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Q: What is Quilt Market? 

A: It is eye candy for a shop owner.  Every booth is decorated to entice a shop owner to buy what they are selling.  It is a time for rejuvenation and recommitment to your shop and customers. Market started with a review of Quilting in America 2010.  I love hearing the description of the “dedicated quilter”. Two of her qualities are her age is 62 and she has 2.7 sewing machines.

Q: Is there a trend in fabric that you saw?

A: The fabric at Market in Minneapolis was lighter in value than the last few Markets. Reproduction fabrics are still hot sellers.  Sewing for the home, clothing, and “next gen” fabrics were popular this year.  

Q: What items caught your interest?

A:  This year I saw rotary cutting rulers that actually sharpen your blade as you cut, a slicer that cuts out appliqué shapes on a glass base, a tool to add 7/8” to your regular ruler for cutting half square triangles, and patterns, patterns, and more patterns.  

Q: What are you seeing less of than last year?

A:  The Primative booths (darker country quilts) and Blocks of the Month seem to be getting fewer and fewer at each market.

Q: Are there any Market traditions?

A:  There was plenty of “grazing” for the attendees…each booth had their own candy, cookies, popcorn, for a quick pick-me-up.  My favorite are the cookies at Moda! 

Q:  Can you give our people a feel of what Market is like for a shop owner?

A:   I always spend more than I should. My feet are tired at the end of the day, but after a good night sleep, I am raring to go again.  Shopping Market is hard work, but it is so rewarding when you find that one special little notion you never had seen before.  I really enjoy Spring Market each year because it travels around the country.  There are always new local vendors that you don’t often see in Houston.  I always go a day early so I can visit as many quilt shops in the area as possible in a day.  This year we visited six!  Now I am home and just waiting for the new products and fabric to arrive. In just 6 months I will be off to Fall Market and it starts all over again. 

Merrily Parker is the owner of Merrily We Quilt Along: 1718 S. Ingram Mill, Springfield, MO 65804.  Visit her website by clicking here

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Photo by Gregory Case Photography

Appliqué lovers rejoice! It’s time to meet, visit with, and enjoy the work of that hand-appliqué dynamo, Becky Goldsmith, designer and co-founder (with Linda Jenkins) of Piece O’ Cake Designs in Episode 611. Becky demonstrates how to appliqué “the Piece O’ Cake way” with unique methods that include making laminated appliqué templates, using upholstery vinyl for placement, pieced appliqué backgrounds, and her signature needle-turn stitching.  And you don't want to miss Ricky's freezer paper demo that let's you create an original applique design.  It's a show packed with great info and tips!  To watch the show click here.

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In third Place is Jane Rodgers!

In second place is Mary Johnson.  The 2nd and 3rd place were selected by the Facebook followers of AccuQuilt.  

AND THE WINNER IS!!  LINDA ERICKSON WILL HAVE HER DESIGN PAINTED ON THE ACCUQUILT CORPORATE OFFICES.

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Please join us in welcoming OLFA as our newest TQS Site Sponsor.  OLFA offers a premium line of award-winning precision cutters, knives, blades, rulers, mats and accessories, including their signature snap-off blades and self-retracting safety cutters. 

Please take a moment to welcome OLFA to The Quilt Show.com by submitting a comment above.

To learn more about their complete line of products, and find some fun projects, click on the OLFA banner at the left.

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Tickets for Tapings in Boulder!
Hurry--The Tickets are Free but Limited!

You've seen how much fun we have.  Now it's your chance.  Our audiences are an important part of The Quilt Show.  We will be taping August 5-11, 2010. 

 Click Here for all the information.

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Join us in Episode 610, as Alex and Ricky visit award-winning quiltmaker, Cynthia England, at her home and studio outside Houston, TX.  She her special workplace and fabric storage rooms.

Cynthia shares her special paper-piecing technique that allows you to break complex designs down into easily manageable sections. Best of all: you don't need to tear away the paper! You'll also see the circa-1880s quilt that Cynthia bought for $10 (!) at a garage sale, and learn about the devastation wreaked on her studio by Hurricane Ike.

 It's an hour packed with useful info, fabulous insights, great tips...and even some garden visitors you don't want to miss. To watch the show, click here.

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Granddaughter's Flower Garden by Allison Aller

Penny Rug Revisited by Mari Stori

Here's your chance to make a small quilt with a big payoff. In fact, the payoff might be really big; that is, the size of a mid-arm quilting machine, which is the grand prize for this year's quilt contest to benefit the nonprofit Alliance for American Quilts. The "New From Old" theme was chosen as a reminder that quilting constantly re-invents itself, and because recycling seems smarter now than ever.

Contest quilts must be only 16" square and the deadline is May 31, so if you haven't already entered, the time is now! Spectacular quilts are already arriving at the AAQ's office in Asheville, NC. Don't miss this excellent chance to enter your own creation.

All contest quilts will tour to several major national quilt shows this summer, including the AQS show in Knoxville, TN, and the NQA show in Columbus, OH. The quilts also will be archived permanently at the Alliance website, so you'll get lots of exposure even after the quilts are auctioned on eBay next fall to raise funds for the Alliance's mission to document, preserve, and share the story of quilts and their makers.
 
For the rules and entry forms, click here.

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Our Bernina dealer at the Super Seminar is Abigayle's Quiltery (www.abigayles.com).  They are located in a quaint downtown in a wonderful house.  Here is a quick look.

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For the 2nd time there is a spam email making the rounds that says Libby Lehman is in London and she needs help getting home because their bags, cash & cards were stolen at gunpoint and they need money to get a flight home.

Please do not respond or send any money.  This is a hoax.  It is a financial ripoff.  Libby is right here with Ricky and Alex in Cleveland at the Super Seminar.  We are having a great time.

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You may have heard that Mark Lipinski is facing a huge medical challenge - if not, please visit his blog here for information and ways to help - Fight the good fight Mark!