It is always so great to go to market. We come back so enthused but tired. We left on Thursday, October 8th, and rented a car to do a tour of the Quilt Shops in Houston. We had a lovely time and we enjoyed each and every shop. But then it was time to get to our hotel and start our work. We arrived without too much trouble (thank goodness for the GPS), checked in and found out we didn’t have to return the car to the Hyatt, National and Enterprise would work it out between them. That is something good to know. It was a beautiful day, so we headed off to the George R. Brown Convention Center. It was a brisk walk of 8/10 of a mile but there were loads of things to look at. Houston has undergone quite a building boom and loads of new buildings and shops. We arrived and registration was a breeze. The workers on the floor below us were setting up their booths. We stood and watched them through these gigantic port holes. We watched Brian and Frank Cox who rep for Hoffman do their work which was great fun. We returned to the hotel and attended a fun evening with FabShop Network. Margy and I were quite lucky and we won some wonderful gifts which we will pass on. The evening was great sharing ideas time and our table mates from New Zealand were a hoot. Oh, did I mention hoot is something you will be hearing and seeing a lot of….there is something about OWLS. They were everywhere!!!!!
Sandy Gervais’ new pattern cards in her NEW line.
One of our favorites at the IQA Quilt Show. The detailing was magnificent.
The next morning we were up bright and early with breakfast in our hotel and a bus trip to the Convention Center to pick up our schedule book for Schoolhouse and off to Starbucks for our annual cup of Pumpkin Spice Latte. We settled on our schedule and began sharply at 10 AM. For those of you who don’t know about schoolhouse, it is a wonderful day of 15 classes, where you have 10 to 12 choices per time slot, being run simultaneously introducing new products, methods, etc., etc. Margy and I only attend the same ones if we are already committed to it for the Patch and so we participate in probably 25 different sessions. They are terrific and we are so excited with what we learned about. You will be hearing loads about it as the time goes along. Here are the some pictures to share.
The designers from Possibilities.
The Snack Attack Quilt and guess what there are candy corns on it!!!!! Hurrah!!!!!
Can you think of anything cuter than a snowman quilt done in batiks. Okay, this might make us think that
it is cooler here in Florida!!!This quilt definitely makes you smile!
This made quite an impression on us. The pattern is due in and we already have the fabric. Could a quilt be too far behind.
Amy Butler was there and she shared her new line “LOVE” from Westminster. It is fantastic. We were so impressed with the vinyl's, wait till you see and feel them.
Okay, do you want us to call you when it arrives?
We were excited to see and hear what Heather Bailey had to say. She is so very creative and her fabric line is a winner. Here are a few shots from her presentation. Sorry I didn’t get any of her MIL in picture, Eleanor Peace Bailey? What do you all think?
Our personal favorite was Henrietta the turtle, pin cushion. She made everyone smile. Did I tell you the other trend we saw were pin cushions and more pin cushions. I think we might be collecting them.
Random shots for your enjoyment:
Appliqué work done the Piece o’Cake way.
These pictures are from the “Skinny Table runners II”
Dinner was at the Hilton as we finished at 6 PM and have to be back for Sample Spree at 8 PM. We met a new quilt shop owner and her long arm friend who were from Oklahoma. We had a nice time.
Now, how do you describe Sample Spree. I guess it would be the Filene’s annual basement sale; David’s bridals $99.00 dress day and any other free for all that you can think of. The doors open and everyone runs to the Moda booth. We do not, we head to the other end and try to maintain some air of decor. It is a place where we can get patterns with samples pre-done, early releases so we can do samples. No pictures are allowed. So sorry!!!!!!
That was the end of day one!!!! More to come!!!!!
