Fall Quilt Market in Review Part 1

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasurable opportunity to attend Fall Quilt Market in Houston, Texas.  I gave this trip to myself as a gift for getting through all of the medical issues over the last year and a half.

I went to Market with the main intention of enjoying myself, but I had decided if any opportunities presented themselves, I wouldn't say no.

If you've never been able to attend Quilt Market -- it's a trade show for professionals in quilting -- I'd like to share some of my experiences with you.  So read on..........

 A view of Downtown Houston.

 I flew into Houston from the Pittsburgh airport with a couple of friends.  I always find that traveling with someone else makes everything run more smoothly.  Anyway, we arrived on Thursday, got settled into the hotel, and headed for the conference center which was about a block away.  I had to pick up my badge and drop of some quilts to the Villa Rosa Designs booth.  Then it was off to our favorite grocery store, Phoenicia, that is way more than a grocery store.  We stocked up on goodies -- actually essentials like Turkish Delight and Macarons........ and then headed back to the hotel.  After a fun Happy Hour at the hotel, we grabbed a taxi and headed to Burger Theory for a late dinner -- burgers and fries .....what could be better?

Friday was a long and exhausting day!  It was Schoolhouse day from 10 am - 6 pm.  Schoolhouse is a series of 30 minute or 15 minute workshops/lectures.  There were 14 different sections and within each section you have to choose one out of a list.  Programs can range from introducing new books, fabric, patterns, rulers, etc. to how-to and everything you could possibly think of.  Of course, I ended up running back and forth between classrooms which were located on opposite ends.  I would make a mad dash (me and hundreds of other people) and usually made it by the beginning of the program.

I went to a lot of interesting programs and made sure to catch the Villa Rosa Schoolhouse program.  Of course, I wanted to see my quilts!  These quilts are my latest Villa Rosa projects.  You can find all 10 of my designs HERE.

 Blueberry Cobbler.

Bits and Pieces.

Salt Water Taffy.

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After that long long day of running my legs off and stuffing my head full of information, we ended up at my favorite Houston restaurant -- Guadalajara.

After we stuffed ourselves at Guadalajara, we walked back to the hotel and discovered a cool festival in the park near the conference center -- it was a celebration of the Day of the Dead.  We browsed the artisan booths and enjoyed the festivities.

My absolute favorite thing was the living statue.  Have you ever seen that before?  The young girl was amazing!  She did not even move during each of her poses and held each one for several minutes.  At first I didn't even know it was a real person until she moved!

Below, are some more photos from the Day of the Dead festival.

Then it was back to the hotel to get some rest because the next day, Saturday was the first day of the trade show part of Quilt Market.

To read more about my Quilt Market experience, please check out my next post HERE.

Busy Busy Busy

I've had blogging on my to-do list for the last couple weeks and just haven't quite gotten to it.  So I decided that I was going  to start this week out right and blog on Sunday.  LOL!

I thought I'd show you some recent publications featuring some of my quilt projects.   Most likely you can find them at your local shop but I've included the links to the publications on the Annie's online catalog just in case.

1.  Terrific Table Toppers.  Fun and seasonal toppers (which means table runners and table quilts).  My quilt, An Apple a Day, is on page 28.  There are 9 projects in this lovely little book that retails for $9.99 at your favorite quilt shop OR you can find it HERE -- there's even a digital download version if you prefer.

 

2.  Exclusively Annie's Patterns.  These are individual patterns which are mostly fast and easy and beginner friendly.  Here are my two most recent ones:  Visions Table Topper (left) and Nursery Rhymes (right).  Aren't they fun?  You can find these two patterns and a lot more HERE.

3.  Annie's Christmas Special Interest Publication (SIP).   I just saw this at local stores this past week.  It won't last very long -- there are 70+ projects ranging from quilting (of course) to crochet to knitting.  My Christmas Stars Runner is on page 22 and the matching place mats are on page 20.  Grab this one when you see it, it retails $9.99.

4.  Autumn Colors.  Get your harvest on since it's now the first day of Fall.  Time to head to your sewing space and make some cozy and fun projects for you and your loved ones.  I have several quilts featured in this one:  Color Cascade (page 12), Trick or Treat (page 16),  Harvest Star (page 92), Color Play (page 95), Modern Harvest Runner and Place mats (page 98).  Whew!  I'm getting tired just writing all of them down.  You can get it at your local shop or HERE.

Doesn't Fall just make you want to burrow in your sewing room and sew something?  These great publications will offer you lots of inspiration and options. 

Go forth and SEW!

Getting With the Program..............Quilt Program That Is

After a year long battle with a bunch of health-related issues, I am finally getting back to some semblance of normalcy.  Okay, I've never been very normal (just ask anyone who knows me), but things are finally returning to some kind of balance in my life now.  What a relief!

This past week I had 2 different programs.  I think the last program I did was a Schoolhouse at Spring Market in St. Louis 2017, which was a couple months before the rug was pulled out from beneath me.

My first program was at my very own quilt guild, Free Spirit Quilt Guild (FSQG).  I did a program about using orphan quilt blocks for our year-long theme of Quilting Around the House.  I showed many quilts from my first book, Orphan Block Quilts, quilts featured in magazines, and even some quilts I made just for fun (Imagine that!).  I also shared lots of tips and tricks for finding, cleaning, and using those orphan quilt blocks that seem to multiply overnight sometimes.  I showed lots of different orphan block projects from one block pin cushions and pillows to a large bed quilt featuring multiple groupings of coordinating blocks.

Here's me!  I am holding a copy of my book and talking about the long process of getting a book published (people always find this interesting).  Psst!  Over my left  shoulder you can see my book cover quilt, Lavender Green.

Here's the cover of my first book, Orphan Block Quilts.  It's out of print now, but there might still be some copies floating around.  If you're interested in adding this book to your bookshelf stop on over to my website and order a signed copy today!


Below, are some more photos of the quilts I showed.  Looking at the number of quilts I lugged to the program, I don't know how I managed to get them all into 2 crates!

This little Americana orphan quilt was my very first orphan block quilt!  I used 4 Four Patch blocks from the 1930's and added a border of 2 reproduction 1930's reds.  Isn't it sweet?  You can see why I got addicted to making quilts with orphan blocks, can't you?

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My second program was a trunk show/book signing at a local quilt shop, Quilter's Cupboard, which was celebrating its first year anniversary.  I was invited to show off my quilts from my most current book, I Love Precut Quilts!  Copies of this book are still out there, but if you're interested in a signed copy, swing by my website.

Sadly, I realized that my quilts hadn't been out of the crates since last spring, probably right after getting home from Spring Quilt Market.  Poor babies.  They still had their identification labels on from visiting C&T for their beauty shots.

Here's my third book -- my fun book!

 Here is Spritely, probably the most popular quilt in my book!

 

 Big Bow Ties -- giant-sized bow tie blocks.

This is Chautauqua, the quilt on the cover of my book.  

 Here's Around and Round.  A fun, fast throw quilt.  

This is a close up the machine quilting for Around and Round. 

 I am particularly proud of my artsy feathers!

 

 Here you see Cocktail Party and City Houses.

This is Divide and Conquer and Bounce.

It's good to be back in the groove again!  I wonder what kind of quilt mischief I'm gong to get into next?  Stay tuned...........

Scrap Stash Management

I am finally sitting down and writing my first blog for 2018.  It's funny how fast time flies.  Do you have this problem too?  Sometimes I wish the merry go round of life would slow down so that I could get off once in a while, even if it's only to take a deep breath and look around.

I had good intentions the beginning of January to get my quilting studio cleaned and ready for a new year of creating quilts and other fabulous items.  My cutting table was an absolute horror -- in order to cut anything, I had to remove piles of quilts, fabrics, and who knows what else was hiding there.  With all of the medical issues that I had in the second half of 2017, my quilting took on a PRIORITY ONLY status, which did not include putting things away unless I absolutely had to.  So, I ended up with one big giant mess.

The first thing that I did was to clean off my cutting surface.  I had a lot of fat quarters, yardage, and scraps to sort.  I folded and put the yardage and fat quarters away in their proper homes.   Now I can cut without moving a bunch of stuff. Time to move on to the pile of scraps.  Or should I say the first pile of scraps.

Everyone has their own system for dealing with the leftovers from their quilt projects.  What's yours?

 Mine has so many levels and if I can think of any way to make it more difficult or complex, you know that's the way that I would do it of course.  LOL!

Okay, here's what I do:

1)  If any scrap is less than 2 1/2" square, then it goes right into the trash.

2) As I sew, I toss strips and small pieces larger than 2 1/2" into a basket to be cut into usable pieces later.

3)  Large pieces sometimes get folded and placed by color in my fabric museum drawers.  Yes, I do indeed have a fabric museum now, don't you?

4)  If I'm working with a specific collection, I put everything together into a gallon-sized bag, box, or basket so that I can find them when I want to make another project with that collection (at least that's the general idea -- whether I can find the bag, box, or basket later is usually by chance in my studio).


 Once my basket of scraps gets full enough, then it's time to cut them up into usable pieces.  Since I do a lot of designing arund stand precuts, I tend to cut my scraps into the following:

Fat Quarters

10" squares

5" squares

2 1/2" squares

2 1/2" strips that are the width of the fabric 

Here is what my pile of scraps looked like after I cut it up.

 

Nice, huh?  Now I can add these to my overflowing stash of scrap precuts.  Then they will be ready when I want to put together something scrappy.  Hmm.  Maybe I'll pull out a copy of I Love Precut Quilts! and make some scrappy versions of the quilts.

Speaking of my book, I Love Precut Quilts!, did you know that Amazon has been selling copies at a deep discount?  If you haven't gotten your own copy yet, now's a great time.  Here's the link to find my book (paperback and ebook) on Amazon:  Buy I Love Precut Quilts!

If you already have a copy of my book and you liked it, maybe you'll leave me a positive review on Amazon, too. 

Did you make anything from my book?  Email photos to me -- I'd love to share them with my blog readers.

On the 11th Day of Christmas........

On the 11th Day of Christmas, I Give to Thee..........

LOVE

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines love as: strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties.  (There are many many other definitions, but this is the one that I going to use for this blog post.)

This IS the season for love.

I love Christmas -- it's my favorite holiday.  I love making and selecting gifts for my loved ones.  I love baking cookies and sharing them with friends, coworkers, and family.  I love sending and receiving holiday cards.  I love decorating my tree.  I love Christmas music and Christmas movies.  I LOVE everything about Christmas!

What do you love about the holidays?

 

I just wish I could find a way to extend Christmas behind the calendar holiday, but at the same time, maybe it wouldn't be as special if it was all the time.  There has to be a way to keep the love of Christmas in our hearts all year round, though.

It probably won't come as a surprise that I chose the True Lovers Knot block for my Love quilt.  This block is a bit more complicated with curved piecing, but what an amazing quilt.   I decided to use a classic blue and white color scheme.

My challenge to you is.....................show those you love how much you love them.

On the 7th Day of Christmas........

On the 7th Day of Christmas, I Give to Thee.......

CREATIVITY

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines creativity as the ability to create and the quality of being creative.

So, what makes you creative?

For me, creativity is a family trait.  My mom painted, did wood crafts, made candles, sewed, cross-stitched, and so many other things.  My dad is an auto mechanic by trade, but any person who can take a vehicle apart and put it back together has a large dose of creativity and has the ability to think outside the box.  My sister explored lots of different creative outlets over the years, including crocheting and knitting.  Me, I am a quilter.

I can't remember a time when I wasn't surrounded by creativity and encouraged to explore my own creative interests.

Whenever I think about creativity, I am reminded of my dear cousin who tells me over and over that she is not a creative person.  Yet she is a beautiful dancer and her writing is lyrical and thought-provoking.  Or a friend from college who insisted she wasn't creative, yet whenever we played a comparison game back and forth through email (for example, how  a dead fish and a lawyer similar), her comparisons were not only hilarious but unique, demonstrating her creative thinking.

 There are so many different ways to be creative, find yours.

I chose a Twister Log Cabin block for my Creativity quilt design.  I am particularly fond of Log Cabin quilt blocks because of the amazing variety that can be achieved.  Log Cabin designs never bore me. 

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My challenge to you is..............find your creative voice.

On the 6th Day of Christmas.......

On the 6th Day of Christmas, I Give to Thee........

FAITH

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines faith as:

1.  Allegiance to duty or a person:  loyalty;  fidelity to one's promise; sincerity of intentions.

2.  A belief and trust in and loyalty to God; belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion; a firm belief in something for which there is no proof; complete trust.

3.  Something that is believed especially with strong conviction; a system of religious beliefs.

  

As you can tell by the variety of definitions above, faith means something different to each and every one of us.  Faith, to me, means believing in something that is bigger than just myself.  But on the other hand, we have to have faith in ourselves, too.

What does Faith mean to you?

For my Faith quilt, I chose a very pretty block reminiscent of a stained glass window.  The block is very fittingly called Church Window.  Then I framed the blocks with a unique border.

 

My challenge to you is.............to find faith for yourself or help someone else to find faith.

On the 5th Day of Christmas.......

On the 5th Day of Christmas, I Give to Thee.....

FRIENDSHIP

The Merriam-Webster Diction defines friendship as:

1.  The state of being friends.

2.  The quality or state of being friendly:  friendliness.

Thinking about friendship made me remember the poem by John Donne that begins "No Man is an Island."  How true that is.  People need friends.  Whether it's a furry companion, a human companion, or one that has feathers or scales -- people are not meant to be solitary creatures.  Sure, it's nice to have time alone to reflect and think but spending time with friends feeds our soul.

Here is John Donne's poem:

No man is an island entire of itself; every man 
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; 
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe 
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as 
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine 
own were; any man's death diminishes me, 
because I am involved in mankind. 
And therefore never send to know for whom 
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. 

If you have a friend, you are not alone.
 
My Friendship quilt features a traditional friendship quilt block called Chimney Sweep.   I set the blocks on point for a different look.  The center of each block includes a large area for signatures or comments.

 

My challenge to you is.............to reconnect with a friend you have not seen or talked to for a long time.

On the 4th Day of Christmas......

On the 4th Day of Christmas, I Give to Thee..............

COURAGE

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines courage as the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

When I think about courage, I think about the military men and women who fight to keep our country safe, here at home and abroad.  So I want to take this opportunity to thank ALL service men and women for their courage and dedication.

Military service runs strong in my family dating back to the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. My grandfather and many great uncles were soldiers during World War II.  My uncle was a soldier during Vietnam. I have cousins who were in the National Guard and several cousins who are currently in the Air Force.

My Courage quilt design is in celebration and remembrance of military men and women of both today and of yesteryear.   

Thank you.

While perusing blocks in Electric Quilt, I came across this perfectly wonderful patriotic star chain block.  The block doesn't really have a name and is simply  called "Star Pattern."  It  was published in American Needlewoman in 1926.

My challenge to you is..........have a courageous heart.

On the 3rd Day of Christmas..........

On the 3rd Day of Christmas, I Give to Thee............

KINDNESS

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines kindness as:

1.  The quality or state of being kind.

2.  A kind deed or favor.

We all need to mindfully practice kindness towards others.  Too often, when we are not focusing on kindness, we may come off as unkind or uncaring towards others.  So let's practice kindness and make it a new habit.  Not only do we need to practice kindness towards others,  we need to remember to practice kindness to ourselves.

Do you remember the Golden Rule we all learned as children?

"Do unto others as you would have done to you."

Isn't it really all about kindness?


For my Kindness quilt, I chose 2 simple blocks -- a Friendship Star and a Ninepatch.  Paired together, there is a wonderful secondary effect which makes this quilt look more complex, even though it's very simple.

My challenge to you......................be kind to yourself and to others.

On the 2nd Day of Christmas.......

On the 2nd Day of Christmas, I give to thee......

HOPE

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines hope as:

1.  The desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment; expectation of fulfillment or success

2.  Someone or something on which hopes are centered.

3.  Something desired or hoped for.

The holiday season is a time for hope, isn't it?  Hope for the future.  Hope for your community.  Hope for the planet.  For children, it might be hope for a special toy.  For adults, it might be hope that the family will be together at the holidays just one more time.  For those struggling, it might be hope for one more day or even hope for a roof over your head and a hot meal. 

This is the season of hope.

For my Hope quilt, I chose the Bright Hopes block.  I chose pastel fabrics in pink, lavender, blue, and yellow with a white on white for the center squares and border.

Bright Hopes Block

Notice the secondary design that happens with the limited fabric selection and turning every other block.

My challenge to you........find hope in yourself and share it with someone else.

12 Days of Christmas

 'Tis the Season....

Last year I had a lot of fun designing quilts inspired by favorite Christmas songs.

I've been thinking of what to do this year to celebrate the season on my blog and I think I've come up with a new idea for this year.

Who doesn't love the song "The 12 Days of Christmas"?

That song inspired me to come up with 12 different characteristics of the season (instead of turtledoves, maids a-milking, and golden rings).

Faith

Hope

Love

Charity

Kindness

Peace

Joy

Courage

Pride

Friendship

Laughter

Creativity

 For each of these 12 characteristics, I'm going to create a new quilt design.  Yay!

Beginning December 14th, I hope you'll come along with me on the 12 Days of Christmas.

It's a ROAD RALLY! 100 Quilt Block Tour November 2017

Hi!  Sew glad you stopped by. 

I hope the traffic wasn't too bad.

Come on in and make yourself comfortable.

A cup of tea, perhaps?

I'm very excited to be part of Quiltmaker Magazine's 100 Quilt Blocks Volume 16 Road Rally Blog Tour.  My block, Tortoise Love, is Block #1540.

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Let me tell you a little bit about myself.  My name is Tricia Maloney and I'm a quilt designer, author, and teacher.  I've written three books and my designs have been published in many of your favorite quilt magazines.  I also teach at my local quilt shops here in lovely northwestern Pennsylvania and design/make quilts for fabric companies on occasion.

 One of my latest fun adventures is designing Rose Cards for Villa Rosa Designs.  Here are my first two designs.

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I had a lot of fun coming up with my Tortoise Love quilt block.  You'll have to keep reading to find out about my inspiration for this cute block.  I love that it is a multi-technique block featuring 4 pieced Drunkard's Path blocks and a little bit of applique for the head and tail.

I decided to play a little bit with my Tortoise Love block to see what I could come up with using my Electric Quilt 7 software.  (Did you know that EQ8 is out now?  I just found that out.)

Here's a fun throw quilt I'm calling "Tossed Tortoise."

Isn't this fun?  Can't you see yourself making this cutie for your favorite tortoise (or turtle) lover?  You could make the tortoises all the same fabric or even lots of different fabrics. The squares in the chain could all be different fabrics, too. This would be a great scrap-buster quilt.

I thought about playing around with a table runner design, but I wasn't sure that I would want tortoises on the table at dinner time.  LOL! 

So instead, I went totally crazy and came up with the following design, "Rainbow Tortoises."

What do you think of this one?  I'm not quite sure I love the rainbow tortoises concept, but I do like the movement that's created by the tortoises holding hands (or paws? or feet?).

But if you're not a tortoise lover, you might like this version instead:

Cool, huh?  Interesting shapes that connect add a lot of interest to this version of the design.  Here it is as a big bed quilt:

Isn't this version interesting?  By limiting the fabric choices, you get a bold unique repeating design.

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Okay, now let me tell you about the inspiration for this fun and versatile quilt block.

Meet Carl.

Isn't he just too cute for words????  Carl is a 2 year old African Sulcata tortoise.  When my niece, Morgan, adopted him, he was about the size of a toy car.  He's really grown.  Of course, he loves to eat.  Strawberries are one of his favorite treats.

He'll grow to be gigantic and will outlive Morgan, so she will have to make plans for his distant future.  But in the meantime, Carl loves to go on family vacations, walks, and meet new friends.

There's nothing better than a tortoise and his girl!

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NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

The Prizes:

1. One lucky winner will win a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Quilt Blocks volume 16.  YAY!

        2.  Another winner will receive my first 2 Rose Card patterns and a mystery surprise.  WOW!

        3.  The final winner will win a copy of my new pattern, Basket Weave. SUPER DUPER!

And who knows?  I might add a few other prizes if I get lots of encouragement!!!!

 Here's how it works:

 You have up to 3 chances to win.  Lucky you!

1.  Leave a comment on this blog and tell me what you would name your pet tortoise if you had one.

2.  Become a blog follower and leave a comment on this blog telling me you that you're a blog follower.

3. Follow me on Instagram @tricia.maloney and leave a comment on this blog telling me you're an Instagram follower.

Ready!  Set!  GO!

You have from Monday, November 13th until Saturday, November 18th to participate. 

 Winners will be selected randomly on Sunday, November 19th.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS 

SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN!