Little Twister

I love toys!
And not necessarily the toys everyone is waiting in line for these days. I am talking about quilters' toys - those items that excite us and make us want to bust out our stash and PLAY!
One of my wonderful customers told me about the Little Twister (and there is a Big Twister). It's a template that you use with sewn-together charm squares to create a pinwheel pattern.

I pieced a Moda charm pack of marble brights together in a pleasing pattern then added a 3" border.
Using the Little Twister, I cut out the template pattern at intersections and pieced it back together.

This is the result!  How fun is this?  I enjoy the piecing - it's like a puzzle, which I have always enjoyed as well.  My next toy to show you?  A template I bought at the World Quilt Show in West Palm Beach to make simple prairie points!

Three Crafty Quilters Grand Opening!

Yesterday - and today - we are celebrate the official grand opening of Three Crafty Quilters, Florida's newest quilt shop!  Door prizes, giveaways, demos, home baked goodies (baked by my very talented friends Brooke and Colette) and more!  Joanne, photographer and one of our Sit and Sew Friday gals, took photos which I will post soon.

We also have new and exciting products in the shop, including patterns and a trunk show from designer Virginia Robertson.

I was introduced to Virginia Robertson by the ladies at Princess Mirah Bali Batiks.  She sent patterns and samples for quilts, runners, bags, and accessories.  Applique and piecing.  And not all with batiks (but the batiks are gorgeous!)  Come to Three Crafty Quilters and see for yourself!   We are eagerly expecting delivery of Bali Batik Sushi Rolls (their 2 1/2" strip bundles).  Wait until you see the colors on these!  We will be carrying finished scarves and sarongs from Bali Batiks as well, so if you are looking for the perfect gift, we'll have it!  Oh - I have so much to share.  Keep checking back on the blog for the new fabrics that are arriving from market, the new quilt classes we are forming and so much more!

World Quilt Show

We are lucky to have a the World Quilt Show Florida close by.  This is the second year that it has been held at the Palm Beach County Convention Center and the second year that it did not disappoint!
We are treated to quilts from all over the world, from all genres of quilting.  Local quilting stars shined as best of show went to Mark Sherman from Coral Springs,  Leigh McDonald with her SSQA  Zing Me Once 'MY Coconut' and the many Gold Coast Quilt Guild members' Perfect 10's.    I took some photographs to share.  Some didn't come out so great (so I couldn't show you ALL of my favorites).  Some were so popular I couldn't even get near them to take a photo.  Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun.  I hope some of you got to enjoy the quilts, classes, and shopping, too.

I love how the Guild's members translated their idea of the 'Perfect 10" so differently.  It was so much fun to view - and read - all of the quilts in the challenge.

Sit & Sew Friday

Bring a project to work om and join us for some quilting camaraderie! Sit and sew Fridays are a social sewing and quilting gathering -free of charge. Join us between 10 and 5 - space is limited so call ahead if you can.
Hope to see you tomorrow!

Fantastic Houston Quilt Market

Wow!
I am back from Quilt Market and am buzzing with excitement and inspiration over what I saw!  I had a list of things to look and can't wait to share all of the new fabrics, books, patterns and other quilting goodies with you.  Here are some photo from some of the booths that i enjoyed and schoolhouses I attended.

The uber colorful Kaffe Fassett, stopped his needlepoint for a moment to chat.  Have you seen the new Kaffe fabrics that have arrived this past week in the shop?  Gorgeous!  I attended his schoolhouse, too, which gave me the opportunity to some of his and Brandon Mably's quilts up close.

A new Sudoku quilt from Moda fabrics.  The squares and patterns will come packaged together in a little 'game' box.

I just loved this quilt in the Moda booth!   My rep, Tom, gladly 'modeled' for me.

Using Moda's new American Jane line of fabric, I just loved this quilt, too!  The fabrics in this line had a touch of French country mixed with country American.  Vibrant, but not too bright, green, red, gold and blue.  Moda, as always, had a great showing of new fabrics, ranging from civil war inspired fabrics, to shabby chic florals to batiks and modern geometrics.

The long awaited Soul Blossoms from Amy Butler has finally come out for the world to see on fabric - and I can't wait for these to arrive in the shop!  The every beautiful Amy showed off her line in everything from quilts to pillows, handbags and dresses to raincoats, even decoupaging a table as decoration for her booth.  One of my favorites was this simple concept in a quilt...

Large blocks of fabric were pieced as the base and the surface was covered in randomly placed yo-yos of all sizes!  This one a trend that we picked up on at the show - dimensional embellishments on quilts.  You will see flowers, ric-rac, buttons, prairie points and more creating texture and dimension on quilts.  

Buttons and ric-rac - sweet!

I'll post more photos tomorrow.  Perhaps I'll be saving the best for last!