Pittsburgh or bust! Tomorrow is the first day of the Spring 2014 International Quilt Market in Pittsburgh, PA. As a rookie, I am super excited!  This is my booth... #2052! My mom agreed to be my partner in crime on this adventure. We took off from Pine City, MN on Tuesday at noon. We drove all afternoon and evening and ended our day in Leroy, IL.   Day 2, Wednesday, saw us travelling in and out of rainy weather across Indiana, Ohio and finally to Pennsylvania! We found our hotel and collapsed.   The next morning we went in search of a Lowes for a dolly and found the convention center. It was hotter than an oven as we setup the booth. Apparently the A/C is not turned on until the afternoon before the show opens. It was 87 degrees and humid yesterday, so it was really sticky! We also went in search of the Camelot Fabrics booth and the Checker Distributors booth and dropped off quilts for display.   Keep an eye on the facebook page for posts throughout the next few days.   Tonight we get to go to the Sample Spree and buy wholesale priced fabrics and notions from a bunch of vendors. Super Excited!!! Until next week... when I detail the market experience! Jo

Market Photos Deco Ritz quilt in the Camelot Fabrics booth.

Granny Dot, the person, with Granny Dot the Quilt!

My pattern line at Checker.

Zignosis in the Checker Booth.

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My love/hate relationship... Today, May 7th, is my 20th wedding anniversary. It has been a wild ride!  2 wonderful sons, 3 dogs, 5 cats, 4 gerbils, a rat, 6 chickens and 2 major illnesses later... it is still wonderful. However, this is not the love/hate relationship in my life. That relationship is with my stitch ripper! I can hear many of you groaning right about now. The stitch ripper is one of the most useful, yet dreaded tools in any quilter's sewing box.   I used to be one of those girls who, upon making a mistake, would spend 30 minutes trying to figure out how to avoid ripping the stitches. However, 9 times out of 10 I ripped them in the end anyways! So, in an effort to make you love your stitch ripper... here are a few things to help you achieve that lofty goal: 1. Always remember that, unlike wood, if you make a little goof you have the ability to try again without tossing the whole piece. 2. Stitch rippers are CHEAP, more fabric is EXPENSIVE! 3. Think of all the time and love you are putting into your project... isn't it worth spending another 15 minutes (hours) ripping and re-sewing? 4. When all else fails and you can't get past the 'hate' feelings, name it after your favorite character in a romance novel! Off to find Enrico and spend some quality time with him, Jo

Doggie Town FQG102 What kid doesn’t love doggies?  Especially, when his tail is just waiting to be tugged…. Skill Level Advanced Beginner   Finished Sizes Baby - 32” x 46” Toddler - 43” x 61” Twin - 68” x 88”   Pattern Available Retail: Whoopsa Daisy Farm  Patterns and Kits Wholesale: Checker Distributors & The Pattern Peddlers Sometimes I wish I was still a little kid!

Time for a little nonsense...

A Chicken Biography... Buffy, the mother hen. Buffy is my favorite chicken!  She is sweet and loyal.  At the moment, she is going through a broody phase.  I fear the issue stems from the golf balls in her nest.  She is determined to see them hatch! I had better remove them or she will never give up!

Featuring my patterns and kits too!

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Pincushions, Lamp Shades and Cheese... I have decided to stretch my creative brain this week by finding a way to link three seemingly random objects together in this newsletter.   Lately, I have been thinking a lot about pincushions. My "almost Daughter", Sam, was over getting her prom dress altered when the needle I was using went awol. We looked high. We looked low. We looked in the carpet, we looked under a cow... ok, I am no Dr. Suess. Needless to say, pun totally intended, it was lost.   About a week later, my son Nick informed me that he found the needle in his foot. This brought back a lot of childhood memories of my dad's foot. He was always the poor sole, again.... pun intended, that found our lost needles.  So, I have decided to create a new line of pincushions that are slightly outside the norm.  I have 4 great ideas, 3 tacky ones and a dozen or so that are not funny enough.  Give me a few months and I'll start sharing my masterpieces! As I sit here typing, I find it is rather dark. I should reach up into the lamp shade and turn on the light. Ok, much better.   As International Quilt Market approaches, I find the to-do list is starting to shrink and the excitement is growing by leaps and bounds! I am almost completely finished binding the models for Market. My quilter, Corrine Hill, has been working her tail off getting all  of my models through the longarm quilting machine. It is like Christmas morning when a box arrives with a quilt in it from her! I give very little direction to Corrine. She has a terrific eye and I have never been disappointed. I hope you enjoy her handy work in the photos below. Forever Cheesy, Jo

Spring 2014 Market Models This quilt is sew in Moda's Bee My Honey fabric and quilted with an adorable bee hive pattern. Quilt Pattern: Tabitha The bright poppies are so beautiful and happy!  I absolutely love this quilt in this fabric!  The quilting is fun and really adds to its overall beauty! Quilt Pattern: Window Sash - Angled

Bright and bold is the name of the game for this quilt.  The large print is center stage and the quilting really gives it depth! Quilt Pattern: Window Sash - Angled The stunning fabrics chosen for this quilt are a fun combination.  The quilting is fun and lively and just makes me smile!! Quilt Pattern: Window Sash - Straight All the pictures will link you to my website's Designs page... click on over and browse around.

Camelot Fabrics asked me to design a quilt pattern to be offered free from their website.  This is a closeup of one of the blocks... to see the rest you will have to visit their site!  It is one of my favorite designs.  I originally designed it around the Nightfall collection of fabrics... but it has been adapted for the Design Studio Collection as well.  Enjoy!! Pattern: Deco Ritz  Available at: Camelot Fabrics My teenage son is a huge fan of this quilt!  It is modern and masculine in the fabrics and quilting chosen... but it doesn't have to be!!  Quilt Pattern: Streamline All Patterns are available now... Retail: Whoopsa Daisy Farm Wholesale: Checker Distributors & The Pattern Peddlers

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Facebook Pinterest Website Email Blog The top is finished... Yeah!  I finished sewing my quilt top! I'm so excited I could dance a jig... Woot! I bet you have experienced this type of euphoria? I know I have. But then I start thinking about the back and a mild depression sets in.   Ok, depression is a bit overly dramatic... let's just say the back of my quilts are often underwhelming... a little lackluster.  BORING... there I said it! We often spend so much time and energy on the beautiful quilt tops that we forget all about the back!  How unfair to all of that fantastic fabric! This year I have started a new movement in my personal studio... "Don't forget the back!" Today, I unveil my plan on the world!  Wa-ha-ha-ha... cackle, cackle.  I have just jumped to my feet stretching my arms out like a superhero/menopausal mid-flash woman and am making evil villain noises.  Admit it... you can picture the scene in your head.   Why shouldn't we embrace the back?  It doesn't have to be elaborate like the front, but there are a million ways to give it a little punch of fun. Maybe all it needs is a stripe of something left over?  How about a floating square of a contrasting fabric that pops out at you?  Remember, a person never knows when the quilt recipient decides to flip it over and show off the back... why not make it a statement as well. And, before I wrap this up with two fun ideas, don't forget to label it.  I like to add a date, my name, who I made it for, and why.  It is difficult to remember each one after 50 quilts have been created with love.  Each one is special and one day your future relatives will appreciate knowing a bit more about the love you poured into each stitch. Happy Quilting! Jo Ok, depression is a bit overly dramatic... let's just say the back of my quilts are often underwhelming... a little lackluster. BORING... there I said it! We often spend so much time and energy on the beautiful quilt tops that we forget all about the back! How unfair to all of that fantastic fabric! This year I have started a new movement in my personal studio... "Don't forget the back!" Today, I unveil my plan on the world!  Wa-ha-ha-ha... cackle, cackle. I have just jumped to my feet stretching my arms out like a superhero/menopausal woman and am making evil villain noises. Admit it... you can picture my actions in your head.   Why shouldn't we embrace the back? It doesn't have to be elaborate like the front, but there are a million ways to give it a little punch of fun. Maybe all it needs in a stripe of something left over from the front? How about a floating square of a contrasting fabric that pops out at you? Remember, a person never knows when the quilt recipient decides to flip it over and show off the back... why not make it a statement as well. And, before I wrap this up with some fun ideas, don't forget to label it. I like to add a date, my name, who I made it for, and why.  It is difficult to remember each one after 50 quilts have been created with love. Each one is special and one day your future relatives will appreciate knowing a bit more about the love you poured into each stitch. Happy Quilting! Jo

Don't Forget the Back!

Time for a little nonsense...

Stash Fun...    This week's installment of Stash Fun finds me digging in the purple bin. 1 fabric, 3 options for coordinating fabrics.  Which one do you like best???

A HUGE thank you to RJR Fabrics for supplying all of the fabric needed to sew my model quilt for "Chopped!". Look for it in the Quilters Newsletter's special publication "Best Fat Quarter Quilts 2014"!  Can't wait for you to see the finished project when it hits newsstands in October!!

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As I write this, I am stuck home after a very heavy snowfall here in MN. I love a good snowstorm, so the fact that they we received 18" in 12 hours is ok. April snow melts fast!

While I'm on the subject of snow, here are 5 reasons why a snowstorm is an excellent thing for a creative mom:

1. Shoveling is good exercise and exercise is good for the brain. Therefore, when it snows, I am smarter!

2. Not being able to leave the house means I have more time to clean it. If I clean it, I will be more inclined to be creative because the messy house won't be begging me to stop being creative and clean it.

Are you following how this all works?? Yes, good... then I continue.

3. Snow is perfectly, gloriously white. So, it removes all the distraction of color from the yard... like flowers, leaves, grass, trees, and the occasional squirrel. This, in turn, allows my mind's creative color ideas to come through.

4. If I can't get out to go shopping, then I am forced to use what is available. If I need a certain fabric and I don't have it... I have to make do. If this requires searching through my husband's favorite shirts for just the right shade of green, it's ok!

And...
5. My best ideas come to me when I sleep. A snowstorm nap is the best kind. All the pretty snow seems to calm a person and the naps are wonderful. While I'm relaxing on a beach in Florida in my dreams, fantastic quilt ideas often float to the surface.

And that is why Snowstorms = Creativity!

I'm off to shovel,
Jo

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