Phew. Did you have a good long weekend? I did, I spent some quality time with my sewing machine for the first time since returning from the craziness of Quilt Market. It felt good to get back in the swing of things, but I still feel like I have a mountain of commitments to climb, and I'm still having a rough time finding my groove. For the moment, though, I'm going to be happy about what I've gotten done so far!

My New York Beauty Mini
I officially shipped off my NY Beauty swap mini to my partner this morning, after finishing off the binding in the parking lot of the post office this morning. I had a really hard time deciding how to quilt this mini after I finished off the piecing, and got a last minute strike of inspiration last night, to work toward accenting the spikes of each block. I did a whirlwind style of FMQ in the negative space between the spikes, then a swirly sun surrounded by a super tight stipple in the remaining negative space.  I'm really happy with how it turned out, though I was a little unsure as I was stitching last night. I thought perhaps I was going overboard, but then again, I really enjoy densely quilted quilts. This mini was a lot of fun to work on, and I really love the way the DS Hope Valley Canyon Stripe the mini. Working with these Oakshott shot cottons was so much fun! It was hard to ship this little mini off today!




Precious QAL Pillow
My sewing space was definitely in need of a good pillow, and Kelly's QAL was the perfect motivation to pull some treasured fabrics together for a fab pillow. I used Tamiko's great square-in-a-square pattern and added a fun black Alexander Henry pin dot to border the pillow.




I've got a zillion other things I'm working on, including posts for the EZ Dresden Challenge, the Bella Parade, Purse-Palooza, and the Zakka Sew Along. Hopefully next week I'll be able to snap some photos to share on those projects, too. What are you working on this week? I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced, as always :)

I think I'm as recovered as I'm going to be from the fabric hangover I experienced on my trip to Spring Quilt Market in Kansas City, so I figured it was time for a wrap-up post. It was a fantastic trip, with boatloads of gorgeousness to see and super fun people to visit with. Aren't quilty people just the best people?

I saw a zillion things at Market, more than I could possibly remember, but here are my Top 10 fabric-related highlights from Quilt Market...

10. Riley Blake Chevrons - I love that Riley Blake is bringing these chevrons in multiple sizes, I think it is a super smart decision on their part, too. There will be not only small, medium and large chevrons but also tonal varieties in each size. All of the varieties should begin shipping in August, and I know I will be picking up quite a few of these for my stash!
9. Art Gallery - Art Gallery swept many of the booth awards at Market, and rightly so; their booths were just so stunning. The wall of their main booth was covered in squares of all of their fabrics, all mixed together and backed with foam core. Their Summerlove side booth was also gorgeous and so cozy feeling. I couldn't resist, I just had to pick up a little Summerlove to bring home for a new project! I'm also really excited about their upcoming Rock & Romance collection, coming out in September.






8. Odif - Odif is the great company who makes my favorite spray baste, 505 spray.  They also make a cleaner spray, DK5, for those moments when you overspray your 505 (and other various craft sprays)!! You can pick up a can of your own at Sew for Less. The Odif folks also let us in on a little secret: if you can see your 505 when you're spraying, you're using too much. I think I don't mind using too much, as I like seeing the spray so I know it's there, but I thought I would share :)

7. Chicopee - I adore Denyse Schmidt's fabrics, so it was really exciting to get to see Chicopee in person before it comes out. Denyse's booth had a few precut samples to thumb through and also a wonderful wall of inspiration for the collection, complete photos of Sonny & Cher, Mary Tyler Moore, and many other remnants from her childhood. The collection is full of what Denyse is best known for: beautiful small-scale prints with rich colors. I'm seriously looking forward to this collection when it ships out in August.

6. Simpatico - Coming in June from Cloud 9 fabrics, Simpatico is full of soft peaches, grays, and blues. I'm super excited for this line. The prints have a real classic feel to them and I think this line will make a great addition to any stash. I also spotted GeoCentric, a new canvas collection coming late summer, full of super fun geometric basics. Awesome line for bag-making!

5. Storybook Lane - Kelly Lee-Creel is a new designer for Andover Fabrics, with a new line called Storybook Lane, shipping in the next few weeks, and several new patterns for her Ever Kelly brand as well.  Her booth was gorgeous, and I especially enjoyed the star quilt Kelly featured. 

4. Ruby Star Vinyl - Melody Miller's new line Ruby Star Vinyl is so hotly anticipated and rightly so. Her booth was total retro chic, from the Ruby Star Shining sofa to the cool retro record wall installation. No one does retro quite like Melody.

3. Mama Said Sew - Coming out in August, Sweetwater's Mama Said Sew is full of black, cream, gray, and red prints that celebrate sewing. There's some beautiful text prints as well as an adorable gingham. I think this was one of the first lines to sell out at Sample Spree and I think it's going to be super popular!

2. Madrona Road - I positively adored Violet Craft's first collection for Michael Miller, Peacock Lane, but I think I might just love Madrona Road even more. I'm not sure if it's the soft colors or the cursive print, but I'm head over heels for this collection. Is it August yet???


1. Bloomsbury Gardens - Some of the biggest buzz at Market was all about Liberty of London releasing new quilting cottons. One of the things I really like best about the new line is that while still gives the Liberty vibe, the colors are very different. Very vibrant, very bold, and perfect for quilting. I recall a while back that Liberty did a quilting cotton collection with Westminster Fabrics, and I think is a very different line from that one, consciously so. We got to meet the designer behind the collection, who said that the color choices and motif choices were very deliberate, that they truly thought about quilting and how to make the collection work best for quilters. I think this collection is a full-on home run, and I cannot wait to get some!


Sample Spree was also quite fun, with boatloads of grown women squealing when the line finally started moving and we were allowed in. The Moda table, by far, was the busiest, with a huge crush of people swarming around it. The Art Gallery table also seemed quite busy, with gorgeous stacks of their solids, Oval Elements, and other print collections as well.

In other Market news, I got my hands on my some fabulous new quilting books that I cannot possibly recommend highly enough: Quilting Modern, Modern Patchwork, Zakka Style and Sunday Morning Quilts.  Not only that, but the authors were some of the nicest people I met during the entire trip. My flight home was made way more bearable by these wonderful books.


All in all, Market was simply amazing. I could probably write a post a day about Market and still have more to tell, but for now, this will do. There were so many fantastic things to see, and while I do think I saw them all, these were the ones that stood out to me. I also had the chance to meet so many wonderful people that have shaped me as a quilter and to meet even more people that I've only known online, who were even nicer in person. This trip to Spring Market is definitely going down in my book as one of the best trips I've had in a very long time. For more Market wrap-ups, you can visit Freshly Pieced and Sew Sweetness.

Before I headed to the airport last week, I fully meant to pull a winner for my pattern giveaway, and I completely forgot!!  I owe you guys a winner!  Lucky commenter #45 is the winner of my new Bella Patchwork quilt pattern, and that's Katy Cameron.  Congrats Katy :)  I'll be emailing you the pattern this morning!

In between unpacking and trying to find homes for all of the wonderful things I brought home from Market, I'm working on my first Market recap post, so stay tuned for that tomorrow!

I'm back from the trip to Kansas City for Spring Market, and so far, I've still got a lot of mental processing to do before I can tell you much about the trip, I'm still recovering from the amazing visual overload I experienced there.  I can say this much for sure, though: quilty people are the best people.  I met so many wonderful people on this trip, and spent a good chunk of time with some fab girls I'm super lucky to call friends.  I'm working on unpacking and pulling pictures off my phone and camera, so stay tuned for a wrap-up post some time this week.  In the meantime, you can check out my phone pics on Instagram - I'm @dontcallmebetsy.  I love fabric and had a blast at Market, but it sure is good to be home :)

photo by Erin Sampson @ Pellon Amy/Sukie, Colleen, me, and Lee

To market, to market, I go!  Tomorrow, I'm hopping on a plane headed for Spring Quilt Market, and I couldn't be more excited.  I'm looking forward to a great long weekend with friends and fabric.  I haven't gotten much sewing done over the last week, though, I've been a ball of frenzied energy, checking off last-minute To Dos and making the many ridiculous lists that I feel I need in order to travel (such as the Carry-On packing list, the Local Eats list, the Closest Fabric Stores list, and the Sample Spree plan).

I manage did finish up a quilt this week, my Bella Patchwork quilt, and put the finishing touches on the pattern as well, which you can find at both my Pattern Shop and on Craftsy.


I'm also working on finishing up a little Jane Market Bag to tote around my goodies at Market.  This pattern is so simple and quick to put together, I cannot recommend it enough!!


Stay tuned for a fun Market recap next week!  I'm looking forward to sharing the whole experience when I get back :)  Don't forget to link up your works in progress over at Lee's!

Welcome to my pit stop on the inspiration tour for Jennifer's latest sewing contest, the Summer Sewing contest.  Jennifer has lined up some awesome prizes, to be given away in four different categories: quilts, home decor, clothing, and bags & accessories.

Summer sewing means a lot of things to me, but more than anything, summer sewing to me is about fun. Sewing things you want to sew, using fabrics you love, and in that spirit, I'm super happy to share my newest quilt finish and pattern, Bella Patchwork.  It features some gorgeous new prints from Lotta Jansdotter's upcoming Bella collection for Windham Fabrics, paired with lots of fun supporting guest star fabrics from my stash.


I had some fabulous pattern testers helping me out with this pattern, thank you so much to all of you! Katie, Michelle, and Susan, you girls are fabulous, I cannot say thank you enough :)  Check out their gorgeous Bella Patchwork quilts!

I nearly forgot that I owe you all a winner!  It's been a crazy busy kind of day in my neck of the woods, but in a good way.  Without any further ado, the lucky winner of a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 5 as well as one of my patterns is Lucy, of Charm About You!  Congratulations, Lucy, I'll be emailing you shortly!


And because I can't post without a new picture, here is a sneak peek of my Radiant Ring quilt, coming together thanks to the awesome ladies of the Stash Trad bee.  I've almost got all of my blocks now, but I'm digging this one so much that I'm going to be making some additional blocks myself to make the quilt bigger. The blocks I've been getting in the mail are so awesome, I just love this bee!

I sat down and did some sketching this week.  I usually sketch at the dining room table, while the munchkin is eating a meal, since he is a fantastically slow eater.  This week, he asked for me to work on his new quilt, so I turned to a new piece of graph paper and started drawing.  Inspired by what Jessica did recently with a handful of Drunkard's Path blocks, I thought about pairing some Drunkard's Path blocks with some rectangles to create long, medieval windows...like the kind you'd see in an old-fashioned castle...



See, while the munchkin is fully obsessed with all things superhero-related, his second obsession is knights.  He loves the new show "Mike the Knight" on Nick Jr and one of his favorite things to do is to run around the house with his foam shield and sword and pretend to be a knight.

So I started drawing a castle with these windows on my trusty graph paper.  And then, the following conversation ensued...


Munchkin: What are you drawing, Mommy?

Me: A castle.

Munchkin: What for?

Me: Your quilt.

Munchkin: Oh.  But Mommy, superheroes don't live in castles.


Me: I know.  But maybe one side could have superheroes and one side could have a castle.

Munchkin: (thinks about it for a moment, then smiles) That's a really good idea, Mommy.

Me: Thanks.

Munchkin: Will it be ready for bedtime tonight?

Me: Um....no, baby.  Not for a little while yet.

Munchkin: Tomorrow night then?

So...I think I'm going to do a patchwork castle on the back.  Goodness knows I've got plenty of gray fabrics to work with!


Now if only I could decide what to do with the front!

It's been a busy couple of days, and I don't think things are going to ease up any time soon, so let's get right to it!  Here's my short and snappy WiP update...

Moving right along
My Quiltmaker 100 Blocks mini (and the giveaway is still open, click here to enter!) - It's looking super cute so far, so I'm wondering if maybe I love this enough to turn it into a lap size quilt.  I really love the colors, but it's so uber-girlie...I think I'd have to sell this quilt if I make it bigger, because it sure doesn't fit with my house decor (what little there is of it!), so I'm still pondering what I want to do here.


My Precious QAL Pillow - I finished up my blocks for this little pillow, need to stitch them all together and find a fun print to use as a border to tie them all together.  I'm thinking something gray, but I'm not sure yet.

NY Beauty Mini Swap - Almost done!  I got as far as basting this little quilt this weekend...and promptly felt stumped as to how to quilt it.  I'm hoping inspiration will strike soon!


My next pattern - Chugging right along, thanks to the help of some wonderful pattern testers.  :)  I'm hoping to finish this one up in another week or two.


Going nowhere fast ;)
Patchwork Wheel scrap quilt
May Stash Trad block for Felicity
Munchkin's new quilt

What are you working on this week?  Hop on over to Lee's to link up your projects and to check out what everyone else is working on!  I hope you're having a great week so far!