Market Recap - part 1

 

So, like the nerd I am I agreed to let Clint take a picture of me at the airport with the Quilt Market sign.  It was funny to me because he said "this Market must be a big deal" referring to the welcoming sign in the airport. I love him, he makes me laugh.  When I told Clint that I wanted to go to Market, he thought about it for two seconds and booked us the plane tickets and a place to stay.  Knowing him though, he would make it more of a vacation than just a trip to Market.  It is good for us to get away as a couple because our lives are busy and most of the time we are dealing with kiddos and the business.  I am getting more and more used to traveling, which is a good thing because that is what Clint loves to do.  As I was going down the elevator I realized that my life is nothing like I planned, the Lord has given me opportunities that I never knew possible.  For that, I am grateful.

 

Everyone warned us that it just rains in the NorthWest.  And, it does - it rained most of the week.  But, we are so used to it being dry, hot, with tons of red rocks and blue skies, so it was a welcome sight to see the grey clouds and the rain.
I have a crazy fear of going over bridges, but this bridge was awesome with it's flying geese triangles.

 

I was like a kid in the candy store just looking at all the trees.  I forgot how much I love trees, they are everywhere.  The drive to our resort was incredible, full of trees and incredible farm land.  When I was a kid I always dreamed of living in a place that had a dirt lane up to the house with both sides of the lanes being covered with trees.  People actually have that - seriously, I am so jealous! It is so gorgeous.  Remember, I live in the desert.

 

This is the early morning sight in Seaside, Oregon.  Wow!

 

I had the best time catching up with my good friend Emily.  She moved to Seattle and I miss her so much.  She is one of my quilting friends, we used to go to lunch about once a month when she lived here in Saint George.  It has been so hard to not have her here, I miss her so much!  So, needless to say - I am grateful that she made the trip down to see me.  It was the best time, too short though.

 

It is always fun to find out the history in the towns we stay in.  Seaside is the end of the Lewis and Clark trail. There is a famous turnaround that a lot of people come and drive around in their cars called the Promenade.  It's a perfect spot to watch the sunset as well. There is nothing like an ocean sunset.

 

This is just some of the beauty of Seaside.  It is such a beautiful place to visit. 

 

If you know Mr. Madsen, he loves cheese and ice cream - a lot.  So, going to Oregon means we make a trip to the Tillamook factory.  It was so fun.  We went through the taste test area three times and loaded up on some yummy cheese.

 

On the drive home we found this awesome beach.  It was in between Seaside and Tillamook.  The area looked so familiar, then I realized that Goonies was filmed around here in Astoria and Cannon Beach.  We made our way to see that as well.  I kept saying to myself, "HEY YOU GUYS," over and over again.  ;-)

 

It was a beautiful time that Clint and I were able to spend together.  Everywhere in the world we can find the beauty that is unique and incredible to the place we are visiting.  It reminds me of a loving God who created this beautiful world for us to enjoy.  I have come to appreciate that more and more as I have been blessed to be able to create in my own way with my quilting.  It really is incredible when you think about it. 

 

So, not quite the Market post you may of been thinking of.  Don't worry.  I have another post coming with more details of my day at Market. 

Happy Mom's Day Tomorrow..

I made this quilted bag for my mom for Mother's Day.  It started out as a Christmas present, then life and quilting happened and it ended up in the WIP pile.  Recently I was motivated to pull it out again and put it together. I made this bag from my "Carry All Tote" pattern, however I tweeked it a little by using a Jelly Roll for the strips instead of Honey Bun strips. I used a Bella Solids Neutral jelly roll for the body of the quilted bag. I pieced the strips together, making a large piece of "fabric" that I afterwards throw on the longarm and quilt up. The quilting is my free motion feather swirl seen here.    

 

I decided to team up with my sister Jen for the bows on this special bag.  She is incredibly talented and she does bows like I do quilts. I had her send me a few of her cute "Dahlias" with a safety pin clasp on the back of them.  I was able to put these flowers on the bag where I wanted them, so convenient! If you are adventurous with satin fabric, you can buy the pdf pattern for Jen's Dahlia bows here. 

 

This is the front of the bag.  I seriously love this bag, I use mine all the time.  I even have enough quilted fabric to make up another bag like my mom's gift.  I will be doing that soon!

 

Here's the back with a seriously cute pocket and bow of course!

 

A peek at the inside with 4 pockets.  The fabric I used for the lining is from the line "SongBird" by Carina Gardner for Riley Blake Designs. So cute!

 

When I first started quilting the fabric strips, I thought it would be fun to quilt it up this way.  I decided I didn't like it, but I definitely wasn't going to start over, or pick it out.  So, the bottom of bag was a great place to put my "mistake." I love it now, and think it gives the bag some character. 

Anyway, Happy Mother's Day out there to all of you! I am going to be cuddling our kids and loving my husband!  He's the one - btw,  who made me a mom! ;-) 

We also have a gift for you!  Use the code "mother" during checkout on our website to receive an additional savings off our already low prices.

Winner and some thanks and a sneak....

First things first, thank you to all who entered our giveaway. It was fun finding out what fabric lines you are excited about. The winner of the Posh Pumpkins bundle is Shannon, congratulations! Email me your address at judi (at) greenfairyquilts (dot) com and I will get that shipped out to you right away.

  

Okay, moving on!  Thank you so much for your birthday wishes to me.  It made my day - even though I told Clint to not mention it (he's still in trouble for that).  Good thing I don't care about how old I am because he was good enough to include that info too.  He spoiled me though, by giving me a portrait of the Savior that I have been wanting for a long time.  It is one of those gifts that was carefully thought out and planned way ahead of time and I love that about him, he is so thoughtful.  It fits so nicely in our home.  Then he took me out to dinner and a movie.  My sister made her version of Winger's asphalt pie - oh my word!  I loved it! I still have some, so come on over and eat some yummy ice cream pie with me. ;-)

As you can see above I am working on something and this happens to be my quilt.  I can't share the whole quilt because I am planning on using this for a proposal on another book.  I have decided that I will throw my quilts into the mix every now and again, then eventually - not stressfully - I will have all my projects done for what I think will be an awesome addition to my current book, which comes out in a few months.

Life is wonderful!  Busy, but wonderful.  Next week is Quilt Market, I'm so glad I don't have to scramble to get things done for it, I'm just going to go look around, buy some fabric and run into some of my favorite designers.  So, maybe I will see you there!?! Friday? 

Have a fabulous week!  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDI!!!!!!!!!

So I (Clint) decided to hack into Judi's blog account, even though she told me not to, so I could let you all know it's her birthday today.  She's 32 years young and still as beautiful as the day I married her!  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDI!!!!

Giveaway time!!

 

This time of year is wonderful, we are outside - the sun is shining and we are thinking spring!  So, why does Thanksgiving and Christmas fabric come out right now?  I have always wondered that, but realized it is because a lot of us quilters out there are already planning our Thanksgiving and Christmas projects for this year.

  

 

 We have 7 new lines in the shop that are so incredible. You can see them on our home page here. We also have the Posh Pumpkins line by Sandy Gervais.  Wow, love this line - but I have always been a fan of Sandy Gervais.  This gorgeous bundle would go great in my house because I have a lot of these colors in my decor.

  

 

So, I'll make a deal with you! One of you can win this Posh Pumpkins FQBundle to get started on your Fall projects - it includes 39 fat quarters and 1 panel - so it's a great deal for you.  I just need you to check out our site and see what we have in our shop.  We have the 7 new lines on the home page - tell me your favorite, and check out upcoming fabrics in August and September.  Tell me your favorite fabric lines from those months as well.  

So, here's mine:  My favorite new arrival is Winter's Lane by Kate & Birdie - it's adorable!  My favorite August lines are a toss up between  High Street and Road 15 - oh my word, I really need to piece something right now! My favorite line from September is Bobbins and Bits by Pat Sloan - love this line.  It's adorable and the colors are right up my alley! 

You have a couple days to enter - just tell me what you like.  You can sign up for our newsletter and follow my blog for a bonus entry! One comment with all the favorite fabric lines, and one for the bonus entry.  It's easier for me to count that way.  Thanks so much everyone!  Happy Quilting!  

One more thing, you can pre-order a signed copy of my book, it's looking like August sometime. The waiting is killing me, but it will be worth it when it is finally here!