Quilt Market Fashion and Giveaway (Now Closed)!

In the last ten years or so we've all seen a lot more garment designs from quiltmakers.  I did a lot of garment sewing as a young woman and never really lost my love for it.  The only thing I lost was the time and effort once I began my working life.  I've had the urge to rekindle that long ago passion, too!  I thought you might like to see some of the great dresses I saw while at Market!

This reminds me of something my mother might have worn in the 40's.  Now it's been updated for our new century!

I think this dress is totally timeless.

Hmmmm....how about a patchwork wedding with that train?

I was floored when I saw this selvedge dress!  Gemma Carelton, Jodie Carleton of Ric-Rac's daughter made it!  I knew there was a reason I was saving selvedges!

How about bicycle fashion?

And look at this room!  Kind of reminds me a bit of Steam Punk and vintage mixed together!  This is a new fabric line from Tim Holtz (his first) through Coats and Clark.  Wow - Coats and Clark have come a long way since I was a very young sewer!  The line is called Eclectic Elements and I want all of it!

I was lucky enough to score 2 fat quarters of Eclectic Elements along with a Shabby Fabrics pattern, some Hillcreek Designs buttons (pattern included) and a spool of Weeks Dye Works 40 wt. quilting thread!  Leave a comment telling me if you've sewn any garments lately and I'll enter you for a chance to win all of this!  US and International commenters are welcome!

We're Having a Baby? and Sample Spree Goodies!

A while back after getting Sasha we gave some consideration to getting her a playmate.  We thought it would be good for when we're away even though we have a wonderful pet nanny who looks in on her every day, and we would also each have a lap cat! We thought if at some point another part Siamese was available it might be a good match for Sasha.

So here is Gracie May, Sasha's baby sister to be!  Isn't she adorable?  She's only about 3 weeks old in this photo and living with a foster family along with her siblings.  We get to pick her up on June 1st when she's 8 weeks old!  Other than having no white markings that we can see, she looks just like Sasha!

Sample Spree at Quilt market was quite remarkable!  The biggest line of quilters and shop owners I've ever seen were lined up outside the doors which didn't open until 8:30 pm on Thursday night.  Even though we weren't at the end of the line, much had been picked over and scooped up by the time we got in the door.  I didn't get anything I had on my list, but did score some goodies that weren't on the list.  Above is Edyta Sitar's new line called Hope Chest.  This is a fat 8th pack.

I love Daiwabo's and here is a wonderful pack from EE Schenck called Serenity.

This is First Ladies from Windham.

Here is another Daiwabo pack from EE Schenck called Vintage Dry Goods.

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On Wednesday we met Stephanie and Mr. Creations in their old neighborhood of West Linn at Hollyhill Quilt Shop.  Mr Squash knows I love French General Fabrics.  He was so sweet to get me this fat 8th pack of Panier de Fleurs.  I also added to my stash of homespuns for a future quilt.

I'll have a few more photos from Quilt Market on my next post!

Quilt Market People

Whew - Home Sweet Home!  While we had an absolutely fantastic time at Quilt Market, it's always so sweet to return home!

  I decided to break my Market posts into sections, so today will be People!

Almost as soon as we walked in the door the first day I heard my name being called!  I turned around and there was Anne of Cottons 'n Wool, Karen of My Yellow Farmhouse, Anna of Woolie Mammoth and Sandy, No Blog who has become known through Anne's blog! What fun to see all four ladies!

When I heard Pam Vieira McGinnis, aka Pam Kitty Morning was going to be there with her new line, Pam Kitty Picnic, I just had to meet her!  It was because of Pam and her blog, the first I'd ever read, that I began blogging.  It was also because of Pam that I became a Supreme for Stephanie!  Pam sews for Alex Anderson and I so wanted to do something like that in my retirement.  Pam was so warm and friendly - it was just great to meet her!

I also introduced myself to Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings.  My friend Linda Hrcka of the Quilted Pineapple does Lisa's machine quilting.  Lisa is totally smitten with Linda's work, as she should be!  Check out Lisa's necklace...it's made by another amazing quilter, jewelry maker and blog friend, Julie of Me and My Stitches!

Here is Linda's latest masterpiece for Lisa - The Tree of Life.  I was so excited to actually see both of their work in person!  It's hard to believe, but this entire quilt is done in flannel!

Walking down another aisle, I spotted Vanessa Christenson of V and Company!  My latest test pattern for Stephanie, Caity Did, was made entirely from her line called Simply Color!  I just had to show her the bag!  I love the look on her face!

Can you tell how much fun we're having?

On Thursday night at Sample Spree, we ran into Jodie Carelton of Ric Rac.  Jodie is from Australia and is so sweet and very funny!  Stephanie and Jodie have been friends for some time now!

Check out Jodie's shoes - I love them!

Here are Jodie and Stephanie in Jodie's booth.  Jodie looks a bit like a deer in a headlight, and deservedly so - she was really, really busy -which is a good thing!

Look what Stephanie found in the Michael Miller Booth!

We also ran into Pat Sloan!  Here she is with Stephanie.  She is such a warm and nice person and I love her fabric designs!

Leaving is so sad!  Here we are in front of the hotel the morning we left for home!  I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat!

Stay tuned for more market posts!

Where Am I?

There are days where I can't see the forest for the trees!  One thing I do know is shoes and can always see them!

The very cute polka dot shoes belong to a dear friend of mine....the very boring ones are mine.  My friend loves polka dots.

We're even hiding behind her adorable polka dot umbrella!  Can you guess?

Why it's me and Stephanie of Loft Creations!  We're here together at Quilt Market and are looking forward to Sample Spree in just a few hours!

Of course the wonderful Mr.'s Squash and Creations are along for the ride (or maybe along because we're taking them to Voo Doo donuts).

More to come!

Squash House Going's On...

Since I've been away from posting for a while I thought I'd catch you up on what's been going on around the Squash House.  Not a lot of sewing - mostly gardening.  We've had a very warm spring, and with no frost in sight, we realized we could plant before Mother's Day, which is the usual "safe" planting date.

Mr. Squash worked very hard tilling up the tomato beds.  You'll see our semi-dwarf apples on either side of the beds, and the espaliered pear right behind Mr. Squash.  Unfortunately we lost all the pear buds to a frost.   

 Of course there must be a nap after all that hard work - Sasha was exhausted from just watching!

 I tried my hand at two no-knead breads.  This is the white bread - perfect on the first try!

 King Arthur had a recipe for a multi-grain no-knead bread so I had to try it as well - another perfect loaf!

 Mr. Squash and Sasha are on the lookout for balloons in the sky early this morning.  Between the three of us we were able to watch all around the house.

 Here they come!

 Yikes - are you sure this is a balloon?  Looks more like a rocket ship from Mars to me!

 After all that tilling, the planting began.  There are peppers on the left, garlic next (planted last fall), pole beans, radishes and lettuce, and lettuce we planted about 6 weeks ago.  Behind that last bed on the right is Allium which I planted last fall, too.  I couldn't remember what it was until the buds began to open.  

 Tomatoes are all planted.  We're using the potato tower this year for a zucchini bred especially for containers!  Mr. Squash always plants Marigolds in front of the tomatoes - what a guy!

 Now we just sit back and wait for everything to bloom.  There is a lot just beginning to open up - I'll show you in another week or two.

 This iris was planted last year - just one rhizome - look at it now!

 Another angle.

And last but not least, Sasha still keeps us entertained and on our toes.  This is the downstairs bathroom - I wonder who forgot to close the door!

We'll be out of town next week, but I'll try to keep up while we're gone - and a big surprise at the end!

Waiting for Boarders

 It was a lovely evening yesterday.  Temps got into the 80's and were were able to enjoy dinner outside.  I also thought it was the perfect time to put out one of our new rental units!  Check out the crooked neck pole in the middle of this photo I took while we were eating dinner.

 This gorgeous, gourd birdhouse was gifted to me by a dear friend.  We can't wait to see who moves in!

Looking down toward the blueberries, you can see we're well on our way to all things blooming!

Of course no post these days can go without a photo of Miss Sasha.  Here she is playing with a new toy that someone very special sent to her!

Caity Did Winner and a New Project!

Thanks to everyone who commented on the Caity Did bag from Loft Creations and told me what their favorite spring blooming flowers are!  Lots of you are partial to tulips, daffodils, and lilacs - some of my favorites for sure!  I also didn't realize that in one of the Sasha photos was my sticky note on the sewing machine noting that the straight stitch plate is on!  Quite a few of you noticed and said what a good idea it was.  Honestly -- I still break needles even with the note right in front of me, but probably fewer than prior to putting the note there!

Mr. Squash and I took a quick trip out of town on Monday and got home yesterday afternoon.  Sasha was really happy to see us and did quite well with her pet nanny, Bobbie!  I asked Sasha this morning if she would do the drawing for Caity Did.  She raised her head from her perch on the back of the sofa and said "What's a drawing?"

After explaining the details, I wrote the comment numbers on little pieces of paper, scattered them on the floor and told her to settle on which one she liked.

Good Girl!  She's pointing to #26 - Debra from Outback Crafter.  Congratulations, Debra!  Stephanie will be sending the PDF to you directly.

Just before we left town I started work on another 4th of July table topper!  I thought I'd show you my progress so far.  I'll be back soon with the finished quilt!