Amy from Diary of a Quilter has some fabulous posts up about Quilt Market.  Amy is a friend and took my Pam Kitty Morning quilt to market for me.  And brought it home. I love Amy.  She's the best.

Amy brought me back a few treats from market as well as carrying my Pam treats to me.  Amy snagged this wonderful Liberty bag and let me know Liberty is now going to offer quilting weight fabric called Liberty Lifestyle.  This sweet tote is made from very narrow wale corduroy, which I hope available as well.

Amy also brought me a Liberty pencil and these sweet little buttons from Kona.  It is always fun to have a piece of market, especially when you stay home.  Thanks so much Amy.

Moda is making these 2.5" squares called candy in most all their lines.  They did give out some of these at market but I purchased these 2 at Fat Quarter Shop.  Ever since I started quilt making I've loved using 2.5" squares.  They are just a perfect size.  I'm excited to see them offered and I hope other fabric companies jump on board as well.  This is a great line by Bonnie and Camille.

-nanette

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Happy Memorial Day.  I hope everyone has a nice day.  I'm just home relaxing and doing some sewing.

-nanette

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I marvel at the fabulous fabric that I see out and coming out in the next 6 months.  My friends are so creative.  Jana, Lori, Monica, all the gals at Riley Blake and of course the fabulous Pam Kitty Morning.  

Quilt Market is over now and I'm super incredibly excited (yes both adjectives) to see Pam's new line of fabric coming out before Christmas.  

Pam and Holly have outdone themselves this time, yet again.  It is like they designed this fabric just for me.  It is perfect.  Go over to the LakeHouse Dry Goods website and look at the better representation of this line.  Not only are the fabrics delightful but the graphics of the button cards, valentines and stitching completely inspire me.  Look at those little ginghams, too.

I love the fact that her colors and the rosey theme from the first line is brought through in her Pam Kitty Love line.  The hearts just kill.  And the roses and dots are so great to use in a quilt.  There are also little birdies in some of the fabrics.

However, I really must say the button cards are my favorite part of the line.  I can see so many fussy cutting possibilities.  How can I wait until November/December for this fabric?  I want it now.  I know I sound a little crazy but as a fabric lover, this line is perfect for me.  

Have a great long weekend everyone.  I have Allison at my house today.  

-nanette

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It always makes you feel special if you have a quilt hanging at International Quilt Market.  Last week was quilt market week in Kansas City and I understand it went really well.  I have so many friends involved in market and I sorta know what it takes to do all the work before market and then get everything shipped to the venue, set up, be there ALL THE TIME for days, and then break down the booth and ship out.  Whew.  I know my friends Pam and Lori have been market crazy for months now.  It is over now and they can take a breath.  But only a short one.

I was super excited when Holly Holderman, the mastermind of LakeHouse Dry Goods, emailed me about having my Berry Fun Row by Row quilt at market in the LakeHouse booth.  My quilt is made from Pam's line of fabric and I was so happy to help represent that fabric line.

I swiped this picture from twitter last week as I scanned Fat Quarter Shop's amazing twitter feed of everything happening at market.  There is Pam on the right and you can see my quilt on the left.  I adore Pam, by the way.  But you know that.

I swiped this picture from Holly.  Go read her blog post about market HERE.  I'm so glad she likes my quilt.  And I'm so amazed at getting such a wonderful spot in the beautiful booth.

I swiped this pic from Pam's blog.  You can go read her fun market posts here.  There are several short posts.  She and her daughter manned the Lake House booth and were busy busy busy.  I think the booth looks darling.  Who wouldn't want to stop and step into the beautiful world of Pam's fabric?  Her new line Pam Kitty Love is due out at the end of the year is killer.  Buttons, hearts, vintage and in the same color palate as her first line.  I can't wait!  Go see what the new fabric will look like here. 

I didn't get to market this time.  But I'm glad my quilt was able to travel there.  I have to thank Amy for taking my quilt and bringing it home.  Amy is having a quilt market giveaway today.  Go read her posts and ogle her photos.  Quilt market is so much work but so much fun.

-nanette

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I always have such huge expectations for weekends.  My dream and what I am capable of doing are completely out of line.  But I am somewhat happy with my weekend progress this time.

Don't you hate when your sewing room is a mess?  This is actually clean, above.  Shelbie and Laurie helped me fold and clean up in my sewing room.  I love love it when it is organized.  That can change so fast when I'm in the middle of a project.  I do have a pile on my cutting table with fabric for my London 2012 quilt.  I'm in the middle of cutting out fabric.  And those piles next to my cutting table are stacks I am using or in a UFO que.  

I made my Big Ben block.  It looks a little crooked but it will be ok when I trim and attach the block.  I had several versions of Ben but this is the final product.  I appliqued the clock face with my machine.

I cut out 9 flags and started with a blue block 6" x 9" and after adding the strips it ended up 7" x 10".  

I used the tutorial from Selvage Blog asterisk block here.  I made these little Union Jack blocks previously here.  And I cut the flag strips slightly oversized depending on the fabric.

I fussy cut the stripe so it would be somewhat like the Union Jack stripe.  My favorite block is the one in the foreground.  

I added all shades of blue for the flags.  I enjoyed making these so much, I may make more.  I'm really passionate about this London quilt.  And now that my sewing room is clean, I don't want to leave it.  I was up past midnight sewing last night.

-nanette

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I'm almost ashamed to admit I've started a new quilt with about 7 UFOs on my list already.  I'm a finisher so it is against my nature to be juggling this many projects.  And I'm close to finishing none of them. Oh well.  

My new project is a London 2012 quilt.  It hit me one day when looking at these items on Cath Kidston that the Diamond Jubilee for the queen is just around the corner.  And that will be followed up by the 2012 London Olympics.  I'm 1/4 British.  How could I not make a quilt commemorating these 2 events???

One thing that makes planning a London quilt so easy is the great fabrics that have come out lately.  This is from the Cool Britannia line by Benartex.   I love all the London icons.

This is from that same line.  Maps and graphics fabrics are very popular.

What quilt commemorating the jubilee would be complete without crown fabric?

London at night is very pretty.  I have so many ideas swimming in my head from these fabrics.

I pulled these two glittery fabrics that might be used for crowns.

I first showed this fabric years ago and found out from smart fabric gals that this is a vintage fabric that was made to commemorate the crowing of Queen Elizabeth.  I remembered I had this fabric tucked away when I decided to make a London quilt.  I'm most excited about using this little piece of history in my project.

I've been making a few blocks.  The rose is England's national flower.  So I have to have roses in the quilt.  Dave said he thought it looked like the Olympic torch and not a rose bud.  But my kids all said they saw a rose.  After thinking about it, I'm ok with either one since they both go with the London 2012 theme.

I still have to applique the wheels on the double decker bus, but this was really a fun block to make.  I've always been fascinated with double bus idea.

There are lots of icons I can choose from for my quilt.  I have a Big Ben block I'm working on right now.  Of course I'll have teacups and teapots, too.  It is going to be good, I hope.  I will try to fit time in for other projects as I work on this new quilt.  But a new project always gets me so excited and being creative makes me happy.

-nanette

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It is hard for me to believe my 7th daughter, and 2nd youngest child, Laurie, has completed her first year of college (with a 3.8 GPA). I've always called her little Laurie because of her family placement and her attachment to me. Laurie has been in the Business Scholars class at the University of Utah.  She had a fabulous opportunity to travel to Japan to meet with businesses and have a cultural experience with her class.  The trip was subsidized partly by businesses in Japan and the College of Business at University of Utah.  

Here is Laurie in front of one of Japan's beautiful temples.  Laurie remarked on the incredibly green landscape and the humidity that goes with that color.

How could I pass up having Laurie do a little fabric shopping for me in Japan!?  I emailed Ayumi and asked her about store recommendations.  Thanks so much Ayumi.  Laurie found Yuzawaya.  It is like a department store for crafts, yarn and fabric.  I found a blogger that posted about it here. 

Laurie was worried about the yen vs. dollar here in this photo, I think.  Plus I am sure the store was overwhelming to her as she's not a sewer, quilter or knitter.

She brought home some great fat quarters.  They are all really cute.  Now I have to decide how to use them.  

She also brought me some washi tape and a little souvenir thimble.  Sweet.

Laurie said she had the very best fruit and tomatoes that she's had in her life.  There were some Japanese foods she wasn't as excited about.  But she brought some fun candy back to show us the differences in flavor and  packaging.

Laurie had a great time there and loved every moment of her Japanese experience.  She did get lost once (scary) but even that turned out to be a good experience.  One of the things she took photos of was the funny Japanese signs.  Well, funny to us.  Laurie remarked on the polite people and the clean cities.  I am glad to have her back home but she was sad to leave Japan.  I will never get to Japan so it is wonderful to  see that country through my little Laurie's eyes.

-nanette

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Last Friday I was way too busy to make a post. But today I'll show you some of what was occupying my time.

 I met Lori Holt at Food for Thought for lunch.  We both ordered butternut squash soup and Pasadena blue salad.  Delicious.  We hadn't gotten together since before Christmas so we had a lot of stuff to talk about.  Quilt market is this week and Lori has been super busy getting ready.  I'm really excited about all her projects.  We have a bad (but so good) habit of exchanging gifts.  This is to me from Lori, above.

Inside the blue bag were these goodies.  Yard cuts of her Millie's Closet squares colorways and a perfectly perfect pink/red hounds tooth as well as fat quarters of the new Riley Blake solids in Lori's colors.  It was all tied up with a beautiful ribbon and throwback Neccos.  This fabric was more delicious than the meal.  Thanks so much Lori.  I'm very excited for all your work to pay off.

 

After leaving Lori, Shelbie and I had errands to run.  This included a trip to the Beehive Bazaar in Provo.  The bazaar is hipster mom creations.  These are very talented ladies, many of which also have etsy shops.  We were tempted by the owl paintings. 

 

I always love stocking up on vintage trim from a vendor.  She always has great stuff to choose from.

  

I was very tempted by this vintage book that was repurposed into a notebook.  I remember reading the 5 Little Peppers as a kid.

  

There were lots of cute dresses for little girls.  I was tempted by several of these.  But in the end it is hard to justify a $28.00 cotton dress I could easily make for Allison.

The last bazaar (they are held seasonally) I wanted to buy this Queen Bee multimedia sculpture but didn't want to spend the money.  I walked through the whole bazaar this time looking for the doll but didn't see it.  

As I was walking out of the bazaar, there she sat on a table, and at a reduced price.  Some of my family think she is creepy but I think she is fabulous.  I love the 60's bride doll torso attached to the beehive cage and all the details, like holding the beehive, the big bumblebees and the crown.  I just love her.  I'm so glad she was waiting for me.

She's sitting in my entryway now, holding court.  Mother's Day was very nice for me.  I hope it was nice for you.  Most of my family came for (and made) dinner.  It was great.  My family is very giving and kind to me. I got lots of nice things but having them there was the best part.  Also displayed in the photo above are flowers.  The roses are from my daughter Chelsey and the bouquet on the right is from our exchange student, Jamiel.  Thanks to all of them all for such a nice day.

-nanette

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My friend Pam lives in Colorado.  She took a class from me at a quilt retreat a while back and we have been email friends  since then.  I'm so excited to show you the "All Dressed Up" quilt she made for her daughter Kendall.

One thing I like to do as a quilter is make a pattern my own by changing things to suit my project.  I encourage those that take my classes to do the same thing.  I really love what Pam did with Kendall's quilt.

My favorite thing about my "All Dressed Up" quilt is the fussy cutting and embellishing.  Pam did a fabulous job in picking fabrics and trim for her dresses.

The quilting is really great, too.  I love how the whole quilt came together.

Since the quilt was for Kendall's graduation, Pam created a great design for the back of the quilt as well.  Family and friends autographed blocks so Kendall would always remember this momentous occasion.  Nice job to both Pam and Kendall.

-nanette

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I'm spoiled.  As the youngest daughter in my family, I guess I grew up spoiled and it stuck.  I have great friends and family that continue to spoil me and I have to say I like it.

My friend Nan of Pots and Pins lives in Washington (state).  She is very guilty of spoiling me.  I received a wonderful package from her on Saturday.  It is kind of funny because I just showed one of my daughters this sewing tin online.  And then Nan sent it to me.  Like I said, I'm spoiled.

Inside the reproduction sewing box was a treasure.

This sewing tomato is a pin - a brooch.  Ingenious and so well made.  It is adorable.

And then there is a quilter's pin, too.  Sew cute.

Included was the quilt block note pad, delicious red and summer fruit fat quarters and a yard of that scrumptious strawberry Michael Miller fabric.  I'm very intrigued by the Moda red piece with the interesting characters. I don't know how to thank you, Nan.  You're so thoughtful.

I was blessed to have both Allison and Eliza here over the weekend.  I'm a spoiled 'nanny'.  My friend Sandi of A Legacy of Stitches sent me a perfect package of little books for Allison.  I love little books and so does Allison.  And Allison thinks Elmo is her boyfriend.  We had a fun time together with Sandi's books.  She has such great ideas for being a good grandmother.  Thanks Sandi.

It was prom weekend for Mason.  Here he is with his date.  They are funny together.  She has a sense of humor to match Mason's.  I'm glad they had a good time.  Mason is the baby in our family and he is very spoiled, just like me.  

Thanks for your sweet comments about Eliza (finally) coming home.  I'm so spoiled by all my friends that continue to support and uplift our family.

-nanette

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