On the Road - AGAIN!

In my last post I mentioned that I was off to Chicago for more Bernina training. I wasn't kidding and as you can see from the photo, neither was Bernina. This is what the hotel ballroom looked like as over one hundred of us arrived to a find a sea of 830 boxes ready and waiting for us to unpack and get down to sewing. That is exactly what we did and every minute of it was a learning experience.

We did some amazing things with the 830 in our action packed days, although I do have to say that I think we could have accomplished even more if they didn't stop to feed us every 2 hours!

All that eating wasn't necessarily a bad thing, meal times were spent getting to know our fellow dealers. I had breakfast, lunch and dinner with some old friends and many new ones. Getting to know Beverly and Nancy from Abigayle's Quiltery in Olmstead Falls, Ohio was an absolute delight. That came in handy for my next road trip.

I was scheduled to teach and speak at Quilts'N Gifts in Bluffton, Indiana last weekend. Mary Porrata the owner had requested that I bring as many quilts as possible with me for the event. When you are traveling with quilts, the only way to make sure they arrive safe and sound is to travel by car. Quilts are HEAVY and it only takes one or two to put you over the weight limit. Although we love our men in brown, and they "guarantee" delivery, if they don't deliver, the guarantee only means they return your shipping expense. I would still be left standing in the middle of an empty ballroom with no show and tell for my lecture. So my husband packed up the car and we left a day early for Indiana.

Not having to hurry meant that I could toss the Quilter's Travel Companion in the car and program the Garmin for one quilt shop after another. Stop #1 was to visit Nancy and Beverly at Abigayle's. Just a bit over 2 hours from Pittsburgh, this shop and the wonderful little village that they are located in, is well worth the trip. Both Nancy and Beverly are delightful and tons of fun. If you stop by, be sure to drool over their wonderful samples and then wander upstairs to see their classroom that is completely stocked with 830 machines. - can you tell I am jealous?

Stop #2 was in South Amherst, Ohio at Quilt's and Creations. As luck would have it - they were having a SALE! Located in a 100+ year old building right on Main Street, this shop is easy to find and very well stocked. Don't worry about shopping after a sale here, there will still be plenty of bolts to choose from.

I couldn't resist taking my husband to The Door Mouse in Betsville, Ohio for stop #3. This shop, which qualifies as being located in "the middle of nowhere" in my book, has more fabric in the building than any other shop I have ever been to. When you own a store and your husband does your accounting, it helps if you show him shops that make you look like you are controlling your inventory! The Door Mouse is packed with fabric. Perfectly organized, neat, clean, aisles of overwhelming amounts of fabric. They have great samples too, on the walls of the "second floor". You can see them from the loft, which is filled with flannel. If you visit this shop, take a map with you. My Garmon never did find it and google maps insists that it is located in Kansas, Ohio.

Our 4th shop was in Bluffton, but the Ohio Bluffton, not the Indiana Bluffton. Forever In Stitches is located on Main Street in a picture perfect small town. The shop is beautiful and much to my surprise I ran into a customer that has moved to that area and now works in that shop. I looked around a little, but both my husband and I were fascinated by the TWO Gammill quiting machines in the back of the store. We had a lovely visit and stopped at the ice cream store on the way out of town as we headed for the Bluffton in Indiana.

The remainder of the weekend was spent with Mary at Quilts'N Gifts. Saturday I taught 2 classes to a delightful group of customers that will be the first to attest that I can TALK about quilting! Mary provided a great lunch and we all enjoyed her store. I was especially amused at Mary's use of all of her available sales space, including the ceiling!

Sunday I was the featured speaker at Mary's customer appreciation luncheon at the local Country Club. Now you know why Mary wanted me to bring as many quilts as possible. She wrapped the room with quilts, including the entrance and hallway. The majority of the quilts were mine, but she also included a few customer quilts that were made as part of my 9 patch summer challenge that launched right here on the blog. It was an absolutely delightful way to spend the weekend. We headed home on Sunday evening and enjoyed a beautiful drive through the Ohio countryside.

Tomorrow I head for Eden, New York to do another presentation and next weekend, the Chautauqua Institute for Fall Festival. Then I really am going to stay home and SEW - until Quilt Market at the end of October!

Day 3, Quilt Delay

The problem with this “retreat” is that it is “virtual”. Every now and then I have to stop sewing and get some work done. Today that includes meeting with my RJR Rep to order new fall fabrics. John is one of my favorite sales reps and he works for the company that supplies us with Thimbleberries, Jinny Beyer and Debbie Beaves. With the popularity of the Thimbleberries giant flower panel, I hope Lynette is following it up with something wonderful.

Sifting through hundreds of new fabric swatches can take hours and I wont get back to my sewing machine until after lunch. Instead of a musical interlude, I thought I would provide you with a quilting interlude. In the process of getting ready for spring Quilt Market I am stitching up samples (work) using the solid batiks from the Timeless line. If you are a blog regular you will remember these as the projects that had to have 10 fabrics, no more, no less. All fabrics had to be batik solids and once I had used a shade in one quilt I couldn’t use it in another. (That’s why it is work).

These pieces are just a few of the new patterns we will be introducing at Market. Because Market is being held here in Pittsburgh, we wanted to feature Pittsburgh Quilters in our booth. I sent these quilts to 4 local quilters and told them to knock their socks off. I’m not sure that you will be able to see their fine workmanship in the photos, but if you are in the area, stop by to see them in person.

Mary Thomas quilted both of these baby quilts. I cheated a bit and made 2 quilts with 5 fabrics each. Mary does the most delicate all over pattern. The boys quilt has stars in the design and the girls quilt has hearts. We used the same piece of multi pastel backing for both quilts. I’ve managed to get the binding on both of these!

Rebecca Stahl quilted the project from the “dusty” group. I absolutely love the thread she selected. The center is quilted in an all over pattern using a variegated thread in earth tones. On the border she changed to a variegated color called “ocean” and added what the quilters call “pearls” in the dark teal blocks and cornerstones (technically the color name of that fabric is malachite). This one was returned in record time, so the binding is on it too. By the way, there isn’t any black in this quilt, it’s called “espresso”. Both of the variegated threads look great on the backing too!

Marsha’s daughter Heather quilted the Jewel Tone project. You may remember that I was debating on adding a simple border or an extremely complicated border to this quilt. Obviously I chose easy. Not because I wanted to get it finished faster. I chose the simple border because the blocks are SO easy that I wanted to be able to recommend this pattern to a beginner without hesitation. The name of Heather’s quilting business is “Heather’s Feathers”…. Guess what pattern she quilted on this project? Yep, feathers! There are a few areas of different size stippling and a casual design in the narrow border too. This piece will have dark binding to match the border as soon as I get it made. For the record, that's not just any old purple, its eggplant.

The appliqué project went to Susan Wick. In my opinion Susan drew the short stick. We allowed the quilters to select the quilt they would be quilting and Susan was “left” with the appliqué piece. I must say she did a stellar job! She quilted a very pretty vine on the outside border and added vines and details to the appliqué pieces. The topaz background color has multiple designs in the different areas for a truly custom look. I'm planning dark blue binding for this one.... I haven't made that yet either.

I’m thrilled with each of them! I know you are wondering and someone is always dying to ask. The answer is "Yes", I pay for my quilting. These women are professionals. We also recommend their service to our customers. If you are interested in having them work for you, call the shop for their numbers. 412-487-9532. We will be happy to provide you with that information so that you can deal directly with them.

I will be back sewing later today!
Karen