This Little Quilter Went To Market

Armed with my business card in hand, my sweet (SWEET!) husband dropped me off in front of the Minneapolis Convention Center - QUILT MARKET!

This was my first quilt market, and I didn't really know what to expect. My wildest imagination could not have prepared me for what I walked into! The entire convention room was jammed with vendor booths! I have been to some big quilt shows, but this definitely took the cake!

I am an artist/teacher/writer, but I am not a quilt shop, so fabric buying was not on my shopping list. And market is not the place to buy fabric by the yard, but rather by the bolts. However, this did not stop me from looking and petting the fabrics! I saw the new lines and designs from Moda, Blank Quilting, David Textiles, Robert Kaufman Fabrics, Michael Miller, Amy Butler (she was there!)
and so many more!

The Michael Miller display was stunning! 

 




Doesn't this entire display look like an edible wedding cake? Don't you also find yourself wanting to get at it with some fabric inks? The possibilities!






It's hard to describe the "style" coming out, I saw dusty purples, "plummy" pinks, yellows, and yellowy greens. Of course owls are apparently going to be all the rage! MANY booths either showcased fabric with owls in it, or patterns with owls.

I think we're going to be seeing some very exciting and interesting colors this season! I really like the blues and turquoises that are coming!

Save those pinks you have from the pink/brown phase of the last year or two - because it looks like we're going to be doing some monochromatic designs this spring and summer!

My heart is racing just thinking about the fabrics coming out! I'm pleased with the super cheerfulness of them!

Many of the prints brought to mind the 60's and 70's upholstery or men's dress shirts!

I hit a stencil/paintstick book, which I will be sharing the loot and info on in an upcoming article here at Fiber Nation - watch for some free project information, and the source of where to find these amazing stencils!

I also received some nice batting samples, which will allow me to quilt up some samples and review for you here!

One of my vices was fed at the Superior Threads booth! I came home with a whopping bag of threads to try - which will be featured in our next article! You will see how their different threads look on a quilt. Here are some of the lines we will investigate: Razzle Dazzle, Glitter, Rainbows, and Masterpiece.

I also received some sample bobbins from Fil-tec, they have what seems to be a brilliant idea - a tiny magnet in the prewound bobbins, to prevent it from falling out of the bobbin case while reloading! Longarmers and domestic machine quilters should both be intrigued by this concept!





I found some really neat water soluble needle felting stabilizer at Art Felt! I can't wait to try this product, the samples they had in their booth were amazing! (Photo from Art Felt's website.)





Famous quilter sitings? You bet! Ricky Tims, Alex Anderson, Amy Butler, Michael Miller, Andrea Bishop (she's on Quilting Arts TV often), Ami Sims, Bob (from Superior), Rob Appell.

 Here are some pictures of Alex, Ricky and Ami doing a drawing for a huge door prize:

I mustered up the courage to introduce myself to Ricky and Alex (as though they needed another person bothering them!) It was surreal to meet them. It's so strange to introduce yourself to two "strangers", when you feel like you already know them from watching their shows and reading their books and magazines!

A local author and fellow guildie and SAQA member,  Susan Stein, was there promoting her new book with Creative Publishing International. The book is The Complete Photo Guide to Textile Art and it is beautiful! I can't wait to start on several of the techniques covered in this book! Check it out!

The goal now, is to try these new products I got at market, and share the results with you! Stay tuned for reviews and projects using: threads, battings, stencils and more!