I think both Phoebe and I are very glad to be home now, especially since our trip ended up being over 21 hours door-to-door.  We’re both pretty tired, so if you’ve been waiting for the final Market report and more photos, I’m thinking you’re going to have to wait a little longer.  Hopefully tomorrow one of us will be a bit more caught up on sleep and therefore useful. 

I’m sorting through the piles of orders from Market, and there’s one thing I wanted to be sure to tell you ASAP.  As many of you know, I’m a HUGE Marti Michell fan.  I love her methods, her rulers and templates (and both she and her DH are delightful people, too).  Unfortunately, her templates and rulers, just like so much else in this world, are somehow connected to petroleum.  I’m sure you see where I’m going with this.  :-(  As of June 1, Marti is raising her wholesale prices, and therefore, my prices will go up as well.  HOWEVER, since she was kind enough to give us the opportunity to get one last order in before then, I ordered a bunch of goodies and want you to have the chance to buy these at the old prices, too.  Including some NEW things! Her newer Log Cabin ruler, which came out at fall Market but somehow we missed it, works with 5/8″ and 1 1/4″ strips.  Although there aren’t any patterns in her book that call for that ruler, any of them can be adapted, or you can make up your own!  She also has a NEW “Stripper Set” which is a set of templates to be used with 2 1/2″ strips - we’ll do some demos on these soon.  Also a NEW diamond set that is cool in itself, but it’s designed to supplement sets A or  B to do a Storm at Sea block more easily (I’ll plan demos on this, too).  She has also come out with a corner trimmer.  My personal favorite, I think, is still the Flying Geese ruler.  Easy, no waste, and perfect geese every time.

The NEW products should ship later this week - I’ll post an update when they get here - but we have lots of stock of most of the products if you want to get them before the prices go up!

~Joyce

Phoebe is still asleep but getting restless, and I think the alarm will wake her for real any second now. Then we have to finish our packing, find some food, and head out to the airport. Our first flight leaves just after 11AM Portland time. We get into Richmond shortly after 11PM Richmond time.

We are both exhausted (and kind of broke!) but full of lots of new ideas. We packed an ENORMOUS box to ship home, full of fabric and patterns and books and kits. The orders that we placed will start shipping later this week as the vendors get home. We’ve ordered BUTTONS and AMAZING RULER RACKS and JAPANESE IMPORT FABRIC and KITS and BOOKS and PATTERNS and FABRIC. And GLITTER. And more STUFF that I’m forgetting. All in caps, because it’s all cool and new and fresh.

Over the next several months, we’ll be getting new fabric from all our usual suspects, including designers Sandi Henderson, Anna Maria Horner, Michelle D’Armore (Metro Blue), Kaffe Fassett, and many more. Ten gazillion batiks - they get even better and better every time!

Phoebe will be back to work tomorrow (Tuesday). {Edit from Phoebe at 10:30: I just gave my shift to Betty, so you’re going to have to wait another day to see me and the new stuff. Sorry!} I’m not sure about me yet. This trip has taken a major toll on my shoulder, and I’m actually looking forward to seeing my physical therapist tomorrow morning and then maybe doing some resting and icing. We’ll see. Maybe after a day or two of catching up on rest, Phoebe will finish posting the Market photos - yes, we have more celebrity sightings!

Our first basket of “new goodies from Market!” should be out sometime tomorrow, although it will be only what we’ve managed to carry in our suitcases.

See you soon!
~Joyce

~Cheryl~
Where were you born?
I was born in Detroit. I grew up mainly in Michigan with a few
middle-school years in Oklahoma. However, I moved to Wisconsin after
college and that’s where I consider home. I lived there until I moved to
Richmond a week before Joyce opened her shop (I guess it was meant to be)!
I have a wonderful husband and daughter, and one dog and one cat, both
geriatric.

How long have you been sewing?
I started quilting in 2003, a few months before finding out we were having
a baby. I bought my first sewing machine so I could make my first quilt!

What is the first thing you made?
The first thing I really made was a baby quilt in my first beginning
sewing class. I was too scared to quilt it myself (I have done every one
since, though). But the information sheet for the class said “You must
know how to use your sewing machine before you come to class” so I found a
very simple skirt and I made it the weekend before class.

What is your favorite sewing technique? Hand or machine?
Machine for sure. I have too little patience and need instant gratification.

What is your favorite color?
Purple!

What color do you have the most trouble using in your quilts?
Beige

What inspires you?
Color mostly, and my daughter.

Favorite book?
Watership Down by Richard Adams (this was a childhood favorite, too).

Favorite movie?
Pulp Fiction, Fargo, The Crying Game, Election, A Fish Called Wanda,
Thelma and Louise, Space Mutiny (don’t ask)

Favorite band?
The one you’ve heard of is The Beatles. The one you probably haven’t is
Sonia Dada. I think I’ve seen them live a dozen times.

Favorite song?
It depends on my mood.

How long have you been working for QA?
Since January of 2007.


Cheryl with her husband, RT, and her daughter, Molly.

If you would like to read Cheryl’s biography on our website instead, here is the link:
http://www.quiltingadventures.com/staffpage.htm#cheryl

Before I tell you guys anything else, I wanted to share with you some numbers……the record number of attendees was set for Spring Quilt Market this year. Just to give you an idea of how much space this takes up, there are 1040 booths this year, and 570 vendors.

Okay, so yesterday was exhausting! We spent 8 hours in a series of short sessions called “Schoolhouse.” We were able to learn all about the newest products out there. In the evening, we went to “Sample Spree.” It is a chance for shop owners to buy the newest patterns, usually with a sample, and fat quarter packs of the newest fabrics, which we sometimes won’t even get in the store for another couple of weeks! Mom included a picture of some of our goodies, but what she didn’t include was the pictures of the line to get in. Keep in mind, that I’m gradually walking around the building, and every picture was taken at the point where the first one ended.

This was when I looked to the right after I walked in the door. The doorway was just before that second arch off in the distance.

This is looking to the left from the door. I had to hold the camera up high! Under that silver sign is where the next one was taken.

Just behind that silver pole is another set of steps where the next picture was taken.

The line ended another 30 feet or so after what you can see. Notice the cool dragon boat hanging up!

This morning, we woke up bright and early after less than 6 hours of sleep. We both had class at 8. I took this picture of the convention center on the way down from the hotel. You can’t actually see the building, but thats what the two glass towers are attached to.

And this is of the pendulum hanging outside of the hall where the show is.

It hangs directly below one of the glass tower things.

We went on a hunt today to get pictures of us with famous people (at least to us quilters!). Luckily, they all recognized at least one of us, having spoken with them before. So, here you go!

Us with the Artgirlz! Allison is in the middle and Tracy is on the right.

Here are a few photos of things from their booth:

Multi-cultural snowmen from their kit. And a pumpkin from one of their beads.

A great pincushion from some of their felt, felt flowers, felt beads and some regular beads.

Here’s a picture of Anna Maria Horner and I. The chairs and everything in the background are made with her Drawing Room collection from Free Spirit, which we hope to have arrive at our store in the next few weeks. She also debuted a new line called Garden Party, which we hope to order and should have by the end of the summer.

This is Becky Goldsmith from Piece O Cake Designs in front of some of the fabric from their new line, Eleanor’s Picnic (named for her granddaughter!) for P & B Textiles. We’ve already ordered it, but we don’t think it even starts to ship until September.

Many of you have seen my tiered skirt that I wear to work. It’s made from Heather Bailey’s first line of fabric, Freshcut. I meant to show her the skirt at the last market, but I never actually saw her, so I pulled her aside today, and got a picture of the two of us together. She premiered two new lines for Free Spirit Fabrics, Bijoux and Pop Garden, which aren’t even on their website yet. We ordered some, and they should arrive in August or September. Obviously, you can see how tall she is, as she is bending over next to me. Man, did I ever feel short.

You all know Mark Lipinski from Quilter’s Home! Well, here we are together. You can tell what a goofball he is. We only had a minute to talk before we rushed off again, but we did have a chance to see his new line from Northcott, Califon.

Here I am with Melissa Averinos, Free Spirit’s newest designer. Her fabric hasn’t even been released yet, but you can see sneak previews of Sugar Snap on her blog.

And here I am with Sandi Henderson in her booth. We got the chance to have a nice chat. Her booth is a mix of her last line, Ginger Blossom, which we have now, and her newest line, Farmer’s Market, for Michael Miller Fabrics. We hope to order this soon, but we don’t even know when it ships. It will probably appear in the store late summer/early fall. She also was displaying some of her newest patterns, which include some cute kids clothes!

We also stopped by the Red Rooster booth to get pictures of the two quilts that Laura Blanchard made, as well as the chair covers that Betty made. Just so you know, I have no clue what these lines of fabric are, so don’t even ask….

The birdhouse table runner, and…….

The cute kid’s quilt are Laura’s!

And Betty’s chair covers!

Alright, that’s it for now. I’m trying to get this published by 12 your time. It’s 11:48 now. We’ve got to go sort through the 8 inch pile of paperwork (yes, literally) and I need to write the blog entry for Cheryl’s employee biography tomorrow……..

That’s all folks!

~Phoebe

It’s really late, and we’re totally exhausted. Phoebe took some amazing pictures of the long lines for Sample Spree tonight, but I’m too tired to mess with those photos. But I wanted to share this picture of our king size bed containing our take for tonight. It is approximately:

2 spools Japanese ribbon

Bags of remnants of Japanese fabric

A pincushion sample (that I bought mostly because it’s stuffed with lavender and I NEED to smell lavender tonight) and patterns

A poppy wall hanging top and patterns

21 small rayon packets from Japan

20 half yard pieces of jacquards from japan

24 fat quarter (or are the half yards?) from Japan

One book

One set of bali pop strips

12 fat quarters of Olivia flannel

A kit for holiday floragraphix quilt from in the beginning (the fabric is on order)

This many fat quarters: 26+24+16+(18*3)+12+18+12+26(plus 2 panels)+31+18+24+12 - my exhausted brain estimates that total to be just shy of 300

Here’s our haul - and remember, my arm is in a sling so Phoebe had to carry 90% of this!

Tomorrow the Market floor opens at 9 AM; Phoebe and I both have classes at 8 AM which, fortunately, is 11AM eastern time. Except it’s now 2AM eastern tiime, so we’re in trouble no matter how you look at it.

We have much to report from earlier today - Phoebe spoke with Melissa Averinos (Free Spirit’s newest designer), caught up with our old friends the Artgirlz and Bonnie McCaffery, I heard a true confession from Alex Anderson <G>, and there were lots of celebrity sightings - Anna Maria Horner, Heather Bailey, Darlene Zimmerman, Sandi Henderson, Kathy Miller, Nancy Zieman, Mark Lipinski, Valori Wells and family, Becky Goldsmith, and even Eleanor Burns.

Okay, we’re going to bed now.

~Joyce

The bosslady and her sidekick are out in Portland, OR, for Quilt Market. Phoebe wrote about it on the shop blog:

http://quiltingadventures.com/qablog/?p=577

So, it’s time for the Pattie’s in Charge sale! Batiks and java blenders, of course. Discounts as follows for pieces cut from each individual bolt:

3 yards or more - 30% off

2 - 2 7/8 yards - 20% off

1 - 1 7/8 yards - 10% off

less than 1 yard - regular price

Sale runs through Monday, May 19th. The more batiks I sell this weekend, the more I can convince them to order at Market. Come help us all out!

Alright, we made it! Yesterday, our flight left at 3 from Newport News, and we flew to Philly. It was a propeller plane, and I was very unhappy about it. Then, after spending 2 hours in Philly, we got on our flight to Portland. Luckily we were on a much bigger plane, with very few screaming children. However, it took us 6 and a half hours to get here.

Today, we decided to explore the city, since Market doesn’t actually start until tomorrow. We hopped on Portland’s wonderful public transportation system. Which is free most of the time. We ended up in downtown. We went to Knit Purl, Josephine’s Dry Goods, and The Button Emporium before heading up to the Pearl District. We went to lots of cool places including Powell’s Books, which is apparently pretty famous. (who knew?!) It is a city block square (the block is slightly smaller than a Richmond city block), and has multiple levels, with each room having a color, which indicates its themes. We only got to the orange, rose, and gold room. We’re not even sure how many rooms there actually were. I ended up with two books on textile design, a book on bookbinding, and some stickers. Mom got a mystery, a dyeing book, a transfer paints book, and two collage books. Afterwards, we came back and checked in at the convention center. We are now lounging in the room (in other words, we can’t walk any further) and watching our baseball team lose. I’m sure you are bored to tears now, and want to see some pictures, so here they are……

The wisteria arbor in front of our hotel. Everything is in bloom!

The top of the Portland library. It says “Do unto others as you would they should do unto you.” See the next two photos as well….

A cool grate. These appeared frequently around the trees.

A view of one of the downtown streets. You can see the “hills” in the distance. Every direction you look, there are hills around the city. Of course, they are as big as any mountain I have ever seen, as I’ve only seen the ones in VA. We still haven’t gotten far enough out of the city to see Mount Hood though.

Look, the Joyce Hotel!

Yeah, I know, it’s a water fountain, we have those too. But, look at the cool design in the bottom!!!!!!!!

I just thought this sign was hilarious. This bell is in front of the convention center.

This big dead tree is also in front of the convention center. It’s kinda cool how they are using it to start a new garden.

All the cool stuff I bought! The green fabric is a organic canvas from Marcus Brothers Fabrics. It’s hard to see, but the stuff on top of the fabric is all buttons. There are bunches with elephants and whales, (not on the same button though) and even one with Humphrey Bogart. The notepad on the left with the cute birds on it is made from 100% recycled materials.

Hopefully I’ll have another post soon with more pictures!

~Phoebe

Patti C. sent me this photo of her pink and green quilt - is this a happy quilt, or what?

And a different kind of show and tell - my friend (and customer) Lila L. wrote this article on learning to sew for richmondmoms. com:

http://www.richmondmom.com/funmom.html

~Joyce

~Pattie~

Where were you born? I was born and raised on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, near Eastville. I have lived in Richmond for going on 4 years now.

How long have you been sewing? I didn’t start sewing until my sophomore year in college. When I decided to leave the serious major, Aerospace Engineering, for something a little looser, I took a class called Basic Sewing on a lark. I discovered a whole new world in Apparel Design.

What is the first thing you made? A horrid little top. I didn’t make my first quilt until several years after I watched Simply Quilts a few times. A quilt doesn’t have to fit anyone when you draft the pattern!

What is your favorite sewing technique? Hand or machine? I do very little hand sewing, usually finishing hems etc. I like drafting my own paper piecing patterns. I have been making a lot of skirts recently.

What is your favorite color? Purple! Followed closely by blue.

What color do you have the most trouble using in your quilts? I’m not that big a fan of yellow, although there are definitely times when it’s needed.

What inspires you? I look at the shapes of things – skylines, buildings, trees. Bright colors always attract me.

Favorite book? I read quite a bit, currently Anne McCaffery’s books on Pern. I also am a political junkie of the Libertarian sort.

Favorite band? Favorite song? Music is my other passion. I love to hear live music that will make me dance. I listen to all kinds of music - bands that are currently on my Pandora quick mix: Vampire Weekend, Ryan Adams, Emmylou Harris, Dire Straits, and David Byrne.

How long have you been working for QA? I started working at QA in January 2007.

You can also view Pattie’s bio on our website:

http://www.quiltingadventures.com/staffpage.htm#pattie

A note from Kathleen about her upcoming class, Beading for Quilters:

Joyce’s note: I’m sorry this picture is so not good - please come into see Kathleen’s awesome sample in person!