The Attic Window Quilt Shoppe Blog

Day Two International Quilt Market:  Today was Schoolhouse for all three of us.  This is a whirlwind of sessions, some 15 minutes, some 1/2 hour.   It's a combination of designers and manufacturers showcasing their new books and products and an opportunity to pick up some new ideas for classes, demonstrations, and techniques.  The way it is always structured is that the schedule is available at 8:00 a.m. and the classes start at 10:20.  There are at least 10-15 classes to pick from for each time slot and almost none are repeated . . .lots of decisions to make and we often coordinate so that each of us goes to one of the classes we hope will bring ideas for our customers.  Five minutes between classes, eating on the fly or choosing to sit out one session to get some food . . . is it any wonder that we are exhausted at the end of the day.  However, we are also filled to the brim with new ideas we want to share with each other --- just not sure we have the energy to do so!  Hopefully, we've taken good enough notes so that, if nothing else, we'll be able to talk through everything we heard and saw during the long drive home.
 


Here are a few pictures, just to give you a small idea of what we saw:

Martha is very intrigued with this technique by Gloria Loughman -- she creates stunning backgrounds for landscape quilts using rectangle, square or diamond shaped "tiles", i.e. small shapes strung together w/ fusible web, then stitched down. It's perfect for sunsets, sunrises, anything with a lot of color variation in the background. Can't wait to try it in a make and take class Saturday morning!



Not everyone is fond of modern quilts, but this quilt was such a great opportunity to take all those scraps and stash fabrics and make something easy and beautiful with it.  This is by Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle of Modern Quilt Studio made in part from their new Passport line of fab.

Here's a new design from Deb Tucker of Studio 180 Design.  This design uses several of her tools including the V Block Trimmer and the Corner Beam.  Deb is always coming up with new ideas and is an absolute kick to watch and listen to!

Terry Atkinson's design -- yes, we've seen the Ohio Star MANY times before, but for this pattern she made the blocks over sized with the points floating, then trimmed the blocks to size, so no matter what level of skill you have, you will never lose your points in the seam allowance, what a great idea  And, she's been working with solids, which many of us tend to shy away from, but look at the stunning contrast in this quilt.

The last thing of the day (night) is Sample Spree.  It's amazing to us that people start lining up at 6:00 p.m. when the event doesn't open until 8:00 p.m. (the three of us went to dinner, thank you!)  Sample Spree has 100 or more vendors and is often the first opportunity to see and purchase new things . . .mostly fat quarter bundles, jelly rolls, charm packs, patterns and thread samplers.  We did enjoy a bit of shopping, but didn't get into the frenzy that many do . . . it's impossible to even get near the Moda booth, customers are three, four and five deep!  We did see lots of great things, only a preview of what we'll be seeing tomorrow, both fun and exhausting.  Here are a few pictures of the crowds, both the line outside and what it looked like when we got inside.