The Little Red Hen

International Quilt Market in Kansas City

Whew. I'm home from my trip to Quilt Market in Kansas City with Brenda, Anna, and Debbie. It was exhausting but lots of fun. I learned a lot and have many ideas in my head that I need to process and write out before I forget. Right now things are swimming around in my head in a blur.

We took classes, attended school house presentations, experienced the madness that is sample spree, went to the  Moda customer appreciation dinner, visited ALL of the booths, and went to the Modern Quilt guild meet up. 

(line for sample spree - This is the front of the line. We were in the way back where you can hardly see. The line went on and on after us too. Crazy.

(Brenda and Anna - plugged in and instagramming our wait in line for sample spree)

(Kona solids at sample spree)

(Alex at the aurifil table. A table piled high with Aurifil. Heaven.)

I loved meeting lots of people I know from the web. The Fat Quarterly team was just as fun in person as I had expected. Here Brenda and I are with Katy and Tacha.

And here's Tia. I wish Tia were my neighbor. I think we would have lots of fun sewing together. 

It was a great few days - everyone was really nice and I learned tons. I hope I can go again! Next time I'll have to take an extra suitcase for the return trip. I brought home twice the amount of what I took on this trip. Crazy.

I have lots to share with you but I think I'll sort it out and share in a few different posts. I'll share some of my favorite things from market and I'll also have a few book reviews later in the week. There will also be a give away so be sure to stay tuned.

Winning Wednesday

Ho, ho, ho, we picked a winner for the fat quarter bundle from Pink Castle Fabrics.

Lisa Mather said...

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Doctor.
Doctor Who?

My kids like the show.

Lisa, I'll need your address so Brenda can send you a great bundle of fabric!

Fitness Friday

I am happy to report that I have been walking every day since joining Team Quilter Butts almost two weeks ago. I even walked in triple digit heat and oppressive humidity while on vacation.

One of our vacation walks took us past the local thrift store where I scored a stack of great old patterns. I can't pass up an old apron pattern.

 

Here are two more from the stack. The pattern on the left reminds me of my mother's sister. She has always been very stylish. I don't think I'll use these but I love the pictures.

 

It's too bad I don't have a thrift store on my regular walk route at home.

Butterfly Migration

Look! The butterfly quilts had a chance to meet!

JEK's quilt, on the left, was the inspiration for my butterfly quilt on the right. I knew I had to make it as soon as I saw a picture of her quilt.

 

Isn't that a clothesline of happiness?

I am glad JEK had it with her on her trip.

goin' with the a-go-gos

We had loads of fun with the a-go-gos!

We toured the Jiffy Mix factory.

 

They really gave the big selling push for their mixes. Yes, you can buy it by the case.

 

Hairnets are required to go on the factory tour. Don't we look cute?

I wish we could have taken pictures on the factory floor. I love the old machinery and all the conveyors going from one place to another. The box building and filling stations are really fun to watch.

I enjoy being a tourist in my own town.

We went to the famous Manchester Chicken Broil. 14,000 chicken dinners in four hours. What more can we say?

 

We got some fantastic cole slaw with our meal. Apparently the recipe is heavily guarded.

 

We saw the fairy doors in Ann Arbor.

I always enjoy peeking into the fairy shop to see what's for sale. There are always a few baby teeth in the display case.

 

We picked blueberries

and hung out around the house.

 

I am so glad to have gotten the chance to meet the a-go-gos in person!

 

I hope they have a marvelous time on the rest of their journey.

I Knew They Were Coming So I Baked a Cake

The a-go-gos are on their BIG trip and have stopped here for a visit. We have had our cake and are ready to see the sights. First up - the Jiffy Tour.

Have a great day!

And The Winner Is . . .

The winner of the quilt book is Gina E. Congratulations Gina!

If you would like to purchase a copy of the book you can get one here.

Book Giveaway

The nice people at Lark Books have donated a copy of Pretty Little Mini Quilts for me to give away here on the blog!

To enter, just answer the following question in the comments of this post.

What have you made that you are most proud of?

The contest will be open until noon (eastern time) on Saturday. I'll post the winner later on Saturday.

Progress and a Nomination

We have been progressing slowly on our projects around here. The demolition part of the bathroom renovation was without incident. There is still a bit of dust and crumble that is cleaned up each day but I am happy to report that I can still work in the sewing room even without half of the ceiling. I even finished up these two doll quilts yesterday. They were a special order from a grandmother for her lucky granddaughters.

 

I hope they have fun with them.

I got some good news when I found out I was nominated for a Poppy award in the "crafters" category! Woohoo! Go check out all the other great artists and then VOTE FOR ME!! (or whoever you think deserves the award.)

Popcorn and Thank Yous

We have been enjoying family time. P has not been taking naps so much anymore but now likes when we pop a big bowl of popcorn and sit in our reading corner to read Christmas stories in the afternoon. I enjoy that quiet time too.

I also like my quiet time here, composing and sharing bits of our life that will help me remember these precious times later, when I am older and more feeble minded than I am now.

Thank you to all of you who visit and especially those who leave comments for me. I do enjoy hearing from you.

Thank you to those of you who have ordered my calendar. I am thrilled that you would want some of my photos on display all year. If you are still interested the 10% "humbug" discount code will be valid until the end of the year.

I also want to thank JEK at Scrumdilly-do and Bella Dia of The Crafty Crow for featuring P's cat bean bag tutorial. I am glad it is not just me, her mother, who thinks her little cat bags are the bee's knees.