Happy Memorial Day and More Market

I hope you are all enjoying Memorial Day and remembering all of those that give service. Thank you!!

Now, for more about Market. Other friends that I get to see are 10 other shop owners who I chat with on a daily basis. You might know them from the http://www.quiltgalleryshops.com/. We get together at each market and share ideas. I'm so blessed to be part of this group!
This is BrendaLou from Scottie Dog Quilts (left) and I. She recently moved into blogland, so stop by and let her know I sent ya!!

The very first thing I did at market was to run to the P&B booth and buy Alex Anderson's newest "Romance" line. She was in the booth and graciously posed for a picture and signed her new book for me.

Here's two of our favorites, CANDY & NANCY HALVORSEN's booth. We just got her new Christmas book in. The buttons and wire racks are on their way. They are just too cute!!!

I have a new BFF, Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms. She and her mother each have pattern companies and have teamed up do design some great fabric for Moda. Of course, I had to buy it all and am waiting patiently for her patterns to arrive.

Here's my haul from Sample Spree, where I hit the Moda booth and grabbed lots of fat quarters, jelly rolls and layer cakes. Plus you'll notice some of Pam's sample bags that I bought from Elizabeth.

I'm off to go support our local high school girls softball team that are in the CIF semi-finals. It's funny how since my kids don't have any sports this weekend, we manage to find games anyway!!!

Well, that was fun!!

Quilt Market is a blast each and every time! I haven't missed one since before I opened my shop. I think this was one of the most fun because of all of my BFFs! My famous BFFs included a Zombie, Kitty, Late Bloomer, Blossom, and lots of other celebrity quilting people. (Oh, and I can't forget that naughty girl, Triskit!!!

Me n' Ms. Kitty (in the Late Bloomer booth, my first stop of the show, where I managed to leave a lot of money behind!)

Me n' Ms. Late Bloomer (Her booth and new patterns were AWESOME!)

and my new BFF Ms. Thimble Blossom, Camille (What a doll! I'll be back with more pictures from her booth)

I took one of my very valuable staff member, Marianne. It was her first time and I had a great time showing her the ropes! Marianne is also known around the shop as our resident "Bag Lady". Here she is with one of her favorite designers, Penny Sturges from Quiltsillustrated (in the Lakehouse Booth)






That's it for now. I'll be back soon with more pictures from our fun!!

To Market, To Market, to see all my friends...

Well, I'm off to Portland for Quilt Market! Wooo HOOO! I love this time of year. I always come home so inspired and invigorated! I'm taking Marianne, one of my terrific staff members, with me too. It's her first Quilt Market.

Once I'm there, I'll be meeting with some of my shop owner friends from around the country, including Brenda Lou, Karen S., Karen M, Debby, Jerry and Debbie. We always have a great time laughing and sharing all of the cool things we've found.

I'll be back late Saturday night, just in time for more softball on Sunday! I'll be taking lots of pictures! Enjoy the rest of your week! See you soon!!

Seattle Part 2

After leaving The Calico Cat, we were on our way to Steeped in Comfort Tea House for lunch. Let me tell you, Margie was so sweet and so organized! We appeared on schedule and had the entire tea house to ourselves. We has a great lunch of sandwiches, home-made chicken noodle soup and THE BEST scones I've ever had. They were simple, little butter scones, but OMG! They were so yummy! Thanks for the great lunch!

As the ladies finished eating, they walked around the corner to the Shibori Dragon. I was only expecting a quilt shop, but they have beads and yarn too! It was so much fun! Becki and her staff were so accommodating! We truly enjoyed our time with them!

Our last stop was The Quilt Barn. All I can say is WOW, they have a lot of fabric!!! They greeted us at the door and even had refreshments for everyone.

Cozy Cruisin' ... Our day in Seattle

Hi Cozies... Sit back, relax and join us on our Seattle area quilt shop tour. MJ and I coordinated our own excursion in Seattle. It was great! We had our own private coach to drive us around. We even had Linda from Canada who was on the cruise, join us for the tour. Away we go...

First stop...

The first thing we saw was their "International Mystery" display. FYI - That program was designed by none other than our BFF, Karen Snyder!!!

We loved their shop hop fabric, designed by In the Beginning. I just wish I could have brought some home! Alas, not until the first day of the shop hop in June. Oh well!



The Cozy girls know how to shop and had some fun with the Calico Cat girls!

Next stop, lunch at Steeped in Comfort Tea house and shopping at the Shibori Dragon... Be back soon!

Happy Mother's Day to all! I received an early gift from Alyssa! First, she cleaned the house. Now, what mother of a teenage girl doesn't love that gift!!! She also painted me this beautiful picture. I say the girls got talent (LOL, I can't draw a stick figure) Good job, Alyssa! I love you!!

By Alyssa G.

We interrupt the cruise for a Sneak Peek...

While I was cruising, some new fabric arrived. This year is the 10th anniversary of the Southern California Quilters Run, our S. California shop hop. The shop hop begins July 10th and it will be "Bigger and Better" than ever. We had fabric designed by Hoffman for the "Run". Here's a sneak peek of our new "limited edition" fabric...

I think this fabric is absolutely gorgeous! We are taking "pre-orders" for the fabric, which will be shipped or available for pick up on July 10. We're working on a great quilt kit for this fabric too. I'll post as soon as I have something new to show!

Cozy Cruisin Part 3

Our cruising adventure continues... On my quilting cruises, we have exclusive use of the ships meeting space for the entire cruise! We set up our stuff and sew as much (or as little) as we like! The meeting space aboard the Oosterdam was very nice and we had lots of room!

Joanne was very focused, working hard around the clock!!

Karen and I modeling the class project, from her book "Fat Quarter Fun"

Barbara and Patricia are BFFs!

Here's Gwen, enjoying her piecing and the view!!!

Kay and Meg had a great time too!

In my next post, I'll tell you about our quilt shop tour in Seattle, including our lunch in the tea house!!