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.

Julie 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.

 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.

Another 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!

I’m very excited about the Quilter’s Buzz blog article posted today on me and the Sweetheart Ballerina fabrics I designed for Quilting Treasures. Gina Halladay, the author of the blog, is also a partner of Threaded Pear, a pattern company. (Click on Quilter’s Buzz and Threaded Pear in the categories at the right to read my prior posts on Gina). I would love for you to check out this article as well as the blogsite.

This is a quilted tote that I made from the pink color range of the Sweetheart Ballerina fabrics. I just love sewing with these fabrics and have just completed several projects with them that will be published this summer. 

I just returned from the fall Quilt Market in Houston. Quilt Market is always such a wonderful show,  inspirational and full of “eye candy” with all the colorful booths, fabrics and quilts. Another fun aspect of the show is that it is also a time to catch up with old friends as well as make new ones.

A new friend is Gina Halladay, who I met a few months ago at Spring Quilt Market in Salt Lake City. 

Gina is the author of the immensely popular and leading quilt blog, QuiltersBuzz.  She took her love of quilting and used it to spread the word throughout the world on fabrics, products, people, quilts, patterns and all kinds of other interesting tidbits. Gina is now considered the voice of the quilting world so be sure to check out Gina’s writings on QuiltersBuzz. 

Gina is standing in her beautiful and colorful booth at market.  She and Stephanie Goudzwaard pictured below are partners with Threaded Pear, a new pattern company that debuted at Spring Quilt Market.  Sewing is very hot and the patterns of Threaded Pear are perfect for the sewing enthusiasts as well as beginners.  As you can see from the photo, their booth stayed busy throughout the show, just like it did at the Spring Quilt Market where they were an instant success. Check out their website and see how they got started as well as see the patterns.

Please check back for more from Quilt Market.