Quiltmaker's 100 Block Volume 14 BLOG HOP!!!!

It's Blog Tour time again, everyone!

 Quiltmaker's 100 Quilt Blocks Volume 14.

November 14th - 18th.

I'm sew happy that my block, Slider, block #1383, made the magazine! 

 Visit  Quiltmaker's Blog each day of the blog for links to all of the participating designers.  My Blog Tour Day is November 15th, so make sure you stop here on that day to read about my block, Slider, and to register for PRIZES!!!!!!  YAY!!!!!

Great Quilt Exhibit -- Wish I'd Thought of That!

Well, I wanted to share some more pictures from Fall Quilt Market.  Here are some quilts that were part of an exhibit about using parts of vintage/antique unfinished "orphan blocks" and pieces to make new modern quilts.  I wish I'd thought of that!

The exhibit was called Twisted.

Don't forget........... 

OLLIE WENT TO MARKET!

My well-traveled little owl friend, Ollie, went with me to Quilt Market in Hoston.  He loved visiting booths on the Market floor.

Back From Quilt Market!

OH MY GOODNESS!

I've been home about a week from Fall Quilt Market in Houston.

Quilt Market was wonderful......exciting.......overwhelming.......

It's amazing.  I spend months getting myself ready for Market.  Making appointments.  Making quilt samples or demos.  Making travel and hotel accommodations.  Whew!  I'm getting tired again just thinking about it.  LOL!

BUT it's all sew sew worth it when you get to the Convention Center and walk into that gigantic Quilt Market Floor.  The only problem is that it's sensory overload.

I didn't take tons of photos, although I would have loved to. Too much eye candy, you know?

Here's my view of Houston from the cab on our way from the airport.

My favorite thing at the hotel....well, one of 3 favorite things -- the awesome pancake maker machine at breakfast, the hot tub/spa after a long day running aorund Market, and cookies and milk at 4 pm every day.

Ollie posing next to my book, I Love Precut Quilts!, at C&T's booth!

Favorite restaurant in Houston!!!!!

I made 4 quilt samples for Camelot Fabrics.  Aren't the displays sew sew sweet???

I did a couple of free motion quilting demos at the Enmart booth -- have you tried their Ultra Iris thread yet?????

I made a video (or 2) to promote my book with C&T, too.  (Sorry, no photos, but I'll post the link as soon as I have it.)

One of the most important things that I learned at Market was how to use Instragram from my friend and traveling pal, Sondra.  THANK YOU, SONDRA!   So, if you're on Instragram, please follow me @tricia.maloney.

After Market, I couldn't wait to get home and back into my studio.  Time to quilt!

It's here! It's here! + Getting Ready for Market

YAY!

My advance copy of my book came recently and I've been having the most fun showing it around!

 

 

It looks so much better as a book than as a file on my computer screen.  LOL!  I'm not quite sure when it will be available for purchase, though.  Sometime between the middle of November and beginning of December.

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I'm getting really excited right now because I'm headed to International Quilt Market this coming week.  Sew much to do, but sew little time.

I'm going to be doing some demos at the Enmart booth #1365.  Here's a fun blog interview:

My Interview with Enmart

I'm also going to be creating a short video about my book. Keep your fingers crossed that I'll be able to accomplish that.......

I'll be taking lots of photos at Market so stay tuned in upcoming blog entries to see what's new and exciting in the quilt world (or maybe just the stuff that I think is new and exciting).

It's here! It's here! + Getting Ready for Market

YAY!

My advance copy of my book came recently and I've been having the most fun showing it around!

 

 

It looks so much better as a book than as a file on my computer screen.  LOL!  I'm not quite sure when it will be available for purchase, though.  Sometime between the middle of November and beginning of December. 

 #####

I'm getting really excited right now because I'm headed to International Quilt Market this coming week.  Sew much to do, but sew little time.

I'm going to be doing some demos at the Enmart booth #1365.  Here's a fun blog interview:

https://threaducate.com/2016/10/21/customer-spotlight-tricia-maloney/ 

I'm also going to be creating a short video about my book. Keep your fingers crossed that I'll be able to accomplish that.......

I'll be taking lots of photos at Market so stay tuned in upcoming blog entries to see what's new and exciting in the quilt world (or maybe just the stuff that I think is new and exciting).

THE CEMETERY QUILT

A couple of posts ago I mentioned my Cemetery Quilt, so I am finally getting around to telling the story.

Several years ago, my family visited the cemetery when my grandparents and great-grandparents are buried.  We cleaned up around their graves and planted some flowers.  It was probably Memorial Day.

Anyway, over along the edge of the cemetery there was a refuse pile, mostly used for dead plants and grass clumps and the like.  After we finished planting flowers, we gathered up the plant garbage and headed over to dump it on the refuse pile.

Tossed on top of the pile was this quilt.  Say what?????? A quilt?  At the cemetery?  In the trash?

What a mystery.  If only this quilt could talk.  Of course I took it home.  And washed it.  You'd've done the same thing.

Isn't it tacky?  Any wonderful???  Love those double polyester knit squares!!!!

C&T Blog Post about I Love Precut Quilts! and a Show

YAY!  I should be receiving an advance copy of my new book any day now...maybe even tomorrow.  :)

In the meantime, C&T blogged about my book on Friday.  Here's the link.  Check it out -- it shows several of the projects and features the introduction from the book.  Leave a comment and let me know what you think.......

I Love Precut Quilts! Blog Post

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Now I don't normally vend at shows because I'm more of a designer/quilter/author/lecturer but one of our local shows, Octoberfest,  lowered its fee so I thought I'd take a chance since I have umpteen quilts that need to find new homes.  (Honestly, I think I need to start a quilt adoption program.)

Although sales weren't that great and I went home with almost all the quilts that I took with me -- umm, that was around 66 -- I had a great time and did a lot of networking about my book, lectures, teaching, etc.  So, maybe this show will surprise me at some point in the future.

Here's some pics of my booth.  I was pretty luck that the vendor diagonal to me never showed so I, of course, offered to fill the space with quilt eye candy.  (wink, wink!)

Broken Tools and a Craft Show

The other day I sat down to work on a quilt and I couldn't find my seam ripper.  It was there the day before, but the next morning, it was gone.  I panicked of course and started looking everywhere around my sewing machine -- under it, behind it, on the floor -- everywhere I could think.  Finally I gave up and found a spare which wasn't as good, but it would do in a pinch if I needed to unsew something, which of course I did or I wouldn't have been looking for my seam ripper.

Later that day, my father admitted that he'd used one of my quilting "tools" and had broken it.  AHA!  Now all the pieces of the puzzle fit together -- he'd used my seam ripper to try to pry a fuse out of a fan plug.  Being that my seam ripper wasn't the right tool, it of course, the pointy end snapped right off.   His response was, "Go buy one and I'll reimburse you."

Helpful, but in the meantime, I'm missing my Clover seam ripper because it fit just perfect in my hand.  I've already trained him about fabric scissors and the fact that terrible things will happen to him when he sleeps if he ever dares to cut anything except fabric with them, but maybe I need to extend that threat with all my my tools.

Crazy things happen when men are let loose in your sewing studio..................

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In the meantime, I am preparing to vend at a local Octoberfest craft show.  So far I have 66 quilts in all sizes and shapes ready to go along with other hand crafted items.  I'm wondering if I can even fit that many quilts into the 5" x 10" space.  I guess we'll see.  I just have to find homes for quilts -- they are literally popping out of every nook and cranny in my house.  Sew we'll see what happens.

Here are some of the things that I'll have in my booth:

At this point I have no idea how I'm going to set up my space.  Maybe I should have gotten 2 spaces?  Set up is for 2 hours on Thursday afternoon and then early before the show starts on Friday.  Yikes!  That's a lot of quilts, Batman...........

If you're in the Meadville, PA area stop by......I think I might have just the quilt that you're looking for.

18 Years in the Making

This summer has certainly been a busy one -- I think I had a wedding reception, graduation party, family reunion,  or picnic nearly every week end!  Between that and making a bejillion quilts for magazines and editing my upcoming book, the summer is flying by so fast!

Anyway, this past week end, I went to a graduation/birthday party for my cousin's son, Ryan.  I knew just what to give him (or more accurately --  return to him) for part of  his gift -- HIS BABY QUILT!

As far as we can figure, Ryan gave me his baby quilt six years ago to repair it for him.  My cousin and I think it was six years ago because that's when I would have presented Ryan's new baby sister with her baby quilt (Loran is now six years old).

Anyway, when he gave me his quilt to repair, Ryan told me he wanted to pass this quilt down to his own children some day.  Isn't that sew sew sweet?????

I was really hoping that he'd forgotten that I had it since it had been in my keeping for so long.  I was right -- he did forget!

Anyway, here's Ryan much loved and very worn baby quilt:

 

Originally the strips around the Pooh squares were yellow and turquoise, but the yellow is more a cream color now from repeated washing.  There were lots and lots of split seams and the binding was shot.  So I stitched up the holes and replaced the binding.  I also added a label to the back so Ryan (and his future children) will never forget when it was made and who made it.

I just smile and get a case of the warm and fuzzies when I look at this quilt because this is what a baby quilt should look like.

Baby quilts are made to be used -- puked on, spit on, dragged around, chewed on, and washed over and over again.  Although this was one of my early beginner quilts -- 18 years ago -- it's still around and with a little repair work, it will be there for Ryan's children someday.  Of course, they'll probably each get their own quilts if I have any say in the matter. 

Here's Ryan showing his baby quilt at his graduation/birthday party:

A quilt.....and a young man 18 years in the making!

Ollie Heads Out For A Day of Fun

After Ollie came home last month, he was itching to continue his adventures, so he begged to tag along with me when I headed to work at the Cochranton Area Public Library. 

I was afraid that he'd get bored, but he assured me that he would not.

 

Looks like he found something to keep himself occupied! 

After my work day was over, we checked out the Strawberry Festival at St. Bernadette's Church in Saegertown.  I think Ollie's eyes were bigger than his stomach, though!  LOL!

On the way home, we stopped to enjoy the balloons during the Thurston Classic Hot Air Balloon event in Meadville, PA.

What a day, Ollie!

Ollie the Owl is Going Places

Everyone remembers "Where's Waldo" right?  Or maybe the "Flat Stanley" school project where A child mails a paper "Flat Stanley" to a grandparent or friend who lives somewhere else and that person takes Stanley around and writes about his adventures?

Well, I have a really fun idea that I'm going to do.

Meet  Ollie Q. Owl --

 Taking a little time out of his very busy schedule to 

smell the flowers and to say "Hello."

Ollie is young, single, and loves to travel.  His favorite color is green.  He likes sunsets, dogs, and going on road trips.  He has many friends and enjoys hanging out.  But most off all -- he adores adventures.

 Well, Ollie just got back from a trip across the country.  He traveled in the company of my 16 quilt projects for my new book, I Love Precut Quilts! all the way from Pennsylvania to California and back again.

In fact, Ollie is even in the new quilt book -- he's such a super star!  Ollie says that you just have to get your own copy of I Love Precut Quilts! when it comes out in November just so that you have his photo.  And if you see us around sometime, he might even autograph his picture for you!

So I thought, "Wouldn't it be fun to tuck Ollie in my bag and take him with me?  I could even take a photo of him in different places and blog about his adventures."

So there we are.

Ollie has already traveled farther than I have and through more states than I've seen. So, where is Ollie headed to next?

Surprise! Quilts Show Up in Unusual Places.

Earlier this year a kind quilter named Joan emailed me asking about the fabrics that I used in my Steppingstones quilt in Annie's Lap & Throws Quilts book.

At first I was a bit confused, because I didn't know this publication, so I looked it up online.  Oh!  Of course, a new compilation of previously-published designs.

My Steppingstones design was originally published in a QW publication back in 2011/2012.  It's nice to see it again in publication.

  Here's my original drawing of the design:

Here is a photo of  Joan's finished quilt, which she kindly emailed to me.  Joan is gifting this quilt to her brother. She added two more vertical rows to make the quilt larger.  Isn't it wonderful?  Thanks for sharing, Joan.

It's funny, but I don't always know when Annie's republishes my patterns in new compilation publications -- it's too hard to keep track of these things, so it's always a surprise to be flipping through an Annie's book or special publication and see one of my designs.  It makes me smile.  This is especially fun if I'm at the grocery or craft store. For just a minute I feel like a celebrity.  LOL!

 When I was looking through the Lap & Throw Quilts book on Amazon (see the link above), I also just discovered another one of my designs, Spring Baskets.  Surprise!

 

Yes, quilts can pop up in unusual places.  

Remind me to tell you about the "CEMETERY QUILT" sometime........