Modern Quilt Kits at Quiltcon! Part I, Benartex Googlies

We are busily packing and getting ready to go to Austin for Quiltcon.  Booth set up is Wednesday.  Quiltcon itself takes place Thursday-Sunday.  Hopefully we can share lots through the week.  We're learning and vending so every minute will be jam packed.  

Today we want to share three of the new samples that we have kits for.  We will post three more tomorrow and the last two on Tuesday!  They are all so CUTE!!

Three Modern Quilt Relish patterns made up in Googlies from Benartex fabrics.

Our pattern Nibbles made up using Stars Bright from the Benartex Googlies collection designed by Michele D'Amore.

Here you see Cheddar No Crackers sewn with Stars Pastel used as the background.  (Again a Googlie fabric from Benartex.)

Leftovers uses Googlies Allover Black.  We love all three of these pieces of Googlies because they are nondirectional and so wonderfully accented with solids! 

So come back and look tomorrow please.

Quiltcon to the Wire...Austin on the radar!

jill here....Down to the wire, the last samples are off to the long arm quilter.  Boxes have been sent to Austin.  We have 7 brand new samples and they are really cute.  Did we tell you our theme is Baby?  The catch is that we're still awaiting the delivery of some fabric to kit these cute little devils.  Even if all the fabric doesn't arrive, the samples will be eye candy.  We'll give you more of a preview next week as we fly off !

"Architextures" fabric line
 for Robert Kaufman

We plan to keep the booth simply modern.  What initially seemed like a lot of extra space has now become filled ( at least in our imagination).  The third designer showing some of her patterns in our booth is Carolyn Friedlander.  We met Carolyn via the internet and have enjoyed seeing her at markets.  Her designs are intricate, very precise and paper pieced....modern but very different from our approach.  At spring market, her fabric line "Architextures" was introduced.  It's a very creative mix of color and her graphic background in architecture.  We have a new version of Leftovers created from this line...still at the quilters.

Carolyn Friedlander

Carolyn Friedlander is a quilt and fabric designer (with Robert Kaufman) working from her hometown of Lake Wales, Florida, an environment she enjoys for its warm weather, few distractions, and potent community of quilters and crafters. In her work, she draws inspiration from features of the Florida landscape—its long leaf pines, palmettos, water, scrub land, and sand—as well as her background in architecture. You can follow Carolyn and her work on her website (carolynfriedlander.com) and blog (carolynfriedlander.com/blog).

 Carolyn Friedlander's Blue Palmetto

Carolyn Friedlander's Local Quilt...9 blocks with stories!

So with binding, packing and preparing we anticipate sharing this inaugural Quiltcon.

'Till next Tuesday!

Quiltcon here we come

The time has come to get ready for our Quiltcon booth!  In addition to our new book Picnic and wonderful new samples and our own kits for several patterns we're going to have three other talented designers represented in our booth.  Two blog posts will introduce or reacquaint you with these three modern designers.

First up is Debbie Grifka of Esch House Quilts.  We met Debbie through the blog, she asked us to judge a challenge for the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild.  We've been lucky to meet her in person at the last two Quilt Markets. (We're remembering a particularly tasty and fun dinner in Houston. yum.) The following is a bio she sent us.  

Debbie has been sewing all her life and quilting for the past ten years.  Her designs have appeared in such magazines as Stitch, Quilting Arts Gifts and Modern Patchwork and she publishes her own patterns as Esch House Quilts.  Debbie's quilt "Ephemeral Elegance", using her bias appliqué technique, won first place in its category at the American Quilter's Society Quilt Show in Paducah in 2011.  She is Vice President of the Ann Arbor (MI) Modern Quilt Guild and loves to share her passion for quilting.

Esch House Quilts Spell quilt, love the balance of letters, negative space and blocks!

Traffic Pattern from Esch House Quilts.  So cute!

Esch House Quilts Curried Plums.  This quilt will be in the Quiltcon show!  We're eager to see it in person.

Debbie is teaching machine, bias and hand appliqué at Quiltcon.  Wish we could be in one of her classes.

Next, we have Shea Henderson of Empty Bobbin Sewing Studio.  Shea creates and designs lots of fun kid oriented fabric items and quilts.  We met her at our very first Quilt Market!  We had one great dinner in Houston with Shea and another in Kansas City when we spoke at the KCMQG meeting in November.

Here is the bio information Shea gave us permission to paste from her blog.

Why the name “Empty Bobbin”? I picked that as my blog name years ago as I just love the idea of an empty bobbin– it means you have been sewing and sewing and sewing for someone special.

I’m a pattern person. I like learning from patterns and books, and I like my projects to have a defined size and shape before I start sewing. With clear and detailed instructions, you can focus all of your energy on creating something that really reflects you.

I live in Kansas City, MO, with my husband and our two (now three) precocious preschoolers. When I’m not designing, sewing, or writing patterns, I can be found leading the Kansas City chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild.

Shea Henderson of Empty Bobbin Sewing Studio

Shea's Card Table Playhouse.  This is so cute! 

Cover Up from Empty Bobbin Studio, treat you machines to a cover up!

We are thrilled we get to carry some patterns from Debbie, Shea and Carolyn in our booth at Quiltcon.
(Carolyn Friedlander is the third designer and we'll discuss her patterns and fabric in next Tuesday's post.) 

Thank you to so many wonderful local friends who made our book signing incredibly fun on Saturday.  (A special thank you to Lois for the chocolate hearts on a stick!  Delicious!!)  It was good to see lots of familiar faces.  We both worked at the Quilting Connection for years and it was very special to see so many of the customers and staff we'd grown to know and don't get to see any longer.  Thank you!!   

Till Tuesday then...

Final winners of Picnic and more

Dip Bowls Table Runner from Modern Quilt Relish's Picnic.  Limited kits available at the Quilting Connection.

Your answers to our questions these past three weeks are themselves inspirational.  So many different sources influence and suggest quilts to you all.  We love reading all the ways you are inspired to quilt.  Thank you for sharing!! 

Our winners this week are...Capello and Penny.  (#9 and #22 generated by the Random Generator.)  They have both been notified.  

We are so excited to have our first book signing this weekend at the Quilting Connection in Ames, Iowa from 1-3 Saturday.  They have all the quilts from Picnic hanging in the store.  If you are in the neighborhood please stop in and say hello!  

Busy here finishing up new models of our quilts, planning our booth for Quiltcon and moving on with new designs.  There is never a dull moment.  

Till Tuesday...  

New winners and another opportunity to win Picnic!

Season to Taste baby quilt from Picnic, by Modern Quilt Relish

limited kits available at Quilting Connection

This week's winners are Diane W. and Linda H.  (Linda H. can you email us please?)  It is perfect that one winner chose improvisational piecing without a formal layout and one chose alternative blocks in a nontraditional layout.  

Responses to the questions we posed about blocks and layout sorted out in the following way:

• Recognizable but reinterpreted traditional blocks in a traditional layout"?  Five 
• Alternative blocks with a nontraditional layout?  Seven
• Improvisational piecing without a formal layout?  Seven
• Independent responses-one, thanks for the sweet comment Char!

Love that there is a range of style represented!  Again your responses were pretty evenly spread.  Interesting. 

We are giving away two more copies of Picnic next Tuesday!  Just leave a comment about what inspires you to quilt.  This is an open ended question. We don't want to lead you one direction or another, we're just very interested in where or how or when or who or whatever!  Have fun with it!

Till Tuesday... 

Winners and more give aways of Picnic!

Dip Bowls baby quilt from Picnic.
Kits will be available at Quiltcon.

The two winners of Picnic, our modern quilt book, from week one are...Doris and Vanesa.  The random generator worked!  Thank you all for participating.  

We loved all the comments.  They were very thoughtful.  We enjoyed reading a variety of viewpoints!
Here are the results of our nonscientific poll.

• 5 for asymmetry 
• 6 for negative space 
• 9 bold colors, solid color fabrics, graphic prints 
• 6 clean lines and shapes 
• several of your own ideas.

Seems like a toss up, with a slight edge to bold colors, solids, and graphic prints.  (So it is a lot about the fabric...something we call all relate to.)  

We have a trunk show and a Picnic book signing coming up February 2nd at the Quilting Connection in Ames, Iowa.  We'll be signing from 1-3 that afternoon.  The quilts from the book are heading there this week!  

Here is this week's chance to win a copy of Picnic.  Two winners will be chosen next Tuesday.  

We're inquiring about blocks and layout.  Choose and comment on what appeals to you the most.

• Recognizable but reinterpreted traditional blocks in a traditional layout"?
• Alternative blocks with a nontraditional layout?
• Improvisational piecing without a formal layout?

Comments open until midnight central time January 21st.  Good luck!  

Till Tuesday...

Picnic; modern quilt book give away!

Announcing our Picnic give away drawing! 
We'll be giving away two of our new modern quilt books the week following our Tuesday posts of the 8th, the 15th and the 22nd. You can enter each week.

Picnic sampler featuring the six modern blocks.

All you need to do to enter this week is to comment as to which modern design element you like to see in a quilt.  (and if you are willing to share why, that would be great!)  Entries end at midnight central time, Monday, January 7th, 2013.

Choose from: 

• asymmetry 
• negative space 
• bold colors, solid color fabrics, graphic prints 
• clean lines and shapes 
• or one of your own.

Big news for us is eInsider, a web newsletter put out by Quilts, Inc featured us!  (They are the folks in charge of Quilt Markets.)  We are excited to share it with you all.  

The full link is: http://www.quilts.com/newsletter/viewer.php?page=vol8no1/take5&title=Q&A: Modern Quilt Relish

This edition of the newsletter is hosted permanently at: http://www.quilts.com/newsletter/vol8no1/cover.html

Looking forward to your comments!
Till Tuesday...