Minneapolis Spring Market Part 1

WELCOME TO MINNEAPOLIS

 I found this photo online and it is a beautiful and

artistic shot of a wonderful city!

So after MONTHS of working hard designing, quilting, writing, editing, photographing, packaging, and packing, the day finally arrives:)

Here is my booth, with sign, showing me the way to my home away from home for the next few days!  You can see the many booths beyond me....

 To the right, Bird Brain Designs and one of the fabric companies.

To the left, Quilting (magazines, etc.) and of course you can see the Giant NORTHCOTT box in front of us:)

Our entry to quilting magic!

Above and Below, NESTLINGS by Robin displaying all new baby quilt designs including spring frogs and baby bottle rockets.  In addition to babies, we have a new BOM of shoes...one for every month.

GET PUMPED buttons to spread the word about the most comfortable shoes you will ever own:)
This group of booth mates should look familiar to you by now.  Have friends will travel and they actually like to be near me too:)
Go figure...We try to be near one another at Market since we usually travel alone and may have to go to the bathroom at some point!  (NO, I don't mean we need other women to come to the bathroom with us:) 

Meet Susan Marth of Suzn Quilts.  Her booth bloomed in Dresden Plates this year. I know we shouldn't covet but, oh man do I want that quilt directly behind her!  I may have to make one in Red for myself:)

Here is Celine Perkins of Perkins Dry Goods.  She has a fun way of using traditional designs and making them her own.  Look at how cute that Christmas pattern on the table is...reminds me of Christmas Crackers.

Susan Knapp of The Quilt Branch with her booth mate Karen. Some really neat designs going on over here including a bag so big you can pack for days in it!  Who doesn't need one of those??

Have you met Cheryl?  THE Cheryl Sleboda!  She stopped by and she is too cute which matches her web name: Muppin:))))

When in Minneapolis......We had the opportunity to eat at a local landmark that will unfortunately be closing: Nye's Polonaise   Wow, the whole atmosphere takes you back including these cool glass lamps.  Delicious food too.  I had a polish soup that was so comforting that I could have eaten a whole pot!

I hope you enjoyed Part 1...stay tuned for part 2:)

HIDDEN STITCHES challenge and TO MARKET:)

After long months of crazy creativity, frustration, excitement, and pure joy at finishing in time; the Hidden Stitches 2013 Paint Chip Challenge is revealed. OH, and I am going to Spring Market:)

 

Funny how the feelings are the same. I have been working feverishly to get my Market samples completed, written, tested, photographed, printed, folded and packaged.  The time is now as I fly out on Wednesday for Portland, Oregon where I will meet new shop owners and see old friends!  When I get home, you will get your own private show here so check back after June 1st.

 

In the meantime I leave you with the amazing creativity of my sweet guild friends!

 

As to our challenge, I believe we had 6 months to decide what to do with the paint chips we were blindly given.  The size was no more than 100" (all four sides added together) and you had to use the chip colors as your primary focus.

I brought my racks and drapes so we could hang them all for voting.  They are all so different!

 

Laura Raczek

Mary Lou Wechter, Winner of Best Design.

There was a lot of discussion about Mary Lou's because the left side is all 3D woven and the flowers are 3D as well.

Marva Gurley, winner of Most Whimsical

This is my Mango Mambo.  Not only do I love the color of Mangoes but since moving to FL. I actually like the flavor too.  The little orange ones are delicious!! The pic below is it hanging in my home and you can see the quilting a bit better too.

Brenda Grampass

Lynn Tinley

Mary Ann Braithwaite, winner of Best Use of Color

We were all very impressed with how she used colors that all of us would have cried over!

Diane Dormer

Carol Flomp

Liz Mann

                                                

Lynn Woods

Pat Osinga

Bernice Frederick

Karen Barrie

Barbara Leonard

I am so impressed with how creative they all were with what colors they had.  There were some color selections that would have driven me over the edge:) but they were able to make something wonderful!
Until June....

Kansas City Spring Market 2012

Spring Market has come and gone...what a whirlwind!

This is one of the many fountains in KC.  The city is known for its beautiful fountains and only Rome, Italy has more. 

Here is the NESTLINGS booth and new designs are on my website ready for ordering:)  I really didn't get to leave my booth much over the 3 day market.  First thing in the morning before opening, I walked a bit of the floor and saw a lot of kids patterns and fabrics, bright colors, and supposedly we are trending back towards solids.  They aren't my personal favorite since I really like tonals that add a bit of texture and depth to my designing.  What do you think?

                                         BOOTH MATES

Perkins Dry Goods and my sweet friend Celine.



Suzn Quilts with my dear friend Susan and her daughter Chloe.

The ever energized Susan and Mary Jane of the Quilt Branch.

Our hotel room overlooked the KC Royals stadium and
one night we were treated to a fireworks show.  The city is beautiful and I would recommend a stop there if you are ever out that way.
In the meantime, keep quilting.

Other Market Meetings

While at Market this year I had the pleasure of attending 2 demos. The first was done by Lura Schwarz Smith, author of Secrets of Digital Quilting-From Camera to Quilt. She does beautiful work and the tips for creating depth along with using your printer were very accessible.My second demo was from Ruth Chandler and Liz Kettle, two of the authors of Fabric Embellishing-Basics and Beyond. They showed lots of fun creative ways to texturize your work.

Then there is Jane Davila! I am not sure what I could say that probably hasn't already been said about Jane (sweet, funny, sharing). I have been taking her online marketing class--my first online class. I already knew about 60% of the information but her comprehensive layout of everything has been so helpful as reinforcement that I am going in the right direction. Her dedication to making sure we all got what we needed out of the class was priceless.Fortunately her schedule allowed for us to go to lunch along with her lovely daughter and helper extraordinaire:) Every working mom should be so fortunate! We sat and chatted about all sorts of things and the pleasure was all mine. In the internet world we rarely get to meet the people that we develop relationships with, so this was a treat. For that reason alone I would recommend a Market trip and once you are there, the reasons to be there will grow by leaps and bounds. What better way to have your thumb on the pulse of our industry?

I am cautious taking classes at Market since I know that most of the material is only aimed at Quilt shop owners. Although I wish they focused more on the large population of designers that also make up this industry, if you are clever enough you can adapt a lot of the information to your needs in your business.

Meet Charlotte Angotti....quilter, teacher, stand-up comedienne!!
Almost 2 hours of non-stop hilarious stories about owning a shop, teaching classes and how to improve the classes you are teaching at your shop using natural progression for beginners to keep them intrigued and coming back. Great information no matter who you are. I am not a shop owner but I do teach classes and honestly the biggest thing Charlotte does to keep people coming back has nothing to do with quilting:) I don't need a class in quilting but I would take one of hers just to hang out with her! Her personality is her biggest selling point and I can ADAPT THAT to my business. I felt my $20 was well spent as I watched her work the room. I realized that I too have that capability but I don't utilize it enough.....stupid being 'overly professional' wins out. Don't get me wrong, professionalism is paramount but does not have to exclude having fun and being myself more, right? So take the classes but learn to read between the lines.

Meet Leigh Layton in fabric form.... Can't you learn a lot about a person through their art? I learned that Leigh has a wonderful sense of humor and loves to play with words. There were plenty of beautiful quilts at Market and this one just tickled my funny bone:) Do you see what I see?

The parting shot for this post is from one of the quilt shops we visited while in Minneapolis. Susan and Celine shopping and above them a quilt from our friends at The Quilt Branch...it was like they were with us in spirit:)

Meet Susan Knapp & Mary Jane Mattingly, aka

The Quilt Branch.

Aren't they adorable? Don't let their size fool you...these two have personalities and hearts larger than life! It was a real pleasure getting to know them better and see their work in person. Here their booth displays beautiful quilts from their new book in the "Six Halves Make a Whole" series along with a new ruler. Below is the sweet signage that hung from either corner of their booth. I know this is mischievous but I really wanted to push that mini quilt every time I looked at it so it would appear to sway in the breeze:)
This last picture shows the booth neighbors and workers: (left to right) The Quilt Branch, Suzn Quilts, and Perkins Dry Goods.

Susan and Celine's helper, Molly

Not only were the women of these 3 posts booth neighbors but we were all living together for 5 days and oh the laughs we had. It says a lot about the character of all that not a rough patch was had in that time. We were there to support and take care of each other and we did! I was even able to lend a hand because the coffee was made in time for me to be human:) Thank you!

Market always amazes me and whether you like art quilts or traditional quilts, there is something to spark your interest. We laughed about being surrounded by all this beauty for 3-4 days and once they announce it is over the whole room changes in a matter of minutes just like Cinderella when the clock strikes midnight. It is a sight to behold and all that hard work is bearable (dare I say fun) when you are surrounded by caring people there to help one another.