Spoiled ....!

By a couple of wonderful quilters on Blogland.  I feel so grateful.  First let me share what Debbie from Woolensails sent me!

Isn't it just beautiful?!  I love snowmen!  Thank you so much Debbie for thinking of me.

I also participated in a Mug Rug Swap that Debbie organized with a Prim group I belong too. My partner was Karen from Log Cabin Quilter who need I say, went beyond the requirements.

Wanna see the beautiful gifts?

Adorable! Stephen is building me some shelves for my sewing studio (yes it's still not all organized - surprised?) and it will have a permanent spot! To cute not to enjoy all year!

A cute wallhanging and a mug rug!  More snowmen - how did she know that I just love snowmen?  And if this wasn't enough .....

How cute is that?  Can you say "spoiled"?  Indeed I have been spoiled this holiday season.

Thank you so much Debbie and Karen for spoiling me.  You have no idea how much this means to me.  It's been a crazy year and your thoughtfulness is much appreciated.

Hey ... How are ya....?

I sure hope Santa's been good to you!  Ok, perhaps it should be stated, "I sure hope you were on Santa's nice list".  Of course, it's not as much fun as being naughty .....

Although I've been a naughty girl this year on blogland and posting, Santa seemed to have overlooked that and bought me ...

A Mac book Pro with retina display.  I'd love to say that I have spent time with it and am now fully using it, but no .... it's a whole new learning curve.  I need to sit myself down and spend time learning photo editing.

What I have been doing is finishing projects.  Indeed, I finished a quilt that has been weighing heavy.  You know, one of those projects that you want to finish but .... it's complicated by techniques and mistakes...

I took a couple of days off from Fibre and worked on it. Voila!

Snow Day - fabric and pattern by Edyta Sitar.  Love how it turned out!

Despite the busy holidays, I leveled Penelope and ....

Had a wonderful play date.  We hadn't played in such a long time ... since she was re-assembled after the renovations!  It's been way to long!

It feels wonderful to have gotten the top done ... it makes me want to start of a new project! lol

So what have you been up to?

Thanks for stopping by!  Cheers!

Happy Christmas!

Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful Holiday Season!

Bird by bird ...!

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed that you have no idea where to start?  So, you just sit there in a bubble, ignoring everything around you until it all magically disappears.  Ok, so it  doesn't magically disappears, but the bubble does give one a false sense of being under control!

My present state reminds me of a story I read in a book called Bird by Bird, written by Anne Lamott.  Her older brother had a book report on birds for which he had 3 months to complete, but decided to work on it the night before it was due.  Sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by books, papers etc ... and paralyzed by the immense work ahead with so little time, his father sat down next to him and said "Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird". (p. 19)

Great piece of advice for times when one feels overwhelmed.  So today I am dealing with one bird, and that is the give away courtesy of Edyta Sitar posted on Taking care of business.

And the winner is ..... drum roll please ......

So Pat from Bits and Pieces blog please get in touch with me so that we can make arrangements for your lovely prize.

Thank you everyone for stopping by my little corner in cyberspace!  Onward to the next bird...! Cheers!

Houston Fall Market 2013 - Day 5!

It's my final day.  By now I'm on overload!  It's amazing the information you leave with when you attend one of these trade shows.

My flight left at 3:00 p.m.  So I spent a few hours in the morning walking around, looking for what I may have missed.  I probably missed a lot.  What I do know is that I missed one of my favourite Aussie designer, Natalie Lymer from Cinderberry Stitches.

A few hours is really all I could handle.  Seriously, I was on overload, in a daze!

So, I sat myself down at the Hilton America restaurant and treated myself to a wonderful smoke turkey wrap and sweet potato fries.

It was delicious! Had I known how heavenly it was, I would have eaten lunch at my hotel as opposed to the Market food court.  Don't get me wrong, I experience some nice Texan food .... it's just that this was worth it! ;o)

I have learned much from this experience.  For one thing, you can bet that when Spring Market rolls around, I will pay attention to the vendors present and make a point to see what would interest me!  My first market has taught me to be more focused!

So, I'm already planning my next International Quilt Market - See you in Pittsburgh May 2014!  I haven't decided if I'm flying or driving.  I'm only a 10 hour drive!  So far, driving is winning .... only because I will be able to bring much more products home. ;o)

Thank you for following my Market Journey!  Cheers!

Houston Fall Market 2013 ... day 4!

So, it's Sunday morning and I'm ready to hit Market again.

Moda here I come .....

First one was Kathy Schmitz Studio ... I just love her work.

Check out that table topper BOM I was telling you about in a prior post!  Tempting!  Kathy is so sweet.  I had a wonderful chat with her.

Lynn Hagmeier from Kansas Troubles Quilters.

Joanna from Fig Tree Quilts.

Such lovely quilts ... and fabric lines!

Basic Grey ... I just love their new line Little Black Dress 2

Kansas City Stars ... I just love their selection of historical quilting books

Such lovely projects!  Gosh, it really makes you think you can do it all!

Riley Blake Designs .... that's a quilt made with Sue Daley's new fabric line French Courtyard Cottons.

Speaking of which, I had an opportunity to meet with Sue Daley.

Isn't that a gorgeous quilt behind us?  Yea, I bought the pattern .... How could I resist?

By now, I'm beat!  It looks like I could use another one of these .....

There were a lot of margaritas on this trip.  Some frozen, others on the rocks!  Yummy .... Ok, there was a lot of Mexican food also!  It's a good thing I walked a lot! ;o)

Thanks for stopping by!  One more day left ..... Cheers!

Houston Fall Market 2013 Day 3 ....!

The Market opens ......

It's so exciting and huge.  You cannot do it all in one day.

If you were to ask me what made an impact on me the most, I would have to say the numerous fabric companies that I had no clue existed.  There is fabric beyond Moda .....  Oh don't get me wrong, I love Moda, I just had no clue what was out there .... yea one can get overwhelmed.

It is so tempting to want to purchase everything.  It all looks so beautiful ...

So, I walked around thinking not only could I have it all, but I could do it all.   Until, that is, I realized that, unlike Cinderella, I did not have night elves to make all the samples!  Oh, and the financial budget starts to creep in .... a rude awakening indeed ... Sigh!

Here are a few of my favourite booths. Let's start with Marcus Fabrics, which I love for its reproductions!

Across from Marcus is Red Crinoline Quilts, meet Paula Barnes and  Mary Ellen Robinson.

Such sweet ladies! They had such a lovely booth.  I could have spent the day there!  Instead, I spent some money!  Sadly, the pattern order does not come with a ready  made sample! :o(  I also could not find a suggestion box!

Here's another one .... From the inside...!

The Henry Glass Fabric booth.

Love the Halloween theme.

What do I see a yonder? ..... Hey I'd recognize those anywhere!

Compliment of The Quilted Crow Girls Design, an Aussie pattern company

Timeless Treasures!

That evening I was invited to a parrrrrtyyyy (pronounce with a Sponge Bob accent) hosted by Timeless Treasures at the Magnolia Hotel.

There seemed to be a lot happening at that Hotel.  I often walked by this building on my way to an event.  I found it intriguing!

The parrrrrty theme was ...... Casino night!

A wonderful evening was had.  I finally learned to play Black Jack!  Who would have thunk that I would learn the game at a Quilt Market event?  Ha ... you just never know!

Hey, there's still time to sign up for the give away compliment of Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts.  Check it out here.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Stay tune for Day 4!

Houston Fall Market 2013 Day 2 ... part 4!

Last but not least was Stample Sample Spree!

This event takes place from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.  Would you believe that people started lining up at 5:00 p.m.?

Well, I was not going to do that.  So, I kept busy until around 8 ish.  I walked in front of the line just to take this picture.

Ok, truth be known, I cut in line and joined Miss Sharon of Daisy Cottage Quilting and Carol no blog! ;o)

The doors opened and there were security people yelling - "WALK DO NOT RUN" because women people were running.  I still have no clue why people would be so crazy for this event.

So, I'm casually walking in through the doors and believe it or not, I was shoved pushed out of the way by some crazy lady in a hurry.  I said to her, "EXCUSE ME, you're being rude".  She never turned around and made a b-line for the Moda booth!

Well, I guess it's true what they say .... it's crazy!

I avoided Andover and Moda booth until the calm.  I figured if it was meant to be, there would be some FQ towers I desired left for me to purchase

Wanna see my loot?

First stop - Henry Glass Fabrics booth.  Yea, I started from the middle.  Everyone one else was headed either right (Moda) or left (Andover)!

Aren't they pretty?  Buggy Barn Original Basics!

I took a peak at Riley Blake Designs!  Gosh do they have some tempting lines!  I couldn't resist ...

Sue Daley's latest line French Courtyard!  Not even out in stores yet!  Love love love that line.  She's one of my favourite Aussie designers.

Once Andover had calmed down, I headed onward for this ....

Downton Abbey!  I just had to have one to bring to the shoppe.  It really didn't take long for it to find a new home! lol

I also picked up the latest .....

Amelia by Jo Morton.  I'll be ordering a few pieces from that line to compliment my growing collection of Jo Morton.

I did stop at the Moda booth and picked up a couple of things.  Nothing worth mentioning at this time.  Let's just say, it had been well picked over!

Towards the end of the evening, the event quieted down.  I must admit, that's when I had the best time.  It gave me the opportunity to browse without being shoved and to talk with various pattern designers, one of which is none other than .....

Rosalie Quinlan - She's another of my favourite Aussie Designers.  What a sweet person she is!  I did purchase a little something just for moi.

Love, love love her work!

Well, thanks for stopping by!  Stay tune for day 3!

Catch you later!  Cheers!

We interrupt our regular Fall Market schedule .....!

Fibre received the full line of Scrumptious by Bonnie & Camille.  I have waited a long time for such a delicious line.

I just had to play with the fabrics ....!

Oh my ... what fun!

Off to start my pieceful day!  Catch you later!

Houston Fall Market 2013 Day 2 ... part 3!

Ok, so last but not least was the Schoolhouse session with Moda.  Gosh, was it difficult to get good shots.  It was a challenge!

So each designer had a letter of the alphabet and came up with a block.  I suppose we should start with the letter A.

A for ......

American Jane  ...  I love, love, love that quilt!  

B for .....!

Bunny Hill Designs ... Oh and she came out with the cutiest pattern.

Coming soon to Fibre Junction .... Christmas Wheel!

L for ..... Love

Ok ... Edyta Sitar from Laundry Basket Quilts.

S for ....

Kathy Schmitz ... She is coming out with the cuties table topper BOM.  Very tempting ....

Last but not least ..... T for 

Fig Tree Quilts!

What a purty set up!  

Thanks for stopping by.  Stay tune for the last part of the day Stample Sample Spree!

A diversion .....!

Did you know that Fibre Junction is on Facebook?  That's right!

Want a chance to win this?

Leave a comment on the post! Oh ... don't forget to like us!

Houston 2013 Fall Market Day 2 ...... part 2!

Please excuse my lack of consistent posts.  It's been a whirlwind of activities at the Meier household involving lots of travelling.

I had an opportunity to attend a schoolhouse session with Marcus Fabrics.  I just love that company.  Of course, as you know, one of Fibre's specialties is reproduction fabrics! ;o)

Sarah Maxwell was the speaker.  As you know Sarah and her partner in crime, Dolores Smith, are authors of numerous historical quilting books as well a various BOM.  Ok, never mind that they also publish many patterns in various quilting magazines.  Sigh! I personally think they should write a book on how they manage to get so much done.

They showed their latest Block of the week using Judie's Authentic Miniatures by Judie Rothermel.

Yes, the fabric line and block of the week is coming to Fibre Junction.  Did I mention I shopped? lol  Stay tune for more information.

Seeing the various quilts was so inspirational.

Wonderful eye candy.

Another session I attended was by Henry Glass & Co., Inc.  I had to check out what Kim Dielh was up to!

Love her style!

What a cute quilt!  That was made from her Hearthside Seasons fabric line.  Here is the link to some free patterns from Kim.

Want a sneak peak at what's coming to Fibre Junction?

Hope you've enjoyed these two school house sessions.  Stay tune for part 3!

Thanks for stopping by!