We started Friday night with Sample Spree—it’s an opportunity for quilt store owners and their staffs to purchase products before the show opens. It’s always a crazy time with people lining up several hours before the doors open.

Sample Spree, doors just opened

Sample Spree

Before it got too crowded, I had a chance to see a couple of our designers.

Lynette Anderson

Lynette Anderson has had blocks in 100 Blocks, volumes 1, 3 and 4. Check out the cute slippers she’s holding!

Karla and Lisa of Sweetwater

Karla Eisenach of Sweetwater had a block in 100 Blocks, volume 1. See that face poking out behind Lisa? That’s Michael, Edyta Sitar‘s husband getting into the act.

Market started on Saturday. At the George Brown Convention Center, there were 23 aisles filled with designers, fabric companies, notions companies and more, all promoting their newest products. Here are a few of the designers I visited with.

Julie Herman and me

Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts stopped by our booth. She’s had quilts in a couple of regular issues of Quiltmaker, plus blocks in 100 Blocks, volumes 2 and 3.

Celine Perkins and Susan Knapp

Celine Perkins of Perkins Dry Goods has been in a regular issue of Quiltmaker. Both she and Susan Knapp have had blocks in 100 Blocks.

Susan Marth

Susan Marth has had blocks in 100 Blocks, volumes 2, 3 and 4.

Sue Daley

Sue Daley had a block in 100 Blocks, volume 2.

Robin Koehler

Robin Koehler had a block in 100 Blocks, volume 2.

Sue Marsh

Sue Marsh of Whistlepig Creek has been in several issues of Quiltmaker and has had blocks in 100 Blocks, volumes 1 and 4.

Arlene Stamper and Melissa Harris

Arlene Stamper and Melissa Harris have had blocks in 100 Blocks, volumes 2 and 3.

Debbie Caffrey

Debbie Caffrey designed our 2011 mystery quilt Secret Window and had a block in 100 Blocks, volume 3. And, yes, that’s a spider on her head. It was Halloween after all!

Jo Morton

Jo Morton has been in several regular issues of Quiltmaker and had blocks in 100 Blocks, volumes 2 and 4.

Chris Hoover

Chris Hoover of Whirligig Designs has had blocks in 100 Blocks, volumes 1 and 4.

Thomas Knauer

Thomas Knauer designs fabric for Andover and we’ll be featuring his newest collection, Pear Tree, in a quilt in our March/April ’12 issue.

Judy Martin

This is Judy Martin, block and quilt designer extraordinaire. Did you know that Judy has designed well over 900 blocks and quilts and that years ago, she used to work for Quiltmaker and our sister publication Quilter’s Newsletter? We had a wonderful dinner with Judy and her husband Steve one night. You’ll be seeing more from Judy in upcoming issues of Quiltmaker and 100 Blocks.

Whew! That’s a lot, and it doesn’t cover half of who I saw at market. You’ll be seeing more from these designers and many others in future issues of Quiltmaker, as we work hard to keep great quilt ideas coming your way!

Anita Grossman Solomon at The City Quilter - "Cut It, Sew It, Love It" Class

I love her simplified techniques for making blocks. I’ve made all 3 of her patterns that we’ve published in the last few years, Super-Sized Nine Patch in May/June ’06, Anita’s Arrowhead in Nov/Dec ’10 (digital issue available)

Anita's Arrowhead

and most recently Super-Sized Square-on-Point in Sept/Oct ’11.

Super-Sized Square-on-Point

I thought it might be fun to ask Anita a few questions about her techniques and “stuff” in general.

You have such a knack for simplifying traditional patterns. How did that come to be? When I taught quiltmaking at New York State’s Riverbank Park Cultural Center, I created techniques to make quilt block construction more manageable for students with limited eyesight or hand coordination.

How do you determine which blocks can be simplified? They all have been classic pieced blocks that have held my interest for years. Some ideas, such as Make It Simpler Paper Piecing, were instantaneous while others took years. Anita’s Arrowhead is an example of one that took years! I had to eliminate the paper-pieced version from my Perfect Blocks in Minutes book due to space. I kept that block in view for years. One day I looked at it, did a double-take and Anita’s Arrowhead came into being.

What is your process? Sometimes ideas just seem to happen. Twice I did deliberately set out to simplify blocks—the Square-on-Point and Pineapple are 2 such blocks. Other blocks evolve over time. I had collected over one thousand 6″ charm squares from online swaps and wanted to make a Square-on-Point without wasting any parts of the charm squares. I worked with paper samples I generated from Electric Quilt software to finally come up with the formula.

I like the fact that quilts constructed using my methods don’t look like “Anita” quilts. I only supply a tool, not the “look.”

Have you tried to simplify any blocks that just didn’t work? There is a triangle thing that I worked on years ago that continues to haunt me. It lives in a box in my studio. Its outside is all bias. It’s fun to sew, but I can’t accept the bias. I hope the day will come when I’ll look at it and resolve it to my satisfaction.

What do you like best about living in New York City? It pulsates; I feed off its energy. I’m inspired with every step I take. I don’t find inspiration; it just hits me over the head!

What’s next on your quilting horizon? While I have no expectation of ever using up all of my fabric, I do want to put a dent into the ideas and projects I’ve stored away. So, I’m unearthing them between teaching jobs.

What else would you like to share with our readers? I have a new product I’d love for them to try—Make It Simpler Fusible Interfacing. It will remedy stretchy edges of a quilt as well as stabilize blocks, such as a Super-Sized Square-on-Point, for off-grain cuts. It’s handy to store because it comes on a roll.

Leave a comment by noon mountain time on Friday, 8/26. I’ll randomly select one person to receive a giveaway of leftover blocks and fabric squares from one of my color options for Anita’s Super-Sized Square-on-Point.

Congratulations to Heather for her comment. An email has been sent to her for her address.

unit 7

Block X

Block Y

We thought you might enjoy learning a little more about Debbie as well. Here are some questions I asked her:

1. You’ve designed around 200 mystery quilts. What led you in that direction? Linda Liebeg, the owner of the shop in Anchorage, Alaska that I was teaching in during the early ’90s, urged me to design and teach mystery quilts. Judy Hopkins taught mainly mystery classes at a shop in the opposite corner of town. We were friends, and there was no competition—only support and admiration for what each other did.
2. What’s the process you go through designing mystery quilts? First comes the inspiration. It can be a technique, a traditional block, a unit, a shape, a tool, etc. Then, I draw on the computer using the drawing tools in Word. (All of my books, patterns, and handouts are drawn in Word. I do not use any other drawing program.) I duplicate, rotate, add other units like sashing, alternate blocks, pieced borders. Then, I begin to erase seam lines, consider simpler, more mysterious, efficient ways of cutting and piecing the pattern. All of this is done in black and white. Fabric is the last part of the process. Any color scheme works. It is all about the value and contrast. In the same class I can have people working with patriotic, juvenile brights, Christmas, reproduction, autumn—and they are all gorgeous.
3. What do you mean when you refer to “power cutting?” Power Cutting is a fast, efficient and ergonomic approach to rotary cutting. It is a collection of cutting techniques that allows quilters to choose the one that is best for the task at hand. Learning to cut efficiently and to select the proper methods for construction is the foundation of power cutting. (As you know, cutting is embedded within the quiltmaking process.)
   
4. What are “worms?” A worm is a strip of fabric 2-1/2″ wide, cut across the width of the fabric, making it approximately 40″ long with selvages on each of the short ends. I found that 2-1/2″ wide strips were very functional to stash. In 2000 I released my book, Open a Can of Worms. It was a best seller and in some distributors’ top five for more than a year. It is now in its seventh printing, and continues to sell well 11 years later. In 2005, while writing Another Can of Worms, I spoke to many fabric companies at Fall Quilt Market about my idea that they should sell precut “worms.” Most of them listened politely, but did nothing. Moda wanted to hear more, and a year later they debuted their “Jelly Rolls.” Since then, other fabric companies have played catch up.
   
5. What do you like to do when you’re not quilting? Cook and eat.
   
6. What’s your favorite non-quilting book? The Harry Potter series.

Salt Lake Temple

The temple itself is a magnificent building that took over 40 years to build. The grounds around the buildings were immaculate and the flowers were in full bloom.

Tulip garden

There were tulips in all colors and sizes as well as petunias, pansies and other colorful flowers.

More tulips

And more tulips

I could have spent the day there admiring the beauty! But I headed inside to begin the work day! Here are some of the designers I visited with.

Bonnie Sullivan and Monique Dillard

Bonnie had a block in 100 Blocks, vol. 1 and Monique has had blocks in all 3 so far. Their booths were next to each other.

Monique Dillard

Monique “borrowed” her quilt that she had made for the vol. 3 gallery back to show in her booth. It will be part of a gallery exhibit here in our Golden, CO offices this summer.

Eleanor Burns

Eleanor had a block in vol. 1 and will have one in a future issue of 100 Blocks.

Konda Luckau

Konda has a block in vol. 3.

Barbara Groves and Mary Jacobson

Barb and Mary, the two sisters behind Me and My Sister Designs, had blocks in vol. 2 and vol. 3. These two are such a hoot! It took three tries to get a picture of them where they were both smiling and not making funny faces!

Doug Leko

Doug had a block in vol. 2 and a quilt, Rhapsody in Bloom, in the March/April ’11 issue of Quiltmaker. Doug is an amazing young designer who has already been quilting for quite a few years.

Pam Vieira-McGinnis

The delightful Pam Kitty Morning has had blocks in all 3 volumes of 100 Blocks.

Carol Hopkins

Carol had a block in vol. 2, and you’ll be able to see another of her wonderful designs in one of our fall issues.

Amanda Murphy

Amanda has a block in vol. 3 as well as a quilt, Cafe Mocha, in the March/April ’11 issue of Quiltmaker. Find more of her wonderful work in the July/August ’11 issue of Quiltmaker and future issues of 100 Blocks. Amanda also designs fabric for Robert Kaufman.

Julie Herman

Julie had a block in vol. 2 and vol. 3. She also had quilts in a couple of our regular issues—Cornflower Fields in the March/April ’10 issue and Raspberry Dessert in the May/June ’11 issue. This was her first booth at Quilt Market.

Lynette Anderson

Lynette had blocks in vol. 1 and vol. 3. You’ll see more from Lynette in future issues.

Marcia Derse

Marcia designs fabric for Troy Corporation. We love her fabric and have used it in patterns for Quiltmaker.

Alllison Harris

Read about Allison in her blog Cluck. Cluck. Sew. We’ll be working with Allison and some of her designs in future issues of Quiltmaker.

Market was fun and exhausting. We found new designers, new fabric and new notions that we’ll be sharing with you in future issues of Quiltmaker.

Thursday night was Sample Spree, or what I like to refer to as the buying frenzy! Different companies set up tables with their products, selling items at reduced costs. The lines to get in start forming hours before the doors open. And when the doors open, watch out! We were able to get in a  few minutes early to take some pictures. Many of our 100 Blocks designers had tables at Sample Spree.

Sample Spree before the doors opened.

Deanne Eisenman, Snuggles Quilts, at Sample Spree

Sue Daley, Patchwork with Busyfingers, at Sample Spree

Debbie Field, Granola Girl Designs, at Sample Spree

Pam Buda, Heartspun Quilts, at Sample Spree

And then the doors opened. I’ll apologize now for the blurriness of some of the photos. People came running in and it was hard to focus!!

Whew! It was a madhouse. But the stores found lots of good deals to bring home for their customers!

Come back tomorrow, and I’ll share pictures from Salt Lake City and some of the designers I talked to on the show floor.

QM's newest Associate Editor, Paula Stoddard

We discovered Paula at a local quilt guild meeting and quickly determined she’d be a good fit for QM. Paula is one of our Associate Editors. I asked her a few questions recently.

Please tell us about your background in sewing, quilting and creativity:

I started quilting when I was pregnant with my youngest child, about 17 years ago. I took a few classes and quickly discovered that I liked making traditional quilts. Eventually I started tweaking patterns to fit my style.

Paula's quilt pattern on a Connecting Threads cover

I went to work for the Connecting Threads retail store, which led to longarm quilting, then designing. I started designing for real, and settled in with publishing quilt patterns and books for my own company, Pacific Patchwork. It was the perfect job for me while I was raising my family.

Paula's children some years back

Paula's kids more recently

What are some of your favorite fibers?

I’ve tried lots of different fibers – beads, bling, painting, etc., but I keep coming back to cottons, flannels and wool. I like adding buttons and beads to my quilts, but making artsy quilts is just not my thing—although I love looking at them. I just like warm and cozy quilts you can put on beds and snuggle under. I am addicted to embroidery floss.

Paula's stash of embroidery floss in various fibers

Here’s my block from Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks. I used cottons but it could easily be interpreted with wool applique.

Paula's block, "Flowers for Ewe," from QM's 100 Blocks Volume 2

How did your love affair with wool begin?

I had a friend who designed with wool and I fell in love with it. She is a big believer in all wool quilts—appliqueing wool on wool. But I found out that those quilts are really heavy and really expensive to make!

"Seasons" is a free pattern at Pacific Patchwork

So I started playing around with wool applique on flannel and cotton, and found I just love it.

The whimsy and fun that wool can add to a quilt is awesome. Wool colors and textures are just yummy, and I find a way to add wool to most of my quilts.

Describe your design process:

Sometimes I see something that sparks my interest—a picture, a tile floor, an interesting shape or image in a magazine, and I start doodling on the computer—I can’t draw with a pencil at all!  But, the start of most of my quilts comes from a quilt block that I find that I want to play with.

"Love is..." is a free pattern at Pacific Patchwork.

It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but my favorite bedtime reading material is block books. I think I have every block book that was ever written and they are all in a pile by my bed. I fall asleep thinking about blocks, how I can tweak them, turn them, stretch them, and add something with them to make a quilt. Often by the time I wake up in the morning I have an idea that I can start playing with.

What was the best idea you ever had?

Probably my “Here a Sheep, There a Sheep” quilt. It’s my best seller by far, and I still get emails and comments about it at quilt shows. And it’s my favorite quilt too. It started my whole “sheep thing.”

Any thoughts about going to work for Quiltmaker?

I am really excited to work for Quiltmaker. It’s like a dream job. I love the people that I work with, and the projects that we are working on, but most of all I love learning something new every day. I feel really lucky.

I understand you have some pets you’re really crazy about.

Yes I do! I have two Boston terriers. Oreo is 11 and he is the grumpy grandpa. Sami is 3 and he wants nothing more than to play with the grumpy grandpa.

I’m totally gaga over them. They are great snugglers and are happiest when they are each laying on either side of me under a quilt. They are so cute I can hardly stand it and I LOVE THEM.

Many readers are finding the cover quilt on our Jan/Feb issue to be very attractive. It’s a beauty! I wanted to share a few thoughts from the designer of the fabric featured in that quilt. Marianne Elizabeth designs for RJR Fabrics and the fabric line is called Jasmine. She took time to answer my questions below.

Q: What are several design tools you couldn’t live without?

A: Chocolate,  my camera, music via Sirius Internet Radio so I can go wherever my mood takes me, my computer with programs for drawing and visualizing, and the internet, where you can find visual images for everything and anything you can imagine.

Q: What’s on your design wall right now?

A: Fabric concepts and designs for two new collections, along with a “major” quilt design for each.

Q: What life experiences have helped to shape your design skills?

A: Growing up I traveled extensively which created a visual catalog of memories of sunsets, and shorelines, and forests and parks, all with colors and flowers that speak to me. My parents always instilled a “you can do it” mentality, so I’ve always tackled things that I might not have had the “training” to do.

Working in a greenhouse and flower shop, I found such peace and tranquility. I was mesmerized by how beautiful the flowers and leaves were, and the fragrant scent of the flowers and plants. I can still smell the air on a sunny morning in the greenhouse.

Later I worked at the Pond Estate in Florida, tending flowers in the garden and growing herbs for the kitchen, arranging flowers, etc. I try to draw upon these memories to find that “ah-ha” and translate it into cloth.

During the last five years, I’ve gone thru two horrific, catastrophic traumas, each one forcing me to dig deeper to find a smile, let alone joy and happiness. Through cloth and color, I’m able to find some serenity, mindful  of creating something beautiful that will hopefully endure.

A: What would you like our readers to know about you?

First, I’d like everyone to meet my little girl, Zsu-Zsu. She’s a 2-year-old Pekingese. She came to me after a great loss. She is my constant companion. She loves to play with fabric. She has her own stash. She takes whatever scraps she can, gives them a proper “kill-shake” and piles them up in her stash, which she guards.  She’s great at leaving her fabrics all over the house, too! Everyone needs a Zsu-Zsu!

The second thing I’d like to say is I think quilting is the great equalizer. There will always be people who are better craftsman than oneself, and while I’m always trying to improve, what I’m striving for most of all is to inspire. To me it’s not about how perfect you can be but how much creativity you can inspire and how much love and joy you can share through your creations.

If a fabric or a quilt design inspires you to make something, and share it with your family and friends, I’m thrilled and I feel like I have achieved what I set out to do. If the quilt you create is loved and used by those near and dear to you, then you have accomplished something wonderful!  It’s my wish to each and all:  May All Your Quilts be Truly Loved!

Marianne Elizabeth

Jasmine Star, queen size

Read more about Marianne and her design business on her website.

Find kits for the cover quilt, Jasmine Star, in queen size or with an add-on option for a king-size.

Coin Collecting

Her quilt did make the trip, however, as it accompanied June and me and made its temporary home in the booth of Sweetwater, designers of Pure for Moda Fabrics, the fabric line used to make Coin Collecting. I understand it was quite popular there! Check out this video filmed in the Sweetwater booth. Kits are also available for Coin Collecting.

Here’s a little update from Rachel.

Hey yall.
I’ve been a busy little bee since my last post here on the quilty pleasures blog.
Busy is good, right?!?!



First things first:
We’re pregnant.
That’s right…added Baby Griffith #4 to the mix.
Things could definitely get interesting once September rolls around.

I’ve been sketching like crazy.
I realize sketching is a little ol’ school, but I rather enjoy it.
{After I sketch things I move on to cooler, more high tech methods. Promise.}

Color Me Happy

On top of sketching…I’ve been sewing like crazy.
Here’s my Color Me Happy mix & match table runners.
{Designed especially for the Moda Bake Shop}

Coin Collecting

Oh & I’ve landed myself in a certain quilt magazine.
*hint, hint*
A huge thanks to Quiltmaker for letting a young, budding designer stretch her wings.

I’m SUPER excited to share my Coin Collecting quilt with yall.
{Appearing now in the July/August issue.}

Only time can tell what’s next.
And that can be both a good & a scarey thing.
I hope yall continue to follow along with me via my blog: p.s. i quilt

Rachel

Joni Pike, Sew Special Designs

Lisa, Susan and Karla, Sweetwater

Joanna Figueroa, Fig Tree Quilts

Jo Morton

Lissa Alexander, Director of Marketing for Moda Fabrics

Carrie Nelson, Miss Rosie's Quilt Company

Kathy Brown, Teacher's Pet

Sue Marsh, Whistlepig Creek Productions

Check back tomorrow for more.

Hi I’m Vickie Eapen of Spun Sugar Quilts. I’m a full-time dentist and part-time quilt designer. I’m married and have 2 beautiful daughters, age 3 and 9. I have been sewing since I was 8 years old and quilting for over 14. I have done many crafts in the past— crochet, knitting, cross stitch, sculpting, scrapbooking and others—but I continue to come back to quilting.
I began quilting while I was in dental school. I was treating patients all day, working at the local grocery store decorating cakes and still trying to find time for crafting. At the time crochet was my favorite past time. I have since given up crochet and found quilting instead. I wanted to make miniature quilts. What I didn’t know was how much more difficult a miniature could be versus a bed-sized quilt. Simply Quilts was a big help to me. I would tape the shows and watch Alex Anderson over and over again. That is how I learned how to quilt.
Looking back, I would say my first quilt was really made when I was about 11 years old. I recently found it while going through my old doll collection.  I used fabric for batting and knit and flannel scraps that my mom had given me. It’s an item that I really cherish and hope that I will be able to pass on my love for fabric and design to my daughters someday.

Vickie's first quilt

When I began quilting again 14 years ago, I chose a Log Cabin small quilt from Little Quilts All Through the House. It has a dark blue wonky border.

Vickie's Log Cabin

I didn’t know how to cut borders or any fabric correctly.  I cut everything with scissors because I didn’t understand how to use a rotary cutter.  Thank goodness for Simply Quilts to get me in the right direction.
I have come a long way in 14 years. After all that time and all the knowledge that I have gained, I still continue to learn—learning from books, magazines, bloggers and friends. Most recently I found a notion I can’t live without. I was binding a quilt while chatting with some quilting pals and my thread knotted up.  One gal said “try Thread Heaven”, and so I did. Having bound frustrated for years, with Thread Heaven I can actually say that I don’t dread binding anymore.
Quilting and blogging has really sent me down a path that I hadn’t expected. I have been blessed with the opportunity to design on Moda Bakeshop for over a year now.

Chocolate Stars

I create tutorials for Moda Bakeshop and on my blog. Through Moda and Moda Lissa I was introduced to many amazing people in the quilting industry. And that is how I came to know and design for Quiltmaker. Sprinkle of Sunshine in Quiltmaker’s Small Quilts is my first project for the magazine and I hope there will be many more to come.

Sprinkle of Sunshine

If you’d like to read more about my designing adventures, see my newest tutorials and connect with the me check out my blog. I look forward to meeting you.