Quilt Market 2013

Joel and I are back from quilt market!  The bags are unpacked, the laundry is done, and we have all the orders shipped.   Unfortunately the house and office are a disaster and we could both use some sleep.  Nonetheless, it’s great to be back home.

I just have a few pictures to share.  They aren’t the best, as I didn’t bring my good camera.  The iphone is SO much lighter to haul around!

Joel and I in our booth  - As usual, he was a huge help.  Not only does he come in handy when you need the heavy stuff moved or you need something cute to look at besides quilts, but he can also demo any block in the booth.  Just don’t ask him what a Y-seam is.  (yes, a quilt shop owner stumped him.  But just for the record, I don’t think you will ever find a Y-seam in one of my patterns).

As many of you know, I design fabrics for Henry Glass.  As soon as my market crate is back, I will show you the newest line I have coming out from them.

The Henry Glass booth had a whole new design this year, complete with demos, stewardesses, passports, and a whole new look.

Fellow Henry Glass designers Jill Finley and Linda Lum DeBono worked hard coming up with all the new ideas.

There were lots of Minnesota designers at market again this year.  I got pictures of a few of their booths -

Gudrun’s booth, from GE Designs

Linda’s booth with her famous critters, from Brandywine Designs

Terry from Atkinson Designs, along with the gals from The Granary.

A few other favorite booths and designers:

Tula Pink – Such a vibrant booth and the machine quilting on her quilts was amazing!

The booth by Emily Herrick  from Crazy Old Ladies, featuring her new line Technicolor.

The gals from Abby Lane – They had just finished up those pillows to the left using my Summer House line.

A few favorite Moda Deisgners:

Bonnie and Camille and their new line Scrumptious

Fig Tree’s booth and their new line Honeysweet

Sandy Gervais and her new line SoHo Chic.  I love the turquoise in this line.

We also enjoyed lots of fun meals after market was done for the day -

Frank’s Noodle House – soon to be featured on one of Guy Fieri’s upcoming shows.

A night at Jake’s Seafood with some of the Henry Glass people.  Karen (my design director) and Jill (of Jillily Studios) ordered the Bag of Chocolate for dessert, which was show stopper.  It literally was a bag of made of chocolate ganache, filled with white chocolate mousse and fresh berries!!  Joel and I are going to try to figure out how to make this one at home!

Portland’s famous Voodoo Doughnuts – which we didn’t even have to stand in line for.  They were delivered to us by Palmer Printing (they print our books and patterns)

But the best part, coming home to this little guy!

The Winners

Let’s start off with the winners of the new book and ruler!

From the first preview post, the winner is:

Donna Kurtz, who commented on April 30th, at 9:58 pm

From the second preview post, the winner is:

Ginny Worden, who commented on May 2nd at 5:39 pm.

Please send your shipping address to hmulder@wecnet.com and I will get the goods shipped out right away!

I just want to say a huge thank-you again for all the nice comments about the new book!   It can be so nerve-wracking to put yourself out there and I have been nervous about these projects.  I have been so back and forth because I know that at first glance they look a bit hard.  I really hope I have convinced you otherwise!  I think that is my favorite part of what I do – equipping people with the techniques and designs to do more than they thought they could, easier than they thought they could.

Well, that and collecting fabric – which brings me to answering some of your questions from my last two posts.

A common question from the last two posts was “How do you pick fabrics?”  I have to admit that I totally cheat!  I usually work from within one fabric line, so all the color coordinating is done by the designer.  The only thing I usually add is a high contrast fabric.

When choosing the high contrast fabric, I choose something that stands out from the rest of the prints, makes the blocks jump out, and makes the colors sparkle as much as possible.  Most often, it is used as the background color, as shown in the photo below.

In the next example, I used a dark brown as my contrast fabric, as it really made the colors pop.

After that, I usually choose a couple of my favorite prints from the line to use for a border.  It really is that simple – I don’t spend hours going through my stash trying to come up with 40 different pieces that coordinate.  All that work has already been done by the designer, so why not take advantage of it?

Several of you asked if I have help and how I get this all done, especially with having a little guy – Which bring me to saying a huge thanks to my two biggest helpers – my Mom Deb, and my husband Joel.

I have talked about my mom before and how much she helps out with my business (read about it here).  With this book, I once again needed lots of help.  It was a complicated book to write, which means there is a greater chance for errors.  Thanks to my Mom, this is one of my most throughly tested books!  I am so grateful for the help, as I feel like my “placenta brain” has become a permanent thing.  I don’t trust placenta brain, especially when it comes to writing books based on lots of angles, with lots of size options.  So Mom – I could never do this without you!  Thanks for helping make my work life possible!

Joel doesn’t test quilt patterns for me, nor would you want him to.  However, he is really good at helping out with all the orders, shipping, book work, returning emails and all the other officey-type things that take me away from designing.  I SO appreciate having help taking care of those things so I can focus on my designs.  You may also remember that he helps out with the photography, which isn’t always the funnest job.  Lastly, he is a great help at market, as sales is much more up his alley than mine.  I have a tendency to be tired and overwhelmed by the time I get to market and he helps hold everything together.  It is just what I need after the long haul of getting the book from start, to finish, to market.   So a big thanks to my DH as well!

Lastly, I do have a some help with Carter.  I have a couple of neighbor girls come twice a week for a few hours – that way I am guaranteed 3 hours twice a week where I can get caught up on a few things.  (like blogging, as one of them is here right now)

Those answers were probably a little more than you were asking for, but I really wanted to have a chance to say thank-you to my great helpers!

On a side note, it’s my favorite day of the year.  The lake is open!  Every year I post the day that the lake opens.  I have usually been waiting about 5 months for that day, but considering we have had a very long winter, it has been longer than that – two months later than last year, to be exact.  Now I can’t wait to get back from market and start enjoying evenings on the deck.

Angles With Ease Preview – Part 2

Back for Part 2!

Thanks for all the wonderful, encouraging, generous, supportive, and funny comments on the last post!  The “winner” or favorite quilt from that post had to be Spin Cycle, followed closely by Rising Star.   I always love hearing which ones you like best – because after working on the quilts for so long and doing all the math, writing, proofing, etc.,  I can no longer see or think clearly to know which ones are the cutest!

Today I want to share the non-strip pieced quits from the book.  In addition to all those spinning and star quilts from yesterday, the book and ruler can be used to make lots of other fun shapes.  Here is a link to the first post, in case you missed it.

Shapes #1 and #2:  Diamonds and Trees – as shown in the “Juniper” quilt.

The fabric line is Blitzen by Basic Grey for Moda fabrics.   The pattern can be made from Fat Quarters, Fat Eighths or 10″ squares.  (I forgot to mention in the first part of the preview that most of the patterns in the book are made from Fat Quarters and Fat Eighths)

One of the size options for this design is this little runner – “Baby Juniper”.

It’s so simple and quick to make.  It would make a great Christmas gift and can easily be made longer to fit any size table, kitchen island, etc.  I made this one from the scraps from the Winter Solstice quilt – though you can also make if from 10″ squares or scraps from your stash.

Shapes #3, 4  and 5 – Tumblers (and hourglass blocks, bow ties or lava lamps), as shown in the “Hourglass” quilts below.   Most often the tumbler shape is made into quilts like these - which you could do, but I chose to add sashing for a more modern look.

I also chose to pair my colors in my tumbler blocks so they look more like bows, lava lamps or an hourglass, depending on how you see it.   You can use the ruler to cut tumblers and put them into any number of options – but I didn’t have time to make them all (yet).  That’s the problem with deadlines – they sometimes interfere with my fun!

I really like the runner size option too - This one was fun to quilt.

Shape #6 – Kaleidoscope Triangles, as shown in the “Windsor Knot” quilt below.

This next quilt is a modern take on a traditional kaleidoscope quilt.  Both the red and aqua triangles are cut with the ruler.  Remember the little circle that I appliqued in the center of the Spin Cycle block from my last post?  This one uses a small square appliqued in the center to cover where all the points come together.  Not only does it make the quilt easier, but I like the way it forms a chain between the red pieces.   All of the other seams in the quilt nest – as long as you follow the pressing arrows in the instructions (the other patterns have this too).

I just finished a color option of this quilt with my Here Fishy Fishy fabric.  I love how different it looks!  Can you believe they are the same pattern?  Instead of the chain, I see circles and X’s in this version.

I am so anxious for this fabric to arrive.  It matches Carter’s room just perfectly!

This isn’t related to the new book, but I wanted to show you how I used the panel print on the back.

Shape #7 – Right Angle Triangles,  as shown in the “Calypso” quilt below.

This quilt is made from the scraps of my Cosmo quilt (from the first part of the preview).  You can also use scraps from your stash or 10″ squares.

Shape # 8 – Almost Hexagons, as shown in the “Honeycomb Bloomers” quilt.  I say almost hexagons because a true hexagon is a 60-degree angle and when you use my ruler it is a 67 1/2-degree angle.  This makes for a slightly elongated hexagon and allows you to flip-flop the blocks for a more interesting layout.

This is probably my personal favorite – because as many of you may know – I have a huge crush on hexagons.

So there you have it!   I feel like I could go on and on with all the things that you can cut with this ruler.  In fact, I have lots of options that didn’t even make it into the book!  If you have a favorite from this grouping too, I would love to hear what it is.  Just leave a comment and I will draw a winner (of a book and a ruler) from this post too.   I will announce the winners from both posts here next week.

BTW – Books and rulers are available to start shipping now – either from your local shop or from our online store.

Angles With Ease Preview – Part 1

Today I finally get to start sharing what I have been working so hard on for the last six months!  And just a warning – this is a really long post, as I wanted to share a little bit about the thought process behind the concept, along with all the pictures.   There is a reward if you make it to the end

It seems that each time I set out to start designing some new projects, it gets harder and harder.  There are several reasons that I find it so challenging – and these reasons do not include my busy 10 month old boy!  I have been in the industry for quite a while and have done lots of patterns and books.  If I counted right, this is my 26th book!  After doing that many books and patterns, I often feel that it is practically impossible for me to come up with something new and original.  Plus, add to that the hundreds of other designs already on the market and it can feel like a very overwhelming, often impossible task.  Sometimes I decide I am okay with just coming up with a design that I think is cute, but most of the time I really wish for something unique.

One day, while machine quilting, I started thinking about quilts that I want to make – just for fun (what a novel concept ?!?!).  My mind seems to wander quite a bit while I am machine quilting, so I use that time to do a lot of thinking (kind of like some people that have all their good ideas in the shower).

The thought that came to mind is that I have always wanted to make a kaleidoscope quilt.  (You can click here if you want to see a few images of a basic kaleidoscope quilt – though this page also has lots of intricate kaleidoscope quilts).  The basic kaleidoscope shape has a 45-degree angle at the top and a 67 1/2-degree angle in the two bottom corners.  It’s really just a simple triangle, but it can be made into some really fun shapes.  As I began focusing on that shape, I started to wonder how I could use strip units to make some new blocks.  Those thoughts became the quilts in my new book “Angles with Ease” and led to the production of my companion ruler the “Triangler”.  Books are a huge investment of time and money,  but finally I had something that was new and different.  After months of going back and forth, and with too many options to fit in a single pattern, we decided to move forward with production.

So, after all that, today I get to share the strip pieced quilts from the new book!  (Later this week I will post on the other projects from the book)

I just fell in love with the concept that such unique shapes could be made from the strip units.  In the past these shapes could only be made with separate templates for each little triangle.  Then you had all the intricate work of lining up and sewing all those angles, pieces and bias edges.  Strip units are so much easier!  Each of the blocks requires a different strip unit – with different widths, setbacks, etc.  Here are just a few of the strip units from the book:

They don’t look like anything special – but each one has been carefully calculated to get just the right number of triangles for each block, in the correct sizes, with the correct angles etc.  My brain still hurts from doing all the calculations!  But now that all the math and figuring is done, all you have to do is use the ruler to turn the strip unit into these:

Again, these don’t look like anything special, but when you sew them together, you can make some really fun blocks.  If you look closely, you see the kaleidoscope triangles in the blocks below.

The triangles can be sewn into the octagon shape you see on the right, or you can add corner triangles to make the square blocks shown on the left.  This means lots of layout options!  But, more importantly, I think breaking it down shows you how much simpler the blocks are to make than they look at first glance (which is a very prevalent theme in my designs)

So, now that we have that out of the way, let’s looks at the quilts that are made from those simple triangles.

First up, the cover quilt:  Cosmo - featuring the fabric line Happy Go Lucky by Bonnie and Camille

By the way, none of the blocks are “set in”.  The quilt is constructed in rows, just like the quilts from my “Sizzlin’ Sixties” book.  This is the quilt that I think looks most like looking into an actual kaleidoscope.

Next up – Spin Cycle, featuring my Summer House fabric line.

If you are worried about lining up those block centers, simply cover them with a small circle.  Now nobody will know if you centers match or not!

This is just one of the many size options included in the book (which is another reason that my brain still hurts!)  There are over 30 size options included in the book, so each design has several sizes to choose from.  I wouldn’t want you to have to go through the agony of all that math!

This fabric line is called Aspen by Basic Grey, for Moda fabrics.

The third design – Winter Solstice, featuring Kate Spain’s new Christmas line “In from the Cold” , also by Moda.

The fourth design:  Sunday Spin, featuring the “Strawberry Fields” fabric designed by Joanna Figueroa for Moda fabrics.

Rising Star, again featuring my Summer House line.

I really had fun machine quilting this one.

This design also makes a cute topper.  I always get lots of people requesting patterns for round tables and this one would work perfectly.

You just need a few fat quarters and 2 half yard cuts to make it.  A few kits are available here.

For those of you who have made it to the end of this post, I am giving away a copy of the book and ruler.  Just leave me a comment stating your favorite quilt and you will be entered to win!

I will be back in a few days to share the rest of the projects from the book!

The books and rulers started shipping to quilt shops last week, so they should be at your local shop soon.  We also have them available in our online store.

Thank-You!

Just popping in for a quick minute to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone for their comments on my last post!  Joel and I really appreciate everyone taking the time to think of something to say and for being so understanding.  I really do have some great readers!  With all the crappy things going on in the world lately, from the bombing in Boston to the explosion in Texas, the loss of our dog pales in comparison, but it’s still nice to know that there are so many kindred spirits out there.  (Anne of Green Gables, anyone?)   We have found out that another neighbor’s dog was also killed in one of these traps a couple of years ago.  I think all of our other neighbors are dog lovers because we have so many dogs in this area  It seems every house we walk by has a dog that comes out to greet us.

The house sure is quiet without Daisy, but thank goodness we have Carter to cheer us up!  This is one of the few pictures we have of Carter with Daisy.  They are hanging out with Joel before Carter’s bath one morning.   It’s only an iphone picture, so the quality isn’t great, but it’s a good memory.

In other news, we are digging out from yet another snow storm.  The snow is never-ending this year in Minnesota.  Last year the lake was open by March 15th and it was beautiful, early spring.  This year we still had 3 feet of ice on the lakes at that time and we will be lucky if the lake is open by May 15th.

The weather has been so bad, that our steep driveway has been covered in snow and ice and has prevented our printer from delivering the shipment of new books.

The forecast is looking up though – they are predicting 70 degrees this weekend!  What a change in a few short days.  So, hopefully all that sun will melt the snow and ice and the books can be delivered.  In the meantime, I am working on some blog posts to share the new stuff with you.  I do have this jpeg for the cover – just to give you a sneak peek.  Be sure to stop back to see the rest of the projects and a chance to win a copy.  I am really anxious to share some of my ”cheater” techniques with you - like the fact that the cover quilt is strip pieced!  Doesn’t it look much harder than that?

 

 

Daisy

I have been debating about writing this post for the last several days.

It’s not something I wanted to share, but many of you know our dog Daisy.  Joel and I have talked about it and decided to share.  Partly because we also wanted to warn people about a risk for their dogs, and because you may wonder why we don’t blog any new pictures of Daisy.

So here goes -

Wednesday afternoon, Joel let Daisy out for a bathroom break.  She didn’t come right back, even after calling her.  Joel went out to look for her, as this wasn’t typical behavior for her.  After driving around the neighborhood for a while, he came back home without her.  He walked around our yard calling for her and realized that there were some terrible noises coming from the neighbor’s yard.  He followed the sound and found Daisy caught in a large trap.  He tried to get her released, but those traps aren’t meant to be opened by a person with no knowledge about opening them.  He had to go for help.  He knew her jaw was broken, but wasn’t sure about her neck.  The vet clinic happens to be a couple of minutes from our house, so they were able to come and help.  They sedated her and began to work on getting the trap off.   It took all three of them, and a lot of adrenaline on Joel’s part, to get the trap off  her head.  Once she was loose, they brought her to the vet clinic for x-rays.  The x-rays revealed the worst – that her neck was also broken.   They put her to sleep and Joel is having her cremated.  He plans to spread her ashes at their favorite hunting spots – in North Dakota and at his buddy’s land down by Prinsburg.

Daisy was a special dog.  According to Joel, she was the best hunting dog he ever had, and more importantly, an even better pet.  She had a really good disposition – so friendly and personable.  Daisy was an important part of our family, and watching Carter play with her was so fun.  He would squeal with delight when he got to pet her.  We are dissapointed that he will not get to grows up with her.  Her absence leave an empty void in our home and in Joel’s life.  A good friend of Joel’s nicknamed her ”The Love Machine”  because she loved people, receiving affection from people and giving it.  In fact, she gave pretty good hugs!

One of my favorite blog posts happens to be about Daisy.  You can click here if you want to read it.  The photos will tell you more about her personality than my words ever could.  She was also a good hunter and she and Joel shared a special bond because of their mutual love of hunting.   Another one of my favorite posts includes Daisy and gives you a little glimpse into her favorite hobby – pheasant hunting.

But, no matter how special we happen to think she was, or if she had been a random, homeless dog, she never should have had to suffer so.  We both feel terrible that she was in that trap for over an hour.   The trap is called a Connibear 200.  They are legal to use in some states, including Minnesota.  But, we were told they are not currently legal to use in Minnesota right now, because it is not trapping season.  They are legal to use on public hunting land and do not require a special marking so that you know they are there.  They are designed to kill small animals quickly, unlike the old leg traps that an animal could live in for quite some time.    It has become an issue of concern for many people, because of how many dogs are killed in these traps.

If you are like us, and hike or snowshoe on public hunting land or other state lands where trapping is legal, you need to know about these traps.  We have since found out that there is a special technique for releasing the trap.  If you are interested, you can read about it on this website.   (Some of the websites showing how to release your dog are pretty graphic — just an FYI.)  Hopefully you will never need to use it, but you never know.   From what Joel has read, you have to know how to release them quickly if you want to save your dog.

I don’t mean to be a pot stirrer with this post, as I know it’s a controversial issue.  We just wanted other dog owners to be aware of the risk.  If this happens to your dog and you can release them quickly, you might have a chance of saving your dog.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.  On the brighter note, we are grateful that Carter, or any other child, wasn’t the one to find the trap.  

Many of you have said such nice things about Daisy in the past and we have so enjoyed reading your comments.  I know many of my readers are dog lovers and your words will be an encouragement right now, especially to Joel.

 

Good-bye Daisy.  You will be missed!

Knitting Update

Finally!  The book is turned into the printer.  All the editing is done and the proofs have been approved.  I spent the weekend recuperating and trying to give my brain a break!  Knitting always helps, which means it’s time for a knitting update. 

I already showed a quick peak at two finishes in my last post.  Both were little sweater vests for Carter.

First up, we have this blue one. 

I love that it matches his eyes perfectly!  I warned him yesterday that he might get sick of wearing blue, because I will be buying (or making) him a LOT of blue things. I am going to take advantage of getting to put whatever I want to on him now. One of my quilting friends advised me to – she asked her teenage boy if she could knit him something. His response was – NEVER. Not even a little bit. He shut the door on that idea quickly and completely!   lol

The pattern was originally supposed to be a full sweater.  I really like vests on Carter – they aren’t quite so bulky and it’s a really easy change to make.

I think my favorite part is the buttons.  They seem to go well with that little-old man look that I seem to like.  Plus, they remind me of a suit coat that my dad had growing up.

You can find the rest of the details here.

 

For those of you who are regular readers, you already know I love cables.  I love that this next little sweater turns a mini cable into an owl!  You don’t really see if until you put the buttons on it -

Before buttons:

After Buttons:

See what I mean? 

I had trouble getting Carter still enough for a clear shot, but you can see the owl better on this one.

The pattern was really quick and easy – though again I made a few changes.  They were minor, but original pattern didn’t have the owls centered on the chest.  I also made it a bit bigger for Carter.  But, by the time I got it finished, it was almost too small for him.  When I don’t get my own things done, it doesn’t matter, so I have to remember this is not the case with Carter’s things!

You can find the rest of the details here.

I also finished up a project for myself.  

 

It went really fast, once I got the cowl right.  I originally cast on according to the pattern, but decided that the cowl was much bigger than I wanted.  I ended up taking out 4″ of width and 2″ of length. 

I like it much better now.  My other favorite details are the raglan sleeve, the inset panel, and the fact that it is offset just a bit.  I love balanced asymmetry. 

You can find the rest of my details here.  It was a fun, relaxing knit, so I highly recommend it!

All for now – time to work on some brochures for the new book!