Skinny Quilts

Awhile back, Eleanor Levie asked me to contribute to her book. She had written a Skinny Quilts & Table Runners and this was to be volume II. I just received the project back from her this morning. After I opened it, I thought, how fitting the runner is for the season. The project is wonderful and all of the contributors did a fabulous job with his or her contribution. Congratulations, Eleanor!

I took a photo of a few of the designs from the book. Oooooh, aren't they lovely? Let me know what you think! xo, L

Winners, Please Step Up!

Hey, winners! There are a couple of you who haven't claimed your fabric stacks! Please let me know what your snail mail addys are and I will send them to you! Check here to see if you were a winner. Have a great weekend! xo, L

More Quilt Market friends

Wow, I had lots of photos to go through. I hope that you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed visiting with these designers. 

I met Karla Eisenach of Sweetwater at my very first market. She's a terrific designer and she lets me hang out in her booth whenever I pop by! She and her daughters produce some fabulous designs and fabric with a scrapbook influence. Check out her blog for some great photos of her booth and of Houston.

Marianne Byrne-Goarin of The Cinnamon Patch is a wonderful designer who lives in France. I love her designs! She has a new book, Cinnamon Inspiration and she has a line of lovely felts that she uses in her designs. Her website showcases all of her whimsical designs.

My friend, Renee Plains, of Liberty Star always has a cute little booth. Her projects are darling. Did you buy the latest issue of American Patchwork and Quilting ? They have an interview in there with Renee. Way to go, girl!

Here are some fabulous designers from Henry Glass. Lynette Anderson travels all the way from Australia with her son Eddie. Her designs are so pretty, aren't they?

Michelle Engel Bencsko, of Cicada Daydream made a debut with her fab line from her own company, Cloud9 Fabrics. Dreamy and organic!

Here are the lovely ladies from Lizzie B Creations. They're funny and upbeat! I love their energy and their fun designs. You have to check out their fabric line, Whimsyland. Wow and bright, just as I like it!

Blackbird Designs . What can I say about these ladies? I love them. Talking to Alma and Barb is a treat. We met at the Designer Retreat at the Better Homes and Gardens a few years ago. Their booth is always so lovely.

Robyn Pandolph , is another wonderful designer. We also met at the retreat years ago. Her new fabrics are oh so gorgeous!

Sarah Moon, thank you! I dropped by The Fabric Shop Network booth to thank her for the awesome review of my book, Cool Girls Quilt. Thanks, Sarah.

I chatted with Jodie Davis for a little while at the Aurifil booth. She was busy taping her show, Quilt Out Loud. Can't wait to see the new episodes.

Whew! That's it for now! xo, L

At market I met up with Donna from Fabric Trends Magazine to thank her for showcasing my fabric line, Inspiration, in their gallery. Thanks again! I love the magazine. They do a wonderful job of showcasing the latest quilting fabrics. I know that I am lucky to be working in such a fabulous industry where everyone is so supportive.

  

Have you had a chance to see Inspiration  at your local quilt shop yet? If not, run out and get some for yourself! I love the colors and the images are so fun. Send me a photo of your finished projects!

I had a lovely visit with the folks at Aurifil. I've only been using this thread for a little while but I am hooked! The thread is a dream to sew with but I must admit that the colors are what captures my heart.  I used the thread on a quilt that I did for my next project for American Patchwork & Quilting. I had trouble matching the thread with my fabric when I tried to with another brand. The Aurifil colors matched my fabric perfectly.

Here's a photo of a couple of the Aurifil folks, Alex Veronelli and Elena Gregotti. Check out that awesome display of eye candy. Luscious. The thread is fine yet strong so you don't have to sew scant seam allowances!



For those of you interested in the European quilt market, Alex offers interesting videos on his weblog .

My favorite booth? Alexander Henry. So creative and funky. Nicole is a wonderful designer and their booth is so inspiring. The witch is working so hard. The details are so cool and spooky.

I love this look. I have a certain "goth" side to me. I went through this sort of phase when I was in university.  Reno is still trying to find photographic evidence of it to this day. Sorry, it's all been shredded or burned, baby!

I fell in love with their new Halloween line. Here's a sneak peak [used with their permission only]:

Oh, there's more to come. I have a few loose ends to tie up but I'll be back. xo, L

Hope. Courage. Family. Support. Love.

I was touched by all of your entries to my contest. Thank you for entering. I am blessed to have such great readers! As with any cause, hope, courage, family, support and love are most important. Before I get to the winners, I have a little gift for everyone because we're all in this together. We may not be personally battling this horrible disease but we know family members, friends or friends of friends who are.  I hope that you enjoy making this adorable tote for yourself and for your loved ones. I carried it all around Houston and loved it. The pattern is here. Enjoy!

Now, drumroll, please! The winners were picked randomly by my two helpers, Big A and Little A. The winners [with the time of the posting in case there is any confusion] are:

Jeanette 12:02
Amanda 7:42
Tozz 5:39
Always Sewing 8: 44
Quiltcetera 4:55

Please e-mail me your snail mail and I will send the fat quarters to you! Thanks for entering. xo, L

Quilt Market [Houston 2009] - Part One

Quilt Market is over but there's a lot of work to do. "Jolly Stuff" made its debut at the Leisure Arts booth at the show. I am so stoked about this little book. LA, you guys rock. The photography and styling of the book are awesome. I know that you guys will love it too!

I thought that I'd show you some people shots. Mark was looking pretty good. It is an awesome feeling to meet up with your piers. The creativity is inspiring and yet almost overwhelming in a good way. Once at home, I have to process the show's events and then get down to work!

My favorite Henry Glass ladies. They worked hard but had time to smile for me! Thanks!

One of my special meetings was with Marianne Byrne-Goarin of The Cinnamon Patch. I'll show some of her work in the next market post. She is a Facebook friend but she is gorgeous and charming in person. Pleased to meet you Marianne. I hope to do some work with her in the future. Wait until you see her book. [The designs behind us are lovely but they're not hers. She does stitchery work.] Gorgeous!

One of my favorite parts of Fall Quilt Market is catching up with Amy Butler's dad. I look forward to chatting with him every fall. He's a sweet guy and such a great help in her booth. He is quite a gentleman who always makes time for questions and he's so supportive and proud of Amy.  Amy's booth, as usual, was gorgeous and luscious.

Nicole of Alexander Henry Fabrics is a treat to spend time with. She and her brother are so talented and terrific people. Wait until you see their new Halloween line. To die for!

Next, I headed over to the Martingale booth to meet the editors there. I'll have a little sneak peek in the next few posts. I contributed to a new book and you'll just have to wait and see.

Heidi Kaisand [APQS ], Jennifer Keltner [American Patchwork & Quilting ], Lila Scott [APQ] and I had fun catching up.

Barbara of Quilt Soup  is a sweet lady. I love her designs and she happens to design for Henry Glass too! Yes, Barbara, I do talk a mile a minute! Sorry! I caught up with the wonderful gals at Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. Traci is on the left and Lynn is on the right.

I'll have some more market stuff in the next few days. xo, L

To Quilt Market We Go!

I don't know how many bloggers will show you the lovely side of travelling to Quilt Market at 3:30 a.m. but I will! I travelled with Mark Lipinski . I wanted to show you how hard he works! He's constantly on his e-mail account and I am not! As you can see, he can be quite wonderful and humorous in the wee hours of the morning. [ed. note: There are no photos of me because I will not be photographed at that hour! Vain, I know.] We got into Houston and our friend, Lila Scott, technical editor of American Patchwork and Quilting, kindly let us freshen up in her room. Thanks, Lila!

The man kept working but he did have a moment of fun! Silly guy.

Mark took out his quilts for a little show and tell. Aren't the quilts and his fabric beautiful? Toby from Kindred Quilts made the one with all of the starry points. I'll have to check out the maker of the other one. I think that we cleaned up nicely, don't you? I have tons of photos to plow through. I saw a lot of old friends and met a lot of new ones too! There was a lot of fun to be had. 

I will be getting back to you with some market reports and some patterns. The giveaway will close this Saturday at 8 p.m. so that I can recover from the show! Let your friends know!

xo, L

Houston, Here I Come!

I'm off to Quilt Market in Houston. In the meanwhile, you should check out my friend Sarah Fielke's blog over at thelastpiece.typepad.com [Sorry about not linking. Is anyone else experiencing this with Blogger?] She's going to have a giveaway of some French General stuff. See you next week!
xo, L

Jolly Stuff. Giving. Giveaway.

Thanks for the comments for the contest. Let your friends know about the giveaway! They'll have until next week after I get back from Houston.

I was going to post the pattern for a tote bag but it will have to be tomorrow. I had to take my baby to see the doctor at short notice. His neck began to swell and he couldn't move it. The doctor didn't know the exact cause so we are on antibiotics and will see if that will work for him.



In the meantime, I thought that I'd show you a sneak peak at my new book for Leisure Arts. It's called "Jolly Stuff" and it's part of "The Modern Crafter" series. I came up with the series a couple of years ago and the titles have been so much fun for me to design. There was "Tot Stuff" and "Home Stuff". Of course, I had to bring in a holiday themed one! Enjoy!
xo, L

Awareness. Giving. Giveaway.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I'm sure that many of you have been affected or know someone who has been affected by this horrible disease. I encourage you to do your part in promoting awareness of breast cancer and to learn or share information about the disease.

My latest fabric line is called "Inspiration" and I not only love how pretty the line is but also how positive and uplifting it is when you look at each of the prints. I've designed this little pouch pattern for you.


Make one for yourself, for family or for a friend. I've so much fun with this little pouch. I added photo transfers onto the fronts of a few of them for a dash of personality. I've even added a few inches to one so that I could make a larger pouch.


I hope that you love this zippity pouch as much as I do. Get the pattern here.

Please briefly share your story in the comments section and I will giveaway 5 fat quarter stacks of "Inspiration".

xo, L
p.s. Sorry the post looks so wonky and weird. Anyone else experiencing this on Blogger? My images only show up as word text when I am loading and the text spaces are strange.