2014 Spring International Quilt Market: My Absolute Favorites

Posted on May 23, 2014 by jesseesuem

I talked a bit about my experience and such at the 2014 Spring International Quilt Market yesterday. Today I want to share my absolute favorites. The lines that I know I will buy every piece from and make loads of pretty stuff with.

To start I have to share everyone’s favorite, the first line from Cotton & Steel. They have a great story and are all very talented, so you should read up on them more to see what i’m talking about.

Every single design from them is brilliant, and it all coordinates perfectly. So there loads of mixing and matching. It’s all very playful and vibrant and a few designs incorporate metallic colors which I’m loving right now.

Though, I won’t lie, I’m most excited about their basics line. The dashes, cross hatches, lines and more are totally on my “must buy” list. I always prefer the basics, but they aren’t usually this perfect. I’ve already sketched out a quilt that would showcase these all perfectly.

Next on my list of absolutely perfect was everything in Carolyn Friedlander’s booth. I was in love with her last line Architextures, and I’m even more in love with her newest line Botanics. I also had the pleasure of meeting her and chatting a bit. She’s even sweeter in person than she is online!

I left her booth with a few mini charm packs that showcased her line, plus some of Robert Kaufmans basics. I’ve already cut into them all and can’t wait to share the piece I’m making, it’s just taking me a bit to finish.

I also was a fan of everything else Robert Kaufman put their name on! Their Kona Cottons are a staples in all my projects, plus I picked up a bunch of polka dotted fabrics which will probably be used a lot soon. Check out that diamond fabric garland in the Blueprint Basics booth! I so badly want to recreate it.

The last of my ultimate favorites was the awesome American Made Fabrics solids. They were gorgeous and person and I’m always a sucker for pretty solids. Plus look at those ottomans!!! I know a very cute little girl who would love one of those.

Ok, so that’s a wrap on the Quilt Market photos. I still have more to say about some of the things I brought home with me, but I promise this is the last photos from the actual event.

Like I said yesterday, I was inspired so much by just walking around this event. Then add all the conversations I had and I am set. It really made me 100%, fully realize, how much I love sewing, quilting and everything involved. It’s how Art School Dropout started actually, I was hand painting SEWN bags! I came home realizing that I want to be a part of this industry MORE, and I have sat here all week trying to figure out how to balance all my goals with all the stuff I’m already doing. I haven’t figured it out yet, and I’m not sure when I will, but I do know change is coming and it makes me really happy!

2014 Spring International Quilt Market

Posted on May 22, 2014 by jesseesuem

I mentioned the Spring International Quilt Market last week when I talked about the quilt I made for Silhouette America’s booth. Well, as thank you they made it possible for me to go to market!!! It was in Pittsburgh this year, and even taking back roads it only takes us 3 hours to get there. We had some hotel points and I had money put aside for BlytheCon that I could make up, so we figured “why not?”, and drove up last minute.

I figured it would be awesome just to see some online friends in person along with seeing all the new fabrics coming out. Little did I know just how much was there. Every type of tool of the trade was featured, from sewing machines to interfacing to thread and more! It was very inspiring and totally awesome. I left with so many ideas swirling around in my head, and a little anxiety trying to think of how I would make the time to try them all out. I’ll talk about all that at another time…

I didn’t bring my nice camera, but luckily there was a lot of natural light in the convention center. I took SO MANY photos, and decided I’d share a few (or a bunch, all depends on what you think a few is. haha) of my favorite fabrics coming out soon.

I’ll warn you now, theres so many, they take up two posts!!

One of the first booths I saw walking around was the Irome Collection by Kokka. I absolutely love the large scalloped pattern!

Actually, most of the stuff Kokka had was awesome! Check out that calendar/numbers print and ALL the Hello Kitty Prints! I wish I had looked at the proper names for the collections. I was just a bit overwhelmed! I so badly want to recreate that gray bag, so if you know what line this is, please tell me!!!

Alexander Henry Fabrics is putting out more of their “the Ghastlies” line. It’s just as awesome as the last ones!

Tula Pink has a new EPP hexagon kit coming out. I love the look of the warped hexies and I love how the box comes with everything you need. Also, as always her quilting is gorgeous.

I have some pieces from the Riley Blake Geekly Chic line, and love them. The pieces from the new Geekly Chic 2 line are just as cool. I’m already picturing a dress out of the camera fabrics.

I love the jewel tones featured in Katarina Roccella’s line Indelible for Art Gallery fabrics.

Dear Stella‘s entire booth was super cute! Plus I’ve already had an eye on their Wee Gallery line ever since I discovered Nicole of Modern Handcraft (who made the adorable little dress up piece above). I had the pleasure of meeting her at the event! It’s awesome to meet someone with similar style who just happens to be super nice too.

I also had the pleasure of meeting and briefly speaking to Thomas Knauer the author of Modern Quilt Perspectives. He was super energetic, nice and spoke freely when I asked him questions (rare these days). I absolutely loved the way he made his sign and I wish i could have taken all of his quilts home with me!

I also had the pleasure of meeting a few other friends and such while wandering around. Plus I was able to talk to a handful of industry experts and ask loads of questions and trade some business cards. It all makes me wish I could just play with fabric all day, every day!

Like I said before, I have more photos to share tomorrow. More specifically my four favorites. So if it doesn’t bore you, you should come back and check it out!

Clean Cut Fabric Petal Wreath for Silhouette America

Posted on May 21, 2014 by jesseesuem

My first tutorial for the Silhouette America Blog went live yesterday! Check it out for step by step instructions on how I made the awesome wreath above.

As you can see loads of different, awesome, fabrics were used in this wreath! I wish I could take credit for picking them all out, however they were all from a fabric shop coordinated charm pack. A charm pack is usually 42 – 5″ fabric squares assembled together in a pack. They are very helpful with small projects and or if you need loads of different patterns but don’t want to buy yardage. This one was filled with a bunch of Shot Cottons, a few lines from Art Gallery Fabrics, a couple Anna Maria Horner prints, some Birch Fabric lines and more! I loved this mix so much I actually used it in another project I’ll be sharing soon.

The charm pack was courtesy of Finch Sewing Studio in Leesburg, VA. (the shop that put the pack together) It’s an awesome shop in downtown Leesburg that is filled with all of the most colorful fabrics. You can tell just from the charm pack used in this wreath what I mean. It’s about a 25 min ride from where I live, and we have made it a weekly stop now. The owner and everyone who works there has been super sweet too! Added bonus.

I usually only buy black, white, gray and teal fabrics, but theres something about this shop that makes me want to buy all the colors! ALL OF THEM! I even bought a charm pack that has green in it, something I’d normally shy away from. This is a big step for me, and I think I want to add more color to a lot more of my projects. So keep an eye out!!!!!!

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Scouting For Bricks 2014 in Leesburg, VA

Posted on May 16, 2014 by jesseesuem

Last last weekend was jam packed full of awesomeness (this past weekend was too, but I forgot to take photos!!)

Saturday was Free Comic Book day and CT Dressed up as Robin, with a tutu. Sunday was Scouting for Bricks in Leesburg, VA. I DID remember my camera for this event.

CT has really been getting into LEGO’s lately. Mostly the LEGO friends and Disney Princess sets, but hey, it’s a start. I absolutely LOVE LEGOS, LOVE! I was the kid who only asked for LEGO’s as a kid. I had buckets full and would build towns, cars and sometimes race tracks for my hamsters. I am about to turn 32 this year and I STILL get LEGO sets as gifts. I prefer the houses mostly, but am happy with anything intricate.

This lifelong love of LEGO’s helped me talk my husband into heading to this event. It was put together by local Boy Scout Troop 39. This was their second year and I was super impressed. There were loads of vendors, a few large town set ups, a play area for the kids and more.

There were a bunch of people, but not so many that we felt nervous having CT walk around. She seamed like she was having fun the entire time and loved looking at all the sets. However on the way home she told us it was a little boring, which is CT talk means “I’m upset I couldn’t play with more LEGOs”. My husband told her it was more a day for Momma anyway.

As you can tell from the photos, I really did enjoy myself!

I ended up leaving with a few awesome custom pieces. One was a minotaur head and extra deer antlers by Brick Warriors (that I plan to turn into a mounted deer head), and the other was a miniature Serenity (from Firefly) kit with working light by Adrian Blake of brickfrenzy.com . CT and my husband left with some custom minifigs too, of course!

I loved looking at all the amazing sets and totally plan on heading back next year!! If you live anywhere near Leesburg, Virginia I suggest you check it out too. Also, if you can’t wait until next year there’s also the Brick Fair LEGO convention in Chantilly, VA. Apparently it’s HUGE! We would go if it weren’t the same weekend as BlytheCon.

(haha, I can’t go to one convention because of another? what life do I live now? an AWESOME ONE!)

Shop Update: A Few Banners

Posted on May 15, 2014 by jesseesuem

I just added a few new banners to the shop. A few are sprinkled and a couple are marbled, and they are all awesome!

Stenciled Zipper Pouches for Silhouette America

Posted on May 14, 2014 by jesseesuem

Yesterday my first post for Silhouette America’s blog went live! The first of many!! (If you missed it you can read about one of my new role’s as part of their 2014 – 2015 Design Team here).

It uses the free shape of the week and their Fabric Starter Kit. The process is super simple and yields great results. The coolest part is when people see them they think they are screen printed! Goal achieved.

You can read more about the entire process over on their blog here.