Monthly Archives: June 2008

No comments

Visit to Seattle and to the Seattle Glassblowing Studio

  By , , ,

I just love glass and and all the fantastic shapes and colors.  Seattle is noted for producing beautiful glass art.  Since I had some time to myself in Seattle before my husband, brother and sister-in-law flew in to join me on vacation I didn’t waste any time and headed immediately to the Seattle Glassblowing Studio.

Seattle Glassblowing Studio shopWow!!! Not only do they have a shop filled with beautiful glass, but thrill of it all, you can stand in the back and watch the artisans at work.

I found it fascinating to watch and could have stood there for hours.  Although I may have the technical terms wrong, I will do my best to describe the process.

Furnaces at the Seattle Glassblowing StudioThe studio has furnaces on one side where they insert their glass that is attached to a long rod.

Rolling Glass to create formThe artisan sits between two bars and roll the rods with the glass to create the uniform design.  He adds foil, shapes the end with additional heat and other techniques to form the piece.

Glass blowing at Seattle Glassblowing StudioWhile the artisan is rolling the glass and creating the shape, another artisan blows the glass.

Seatle Glassblowing Studio shopMore of the shop – it was all eye candy, better than real candy since there are no calories.  Of course, I had to buy something and with all the choices, it took me a while to decide. (I will take a picture of it and post tomorrow.)

The Seattle Glassblowing Studio has classes and I would absolutely love to take them.  Unfortunately, they are located completely catercorner across the US from where I live.  If you are in Seattle, stop by, watch and shop.  They are easy to locate and not far from the Space Needle.

2 Comments

After Quilt Market – a wonderful vacation beginning with a trip to Seattle on Amtrak

  By ,

After a wonderful trip to International Quilt Market in Portland OR, I took an absolutely fabulous 2 week vacation to Seattle and Alaska.  It was eye-popping every step of the way, including the unique trip to Seattle from Portland.

After arranging for a rental car to drive to Seattle and having increased fees added to my reservation on an almost daily basis, I decided to chunk the rental car reservation and take the Amtrak.  Let me tell you, it was a great idea – not only did it cost much, much less, it was a pleasant, scenic ride without the stress of driving and none of the hassle of going through an airport.  There was so much room, as you can see in the picture I took, plus dining and lounge cars.

Riding Amtrak

Actually, this is business class.  It only cost $13 more to upgrade and since I was already saving a bundle of money, I splurged!  I really hope Congress passes bills to increase Amtrak’s funding so that we can have high speed trains like those in Europe.  I love traveling by train and want to be able to travel this way in the U.S.

Just imagine – getting to the train station 45 minutes before departure, checking oodles of luggage with no extra fees and boarding with no hassles.  And once on the train, you will have plenty of seat and leg room plus you can walk around and go to the dining and lounge cars to sit, talk, eat, read or have a drink. Oh, did I mention that there are bathrooms in each car – such convenience!

Once I returned home, I checked on the Amtrak schedules in this part of the country and they are very inconvenient for any trips I will be taking.  So I will have to continue to use my car for short trips and fly on the longer ones.   I look forward to the day when I can just hop on a train to go somewhere.

3 Comments

Quilt Market and Meow Meow Cat Fabrics – Free Patterns for Quilt and Table Runner

  By , , , , , , ,

For the debut of the Meow Meow cat fabric collection that I designed for Quilting Treasures, I also designed a table runner and a quilt for their booth at the International Quilt Market trade show.  The table runner is shown in the photo with a cat pet carrier.   Meow Meow cat fabric

 

The Meow Meow quilt was displayed on the wall in the Quilting Treasures booth.   Meow Meow cat fabric quilt 

 

Both the Quilt and Table Runner patterns are available on the Quilting Treasures website for downloading.  While looking at these patterns, note the other patterns available.  I designed some of these as well – the Sophia quilt pattern and the Flintstones Nap Mat as well as the art and instructions for the Blanc et Noir quilt by Marie Osmond.  In addition, there is a free quilt pattern for the Sweetheart Ballerina fabric collection that I designed. 

Please enjoy using these free patterns – there are so many great patterns available for you to choose from.

No comments

Quilt Market – catching up with friends, a perk in addition to the beautiful colors of fabrics

  By , , , ,

As I walk the International Quilt Market, I am always in heaven seeing all the beautiful colors of fabrics and quilts displayed throughout the whole show.  Another thing that I really enjoy about the show is catching up with friends, which I did last month at the Spring Quilt Market in Portland.

I think all of my friends are interesting and unique.  I remembered to take out the camera a few times, but not often enough, to capture some of these moments.

Phyllis Dobbs, Julie Stephani and Carol ZentgrafJulie Stephani is sitting in the center and Carol Zentgraf is sitting on the right side.    Julie is the editor of Today’s Creative Home Arts magazine.  Carol is a very talented designer specializing in sewing projects.  Its always a delight to be with these two as our conversations are always filled with many, many laughs.

I have to admit that I don’t know the 4th person behind us. She surreptitiously joined our photo session. We were in the Home Arts booth and didn’t realize until later that we were posed in front of a photo in the booth background – she fit in just like she belonged! Also note my tote bag – made with my new Meow Meow cat fabric from Quilting Treasures.

Threaded Pear booth at Quilt Market I’m afraid that I interrupted Gina Halladay’s lunch in the booth of her and Stephanie Goudzwaard’s pattern company, Threaded Pear (introducing several new patterns).  Gina is such a cut-up, plus she looked simply fabulous.  I just loved the booth sign using red long johns – what a great idea and easy to spot!  Gina is also a blogger extraordinaire with her hit blog, Quilters’ Buzz.

Phyllis Dobbs and Desiree OvertvietAnother friend, Desiree Overtviet, travels a great distance to attend Quilt Market.  She is from Holland where she owns a very successful online fabric and quilt shop, Desiree’s Lappeteknikk.  Desiree is fun as well as very interesting.  I enjoy hearing about her life in Holland, which she tells with a humorous slant.  And Desiree is definitely a shoe lover, traveling with many pairs of gorgeous and stylish shoes including some Jimmy Choo’s.

Proof reading this post reminds me of two quotes.  “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people” (Victor Borge).  Plus “A good snapshot stops a moment from running away”. (Eduora Welty).  Note to self – remember to pull the camera out more often!

 


No comments

Bernina Fashions at Spring Quilt Market

  By , , , ,

Bernina of America sponsored a Bernina Fashion Show at the Spring Internatonal Quilt Market.  I took photographs of 3 of the gorgeous entries, although they were all spectacular.

The Many, Many Tears I\'ve Shed

This entry. titled The Many, Many Tears I’ve Shed, was created by Virgie Fisher of Yukon, OK.

 

Silk Road Caravanserai

 

Audrey Durnan of Claremont, CA, created the blue Silk Road Caravanserai which has a coordinating  hooded cloak.

 

 

 

 

The Warrio goddess..Guardian of Lost Treasure

This fashion, The Warrior Goddess…Guardian of Lost Treasure, was created by Janet Brooks of Rio Rancho, NM.

It was a busy show, so unfortunately, I did not get back to take additional pictures of the gorgeous fashions. 

Please check back for more from Quilt Market.  And one more piece of eye candy, a close up (although a little out of focus) of one of the beautiful rhododendron blooms that were outside the convention center.

Rhododendron bloom

 

No comments

Quilt Market in Portland with Meow Meow Cat Fabric Debut

  By , , , , , , , ,

International Quilt Market is always a beautiful trade show, full of eye candy with all the beautiful colors of quilts and fabrics.  It was an exciting event for me as Meow, Meow, my new cat fabric collection debuted with Quilting Treasures.

I also created several projects for Quilting Treasures’ booth using Meow Meow.  I’m in the center with Donna (left) and Jodi (right) from Quilting Treasures.  The two quilted projects shown in front are a Meow Meow Cat Carrier (with a fluffy white “stuffed” cat), and a Meow Meow Table Runner.  Free instructions for making the table runner as well as a quilt will be on the Quilting Treasures website for downloading soon.  I will post a link when it it up.

Meow Meow Cat Fabric debut

 

Two other quilted projects that I designed with Meow Meow cat fabrics are a Chair Back Cover and a Tote Bag.

Meow Meow Cat Fabric Projects

Quilt Market was held in Portland, OR in mid-May, during an unexpected heatwave with temperatures in the 90’s.  Since I live in the South with high temperatures, I was looking forward to the cooler days in Portland.  Oh well, at least it didn’t rain.

Portland was really beautiful with all the flowers blooming.  Even though Portland is known for roses, I think it should be noted for rhododendrons as they were huge and blooming everywhere.  They were gorgeous and gave additional eye candy for Quilt Market.

Rhododendren at Quilt Market in Portland

After Quilt Market as I took a vacation to Seattle and an Alaskan cruise.  Please check back for lots more from Quilt Market as well as some photos of unbelievable scenic views from Alaska and Mt Ranier.