There are so many great fabric related things going on around the web.  Joan Hawley from Lazy Girl Designs wrote to tell us about a miniature sewing/quilt room in a box that she shares on her blog.

Here’s Joan:

“John, I thought you might want to share this with your fabric-crafting readers. I think anyone who creates with a sewing machine will enjoy this.

I have to tell you about some pictures a friend sent me the other day. It all started when I saw a post on Pamdora’s Box about a miniature art gallery dollhouse.  Well, I told my friend Penny Deckard, of The Cotton Vault about it and she emailed to tell me about a quilt-themed gift box she made for a friend.  When I saw the pictures, I told Penny it was too cute to keep to herself and I asked her to consider sharing this fabulous cutie with all of us and to tell us more about the project. Here’s the gift box with the lid sitting off to the side:

Here’s what Penny had to say about the project:

“This gift box quilting scene was so fun to make. My friend owns a quilt shop & I have a quilting web store so it has become difficult to give gifts that don’t involve fabric. I go to a doll shop every Saturday & we make dolls/clothes, 2 years ago one of the ladies showed us her Christmas box & we were all off & running. I wish I had pictures of the others, a few are being made this year. I love playing with miniatures, I wish I had the patience for a miniature quilt (someday). Anyway she likes the Victoriana look, it all folds up into a gift box. Hubby wired the entire thing so the tree lights up & the candles on the mantle. It was fun fun! Thought you might like it.”

I love the details. Look at that kitty stretching on the rug. There’s a project in progress at the sewing machine. And the bolts of fabric, too! Click on each picture for a larger view.

I wish my sewing room was as nice and neat as this Victorian fantasy.  If this was a model of my sewing room there would be one inch of ‘stuff’ all over the floor with a narrow foot path throughout. Note to self – clean sewing room!”   

What, no peanuts on the floor?   Thanks Joan for sharing this with us.

Many of you may already know that Kaye Wood now has streaming videos! Right now, you can check out an episode of Kaye Wood assembling the Pinwheel Hearts quilt.

Available from QuiltersWarehouse, this is the perfect pattern for beginners and advanced quilters. You can order the Pinwheel Hearts pattern and the View & Do Heart Shape along with all the other Kaye Wood products here.

Enjoy the program here! 

In January 2007, I understand that the all new KayewoodTV.com will be launching This is actually a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Web Based Television Channel. It will be direct streaming video, On Demand, of quilting programs to your audience around the world at their leisure. No waiting for the show they want to see . . . just pick it from the play list and it plays right on their computer. No need to download, just click and watch.

I’m sure this will give you plenty to watch and do after the holiday season is over!

Every year I take photos at the International Quilt Market of the Quilt Designers display booths whose products you can find in the QuiltersWarehouse catalog.  Designers were at Market showing their newest quilt patterns as well as refreshing our memories of their other favorites. 

  
 I always try to get the designer in the photo if they are in the booth when I stopped by during this 3 day event.  The Quilt Branch (above) and Thistledown and Company (below) are just two of the 25 different designer photos you can see on our photo spread found here at QuiltersWarehouse. 

I also saw that Joan Hawley of Lazy Girl Deisgns and Gina Halladay of Quilters Buzz both have a number of posts on their blogs about what they each saw at this fall Market.  You should check them out.  Also, if you know of any other posts about Fall 06 Quilt Market that you would like to share, send us a comment about them.

 

  International Quilt Market is sponsored by Quilts, Inc. and is a wholesale show for quilt shops.  It is the local quilt shops semi-annual conference where they can attend classes and shop the exhibit hall for fabric, tools, patterns and notions. 

 

 

Hope you enjoy the photos!  John Bruns, CEO

 

Joan Hawley of Lazy Girl Designs emailed me today and shared a sneak preview of her upcoming book ‘Bold Bags’.  Joan is pretty excited about this new venture, so I’ll share her comments and some of what I read on her blog for our Quilters Showcase readers. 

“I am so excited about my new project with Leisure Arts (LA). LA approached me to do a book with their new line of faux leather and mock croc purse products.  I fell in love with the materials as soon as I started to play with them. 

The handles and the shoulder straps are the big news for our bag-loving fabric crafters because they are a new offering and will work with many designs already available in the maket.  Fashion handles have been readily available for a number of years, but the selection has been limited to hard, mold-injected models or beads strung on wire.  LA is offering faux leather handle pairs and mock croc shoulder straps.  LA also offers letter-sized sheets of the same faux leather and mock croc which are easy to cut and sew.

‘Bold Bags’ by Lazy Girl Designs from Leisure Arts book should be available in November 2006.  ‘Bold Bags’ contains 7 bag projects and suggested retail is $8.95, 32 pages, full-color.  The projects range from easy to intermediate.  And here’s the inside scoop on one detail – we introduce yet another easy and fantastic way to install a zipper!”

You can see the entire line of ‘Exclusively You’ faux leather and mock croc products from Leisure Arts at:  http://www.leisurearts.com/all_skills/ey/

Thanks to Joan for that fabulous preview and I will keep you posted on when this book becomes available at Quilter’s Warehouse.  I also found that Gina has posted more information about Joan and her new book on Quilter’s Buzz.    And if that isn’t enought, Joan has even more detail about the project on her personal blog found here. 

John
Quilter’s Showcase

 

Metro Quiltworks designer Diane Dixon is participating in the Cotton Spice magazine’s Block-of-the-Month Designer’s Challenge # 2, Meadowsweet. Her designed block is a detail from her current pattern Simple Floral Elegance. It will be revealed on Nov 15th! Visit the Cotton Spice website for more details.

Also from Metro Quiltworks their new pattern is Just in time for Christmas! Their “Christmas Party Poinsettia” is a table runner that combines an updated color palette with the no fuss fun of fusible appliqué! Appliqué shapes are layered to create gorgeous poinsettias to set off the perfect look for your Holiday table.

You can shop for all of Metro Quiltworks patterns here!