Let's Get Quilting - A "fresh-vintage" fabric giveaway

If you saw our interview on the blog last week with Martha Walker, you will recall that we closed with the question of simplicity, and how Martha's fabrics from "A Prairie Journal" are reminiscent of a period in history when quilt making was more of a tradition built into women's lives from necessity, than a hobby eked out of our spare time. 

Having said that, this week's giveaway is from Martha Walker's last collection with Henry Glass Fabrics called "Sentimental Stitches." You may still be able to find this line in your local quilt shop, but it is sold out from our warehouses. We found this darling bundle in the closet. To win, you just need to comment on the blog by answering a simple question; "What would a 'simpler life' look like to you?"

The giveaway begins today and ends Saturday at midnight (EST). 

Let's Get Quilting - 2016 Edition

An Interview with Designer Martha Walker

We caught up with Henry Glass designer, Martha Walker of Wagon West Designs, who is the face behind the recently released collection, "A Prairie Journal". 

Martha's exciting news is that she is working on a new book that will be released this spring. 


HG: Thanks so much for taking a few minutes for Henry Glass blog fans. Any designer that also moves into the realm of author is inspiring. Please share with us more about the book, what it's about and the focus. 

Martha: My series started with Annie's Scrapbag 4 years ago. I came up with the concept while on a hike, which is typical. Hiking is a great way for me to free my mind and come up with ideas. I like having a theme to center a collection of projections around. I also love history in general, and specifically, the history of quilt making, especially the time period of the nineteenth century. 

Each book in the series centers around a fictional quiltmaker living in the nineteenth century, a little about what her life is like or what inspires her.  The projects in the book then reflect the quiltmaker's story, with the projects including quilts, wool applique and other needlework projects.

The book that is soon to be released is actually second in the series, called "Betsy's Scrapbag."  It's an exciting story of her life and her motivation during that time. 

HG: What made you decide to self-publish versus the traditional publishing route?

Martha: I have done both, and there are definitely a lot of advantages to going the traditional route. But because this was going to be an ongoing series, I wanted to have complete creative control over both the look of the book and the content.

HG: Is book writing still allowing time for creating projects, collections, and teaching?

Martha: The bulk of my time in working on a book is the actual designing and production of the projects, during which I normally take care of most of the instructional diagrams and templates as I go along. 

I don't really have a set time to finish (an advantage to self-publishing) - when I have a good collection of projects, I'm done! While I'm working on the projects I can take breaks for teaching, working on collections, etc., as I go along. Crunch time is when all of the projects are completed and it's time to sit down and put it all together with the written instructions and organization of the book.

HG: What is the priority in life these days for you?

Martha: Of course, family always comes first! Creatively, I would like to continue designing fabric collections that render a vintage appearance, continue designing projects for my book series, and sharing my love for quilt-making and other needle arts with others.

HG: Thank you Martha, we are so lucky that you have shared your talents with us!

Everyone, please visit the website to see Martha Walker's newest collection, "A Prairie Journal."  You can see for yourself that she truly is artistically inspired by the simplicity of an earlier time.  Here's a picture of her strike-offs from her latest collection. 

How about you? Does simplicity inspire you? Do you sometimes dream of having a simpler life? (Aside from churning our own butter, of course). 

Inspired: Martha Walker of Wagons West Designs

We always love to visit with our designers and most times it happens at Quilt Market. Martha Walker of Wagons West Designs was in Houston recently. She presented at Schoolhouse and had her own booth. Martha and her husband were busy showing off her new pattern and fabric designs.

As you can tell, applique is a hallmark of Martha's designs and her color palette is gorgeous. She designed the stripe in her collection as a tool to help new students in the art of applique. The vines that you see in the top photograph are part of the print. Students can learn to applique floral elements and stitch them in place along the vine. Therefore they can quickly achieve a lovely finished product in no time. Martha is so clever! You can see the entire collection and download the free patterns on Martha's page over at the Henry Glass website.

Martha takes you on a tour of her booth in Houston and talks about her new collection A Prairie Journal. You can view the collection on the Henry Glass website here. Enjoy!

Ask your local Henry Glass representative to see and to order this beautiful new collection today!

- HG

Day 7: Jaftex 85th Anniversary Blog Hop

Welcome to day 7 of the Jaftex 85th Anniversary Blog Hop! Jaftex is the parent company of Henry Glass & Co., Studioe Fabrics and Blank Quilting. We are hosting the blog hop here and will be posting some photographs on the Henry Glass Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook pages too.

We invited over 30 designers, quilt industry friends and bloggers to help us celebrate. Bundles of Henry Glass' Folio Basics, Studioe's Peppered Cottons or Blank's Fusion Illusion were sent to our friends and we asked them to make something special for our blog hop. They did not disappoint! Each day we will reveal the designs on the designers' blogs  and today we welcome Heather Mulder Peterson.

Heather Mulder Peterson

Heather is the designer and owner behind Anka’s Treasures Pattern Company. She started her business as a college sophomore in 1995.  Since that time, she has published numerous single patterns almost 30 books. Her work has been published in American Patchwork and Quilting and other popular quilting magazines. Her signature look combines trendy colors with traditional influences.  The designs often incorporate innovative ways to easily achieve complicated looking designs.  When Heather isn't working on quilt designs, she can be found working on fabric lines for Henry Glass and Co and teaching occasional classes.

Heather makes her home near Spicer, Minnesota with her husband Joel, sons Carter and Maxwell, and dog Romy.  When not quilting and designing, Heather likes to read, knit, spend time down by the lake and hang out with friends and family.

Martha Walker is posting from her blog too.

Martha Walker has been quilting for over 40 years and teaching quilt making and other needle arts for 20 years. She publishes patterns through her company, Wagons West Designs, and is the author of Annie's Scrapbag , Be Merry: Quilts and Projects for Your Holiday Home (Kansas City Star Quilts), and Vintage Christmas. 

Prior to launching her pattern company, Martha exhibited her original designs locally and nationally, and has won numerous awards, including ribbons at International Quilt Festival, American Quilter's Society Quilt Show, National Quilter's Association Quilt Show, Pacific International Quilt Festival, Road to California, Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, and The Arizona Quilter's Guild Quilt Show.  

Her work has been widely featured in magazines such as Quiltmaker, Primitive Quilts and Projects Magazine, Quiltmania, Simply Vintage, Quilt Country, Magic Patch, and Quilter's Newsletter Magazine.

Here is the list of participants in the blog hop. Check in each day to see the special projects that were designed for the Jaftex 85th Anniversary Blog Hop.

September 1 - Kim Diehl guest posting @ American Patchwork & Quilting

September 2 - Pepper @ Pepper at the Quilt Studio 

September 3 - Anjeanette @ Anjeanette Klinder 

September 4 - Leanne @ The Whole Country Caboodle   

September 5 - Mark @ Mark Lipinski's Blog

September 6 - Heather @ Heather Kojan Quilts  

September 7 - Heather @ Trends and Traditions  

September 7 - Martha @ Wagons West Designs  

September 8 - Linda @ Linda Lum DeBono 

September 9 - Heidi @ Red Letter Quilts 

September 10 - Jill @ Jillily Studios  

September 10 - Dana @ My Lazy Daisy  

September 11 - Penny @ Sew Simple Designs  

September 12 - Ida @ Cowtown Quilts 

September 13 - Liz and Beth @ Lizzie B Cre8ive  

September 14 - Melissa @ Sew Bitter Sweet Designs

September 15 - Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl    

September 16 - Amy @ Kati Cupcake 

September 16 - Barbara @ QuiltSoup2 

September 17 - Erica @ Kitchen Table Quilting 

September 18 - Leona @ Leona's Quilting Adventure 

September 19 - Margot @ The Pattern Basket  

September 20 - Sylvia @ Flying Parrot Quilts   

September 21 - Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts  

September 22 - Kim @ Aurifil Threads  

September 23 - Rebekah @ Don't Call Me Becky   

September 24 - Julie @ The Crafty Quilter 

September 25 - Mary Ellen @ Little Quilts  

September 25 - Mary Jane @ Holly Hill Designs 

September 26 - Daisy @ Ants to Sugar

September 27 - Melissa @ Happy Quilting

September 28 - Janet @ One S1ster

September 29 - Jenny @ Martingale& Co.

September 30 - Teresa @ Third Floor Quilts

Another fun part of the celebrations is the contest. Winners will receive fabric of course but also some great prizes from our quilt industry friends. The first prize winner will win a Janome Skyline S5, the second place winner will win a big box of Aurifil thread and the third prize will win a lovely tin with special goodies from Schmetz Needles.  Jaftex Corp. thanks special thanks to Janome America, Aurifil and Schmetz Needles for their prizes.

Take note. We love our quilt shops and we have included a part of the giveaway where you can help your local shop win too! Here is a peek at the prizes.

Enter the contest below and good luck!

85th Anniversary Giveaway

Thank you for joining us for this celebration.

- HG

Happy Fall!!

Thanks to all of you who popped in for last week's giveaway. Jill Finley is off to teach in Alaska this week. We can't wait to see photographs of her teaching and of her students' work.

We are continuing with the "Countdown To The Holidays" feature. We're talking to our designers and featuring Henry Glass news until December.

The winner of the last week's fabric bundle is posted in the Rafflecopter widget. Congratulations to Rina M. Please forward your contact information here to claim your prize. You have until 48 hours to claim your prize. Otherwise we reserve the right to pick another winner.

This week we are giving away an assorted bundle of Kim Diehl fabrics [fabrics may vary from the photograph] and a special treat from our featured designer. See below for the details.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


This week we are featuring designer Martha Walker of Wagons West Designs. We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of her new and first line with Henry Glass called "Sentimental Stitches." Although the theme of the collection is not specifically autumn, her prints and quilts are colored to give one the flavor of the fall season with its rich red, green and gold colors.

"Sentimental Stitches" will be available next moth and we are so very excited for the arrival of the collection. Make sure that you download the free pattern for this collection. The quilt features a lovely border print and Martha's simple but gorgeous applique.

Martha has been busy working up new patterns with her samples from the collection. She sent over this photograph of her working on some machine applique.

We will be featuring Martha on a future post when her fabric arrives next month. Meanwhile, she is offering a copy of her newest pattern, "French Reel" to the winner this week in the "Countdown To The Holidays" event. Just fill out the Rafflecopter widget above to enter. You can comment on the blog by telling us how you decorate for fall. Good luck!

Good luck!

-HG

Quilt Market Spring 2014: Quilt Something Beautiful

After months of planning, the Henry Glass crew was ready to set up our booth for the International Quilt Market in Pittsburgh recently. A lot of work goes into preparing the booth and then there's a lot of hard work on the days of setting it up.

Booth designer [and also fabric/quilt designer] Jill Finley of Jillily Studios did a wonderful job designing the booth and the tote bags for Henry Glass. The theme for our booth was "Quilt Something Beautiful." 

Mary Ellen Von Holt of Little Quilts helped us out by setting up the sign for the Henry Glass booth and hanging the beautiful Folio quilt. This lovely quilt is made from fabric that showcases the Folio collection. These ladies have serious handy dandy tool talent.

Jill pre-made the flowers using prints from the Henry Glass market releases to dress up the entire booth.

This special corner hosted the designers as they presented their demos in the Henry Glass booth throughout the show.

[Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched]

 [Dana Brooks of My Lazy Daisy]

[Jacquelynne Steves]

[Jill Finley of Jillily Studios]

[Martha Walker of Wagons West Designs]

[Leanne Anderson of The Whole Country Caboodle]

 [Mary Ellen Von Holt of Little Quilts]

[Mary Jane Carey, Holly Hill Quilt Designs]

Come back for more International Quilt Market news!

-hg

Designer Spotlight: Martha Walker of Wagons West Designs

We are pleased to introduce you to one of our newest designers, Martha Walker of Wagons West Designs. We chatted with her recently and we welcome her to the Henry Glass blog.

HG: Welcome, Martha! What is the name of your company?

MW: Wagons West Designs.

HG: How long have you been in business and how are you involved in the quilting industry? 

MW: I launched Wagons West Designs in 2007 with my first book, Vintage Christmas. I have since authored Be Merry: Quilts and Projects for Your Holiday Home for Kansas City Star Books, and independently, Annie's Scrapbag. I also have published individual patterns for quilts, wool appliqué and punch needle, as well as quilts and needlework projects for many magazines.

HG: Where do you live?

MW: Phoenix, Arizona.

hg: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family. 

MW: I have been married for almost 27 years to Thom, and we have two wonderful boys, Andrew and Nicholas, who are 25 and 21 respectively, and a daughter-in-law, Katie, Andrew's wife. We also have one very needy, I mean sociable, cat named Tabitha.

HG: Are you a quilter?

MW: Yes!

HG: Who taught you how to quilt?

MW: I was inspired to begin quilting because I loved the quilts my Grandmother made, but I actually taught myself how to quilt. I began piecing by machine, but later in my early twenties took a class where I learned how to hand piece, so it's great to know how to do both! I taught myself how to quilt by hand, and in the late 90's I took a few classes to learn how to machine quilt. I've also learned SO many things from books and magazines!

HG: How long have you been quilting?

MW: I made my first quilt, a big four patch bedspread, when I was a teenager, which was over 40 years ago. My mom had a big box of scraps, which I almost emptied after cutting 4 1/2" squares for that double bedspread. With the leftover smaller scraps, I started my second quilt, a Grandmother's Flower Garden, when I was a sophomore in high school, and finally finished it my senior year in college. Then it was on to a postage stamp quilt to use up the rest of the scraps for a triple Irish chain wall hanging. Luckily by then, quilting fabrics and quilt shops began to appear, so I could start rebuilding my stash!

HG: Favorite technique?

MW: I like variety, so it's fun for me to switch from hand appliqué, to hand piecing, to machine piecing, to wool appliqué, etc, etc. When making a quilt, I try to use as many different fabrics as I can in a single quilt, "scrappy" if you like. I think the bigger the assortment of fabrics, the more interesting and lively the quilt.

HG: What is your style? Country? Modern? etc.?

MW: I would say a mix of traditional/ folk art/ primitive. I am so inspired by quilts from the nineteenth century, and try to emulate the sense of spontaneity so oftentimes found in those quilts. 

HG: Do you design on paper, computer, other?

MW: My designs almost always start as drawings on paper, which I later transfer to the computer for patterning or to be placed within a combination appliqué/pieced design. I use both Adobe Illustrator and EQ7 for design and drafting.

HG: Thanks for visiting with us Martha. Your new line is fabulous. Meanwhile for our fans, you can catch a sneak peak of Martha's new line Sentimental Stitches on our website. The line will be in quilt shops in October.

-hg