Work

Don't let all the pretty pictures fool you, Quilt Market is work.

If you are setting up, staffing, or hosting a booth it takes a lot of work to plan, build, and staff that booth. It isn't all pretty stuff and chit chat with friends old and new. It's a lot of water, standing on your feet and sell, sell, sell.

If you are shopping for a store it is days of A LOT of walking, digging, spying, and appointments. All while keeping your customers and trends in mind.

If you are simply "walking the floor" it isn't just about looking for pretty things and scoring a conversation with a designer you adore. It is about selling yourself, your own product - whether that be your design skills, your book, your patterns, your event, you.

This isn't to say that it isn't fun and there aren't a lot of great, giggly conversations with people you've always wanted to meet. There is the excitement of meeting a designer who makes fabric you love to work with or catching up with your publisher (that you've never met in person before). Then there are the dinners and parties where you might get to talk about your kids a little, but you are still plotting and planning your next steps, literally at Market and after. Then, of course, there are all the pretty things.

It's work, and don't let the pictures fool you.

Network

Network

64'' by 68''

This is what a whole pile of half square triangles can turn into when you work really hard. Really hard. I'm not going to lie. That's a whole lot of HSTs in a not that large size (4.5'') that had to be trimmed down. And that layout doesn't exactly come naturally. But, oh, are the results worth it!

Network started with a pile of fabric coming from Traditional Pastimes shared with Amanda Jean. (For the record, I don't think Amanda Jean has had a chance to do anything with hers.) On my flight to Wisconsin I sketched out ideas but none of them became this. I even played with a whole bunch of layouts before naturally settling on the most difficult one.

The whole thing is quilted with an exaggerated zig zag in a light turquoise thread. It adds a good texture and was easier than outlining the network itself. A simple pieced back for fun. After the battle with getting the top to work just so I needed to make the rest of it easier.

All the effort and love were worth it. Network was given to my husband's best friend as a wedding present. This is the guy that married us, he was our agent when we bought our first house, and he was in business with Hubby for years. All the guy needs to do is deliver this baby and he's infiltrated every aspect of our lives!

When I asked Hubby what we were going to get this guy for his wedding his first answer was a quilt. Um, sure, I've got no problem with that, but how could he justify it? Was he going to sit and sew with me? For the record, he has done that before, but this time his answer was, "My name gets to go on the label because I paid for the fabric." Well, thank-you Bernadette because that excuse didn't work! So he helped with the layout of the top, basted it with me (while making watch Machete to counter effect the whole domestic thing), and graciously took pictures. An effort deserving of his name on the label.

And the recipients? They were married in a mountain meadow in July. It was gorgeousness all around. The quilt lives with them now, adding some colour and warmth to their new suburban house. And I couldn't be happier to have shared this effort and all our days with them.

November 1

It's hard to get any work done when the dining room table/desk looks like this.

It's the day after Halloween and the day after I returned from Quilt Market in Houston. I want to share a lot about Market, but I'll save that for another post. Today, it is recovery day, clean-up day, follow-up day, and try not to eat all the Reese Peanut Butter Cups day.

(My tiger and leopard. Tiger costume courtesy of some fake fur and even some sewing by my husband. That sewing which required me sitting on the Market floor walking him through threading my sewing machine from Houston. And she's a real tiger, thank-you very much, not Tigger.)

Scrap Splatter Done

Scrap Splatter 2011

30'' by 30''

There is no other name for it.

I did think about, quite literally splattering the little squares across the quilt top, much like my little one did across the dining room table. Then I sat down to sketch. And my girls sat down with me. Instead of family portraits The Monster asked if she could sketch quilts too. Together, her and I came up with this design.

In the interest of the challenge I used the Kona white I had, added a few other scraps (in solids only), and used a batting scrap. It's a poly blend batting, not my favourite, but it was what I had around in the right size. Because I like to be different I did the quilting in turquoise, not white. Goes well with the binding, doesn't it?

Soon enough it will become a little playmat for the neighbour's brand new baby. If it doesn't get stolen by a certain baby loving child of mine.