The Marching Band Goes Marching In Paducah

Are you in Paducah this weekend for the AQS show? The Little Quilts ladies are and look at the grand welcome that they received! The school marching band marched right in front of their booth [#1816]!

Have fun! Enjoy your weekend! Remember to enter the fabric giveaway!

Snow Much Fun!

We are experiencing some rainy weather this weekend here in the NYC area. We don't have snow although someone said that it was going to snow in Pennsylvania. We thought that we'd try to cheer you up even if it's sunny where you are.

Let us know your favorite season of the year and we will send one winner a bunch of this line, Snow Much Fun by Shelly Comisky. What's so exciting about this? We just received some of this fabrica and you will be the very FIRST to have your hands on it. In fact, it isn't in the stores for a few weeks. Make sure that you comment by midnight next Sunday, April 29, 2012. Let your friends know and enter! Good luck! GIVEAWAY CLOSED ------

Sunset Beach

Lucy Morey of Hot Scott Patterns is the designer of the Sunset Beach collection. It is a fun and fabulous line that is great for making special things for trendy boys and girls. The blues, browns and oranges are very popular now with the boy crowd. The surfboards are oh so cool. If you know anything about designing fabric, you know that a collection can take a long time from drawing to actual fabric on the bolt. A designer's job is to relay the latest trends in a timely manner. It's not always an easy feat and timing is everything in the design industry. Sometimes the forecasting of trends can lend itself to a bit of uncertainly from somewhere along the line from the designer all the way to the quilt shop. So how do you know if you're going to have a hit on your hands? You don't. However, when you hit the right spot, it feels great!

[PB Kids Catalog]

Lucy recently wrote about her experience with personal validation with the Sunset Beach line. You can read the post in its entirety here. She gave a great and honest view of a designer's perspective of the ups and downs of a career in textile design. What we're especially proud of in this article is the fact that her vision for Sunset Beach was validated by a big brand such as Pottery Barn Kids. What a great feeling and to Lucy, thank you for designing Sunset Beach!

Come back next week for a peak at what Lucy's making with her fabric! Let us know what you think about this fun collection!

Designer Spotlight: Holly Hill Quilt Design

We're pleased to introduce you to our newest designer, Mary Jane Carey of Holly Hill Quilt Design. The color cards for her fabric line, Ninth & Vine, were in the hands of the sales representatives in March. Your local quilt shops should be looking at the line and buying it right about now! Let's find out a little about Mary Jane!

HG:  How did you get started in business?

MJ:  In 1993 I opened The Christmas Shoppe and was selling my one-of-a-kind handcrafted Santas. In 1997 I switched my focus to quilting and have been quilting non-stop ever since. In 2008 I started Holly Hill Quilt Designs and have been designing quilting patterns since then.

HG:  Where do you get your inspiration?

MJ:  I LOVE Christmas so I draw lots of inspiration from Christmas and winter themes but most any holiday or season offers plenty of ideas to work with. My trouble is having enough time to get all of the ideas popping in and out of my mind onto paper and then made into quilts.

HG:  What are some new ventures that we should be looking for in the near future?

MJ:  In 2013 a book that I'm doing with Leisure Arts will be released. It's a Christmas book [surprise] with 7 projects.

HG: Where did you grow up and where is your home now?

MJ: I was born in Los Angeles and lived there until I was 15 years old. Then my family moved to the Bay Area in CA. I currently live in Richmond, NH. It's a beautiful, quiet New England town with a population of 1,200. Quite a change from Los Angeles.

HG:  Pets or children? Or both?

MJ:  My husband, Dan, and I have 2 grown daughters and 2 grandsons. We also have a dog, Mick, that is our "little boy."  He's a 10-year old Sheltie and I'm sure Dan talks to Mick all day long when I'm away on business.

HG:  Favorite hobbies?

MJ:  Quilting, quilting and more quilting!

HG:  Favorite vacation spot?

MJ:  Last year we took our 2 grandsons for a vacation on Lake Winnipesaukee. A really great time was had by all so we're going back again this year.

HG:  Sneak peek of your studio?

MJ:  I love to see pictures of other designers' studios but I always wonder how they can keep it so perfect. I sew at my dining room table and when I'm sewing there is no room for meals. No pictures allowed!

Thanks for spending some time with us Mary Jane!

Winner!

Thank you for commenting! Congratulations to Amy Whetton of Vista, Ca., our winner of the Delightfully Frightful fabric!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to designer Kari Ramsay and her family! They welcomed Ethan Xavier Ramsay on March 29, 2012!

Congratulations too to Barbara Jones of QuiltSoup! She's been mentioned in the quilting industry a bit lately! She was mentioned in Fabshop's WebCents and featured in FreeQuiltPatterns.info!