: my trip to Quilt Market. If you missed this post where I talked about the grand plan you may want to go back and read it and then come back here to read how it all fell apart due to one expired license!
That’s right – as I was checking in at the Minneapolis Airport they noticed that my license expired on my birthday 7 months ago!!! They let me check in – after all when you come really close to telling someone to “Shut the Front Door!’ they could tell that you had no idea!
As soon as it was brought to my attention I just knew that I would not be able to rent a car in Seattle as planned, but I had my 19 year old son with me and he DID have a valid license. So Plan B: My son is our designated driver for the week.
We landed in Seattle about midnight on Wednesday/Thursday and headed over to the rental car place. However, our Plan B was about to turn into Plan C as it seems there are insurance rules against renting cars to drivers under the age of 23.
We ended up getting a room for the night (more like 4 hours) and then caught the Light-Rail from the airport to the Amtrak Station in Seattle We arrived just in time to board the 7:30am train to Portland and spent the next 3 1/2 hours relaxed and enjoying letting someone else do the driving!
I had never taken the train before – but that was a MUCH more enjoyable experience then any airline I have flown and a lot less stressful than driving! Maybe our Plan C was a blessing in disguise.
We arrived in Portland about noon and after checking in at the hotel we grabbed some lunch and then I headed off to Quilt Market – in the wrong direction!!! It took me about 20 blocks to accept the fact that the Convention Center was not over the next hill and that I needed to turn around and head in the other direction! The good thing about walking was that I got to experience the city in ways I could not had I been driving!
I tend to be one who can roll with the punches and accept what is. Sure it was a huge inconvenience not to have a car when all my plans were made based on being able to rent one. Looking back – I’m glad things turned out the way they did, we got to see Portland in ways that we would not have had we had a car. We enjoyed the Saturday Market, walked off our breakfast of VooDoo Donuts
and ate at restaurants that we may have missed otherwise.
Quilt Market Wrap Up May 26th!
May
22
2013
I’m back from Quilt Market and despite all the obstacles of getting there, I’m so glad I went! Not only is it exciting to see what will be coming out on the market in the next few months, but to take classes that are relevant and specific to running my store makes it worth the time, effort and cost it takes to get there!
While there I waited 5 hours in line to get into Sample Spree! Okay granted, a big chunk of that time was spent napping – after my ordeal on getting there, I really needed one! (that story will be told later).
Sample Spree did not disappoint! There are some great fabric lines coming down the pipe in the next few months! I picked up some great lines from Moda, Kokka, Art Gallary and Windham (WOW!! I’m really excited at what Windham has coming down the line)
The line behind me
Tula Pink has a new book, thread and fabrics coming out!! If you don’t already know – I’m a HUGE fan of Tula Pink and am so happy to see her expanding into all aspects of the quilting market!
Tula Pink and her biggest fan!
I’ll be talking more about what I noticed at Quilt Market at the Quilt Market Wrap up this Sunday from 1-3p. I’ll be giving away a signed copy of this book to one lucky winner.
After the slideshow be the first to shop all the things I brought back from Quilt Market before I put them out on the floor!
You can sign up for the Event here. Members of Sewtropolis are free, just give a call to let us know you are coming!
A Sneak Peek at Quilt Market
May
18
2013
While I’m at Quilt Market I want to share a few pictures as a tease for our Quilt Market Recap on May 26!
Second in line at Sample Spree – wait till you see what I bought!!!!
Heather Bailey has finally come out with embroidery Patterns and felt!! We love Heather Bailey
Look, Alexander Henry pimped their ride too!!
See you on the 26th where I’ll give away a signed copy of this book to one lucky winner!
Off to Market
May
16
2013
I’m off to Quilt Market this week, which is being held in Portland Oregon. I’m really excited to see everything in one place …. There just seems to be so many great fabrics coming out on the market.
I almost stole this… not really, but I wanted to!
I’ll also be attending the Schoolhouse series on Thursday, I signed up for some classes that are unique to sewing and quilting store owners!
I also can’t wait to meet the designers, authors and pattern makers. I have plans to visit the Colette Studio and visit with Sari and Amy Butler – super excited about that. Quilt market is always so full of color and excitement. I’ll be able to meet up with other shop owners from not only the Twin Cities, but from other states as well. There are a few I’ve talked to over the phone, but have never met, it will be nice to finally meet them in person.
My Greek Girl – Anna Maria Horner!
Given all of that – and that is a lot! What I am most excited about is seeing my friends and family in the Great North West! My dad will be in Portland that weekend and will take my boys so I can concentrate on the happenings at Quilt Market. Afterwards the boys and I will drive up the Coast of Washington onto Bainbridge Island and then take the ferry into Seattle.
All aboard!
We’ll spend a day sight seeing with my brother who lives there and if everything goes as planned I hope to meet up with a old college friend of mine. It’s been almost 30 years since I last saw him, and after searching for him for the past 15+ years I had all but given up…. Until out of the blue he sent me a message on Linkedin. (I love the power of social media!) I can’t wait to catch up with him!
I hope you’ll follow along on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. I promise to take pictures of EVERYTHING!! And when I get back I promise to share everything I found. So mark your calendars now for Sunday, May 26 for the Quilt Market Recap! Sewtropolis Members get in free!
See you soon!
Pimp My Ride
May
14
2013
Now that I have a scooter, I quickly discovered that if I wanted to carry stuff around (like groceries or a sewing project) I needed a trunk.
I noticed a lot of other Scooter owners driving around with a crate strapped to the back of the scooter. Makes perfect sense, but I had to take it a step further. Check this out!!
Nice huh? I’m pretty proud of myself. I even used a laminate fabric for the print for easy cleaning.
There were only a few seams to sew with this crate cover making it literally a 10 minute project.
With my ‘Bike Basket’ and now ‘trunk’ I think I’m set for carting my stuff around.
My Confetti Quilt
May
12
2013
I just finished this quilt!
A few months ago (closer to a year ago) I was cleaning out my sewing room (i.e., basement) and saw the pattern in either a book or magazine that I had. Since I have a thing for scrappy quilts I quickly added, it to my WIP (Work In Progress) pile.
I think what I like most about scrappy quilts is the randomness of them. I also like the idea of using up my ‘scraps’ – which I always seem to have a ton of – as evidenced by this project.
Each scrap was cut into 2″ x 3.5″ pieces and then pieced together in this order.
There are 17 pieces in each block and I have 90 blocks in this quilt (9w x 10h)…. so that works out to 1,530 teeny tiny pieces of fabric!
Yes, that’s a lot of scraps! Each of them remind me of a previous project – some old, some new.
I’m going to name this quilt “Confetti” because that is what all those tiny pieces look like. Don’t you agree?
A Short Assignment and Long Term Goals
May
9
2013
Owning a business is tough! I love, love, love my store, but I’m telling you it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done – EVER! My dad owned a business and his dad owned a business and for as long as I can remember I just knew that one day I would also own my own business. And now that I do, I’m finding it’s not all Lollypops and Rainbows! It’s a lot of down-and-dirty-do-what-you-need-to-do-to-get-it-done-hard work. Most of the time without pay!
So, last fall when I was given the chance to take a temporary assignment at a big corporation, I decided to take it, and for the past 7 months I have been working part-time, doing my best to make ends meet. Because I wasn’t going to be at the assignment very long I tried not to get attached to the people I was working with. I’m a big baby at “Good-Byes” and I didn’t want any sort of Drama! But, try as I might – they kind of grew on me. So at my Going away lunch on Tuesday I gave each of them a little token of my appreciation.
(I ended up keeping the blue bag because I didn’t think the person I made it for would appreciate it as much as she would a Passport Holder – which I neglected to take a picture of – but trust me it was cute).
While I was working there, I was also working on developing a Strategic Plan for my business through Women Venture. I have already started to implement some of the goals on my Plan including the Community Quilt which kicks off June 29th and our Sewing and Quilting retreat on October 18-20. I hope that you all will join us for both events AND more importantly, share my website, Facebook page, twitter name, etc., with all your friends. The more the merrier as that is so important to not only my small business – but most small businesses!
I’ll miss the people I worked with, but I’m hoping that if I ever have to pick up another temporary assignment it will be because I WANT to and not because I NEED to.
Glad to be back at the store 100%!
My Son’s of Anarchy Quilt
May
7
2013
Yep, I made a skull quilt! And yes, I’m calling it my Son’s of Anarchy Quilt. Given my recent obsession with the show I thought it was appropriate.
The pattern came from the book: Dare to be Square, by Boo Davis.
This is the second quilt I’ve made from the book… we’ll, technically the first, Drew made the Robot Quilt.
It’s Party Time!
May
5
2013
I love Pinterest and I love a good party and the two are just begging to be combined! The last Pinterest Party I had was a lot of fun, everyone made a fabric produce bag, pot holders, fabric buckets, pin cushions and bowl covers. There were so many projects left over that everyone left with extra projects to work on at home.
The last party was so much fun that I decided to do it again! This time around I tried to find projects that are more practical, like a beach tote, reusable snack bags, ruffled pouches, and fabric key chain just to name a few.
There are 10 projects all together, everyone will get the chance to make at least 4 of them.
All material and instructions are included – all you need to do is show up and sew!
If you want to see the items we’ll be making visit the Sewtropolis Pinterest board here.
If you like what you see, then be sure to sign up here! As always Sewtropolis Members receive a discount!
