October Review..Quilt Market, Quilt Festival and LAF Ride

Hello Friends,

Well, today, I would like to FINALLY do a bit of a recap of my October!  There was Quilt Market, Quilt Festival and the Lance Armstrong LiveStrong ride.  Pretty big things for me and it feels soooo great to have accomplished these goals and still have a smile on my face (and no bumps and bruises!).

Before I get lost in all of this, let me do mention here that the shopping cart on the fabric website is reopened and I added some new items to the site.  Remember, by the end of November/early December, the fabric shop will be closed.  Don't be sad..it will be replaced with something really fun! :)

Now, let's first recap the Bike Ride and then I'll move on to Quilt Market and Festival.

Well, I finished the Lance Armstrong LiveStrong bike ride in Austin, Texas...all in one piece!  It was a glorious day, a wonderfully organized event, full of great folks with great spirits!  I finished the 20 mile ride in 2hrs15mins and hubby completed the 90 mile ride in under 5hrs  (He is a stallion, I tell you!).  I took Betsy(my cruiser with the wicker basket from Germany) instead of Simone (my Trek road cycling bike).  I am so glad I did.  While Betsy struggled on the hills (she is so much heavier than Simone and just does not have the gear power), she kept me in control and comfortable and confident and that was what I needed.  There were some collisions, many slippery cattle crossings to contend with and some steep downhill decents on curves that I would have maybe succumbed to if I had been on the fast and sleek Simone.  Next ride, I'll give her a whirl.  But given this was my first ever attempt at any sort of ride like this, I am glad I used my better judgement and took the cautious path.  If you are still interested in donating to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, go to my webpage on the site.  Donations are accepted through the end of November.  Here are some images from the event.

We arrived in Austin on Saturday to pick up our registration information and hung out at the "village" they set up. 

 

After eating lunch we spent some time along the River:

Sunday, October 25th was the ride.  Hubby and I woke up at 4:30 am to get dressed and head out to Dripping Springs, Texas for the ride.  My sweet father-in-law flew over from Germany to watch the kids for us.  Poor guy also had to wake up at 4:30 that morning to come over to our hotel room to mind the kiddos.  Here are some pics of me and Hubby before the ride.

Me and Betsy

Hubby and his Cervelo. 

Can you tell who the real cyclist in the family is?lol

Then here is an image I took just before the start of the ride. It was a beautiful morning!

Here are some images I took along the way.  Yes, I was riding slow enough to take pictures!lol  Just some of the time. :)

 

I stopped once at a refueling station...5 miles before the finish.  I really did not want to stop, but I also did not want to be that girl that collapsed just before the finish line either!  I was pretty proud of myself for completing the ride.  Honestly, I was sooo tired after Quilt Market and Festival that I almost backed out.  But quitting is not cool, so I pushed myself and am so glad I mustered up the strength to check this off the list and race some funds for a great cause along the way! 

Now, let's get to Quilt Market.  I already showed you all some pictures of my booth here.  But here are a few more. 

And remember to stop by Kim's blog post here to see even more pics.

Me and Amy Butler...a super sweet heart, as always and just a gorgeous, gorgeous booth, as always. 

 The new LOVE collection is just lovely and those of you that have been loving Amy's fabrics for a while will notice a few prints give a gently nod to some prints from her Temple Flowers collection!  I can't wait to get these in hand and start sewing with them...makes me want to redo my pattern covers! 

A few more images of her booth. 

Next up, the lovely Miss Heather... another Stunning booth...goodness!  I mean really, just gorgeous and so is the new fabric collection.  Another must have for moi!

Here is some Anna Maria Horner goodness and she and her assistant are both cute and kind as can be! 

 

And the fabric...swoony!!  Just delicious and rich and decadent.  All the cottons feel like silk.  Again, can not wait to get mine so I can sew some loveliness with it!

I also stopped by Jane Sassman's booth.  Jane's fabrics were some of the first "quilter's cottons" I ever used in making children's clothes back in the days when I used to sell on ebay.  Here is a picture of me with Jane in her booth

and here is a picture of one of my favorite outfits I made with her fabric. 

Oh My, this picture was taken on March 6, 2006!  Leah had just turned 5 a few days before and we had just learned we would be moving to Germany in June 2006!  Time flies, people!  Time flies! Sigh.... I was in a fab group on ebay called the HelloCollection and this was for a Launch we did called Celebrations.  I was "celebrating" Spring with this set!  It was a best seller!  This is one of my all time favorite sets that I've made and that launch was my favorite launch ever!  I regret selling the sample on this one...that's for sure!  But I do have more of this fabric...so maybe I'll make something again soon with it!

Okay, I diverged...got lost down memory lane there.  Back to Market....

I also got to spend some Q-time with some gals I met last year.  Mary, I did not spend too much time with this year, sadly.  But I got to spend alot of time with the fabulous Jonah of Mulachia Designs.  She took alot of pictures for me.  You can see her pictures here. She caught some pictures of Amy Butler and me when Amy by my booth.  I saw her walking by and dragging her in!lol  Jonah also snagged some pics of me with Paula Prass and Jen of Tula Pink.  Jen apparently has a reputation of being quite elusive, but I spotter her turning the corner outside my booth and again, dragged her in!lol

Traci and Myrinda also offered a ton of moral support and hung out in my booth so I could walk the floor a little bit!  Thanks girls...y'all really are the best! Here is a picture of Traci, Myrinda, Jonah and me in my booth. :) 

I also had the pleasure of meeting Kim from TrueUp ( I told you all that yesterday, I know), Jona from Fabritopia and, Linda from CraftApple...who else?

Oh, I can't forget the fabulous Brandon Mably was there! 

 Look at that chaise lounger....Cool, huh?  When Leah saw this picture, she screamed and asked me to buy it for her room.  I knew she'd love it!  His and Kaffe Fassett's fabrics always make me smile and I am looking forward to getting in some of their new prints to play with...they are as colorful and vibrant as ever!

Now for Festival...

My best friend Alison flew in from NYC to hang out with me for a couple days!  She and Leah hung out and shopped and brought me lunch and coffee and all the essentials! It was great to spend some time with her and to have some support at Festival, as I was really getting tired by then! :) 

  

Alison and Leah...hanging out at Festival.  Leah is wearing one of the samples from my new pattern collection!  She is always such a great little model. :)

 Alison took all the pictures below...Thanks Love!!

   

   

Me and My Girl!  Leah was so excited that she got to come to Festival.  Kids were not allowed into Market, so she did not get to visit there.  They came down for lunch one day, but were not able to come inside.  She did not think that was fair at all!  I was happy she got to spend time with me at Festival though!

 

 

 

 

Leah with Ellen, a fabulous doll maker I met at Market.  She had her own booth at Festival, which I did not get to visit, but Leah and my friend Alison stopped by and picked up a signed copy of her new book.  Ellen is so nice and turns out she also knows the fabulous Ms. Harmony, so we hit it off pretty quickly and I am looking forward to organizing a class around her new book...I think it would be a great class for my little sewing students! 

I also had the pleasure of meeting Malka at Festival.  I'm hoping we can connect again soon, since we live so close to one another.  Another wonderful person I met was Elaine from Interweave Press.  Turns out, she also knows the fabulous Ms. Harmony...so again, instant connection.  This crafting/creative world seems to just get smaller and smaller!

Okay, now I promised to show you all a sneak peek at some of the I picked up at Market and Festival, and will be sharing with you lovely readers starting next week! 

 

 

 

What do you think?  See anything you might like?

 

Okay, I must go now.  My inlaws are here...I mentioned earlier that my FIL flew over from Germany to help with the kids while hubby and I did the bike ride.  Well he is still here and my MIL came over last week to join him.  They fly back to Germany in a few days, so we will be enjoying the lovely, cooler Texas weather (it is in the low 80s and sunny!) and I'll be back here next week for the giveaway series!  Then after the giveaways from Market and Festival, I'll do a proper reveal of each of my 9 new patterns!!! :)  Of course, they'll be a fun giveaway then as well! :)  Oh and I moved into my new studio space also!!  I can't wait to finish getting it set up and open its doors for local customers to shop and come take classes with me! :)  Of course, I'll share pics of that new space soon as well.

 

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful weekend!  Anyone have anything exciting planned?

 

Talk soon,

Sheree

Comments

[Lee]

Wow you have been a very busy women. Hard to keep up. No wonder October flew by. Enjoy your time with the inlaws. Look forward to readying about your giveaways!

[Kay]

I hope your first class is "how you do it all."

[Carla]

Wow you were very busy! I'm tired for you. Thanks for sharing all the exciting things you did. :o)

[Kayla Jones]

I am looking forward to seeing you new patterns. I enjoyed meeting you at the quilt show in Houston and have been looking for your update.

[Rafael's mum]

Well done on the bike ride! many would have cancelled that after both Market and Festival! Thanks for your market report! It is lovely to see all the photos and hear all the stories. Best of luck with the new patterns and shop and I hope you manage to catch up!!

[Catherine]

What an exciting and busy time you have had recently. You are so lucky to have met all those wonderful fabric designers. Thanks for sharing all the quilt market photos and info with us. I have to say well done for completing the bike ride! I too have just completed a 200km (not sure what that is in miles) cycle challenge so I can relate to that feeling of achievement you get at the end of it.

[Sarah Phillips]

Wow, I am amazed you did the ride. I wish I were that brave.

[sheree]

Thanks ladies! Kay...trust me, I have no idea how to do it all. Not all at once, anyway!

Sheree

[Penny]

Hi Sheree,
I am so proud of you for doing the ride and not skipping it! Those photos you took are so beautiful! Your Betsy looks like a pretty sweet ride too.
Thanks for sharing pics of quilt market, it really looks/sounds like you had an amazing time. I hope you're having fun with your family and hopefully we'll talk soon!
Penny

[ravenhill]

Wow, I so loved seeing your photos of you gorgous lady at the quilt market!!! You are amazing to set up a booth there. It must have been so much fun- to be there, have your family there, see all the designers, BE one of the desiners, etc....

[Lisa @celebrate CREATIVITY]

Congrats on a successful event. Great photos and wonderful to see your booth along with the other designers whose work we admire.

Leah looks adorable. What a pretty model you have whenever you need one.

Take care!