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My Favorite Things...188...A Great American Quilter (& Friends)!

Day 3 of 16

Our next guest has been writing quilt books for quite-a-little-while.  In fact some of the first quilt books that I ever bought were from "Possibilities"...That's right, it's Lynda Milligan and some of her Great American Quilt Factory quilting posse':  Lexie Foster & Ann Petersen are with us today to show us what they did with the Dolly Dresses Panels.

Here's a little bit to whet your whistle...

 

Do tell ladies, whatcha have for us today?  click here to see what's what at the GAQF!

Back in two shakes,

;º)

H2

My Favorite Things...187...Hot Toppers!

Day 2 of 16

I am very impressed with my next guest designer...Did you know that Jennifer Bosworth the woman behind Shabby Fabrics is also a commercial pilot in her spare time? (spare time = LOL)...As in planes with 100's of people on them?

Can't exactly remember how I found out about this, but it did make my jaw drop when she told me it was true.  For those of you who haven't ever met Jennifer, think "miniature Barbie"--she's adorable!  Outwardly, she's not-at-all who you'd think was in the cockpit flying a "wide body" to Hawaii.

So imagine my glee when she sent me a picture of her latest creation--such a clever girl.  Here's a little peek at her "Paper Doll Table Runner"...

 

I can't wait to see what Jennifer has to show and tell.  Click here for what she's been up to.

Till tomorrow,

;O)

H2

My Favorite Things...151...Cute Overboard!

Hate to disappoint, but the part did not arrive today.  UPS was delivering, but it just didn't come...What's up with that?

I feel not a little bit like the minister standing in front of the congregation (tapping her feet) and the bride has gone missing!

Since Cheryl's long arm is in the proverbial sling now, she's keeping moving the ball forward for Quilt Market with some new models of her own "real live Doll Dress" pattern that she calls a Sunshine Dress. Turns out that Robin, Cheryl's smart & talented daughter who is now in graduate school in Philadelphia used to wear dresses like these when she was a wee one.

Here are some of the fun retro ric rac embellishments on her Sunshine Dress that Cheryl has been playing with while she taps her feet along with us...

Please excuse the threads...these are works in progress!

I just love this little collection...it makes me smile and think of a simpler time.

I'll post whatever I can as soon as it's ready...

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...132...Catching Up!

I have been whining about my camera (and it's lack of performance) for a while now.  Thanks to Gina and Penny, I think that I may be on the right track now with my new Canon G9.  It's got an anti-jiggle feature...which has been a problem for me since I started taking pictures with my Kodak Instamatic "back in the day". 

Just about the time my camera started giving me nothing but aggravation, I got a mystery package in my post box...I was baffled.  I opened it in the parking lot at the post office...Wee hoo! it was a Pam Kitty bag!  It's been a heck of a long time for me to keep this secret, so here it is...

Turns out PK is not only a "stunt sewer" for the industry's finest, she's also a wiz with electronic embroidery gadgets, ric rac and the picking out the cutest combinations of fabric EVER!  In the meantime, I know that I am a little late to the party, because Brenda, Elizabeth and Monica all have blogged about her fabulous bags already...(and each one is cuter than the next!)

Now that I have a camera again, let's play catch up.  It's like Pam knew exactly what I needed...

Here's TWCTB* bag again with some of our new Doll Dress Collection fabrics. This new collection was inspired by some antique doll dresses that I have collected over the years, and was designed to blend with the Cherry Baby collection that we introduced at Fall 2008 Quilt Market. I'm loving how that black and white bag looks with the new fabrics, don't you?

As a matter of fact, here's a little sneak peek at a quilt that I designed and my own stunt quilter Cheryl Winslow made for McCall's Quilting.  It's scheduled to be in the April 2009 issue, which will be on your newsstand in February.  BTW, for those of you who like circles as much as I do, Cheryl's long arm "signature" is her circle quilting.

The new swatches for the Doll Dresses Collection are live on the LHDG site, so swing by and take a peek.  The first wave of this fabric is due to hit the stores in October.  Some of my favorite designers are already toiling away with some of the sample yardage that we just got in from overseas, more on these projects as they become available.

Lots more to show and tell--yet another magazine quilt, a new doggie (lots of pics & a story to got with her that will will rip your heart out) and a special event here on HOLLYBLOG.

Back in two shakes...

;º)

H2

* "the world's cutest tote bag"

My Favorite Things...122..."Renee Wear"

Before I get to the tater tots...I must show you the cutest lady who waltzed into our booth on Friday, the morning we opened the show.  She's Renee Savage of Renee's House of Quilting in Williamsburg Michigan...

She had on a jacket made out of a bunch of our Fall 2007 intro'd fabrics...the most prominent was the Cherry Squares fabric that had all been cut up and patched into different places on the body of her garment.

Love the little pocket detail above, below is a close up of the beautiful quilting...

Thanks Renee for coming by and showing us your handiwork, it's absolutely fabrilicious!

After the show that day, the ladies in black and I got together for dinner with Nancy Singh from American Patchwork & Quilting...She's definitely one of the most interesting people I've ever had dinner with in a long time, she had us in stitches (sorry).  The actual food, not so much...

Here's the story...one of my friends who lives in the Portland area recommended McMenamins Kennedy School Restaurant.  After going in the opposite direction (thanks to the concierge at our hotel), we arrived a good half hour late at a most charming old elementary school building (I'm guessing it was built in the 1920's)...This is a really clever restaurant idea...gone tragically wrong.  The minute my nose caught the knock-you-over smell of cigars just inside the front door, I knew that things were not as I'd hoped.  Call me a food snob, but any restaurant who let's people smoke cigars anywhere (and seemingly everywhere), isn't really serious about their food.  Turns out my instincts were right...the old building oozed charm and a "sense of place", but in addition to the cigar smell that seemed to follow us everywhere, the private dining room we'd reserved smelled like a musty old wardrobe.  Things got even more comical when I asked our waiter "What food do people come here for?" and she said without missing a beat..."the tater tots".  We all burst out laughing!  She was right though...the tater tots were the best thing on the menu.

Still more to tell, and the meals got LOTS better as the trip wore on, MKSR was our one and only "culinary bummer" (a nod to Top Chef fans out there)...  ;)

Back in two shakes...H2

 

My Favorite Things...89...For A Good Cause!

As promised, we are starting off our little charity* Show & Tell:  "12 Bears For Christmas" with one of my favorite designers, and a cute little bunny herself...Miss Anne Sutton.

Here's Anne's bear "Lenya" with a little-bear-sized 2 piece Bib & Quilt ensemble...

Below is a closer look at Anne's precious little quilt...

We've got oodles of beguiling bears, scads of guest quilters (with their little creations), lots more tricks up our sleeves...and we'll go all the way 'til the 24th...so join us as we celebrate the holiday spirit, won't you? 

Back in two shakes...H2

*Details announced on Christmas Eve!

My Favorite Things...81...Editors with a Sense of Humor!

Some of you may remember that I offered a prize to the first person to find the February 2008 issue of McCall's...

No one has actually had a siting yet, but a few of you have reported that you are on the prowl for it...
Apparently there has been a slight delay getting the magazine into the stores...This picture's just in of the McCall's editorial staff:  Kathy Patterson, Beth Hayes, Ellie Brown & Lise Neer...Now you know what you are looking for! 

So let's up the ante, shall we?...first THREE people with pictures of themselves with the magazine (open the to the blogging article) wins a prize...!

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...76...Let the Show Begin!

And without further ado...Our first baby line.  I'm not sure what was more fun, the fabric or the reactions to it!  It seemed that something about this line touched the little girl in all of us.

With all of the comings & goings, packing & unpacking, I managed to misplace the little kitty bibs that I made for Kammie and Vickie...(you remember..."who wants to lick the beaters?") that was going to be my little inside joke with all of you. Thankfully, M2 loaned us her lightweight Janome, and Penny (yep! those are all her tote bags) helped me stitch up some new bibs for our two little mascots...Boo & Honey.  The little E-M-M-A garland was made for Kimberly Jolly's little girl...The Alphabet Soup quilt was pieced by Patchwork Maven Martha Hall and quilted by Cheryl Winslow...they were a huge help to me getting ready for market...thanks girls!

Here's a view of the booth taken from the left...too bad about the patriotic color scheme at the George Brown Convention Center, eh?  Also, the color in these photos is more "washed out" than the colors are in reality...I'll make sure to show you some fabric swatches sometime soon that gives you a much better representation...(Meanwhile, if anyone out there has better pictures...do not hesitate...I seem to go through this every market!)

And another view from the right...

The kitties in bibs inspired the Bears...they spelled out L-A-K-E-H-O-U-S-E

I invited some of my favorite designers to make a bib...more on them and the Bears & Bibs project next time.

Still napping every day trying to catch up on lost sleep....lots of pictures & lots more to tell!
Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...75...Talented Designers & Beautiful Quilts

We're back from Fall Quilt Market, and things went very well...(more on this soon) We're waiting for booth photos from our photographer, Gregory Case  (hurry please!)... In the meanwhile, some photos that I took at some of my favorite designer's booths...

Here's Barbara Jones of Quilt Soup with just about the most adorable applique quilt I've ever seen...made up in our La Belle Rose fabrics from Spring Quilt Market...(forgive me Barbara, your eyes were shut in all of my photos!)

Here are some close ups...so clean, so clever, so Quilt Soup!

I just love her use of fabrics in this quilt...the daffodils, the pink & black stripe for the flower pots, inner border & bindings, the thin stripes for the leaves...(I could go on and on)

Thank you so much Barbara for thinking "outside the box" and coming up with this really joyful, pretty quilt!

More soon...just getting my feet back on the ground.

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...51...Annie Bakes!

Day 4 of 13 A Dazzling Dozen Delicious Desserts

Today we are so happy to have Annie Smith take us on a trip down memory lane, with one of her family's favorite recipes, and she's working on the cutest new project, too!

And make sure to check out the interview Megan and I did with Annie on her recent east coast trip.  She just posted the second of two parts a few days ago it's Simple Arts podcast #98.

I must say, Annie is a great interviewer, me thinks "our little quilt community" has a budding Oprah on our hands...I'm just saying...

Annie put Megan and I at ease immediately...and she seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say...imagine that!?  Our conversation was so much fun, we laughed and cackled for hours like the three little hens.

So here's Annie with her mom Joyce's Lemon Jello Cake.

Back in two shakes...H2

Meanwhile, Kammie's guarding the new stash...

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