First Post from Quilt Market

Apologies for the social media and email silence from this end.  Things have been a little busy, to say the least.... but the good news is that I did indeed make it to Quilt Market in Portland, Oregon. 

All manner of technological glitches, a hefty dose of jet-lag and a hectic work schedule have hitherto prevented me from sharing the experience with the online community. 

In short, I had a lovely time, met great people, talked a lot about exciting possibilities and picked up some new US-based stockists for my sewing patterns. 

There were 3 trips to the local department store the day before set-up and a spot of last-minute, late-night hook-making, when I discovered that the Ikea hooks that were pre-ordered would not fit the top edge of the booth.

Of course, I had lovely travel companions and Quilt Market neighbours...

My samples in Riley Blake fabric attracted a load of attention, and 3 of them are staying in the Riley Blake warehouse, with a few of the patterns.

The Hobo (above), the Laptop (below)....

and the Sling (below again)

The super-popular A-line Skirt pattern will be available through Pink Chalk Fabrics as soon as the Pink Chalk team recover from Market and upload the details.

I was so happy to met Kathy and the girls from Pink Chalk - every one of them is super-lovely.  They've been selling my pdf patterns for a long time but we'd never met before.

As we sort through the invoices and organise the new stockist listing, I'll keep you updated on where to find my patterns in the USA.  My Facebook and Twitter feeds will be the more immediate source of updates, but my post-market resolution is to bring more attention back to my blog, so I won't forget the non-Facebookers-and-tweeters.

I'm off to pour myself another glass of wine and put my feet up. I'm staying with my sister and her family who happen to live in Portland, and I feel that I should perhaps make an effort to interact and make conversation, now that the market madness is over.

In with the New and a Clearance Sale with the Old...

I'm tired and mono-syllabic.  Briefly, this is the latest...

 

I've been making Flat Caps in winter wool fabric.

 

 

(Flat Cap pattern available here.)

 

I also made a few Zip-Away Shopping Bags.

 



Today passed in a flurry of organisation and hardware-packaging.  Pre-stocktake, I thought it would be a good idea to clear away anything that isn't going to be an ongoing product line for wholesale or workshops. 

 

 

WE'RE HAVING A SALE

In-store only, for 1 week

Details of how to find us and our opening hours are HERE.

Discontinued hardware is 40% off marked price. 

That includes flex frames and these gorgeous large round purse feet.

 

I've added lots of odds and ends to the bargain basket - up to 50% off there.

 

I'm also discounting a few items that we have lots of, including some of the wire-formed and flat o-rings, like these 38mm rings. 25% off.

 

I'm throwing in a few special bargains - in limited quantities - like 5-packs of magnetic snaps...

 

..and grommets.

 

There are also discontinued patterns for $5 and current patterns with soon-to-be-updated covers at 20% off.

 

And to make it totally worth the trip in to see us, I'm discounting woven interfacings by 10%.

 

So... Shall we see you in Northcote...?

 

 

More of the Making

Less of the writing, this week. 

 

I had to make new Glam Purses, because two of the samples that used to be in the showroom appear to have ended up in my wardrobe.  Oops. 

I also made a Kiss Purse in this fabulous print by Surface Art....

 

...and this Mod bag in Echino fabric.

 

This fabric is a joy to work with.  Love, love, love....

 

 

I decided last week, that since I've had a bit more patchwork practise in the last year or so, I should re-make the panel that was originally in this Day Bag(which was supposed to represent "you can put patchwork in here" but ended up just making a very dull bag).

 

I'd earmarked Saturday evening as leisure time (having taught a zipper class all day) and had a dinner date with a girlfriend.  She was suddenly swamped with work (I hang out with kindred spirits) and cancelled.  I took the opportunity to play with patchwork.

 

I used fabrics by all Australian designers - Pippijoe, Ink&Spindle, Surface Art, Veritas, Saffron Craig and Kristen Doran.

 

But before I came up with a panel that fit in the space, I accidentally made blocks and strips that inspired me to go in other directions.

 

 

I then found myself still at it at 4.30 am.... ahem.... a little obsessed with the notion of a quilt.

 

(Since I'll be missing out on our annual May Sewjourn while I'm in the USA, I figure this was in lieu of my annual dose of 4am Sewjourn sewing.) 

 

 

With a brief afternoon break in the city, having High Tea with Cam and the girls and then catching up with Lara, Karen and Tanya in the early evening, I went back to the quilt....

 

Now all I need is my super-quilting-hero Annie to give me her usual gentle guidance and encouragement as I flail about in the unfamiliar territory of quilting, trying to decide which way to go towards finishing it.

 

And now, it's back to logistics and packing for the trip to Quilt Market (....and trying to figure out Google+, and wondering if it's really worth the bother.... any thoughts?). 

 

And then I'll do some more sewing.....

Portland Preparations

 

The sheer panic of last week and this weekend seem to have resulted in some started things, some finished things, and a spot of online Portland-based Ikea and Target shopping.

 

All going well with international shipping and flights, I think I may just have a display in my booth at Quilt Market in May, after all... who'da thunk it? 

 

I'm taking a bit of Melbourne with me, in the form of this Large Tote made with Pippijoe fabric ...and a bit of Japan (Echino fabric) on this Day Bag satchel.

 

 ...And a bit more Japanese fabric on another version of the Day Bag...

I'll be using the Day Bag in classes for both the Schoolhouse at Quilt Market and the American Sewing Guild, so I've been whipping up a few fresh ones.

 

At the Schoolhouse, it'll all be about bag bases, and at the ASG, it'll be all the bells and whistles we can possibly squeeze in.

 

Oh looky!  More Japanese fabric.  There appears to be a bit of a theme accidentally coming together here....

 

The other theme that's coming together is the Riley Blake theme (a spot of cross-promotion for the show)....

 ....and the Finally Getting Around To Photographing Things theme.

If this looks like I've had a mega-productive week, don't be deceived by my selective representation of reality.  (The internet is full of that sort of thing and you should be wise to it by now!). 

There has been angst, tears, much flapping about and too many cups of tea made and let go cold. There has been a sharp increase in the quantity and the purity of the chocolate I'm consuming (we're heading towards 85% ...and considering the possibilility of permanent IV delivery). 

Work gets done in little flurries in between.

 

And I didn't sew these hats. 

 

I just photographed them (badly) and gave up on the idea of Photoshopping out the backgrounds when I was half-way through.

 

Priorities are big news around here, and the clock ticks closer to our departure date.

Thanks to my super-sewing-gals Narelle and Carmel, for making the Hobo (above the hats) and these Hats and Kids Hats .

But this weekend, I saw a glimpse of how it all might work.  Things come together, even in this ad-hoc way that I've been working.

I keep thinking of the 30th May.  It'll be here sooner than I think, and by then I'll have submitted a book manuscript and will be home after my first international trade show.  Who'da thunk it...?

But do you know what the VERY best thing about this weekend was?  This was.

Both sides now

When I was in Addicted to Fabric a month or so ago, I was completely besotted and amazed by the double-sided prints that are available, even in the finest of fabric weights.

I came home with several metres of the double-sided knits, and have been thinking about what I might make with them.  I haven't made a decision, nor have I had the time to sew for myself, but I'm hedging towards pattern-free and a bit twisty.

Mostly, I'm just looking forward to having the time and brainspace to sew for myself again.  My head is full of garment ideas.... and little fantasies about yoga retreats or weekends of sewing in Apollo Bay.

 

Life has been  completely out of balance these last few months: very heavy on the work and panic and very light on the family, friends and breathing-without-hyperventilating.  Now that the projects for the book are done and the manuscript is in its final tweakings stage, I'm able to stand still for odd moments and take in the scene.

 

Yep....

 

 

(If I look at that same table right now, it actually has twice as much craft debris all over it ...and onto two chairs and the floor.)

 

Now that the book is nearly done, I've realised that there is less than a month until I go to Quilt Market in Portland... and there's ...ummmm... quite a lot to do.  I hadn't even started before last week.

 

I plough on.  I neglect my blog.  I'm still reading the same novel I started months ago.  I let the wee girl watch too much mindless television. I don't sew anything that isn't work-related.  

 

As Jodie so eloquently puts it, I'm totally hampstered.

 

There is balance in my mind, if not in my itinerary. I still count my blessings, delight in every blue skied day (a residual habit after living for 5 years in Ireland).  I'm thankful for every day without sickness and for my beautiful girl. And I know that at some point, all this madness will be a distant memory.  Hopefully, the memory will serve as a reminder to keep life in balance a bit more in future, and not take on more than I need to, or can cope with. 

 

 

Amongst it all, I must remember to keep my eye on what's really important, and on the example that I'm setting. 

 

My girl has an eye for detail, is creative, independent and strong-willed. I think I know where she might get that from, but I wonder what else she's absorbing.

She made these dolls to please me... not by her creativity but by "keeping busy and out of [my] way"...  It was one of those parenting moments that cause pause and reflection.

It'd be nice if we could take an extended holiday while we're in the USA, but the reality around here is that I have to hit the ground running when we get back.  Nobody else pays the bills.

I have ideas for patterns (how long is it since I've done one of those...?).

I've been scheduling classes for the winter (... and if you 'd like to do any of them, I'd suggest getting in quick because they're filling up). 

And I've been thinking of ways to be more present when I'm parenting, and more joyful in the presence of the magic that is my clever, creative, extraordinary kid.

And I'm definitely looking into the possibility of a weekend away. Apollo Bay is calling.

A few finishes

With all this book-writing and Quilt Market organisation (and a spot of teaching thrown in) on my part, this poor little blog has been neglected.  So too has my reading and knitting. 

 

The top I began on New Years Day was looking like being a WIP forever, but thanks to interstate flights (and delays with flights), I managed to get a lot of it done last weekend.

 

 

The yarn is a hand-painted linen from Prudence Mapstone (purchased at one of the craft shows last year.... or the year before...?).  The last time I used this yarn was with crochet.  Knitting was a much slower affair, but I wanted the challenge and the opportunity to enjoy working with this luscious yarn for a long time.  (I just hadn't counted on it being over 3 months on the one project!)

 

The pattern is L2 by Lidia Tsymbal, available on Ravelry here. I've bookmarked a few more of the patterns by this designer.  I like her style.

 

The last push to finish this top was my reward - guilt-free knitting in the evening - for finishing the sewing for the new book.  The samples are now all packed up and awaiting international courier pick-up.

And now I'm all inspired by a zillion different knitting patterns and ideas.  Teresa Dair's Mayhem jacket has captured my imagination, and I'm planning to start playing with different sized needles and yarns to create texture. 

I just have to finish a bit more writing and organising first...

A Winner and a Wagger

I know... you thought that I forgot about the book giveaway...

 

I didn't.  I drew it today.  Congratulations Candy - you're about to receive your own copy of my book YOU SEW GIRL.  I hope that you enjoy it.

It was a little late in the drawing because I was out all day on Friday.  I was at the beach and at a party and generally nowhere near a computer (just an iPad, occasionally).

My poor book-writing brain had reached its limits, so I took the day off... and then took Saturday off as well (spent with family). 

It felt a bit like wagging school (not that I ever did that... girly-swot that I was), but at the same time it was absolutely necessary.  Shut down and restart.

It's the Easter weekend, after all....(I know that because of the number of sucking-up-to-Easter-Bunny cards found about the house).

 

I'm back into the manuscript now - at the creative, tarting-things-up end of things while I await the feedback from pattern-testers.  I also have to finish off a bit of sewing to do. (Manuscript-finishing is akin to blog-finishing, it seems.  There are linings to be made!)  There is much to be done, but the end is in sight.  I can begin to breathe again.

I enjoyed sewing up the last of the hero-pieces for the book in this gorgeous Echino fabric, although it was almost too pretty to cut up.

I hope you've had a great Easter break, and that you and yours are well, happy and rested.