The Baltimore Needlework Market had come and gone. It feels like Barb and I work like crazy to have new patterns ready for a market....and 15 minutes later it's over. We look at each other and think, "Now should we do?"
Barb didn't go with me to this market as she is trying to finish the remodel job on her home. Then to top it off, she came down with a pretty nasty respiratory virus. She's still coughing one week later. We are all glad that she stayed home. There's no sense in passing all of those germs around to our friends. But I missed her company and funny comments at market. Barb has the best sense of humor.
(Front and back cover....this pattern comes with 2 pincushions too!)
My husband Dave went with me to this market. He turned out to be great help. We were able to combine this trip with a visit to our son who lives in Washington, D.C. I never thought of market as a vacation time....mostly because the van is loaded with patterns and furniture and we have work on our mind. But now, I'm rethinking this whole notion.
I'd never been to Baltimore before. Dave and I enjoyed riding the light rail downtown to the Inner Harbor after our booth was set up. It was a fun location to grab a bite to eat and watch the people walking around the harbor. We also went to Annapolis and visited some shops. It was parent's weekend and the new cadets from the Navel Academy were in their dress uniforms showing their families around. We had a bit of lunch at Reynold's Tavern. Great place to eat and the food was lovely.
(Front and back cover....the cover pattern is stitched on 30ct and framed. The back cover shows the same piece stitched on 40ct. The paper mache box comes with the cylinder boxes inside. They were painted and covered with paper. We like to make a color copy of our pieces after they are stitched. Several copies were made of this piece to cover the box lids. Instructions are included in the pattern.)
Thanks to all of you who visited our booth at the needlework market! Barb and I are now busy thinking about quilts for the Houston fall market. We are working on a book using our new fabric line Blueberry Crumb Cake by Moda fabrics.
Two new show and tell items!
Nancy Frisch sent us pictures of her Trick or Treat quilt from When The Cold Wind Blows. She writes, "I am thrilled to tell you that I won 1st prize at our Truckee Meadows annual quilt show with your Trick or Treat quilt design. It has been a pleasure to hand applique all those baskets and then when I completed the top it was too big for my sewing machine! I had to hand quilt the whole thing! Please note I opted for yo-yos in the border triangles -it seemed an appropriate alternative. This is my first time receiving such an honor and I wanted to share it with you. This is a wonderful design! Thank you for all you do!
Nanci Allen Bowen sent the above picture and writes, "I used to own Fiddlesticks Quilts here in Boulder City, Nevada, and I’ve met you both and spoken with you several times at past Quilt Markets. I sold my shop 6 years ago when I needed a fulltime job with the basic benefits (life change event) and at times even wondered if I would sew again and make another quilt. I didn’t want to lose my creativity and inspiration so I tried to keep my hands busy. I kept my pattern company (Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs) and have published a few designs.
I wanted to send you a photo of my finished quilt. The one that took me 6 years to finish after I decided to force myself to learn hand appliqué. I love your style, your fabrics, and your patterns! When I found this quilt in your book, I decided this would make a good learning project. Heck, it was only 4 blocks of appliqué… how hard could that be? And really, I could just do one block and call it a day, and a little wallhanging. But I liked the pattern and had so many fabrics in my collection… I kept going. I took the handwork to my son’s baseball games, worked on it during my 30 minute lunch breaks at work, took it on trips with me… basically knowing it would take me a long time to finish. In a previous life, I would’ve had it finished much earlier. It’s still not bound yet, but hey, I just picked it up from my quilter last week. J
Well....that's all the news for now. I'm off to clean the studio and get out the fabric!
Until later!
Alma
- Monday, August 22, 2011
- 45 Comments
