Back Home from Houston Quilt Festival

I have finally returned home after 10 days in Houston for Quilt Market and Festival.  It was so good to see so many old friends and meeting new ones.  I always help my friend with her Scarlet Today Redwork booth and I learn so much from her.  She introduced her new Vintage Baskets Block of the Month at Sample Spree and Market.  It was picked up by several stores including one from New Zealand.  We had to overcome several obstacles this year (moving booths and hotel rooms), but we survived.  Now I am back in the real world.  I arrived home at 11:30 last night and it was back to work at 8:00 am this morning.  No rest for the weary as they say but I would not miss it.

Now on to the fun stuff.  I was fortunate to be able to see several demos this year.  I watched the demo from RaNae Merrill for her new book Magnificent Spiral Mandala Quilts and I just had to have one.  It comes with a cd, and the quilts in the book are just spectacular.  I also had to have the new Leaves Galore rulers.  These were introduced at Spring Market this year and were a big hit.  I also had to get the new Go Baby at Sample Spree.  They were offering a deal that I just couldn't pass up.  For the last several years I have looked at the Little-Windows booth.  They have jewelry and miscellaneous items made with resin.  It has improved each year and I finally decided that I could not live without it.  I have some really neat ideas that I want to try using their technique.  I also picked up the kit for Jodi Barrows newest Pony Express Block of the Month.  I hope to have it done before my next show in Corpus Christi in February.

I have a couple months at home with no shows going on so I plan on getting the BOM done, along with some of the newer X-Blocks patterns.  I am also trying to get an original design done up before February.  It seems that I will be very busy once again.  I will also be working on the Round Robin and Row Robin quilts that a couple of groups of Square In A Square teachers have going.  We will be unveiling them at the Teachers Reunion in January.  That is always so much fun.  It is amazing to see what everyone does with the quilts that are sent to them.

Well, that is all for now. 

Kyle Quilt Show

The Kyle Quilters are having their biannual quilt show this Saturday.  They will also have a beautiful raffle quilt on display.

I will have a booth there.  Please come see the show and stop by to see me.  We have a Block of the Month that is really beautiful.  There will be another Block of the Month coming out soon with Jodi's new Pony Express fabric.  It will be one that you won't want to miss. 

The show will be held at the Wallace Middle School, 1500 West Center Street, Kyle, TX Saturday October 16, 2010 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Hope to see you there!!

Next Show

Well, it has been some time since I have posted here.  I was out of pocket recovering from surgery but all is good now.  Our next show will be the Austin Area Quilt Guild Show.  It will be held at the Palmer Events Center this year.  We are very excited about the change in venue.  The location is more central, easier to get to and a much newer facility.  It is located at 900 Barton Springs Road in Austin, TX.  The show will run from September 17-19, 2010 (Friday & Saturday 10:00 am-6:00 pm and Sunday 12:00 pm-5:00 pm).  Stop by our booth for a demo on Square in a Square or X-Blocks.  We hope to see you there.

Trunk Show

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! 

On Monday, Helen and I went to San Antonio to do the Trunk Show for the ladies at the University United Methodist Church Quilt Guild.  These ladies were so nice and we felt so welcome.  I did a quick little cutting demo on Options 1, 3 & 4 to show them how the ruler works.  Then we went right into the fun part, showing all of the quilts using the different options.  They seemed to really enjoy the program.

March Happenings

Wow, time is just flying by this year.  Next Monday I will be doing a Trunk Show for the ladies at the University United Methodist Church Quilt Guild in San Antonio.  The church is located at 5084 De Zavala Road.  I am excited because these ladies have been requesting Square in a Square information.  Helen will be driving down from Dallas to help me out with the Trunk Show.

I encourage everyone to sign up for our Newsletter to watch for Internet Specials on the website. 

We have two Block of the Month "B" still available and we are taking orders currently for Block of the Month "A".  Check the website often for updates.

Back home from the Rockport Quilt Show

Wow what a weekend.  Set-up for the show was on Friday evening.  The show is held at the High School so set-up can't begin until after school is out for the day.  We were allowed to start setting up around 6:00 pm.  The quilts had not even been hung yet.  Everything went smoothly though.

Saturday morning I arrived a little early to make sure I had everything ready.  Man, am I glad that I did.  When they opened the doors at 10:00 am it was a madhouse.  I don't think I have ever seen that many people at a small local show before.  It was great.  We were busy all day long.  Sunday was good too.

This was my first time to do this show.  I had a lot of fun and it was a great show!!!  This show is held every other year on even years and the Corpus Christi show is held every other year on the odd years.  I am looking forward to doing this show again in 2012.  If you have never been to either of these shows, please make plans to attend in the future.

Next week there should be pictures of the show posted at Piecemakers by the Bay website.  Check it out!!!

Square in a Square Teachers Reunion

We have just returned from our annual Square in a Square Teachers Reunion.  It is always so inspiring.  We meet with many of the other SNS teachers from around the world to test patterns and network.  The wealth of knowledge that we received from this reunion is invaluable.  We get to meet new people each year and also see our friends that we have made through this network.  It is always so much fun.  I will try to post pictures at a later date.  There are several groups that do round robins or row quilts and we unveil them at the reunion.  The talent is just amazing.  Already looking forward to next year.

Janie will be a vendor at the show in Rockport Texas on January 30-31, 2010.  If you are in the area and have a chance to attend the show, please stop by the booth and say hello!