Happy Memorial Day to All!

Congratulations to Joey Ritenour. You're the winner of the Holiday Medley scrap bundle. We'll stick a Twinkly Stars pattern in, too, so you won't need to bother sending an envelope. Enjoy!

Lois and I are busily stitching on the last few projects for the new book, Loose Change, due out in Aug/Sept. In addition to our popular Five & Dime quilt, we've added over a dozen other projects that are easily done in a weekend or less. Everything needs to be stitched, quilted, bound and photographed by the first of July, then patterns written and edited and the book put together to make it to the printer on time. It's been challenging, but loads of fun to figure out all the different ways to slice, stitch and rearrange Layer Cake, charm and mini charm squares for fast and fun quilts.

We all have those requests from friends and relatives to make a quilt for a graduation, birthday, wedding, grankids, etc. But we also know not everyone is quilt worthy :). Meaning, why hand applique or hand quilt a quilt that will be used and abused, but also loved for every stitch. Just because you start with precuts and raw edge stitching doesn't mean the quilt isn't wonderful. It's the perfect way to introduce someone to our world of quilts and how to take care of them without worrying they might undo many hours of your time. In fact, my kids and grankids love the dimension and primitive nature of my quilts. They claim they're not afraid to use them instead of putting them away in a plastic bag (egads!) in the closet. I made a more intricate quilt for my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. It's still in the linen closet where Mom is "saving it for good". She's 78 for heaven's sake! Better get it out and throw it on the bed now! Every other quilt I've given her is out and being used and enjoyed because they're raw edge "everyday" quilts. Geez, Mom!  Anyway, my point is, I prefer to make "hairloom" quilts instead of heirlooms. Those you're not afraid to let the grankids use to make a fort or sleep on the porch with the dog. Those that are part of family memories and not a faint memory because they're saved in a closet somewhere. So, we'll be talking about the book alot between now and August. Don't be surprised if there's a big giveaway later this summer. Keep watching!

Post Market Normal

The chaos of preparing for market is over and we're done unloading the cars. The computer is limping along even though the monitor is shutting down of it's own accord so we're still working thru that little issue with loads of patterns to print and new KT Stash Society patterns going out this week. Tech support is coming this afternoon, so I'm trying to keep the faith.

Congratulations to MoeWest - you're the winner of the Harvest Moon fat 1/8's! Enjoy.

 This week, we'll give away another bundle of Holiday Medley scraps. The fabric is arriving in shops now so it's the perfect time to pick a project and buy the extra yardage needed. I hope to be back on a Tuesday timetable again, so watch for your name next week.

There's always something wonderful happening at market and this year is no exception. My friend and fellow designer Pam Buda's (Heartspun Quilts) new fabric line for Marcus Brothers was very well received and Connie Huddleson's (Starry Pines Designs) The Red Chair BOM was a hit. Their support and encouragement over the years has kept me going and I treasure their friendships. We were able to celebrate Connie's birthday Saturday night at Jack's Stack BBQ in KC with several other friends. So much good food and fun!

As for KT, we were once again named one of the top 3 best-sellers in fabric shops for the 6th year in a row according to Fab Shop magazine. Laurie Harsh of Fab Shop Network publishes a magazine for retailers to help them keep up with all the newest trends and does a survey each year of hundreds of quilt shop owners. Top-ranked again were batiks, then the Dr. Suess collection, then KT. I am humbled and honored to be among some of the top names in the industry. Makes the madness all worthwhile. To celebrate, we're offering a FREE Twinkly Stars charm pattern (retail value $6.50) to anyone who sends a stamped (65 cents), self-addressed, 5x7 envelope before June 1st. Wahoo! Holiday Medley charm packs and fabric are in your local quilt shop now.

Robert took a few pictures at market of the booth that will provide a little peek at what's coming up with Harvest Moon, Stash Society and the new Loose Change book. From the left, Spell It Out mini table treats, Loose Change (Harvest Moon hanging; 6 projects on the drying rack), Pickets & Petals, Scrap Baskets and Squared (previous Stash patterns now available to everyone), charm patterns New Moon and Twinkly Stars, Seasons of the Moon changeable wall quilt with 4 quilted center squares, Harvest Moon and Pinwheels mini table treats, Holiday Ties July Stash project, A Wave to Old Glory June Stash, 25 Yard Dash August Stash and Harvest Moon lap quilt. Over the glider is our Merry, Wish, Joy Christmas star quilt.

I've learned over the years to include some comfy seating in my booth since we live there for 3 days. My "new" red glider was just right. A glow from the fireplace and a string of porch lights offered warm ambiance for a fall themed setting. The floor cloth is several years old but still in great shape. Beach Garden Quilts made it for me with my own fabric - I love it!

Moda always requests a picture of the designers - one serious and one for fun. This year, our creative leader, Lissa Alexander, had us wear a mustache (my stash) as a marketing promo. Hilarious!

That's me, second from the left, between Leisl of Olivier & S and Jesse Jung of Lauren & Jesse Jung designs who are brand new designers for Moda and won a best booth award - congrats to mother and daughter. Pat Sloan, also new to Moda, is next to Jesse and Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings is behind me. What good sports! It's so much fun to catch up with everyone and see what's new.

Have a great holiday weekend. We'll talk next week. Lynne

Happy Mother's Day!

A belated Happy Mother's Day to all of you. I had a lovely evening with my 3 sons and their families on Saturday. Smoked brisket, corn on the cob, Brian's famous potato salad and brownie sundaes with strawberries & fudge sauce were on the menu. I came home with 3 beautiful plants - funny how they all think alike even though they swear they weren't shopping together. Bets were taken on how long I can keep the orchid alive. It's not really fair since I'm leaving for market in a day or two. Oh well, I'll enjoy it while I can. Any hints out there?

Cooper, 11, came out to spend the night Friday and "help" me get ready for market. Actually, he finished painting the glider, carried alot of stuff and provided entertainment. We explored the farm and found some cool yard art for a later project and hung out fishing. He caught a pretty good channel cat - about 2 pounds - with a squished snake he found in the road. His mother was none too happy with either of us when he came home with a snake head on a necklace. :) It's good to be the Gramma.

Congratulations to Marie for winning the Harvest Moon mini charm pack. I love that Moda is cutting the smaller charms, too. They've been fun to play with. Here's one of my new favorite blocks using a charm and mini charm with raw edge applique.

This is called Seasons of the Moon because it has a blank center with 4 different moon themed squares to change for the seasons. The block surrounding the center is a simple bias square with a mini charm square stitched on one side. Fast and easy.

This week, we'll be offering a dozen assorted fat 1/8's of Harvest Moon - after I get back from market. I'll try to blog while I'm gone, but several other Moda designers do a great job if you want to keep up with market happenings - Moda Lissa, Angela Yosten and Pat Sloan will all be blogging.

Have a great week,
Lynne

SWicker, you're the winner of the Dreamin' of Summer Pillow pattern, our KT Stash Society May project. I'll gather up some of my scraps for the appliques and send it all out soon. Please email your shipping address to ktquilts2@twinvalley.net.

I love receiving pictures of your KT Stash projects. Here's a few from Brenda at Country Fabrics in Brainerd, MN. She leads the Stash club there with 45 quilters who really put their own twist on the original - I love it!

Here are a few options for the February Hearts to You ...

and the March Bloomin' Pinwheels in everything from KT to pastels to brights to...

a very modern take with hand-dyed solids and machine embroidered leaves. How cool! It's so fun for me to see the creativity sparked by one little idea. Please share your projects. We'd love to see them.

It's just a little over a week until Spring International Quilt Market in Kansas City. We're lucky it's so close this year, but it's still alot of work to prepare and plan and pack. A designer friend of mine, Connie Huddleson of Starry Pines Designs (check out her new blog at wooleymoments.blogspot), is flying to market and asked me to bring a red chair for her booth. Once I got out the red spray paint, I couldn't stop! My old green peeling glider now has another layer of history over white, black, yellow and green. We left a spot on the bottom where you can see all the layers peeling just for fun.

 I think it will look great with a couple of quilts thrown over it in the booth at market. Shown here are New Moon, the Harvet Moon charm pattern featuring a charm pack and a mini charm pack, and one of the projects from a new Mini Table Treats pattern, S-p-e-l-l-i-t-o-u-t. This is the Happy Birthday option, but with a complete alpahbet in the pattern, the possibilities are endless! I have several more in the works including Christmas, Halloween and Fall themes, so watch for those next week.

And, of course, Gus has to try out any new chair/seat that shows up. Or maybe he's just a big ham!

Comment here by Sunday night for this week's giveaway of a Harvest Moon mini charm pack - just a little teaser before even the shop owners get a close look at it. I'll be posting on Monday next week due to the craziness of market, so watch for a chance to win the new MTT pattern, Spell It Out then.

A Day Late...

I've read on several other designer's blogs their frustration with the "new and improved" Blogger setup. I totally agree with the notion that if it ain't broke, don't 'improve" it. I hate learning how to navigate a new site every six months because a 20-something computer nerd had time on his hands. Geez! Anyway, after thinking I had posted all this yesterday - not. So here we go again....

Congrats to Crystal from MO - you're FINALLY a KT blog winner! Please send your mailing address and we'll send out your Holiday Medley mini charms right away (I actually have some of those already). Thanks for hanging in there and continuing to comment on my blog.

This week has been a whirlwind of activity here at KT. Lois and I pieced 2 lap quilts, 2 wall quilts, 4 pillow tops and a Mini Table Treats over the past week. Lap quilts are off to the quilter, small projects are being quilted, bound and embelllished with buttons. Seems we're in pretty good shape, but market is creeping up quickly. Still have lots to do - paint a glider and a chair, have pictures taken after quilts are returned and bound, create a brochure, gather the finishing touches for the booth..... The list is long but I thrive under pressure and love the challenge. Here's sneak peek at some of the parts to the projects we're working on. (Check out the new fabric line, Harvest Moon.)

In addition to market projects for Harvest Moon, we're working on quilts for a book, Loose Change, featuring 2 1/2", 5" and 10" precuts - 2 bits, nickels and dimes, or more commonly known as Moda Candy, Charm Packs and Layer Cakes. This is the beginning of one of the quilts using the new Harvest Moon fabric.  Just below that is our Mini Table Treats using the signature motif in the collection. The moon/acorn theme appears several times since they're favs of mine. Watch for more Harvest Moon stuff after market in June.

This week, I'd like to introduce the May KT Stash Society project, Dreamin' of Summer Pillow Sleeve.

I need a little extra support under my lower back when sitting for long periods of time binding or stitching in my favorite chair. A lumbar pillow is just right for me, but not always cute for my decor, so I created a pillow sleeve that simply slips over the pillow for a punch of color. Can't stop at just one, of course, so we'll have one for each season as the year goes on to change the look and feel of your room. Purchase a pillow about 12" x 20" or make one to your own personal specifications (I actually pulled some stuffing out of a very fluffy pillow I found on clearance at Target that was a bit too full). I covered it in a fabric that will work all year as a backgroud for my seasonal pillow covers. So simple for a big effect. Dreamin' of Summer is now available at all participating KT Stash Society quilt shops (check the list under our Stash link on the website) and at ktquilts.com. Our giveaway this week is the Dreamin' of Summer pattern and a few scraps to get you started on your own pillow sleeve.
Better get back to work. Definitely need to spend some time figuring out the new Blogger.
See you next week,
Lynne