Quilt Market via Instagram

My new iPhone5 and super cool case featuring Textured Basics came in just a few days before I flew out to Quilt Market, so the night before I left I made an executive decision: not bringing my big camera! This is the first time I've done that and for those of you who know me well, you know that that thing is practically an extra appendage for me. But, being that I was traveling alone this time, and it was a quick trip for me, and the new phone boasted such an incredible camera, I figured it was worth a try, so let me know what you think!

I did have a booth, a tiny little thing (5' x 8'), but bursting with color and pattern! Here are a few shots...

The big square quilt in the back was designed by the wonderful Ellen Maxwell and it will be a free download on the Michael Miller site, once the fabrics come in. The small table runner on the left side was designed by none other than Debbie Taylor of Fat Quarter Shop and It's Sew Emma patterns, and it's currently available on the Fat Quarter Shop site as a FREE download!

I did manage to play with the Panoramic photo feature that comes built into the iPhone5 camera app and I must say, I LOVE IT! (click on it to enlarge)

I *heart* going to Quilt Market not only because it affords me the opportunity to show off my newest projects, but also because I get to visit with dear friends, some which I only get to see once or twice a year. This has quickly become my family away from home and I truly look forward to catching up and sharing a good meal (or drink) at one of the many fabulous events that surround the show.

I had the pleasure of spending some QT with these wonderful ladies... from left to right Shannon Robinson (of Fabric Nosherie), Laura Gunn, Trenna Travis (newest licensed designer at Michael Miller Fabrics), me and Heather Bailey.

I love the vintage feel of this Instagram pic of Kait Witte (of Michael Miller Fabrics) sporting a gorgeous skirt which she sewed herself out of Textured Basics.

At Fabric 2.0, I documented the very moment in which Quilts, Inc. "bought the party" from Caroline Devoy. heehee

Then Bob Ruggiero (Quilts) tried to make Jon jealous. I used this picture to remind Jon to never ever skip a Quilt Market again. ;)

 

After the party, a few of us headed across the street  to The Grove for dinner and lively conversation. Here I am with Aneela Hoey and Roxane Cerda (C&T Publishing). Not pictured, Carla Crim.

The following night it was the Modern Quilt Guild Party and I am sad that this is the only picture I captured that evening. Here I am with Jessica Levitt (left) and Jenean Morrison. (sorry, so blurry! I guess the photographer must've had one too many glasses of wine!)

In addition to the parties and dinner, I also love visiting my friends and associates at their booths... you never know what you'll find and what sorta trouble you'll get into.

At the GenerationQ booth, I spotted my quilt hanging right at the front! This design will appear in a future issue. And... in case you haven't heard... the *current* issue is pretty darn special to us. Go get it! Seriously!! (more on that soon)

At the GenQ booth I had a photo op with none other than Betz White and Thomas Knauer (pssst... Thomas, a.k.a. waycoolkid, graces the cover of the current issue I was talking about! Don't miss it!)

And here's me being silly with GenQ's picture quilt...

Speaking of quilts in booths (not that there aren't enough at this show! haha) I also spotted our Houndstooth Quilt -- a version made by Kristen McVane of Stash Quilts -- in the United Notions booth! Doesn't it look gorgeous all made up in Heaven & Helsinki?? WOW!

Over at the Westminster booth, I got the pleasure to speak with Ty Pennington, who was there to promote his newest fabric collection. What a nice guy!

And last, but certainly not least, I visited for a while with the dynamic duo of Kim and Kris of YouCanMakeThis and The DIY Dish fame.

While we were chatting it up, Lizzy House showed up and we couldn't resist taking this The View-esque photo... haha

Yes, we were discussing very important matters... can't you tell?

Well, I guess for not having my camera with me I didn't do too shabby of a job of documenting the show, eh? Thanks for coming along with me on this crazy ride... especially to all of you out there who kept me virtual company while I spent much-longer-than-I-wanted-to in airports last week. (that's what I get for flying out on Hurricane day!)

OK, one more and then I'll go. I leave you with a sweet pic of me and my booth mates. I love these gals!! (photo courtesy of Trenna Travis Studio)

Stay tuned for GenerationQ magazine info and giveaway... coming shortly!

Spring 2012 Quilt Market Recap

Yes, I know it's been almost a full month since we went down to Quilt Market in Kansas City but I've been a bit preoccupied with too many things to count. This was my 9th Quilt Market attending (my 8th exhibiting) and I've finally learned the secret to it all: Get Help and Have Fun! I can't lie and tell you that doing these type of shows is not a hair-splitting, brain-aching, back-breaking experience, but this time I was determined to change that. And yes, I still stressed over all my public appearances, because after all these years, I still haven't gotten over my stage fright.  So, between schoolhouse and 3 book-signings I got so many butterflies in my tummy I could've just floated away... but I survived, I had fun, and I'm here to tell all about it.

Our booth this Spring was all about Heaven & Helsinki and Sewing MODKID Style. We started building this booth literally months ago at our studio. Our walls went up before Spring Break. We chose this purple hue called Robes For the Queen (from the Disney by Behr collection at Home Depot, which they just discontinued, sadly) because it was the perfect match to the darkest purple in Heaven & Helsinki. Soon enough, we were filling our booth up with fabric-covered goodness.



There were a dozen kites, some suspended above us, others perched on the outer wall. We had a wonderful quilt, made again by members of the Central Illinois Modern Quilt Guild, then finished, quilted and bound by the über-talented Betty Woodruff, who also concepted the original design based on my Fair Isle print.

We had these larger than life banners facing the main aisle that showcased photos from our MODKID Fashion Show video, which we also played on a flat screen TV in the booth...



We had plenty of sewn samples, some on dress forms and some on hangers, along with pillows and fabric-covered chairs...



A wall of framed fabric swatches formed a nice colorful border around Lars, who was the main attraction apparently...



We brought some help along with us this time, so here are Emalee (left) and Jessica (right) on the last day of the show, right before tear down. We seriously couldn't have done all of this without their help and positive dispositions.



And since my mission was to have fun, I couldn't leave the show without capturing this silly shot of Team MODKID!



Now, I mustache you... what do you think of our booth?

To everyone who hiked all the way to the far end of the convention center to see us, I want to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! It's always so nice to see familiar faces and meet new friends. xoxo

Evolution of Lars

(and a book winner!)

I have a super fun project to share with you guys today as we head out to Quilt Market, but first, I need to announce the winner of the Sewing MODKID Style book copy. Thank you all for your lovely comments and for following along with the tour. Random.org chose comment #15, which is.... drum roll please...

VickiT 4:14 PM, who said:

I cannot wait to see Heaven & Helsinki Patty. Of course, I'm still in LOVE with Lush. I am still hoping to buy some of that gorgeousness this month.

Anyway the first thing I would love to try making from your book when I get my copy (hopefully one I will win) would be the Yoga Pants and also the Bloom dress. I might even attempt making a shortened version of the Bloom dress as a shirt to go with the Yoga Pants.

Congrats, Vicki!!! Please email your address to info@modkidboutique.com and Wiley will send you a copy of my book right away!

So, who is this Lars character, you ask? Well, he's nothing less than our Heaven & Helsinki booth mascot! We are so in love with him... we've even joked about buying a crate for him to travel down to Kansas City and putting a leash on him, water bowl, treats, etc.

He started out when I spotted him at our local Neighborhood Thrift while Jon, Emalee and I were shopping for Mid-Century Modern furniture for our booth.

He was made of resin or something, not quite sure, but we all knew he'd be perfect (with a few minor alterations)!

We spray-painted his antlers, hooves and nose.

Then we spray-painted it again and again and again until he had full coverage (boy, that hot pink color is hard to cover!)

Next, the girls took our hundreds of Heaven & Helsinki scraps and Mod Podged him. Oh, the fun they had! I did learn a valuable lesson that day: always put my hair up in a bun when working with Mod Podge! My hair is so long now that even with a ponytail on, I couldn't keep it from dipping into the glue pan and splattering everywhere.... niiiice!

Anyway, after he was completely covered in scraps, we let him dry overnight. The following day, I blinged his eyes... each eye has about 25 rhinestones! Yes, Lars is quite in touch with his feminine side, wouldn't you say?

A couple coats of Polyurethane Spray to make him nice and shiny, and VOILA!

If you'll be at Quilt Market this week, come meet Lars at our booth (Booth #3024-26) and take away one of our catalogs ... you can't miss it!

Spring/Summer 2012 Releases

Heaven & Helsinki and 5 new patterns!

We are gearing up to exhibit at the International Quilt Market next week (May 17 - 20) in Kansas City and are just so excited to show all of our new goodies! In addition to the Sewing MODKID Style book and the Andalucia reprint, we are also showcasing a brand new fabric collection and five brand new sewing patterns! So without much further ado, let's get started...

My newest collection for Michael Miller Fabrics is titled Heaven & Helsinki:



As the name and logo imply, it is a Scandinavian collection with a nod to Mid Century Modern design. Those two things, by the way, have been an obsession of mine for most of my life. I grew up in a very "Mod" home designed by my own father, who at one point studied under a pupil of Frank Lloyd Wright's. The furnishings and décor in my childhood home were also very "Mid-Century Modern"in style... we had a Danish dining room table and some pretty funky Mod lamps throughout the house. I clearly remember our family room sofa, low profile, straight lines and with that wide wooden frame around the cushions, a style typical of Scandinavian design.

So I drew inspiration from all of this plus from some of my current furniture pieces and décor, and sprinkled in some current trends in fashion and design, to bring to you this collection, which makes my heart go pitter-patter every time I gaze upon it.

The collection is made up of 31 prints, divided into two colorways, Retro and Metro, printed on premium quality quilting cotton.





We have had a blast creating pieces with these prints and I simply cannot wait to show these off...



Let's begin with the garments, which are always my favorite part. Here you see from left to right: a Gretchen dress, a Julia skirt with a piece of fabric wrapped around the torso (for lack of time to make another top), a Hannah 2-pc short set (new Summer pattern), a Natalie & Nate girl romper, and finally an adorable Claudia dress (another Summer 2012 pattern).



Here are some close ups. Don't you just love those Puffy Birds?!



The little houses, which I call City Block, are so fun to use for borders and skirting like this...



And of course, we have Tulips galore!!!



Check out this chair Emalee covered in my Loves Me Not (Metro) fabric. The pillows are from our newest mini-pattern...



Of course, my mom has made some AMAZING purses for us to take to Market. That woman never ceases to amaze me! Check these out!! We will be making patterns for future releases out of these, for sure!



Here are a couple of close-ups...





We also made an AWESOME quilt, of which I'm only showing you a tiny portion, because it really deserves a post all its own. It involves the Central Illinois Modern Quilt Guild again.... you guys are gonna LOVE this one!!



Finally, we will have 5 new patterns at Quilt Market, and these are so new they're not even up on our site yet. You are seeing these here first! :) And I promise to do a full write up of each of these when I return from Market.

CLAUDIA
Claudia is a sweet dress with a paper-bag-style skirt, a Peter Pan collar and side-seam rounded pockets. The pattern includes options for 3 sleeve lengths, all with ruffled trims, plus a long sash-style belt. Zipper closure at center back for easy dressing. Mix and match designer fabrics for a boutique look! Sizes 2T - 10 (Girls)



HANNAH
Hannah is a set of adorable flat-fronted shorts and capri pants with inset pockets, contrast cuffs and a flared hem reminiscent of nautical sailing pants. Pair them up with our easy-to-sew Carefree Cropped Top and she will be the cutest girl at her next beach or pool party.  Sizes 2T - 10 (Girls)


MORGAN
Morgan is a playful, color-blocked dress with a very Mod style for knit fabrics only. It features side inset pockets, a contrast hem band and inverted box pleats in the center front and back. Mix and match designer fabrics for a boutique look! Sizes 2T - 10 (Girls)



MINI-ADDISON
Here by popular demand!!! Dolly version of our very popular Addison dress, with the same vintage style as the girl's version. For 18" and 15" dolls.



NORDIC SNOWFLAKE PILLOW
Our newest "LITE" pattern! Pieced and quilted pillow cover. Fits any standard 18" square pillow form.



So there you have it! There is one more reveal (for the Heaven & Helsinki knits) coming up next Friday, the 18th, but I would LOVE to hear what you guys think of the new goodies! And for those of you attending Quilt Market next week, here is the schedule of events again:

Thursday, May 17:

Schoolhouse at 12:45 - 1:15 p.m., Room 2503B

We will preview all the new fabrics and patterns,
then show a MODKID Fashion Show video (first time ever shown!)

4 books will be given away at the end, courtesy of Wiley,

and EVERY attendee will receive a free pattern from our Summer 2012 line!

Friday, May 18:

Book signing at 11:00 a.m. at the MODKID booth, Booth #3024-26

The first 20 books are free, so be sure to get there on time.
After that, books will be available for purchase at wholesale price.

Saturday, May 19:

Book Signing at United Notions, 3:00 p.m., Booth #110-117

Sunday, May 20:

Book Signing at Brewer, 11:15 a.m., Booth #2824-2833