All Packed for Market

Just enjoying a touch of sun in the Colorado mountains before I head to Houston for International Quilt Market. I can hardly wait to see everyone!


Good thing I caught a few rays while I could 'cuz it starting snowing in the Colorado mountains. No problem. Snowy days are great for quilting. What could be better than finishing a UFO while watching flakes fall on the peaks?


Time for a break by the wood stove. Love being toasty warm on a cool fall day. While relaxing, I decided to look back on a few shots of my recent road trip. Woo-hoo! I discovered one I just have to share with you.


While I was at the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, I took a behind-the-scenes tour. They were getting things together for the exhibit "Marseille: White Corded Quilting," which opens November 13. Check out this amazing quilted bodice. Time to plan your road trip to Lincoln. The show runs through May 22 so you have plenty of time to get there.

Road Trip Wrap-Up

Best word to describe the sunny Avon Quiltery in Avon, Indiana: COLOR. Shop owner Dian Himes let me test several sewing machines. Pretty tempting. Then I remembered. My van was already full of fabric and notions and tools. Still, Dian made all those fancy stitches look so easy...



















Looking for a quilt book? Angie's in Effingham, Illinois, probably has it. Owner Angie Neu, above, looked on as I joined her customers to search for just the right buttons for the charity doll clothes they were making. Fun search! Nice ladies!

The shop is just minutes from both Interstate 70 and Interstate 57. Really great road-trip location. Check it out!



I learned quilting is big in Mexico, Missouri. There are multiple shops on the town's square. My first stop was at the Mexico Sewing Center. Rosalind Dial greeted me at the door, and Carol Wyss, above, let me help cut fabric. Shop owner Bonnie Janssen was away at a regional quilt show. I'll have to catch her next time. I love her fabric selection: brights, batiks, big prints, black-and-white prints, and more.

I picked up an Accu-Quilt GO! fabric cutter for a great price at the Stickey Wicket a block away, and found a huge stock of reproduction, Thimbleberries, and novelty prints a block and a half away at the Homestead Hearth. Just had to get some of the Dr. Seuss prints by Kaufman that were creatively displayed in an antique bathtub with legs. Made me want to crawl in and snuggle up. Guess I'd better make the quilt first.



I decided to get off the interstate to see more of northwest Missouri. That meant checking out the latest edition of The Quilters' Travel Companion to see if I could plot a course with at least a few quilt-shop stops. Bingo! I discovered The Quilt Shoppe, home of the Tula Pink Pattern Company, was right on my route. I set the GPS and cruise control, then drove right to the shop. I met Tula, left, and her mom, Kathy Runyan. Kathy owns the shop, which features wonderful fabric--including Tula's designs, of course--patterns, and gift items.

What a great visit! Tula was working on...now that's a secret.



Here I am resting near Tula's parking space. There was also a space reserved for the shop's
"Quilter of the Month." I asked Kathy how this person is selected. She smiled. Another secret. She did say you can't "buy" it. And there was a third space reserved for Tula Pink's Mom.

Cool shop! Friendly folks!

I'm back in Colorado now, resting from my road trip. Not much time to rest, though. Tomorrow I start packing for Houston. Quilt Market, here I come!

Indianapolis, Here I Come

I'm loving the fall colors in the Midwest! I took these shots while hiking along the DesPlaines River in northern Illinois. So peaceful! And so many image and color ideas for my next quilt....

The calm didn't last long. This morning, it was time to pack up and head for Indiana.


That meant driving through Chicago. Wow, what a skyline! I've never seen such tall, tall, TALL buildings. I'd have taken pictures for you but there was just too much traffic.













I decided to reward myself for navigating the city with a quilt-shop stop. I set the GPS for Cheryl's in West Lafayette, Indiana. Good choice. I arrived to find shop owner Cheryl Drake setting up a quilt on her longarm while her daughters Megan and Gabrielle took calls, helped shoppers, and cut my great fabric find. Check it out.


















I've been searching for bilaterally symmetrical prints to try out some of the great ideas in Paula Nadelstern's new book, Kaleidoscope Quilts: The Workbook. Our course, Paula's fabrics are great for this. I picked up one of her designs just a few days ago.

From top, Deja Vu by Paula Nadelstern for Benartex, and Stack-N-Whack by Bethany Reynolds for Blank Quilting,

Cheryl's shop includes retreat rooms for five. Of course, there are quilts on every bed and the walls, too. I was ready to stay then remembered, I have an appointment with a quilter in Avon, Indiana--near Indianapolis--tomorrow. So on the road again...

I made a quick stop at an interstate rest area to enjoy the late afternoon sun, then headed on to my overnight stay. Tomorrow: Road trip to the home of the Indy 500. Rev your engines....

Road Trip!

I'm on my first Road Trip! Woo hoo! I loaded all my quilting supplies, clothes, and a few new quilt books into my mini-van then headed out from Golden, Colorado. First stop, the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was my second visit to the center. What did I learn this time? I found out every visit brings new ideas, new inspiration, and a chance to see one or more new exhibits. Here's a bit of what I saw.




Check it out. I'm inside a bag folks at the study center think may have been made for holding snakes. Way cool! It's part of the "South Asian Seams: Quilts from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh" is a colorful exhibit of quilts and quilted items. To learn about this exhibit, check out the October/November 2010 issue of Quilters Newsletter, page 34. This exhibit will hang through November 7, 2010, so get on the road to Nebraska soon. Visit www.quiltstudy.org. I took a moment at the center to think about the makers of these amazing quilts, many of whom live in the region of Pakistan that has recently flooded. Quilting really brings our world closer.




Now this is what I call the perfect exhibit--all the quilts are just my size. I wanted to crawl under one and take a short nap--road trips do make you tired--but the white-gloved ladies discouraged that. "Childhood Treasures: Doll Quilts from the Ghormley Collection" will be up through December 12, 2010.




The shop at the study center was being stocked with lots of new goodies during my visit. These cute elephants asked me to pose with them but it had to be quick. There was a customer ready to take me home with her. Said I was so cute she'd pay a pretty penny for me. Nice lady but I had a road trip calling. I hopped down from the shelf, paid for the massive stack of quilt books I just had to have, and headed out. Next stop--a special quilt shop in Lincoln.




Got to love a quilt shop called the Cosmic Cow. And you have to meet owner Roxann O'Hare, left, and her mother Elaine Pieper. (I was told co-owner and Roxann's hubby, Rich O'Hare, was upstairs busy on the long-arm. I'll try to meet him next visit.) Rumor--actually fact, not just rumor--is that Roxann and Rich will open a second shop--Cosmic Cow: The Udder Store--early in 2011 in Seward, Nebraska. A new shop to visit on my next road trip!




Next stop--Quilter's Destination--in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. I got there just in time for class. Owner Patti Dockus, right, took a quick break from teaching for this photo. Also pictured here is Beth Friend, shop staff. Talk about a friendly shop. Beth greeted me at the door, introduced me to the shop, helped me find a specific fabric, let me wander endlessly, and never stopped smiling the whole time. My kind of place!


After a long weekend to rest and update my blog, I'll be on the road again tomorrow, this time headed for Indiana. Road trip!