:: This 'little man' of mine...

It never fails...

... that when I end up deciding to skip a Quilt Market... (& just when I might want to feel a little sorry  for myself)... I always end up glad that I was at home....

This time - it's no different.

Market is going on in Houston this weekend (along with the World Series right down the block!...) & I'm home. And, while I miss getting to see everybody & all the hubbub of Market... I'm glad I'm home this time.

Glad because, I've had more time to work on my quilt designs for a holiday fabric collection that will debut in a couple of months - as well as sorting though the strike-offs for my spring collection... (& trying to keep them all straight!)

But mostly because I get to spend some quality time with this little guy.

Bailey has had some tough days weeks lately, & so I'm glad that after all the vet visits (where he has been such a trooper!) that I get to spend some extra time with my little old pup.

I'd been thinking that in Bailey's 11½ years - it was pretty normal that he seems to be a little more  distant than he used to be... I know that can happen when dogs get older... a little turn of a corner in his senior years... But, then for a few days it seemed like things had taken a bigger turn than expected. He seemed to be having some sort of seizure (I was at first afraid that he might have been bitten by a snake) ... but then it got better... & then about a week later - it came back.
This time - we went back to the vet & he discovered that he had an ear infection in his right ear, & when he checked his left ear... there was no eardrum at all. Nothing.  That explained why Bailey was often not responding to his name being called... he couldn't hear as well as he used to. So, we got the treatments needed for his right ear & a lesson on how to do the ear wash & drops.

 Then, just to be thorough (thankfully), the vet checked everything - heart, lungs, all his little 'old man bumps (as I call them)... & then his eyes...
I have known that Bailey's eyes were getting a little cloudy... & with his 11+ years - it didn't surprise me... & they have been checked several times this past year... but this time there had been a change.
A big change.
It seems that the iris in both of his eyes have iris atrophy. The vet had me look into the scope & showed me how the edges of his iris has a reverse scallop edge... & as gently as he could he let me know that if a human - he would be considered legally blind. He can see light & dark forms & shapes - but no details. The vet showed me how Bailey didn't even realize when he flicked his fingers in a very quick motion in Bailey's face - that should have made Bailey finch... & he had no response... not even aware of it. So, I could truly tell that he wasn't seeing much at all.

 It explained so much of what I had been noticing in the little changes in Bailey's behavior. But, he is so familiar with his surroundings... that he is able to compensate amazingly well. (I was thinking of moving around the furniture in a couple rooms... but that won't be happening now.)

I've been reminded that for now... it's good to be home. Changes are happening... changes that I knew would come someday... & so I'm just celebrating this sweet season for as long as I can.

♥  Bren

:: Spring Quilt Market 2017

As I was on my way home from Quilt Market, I realized that I feel that I never take enough photos... but I do carry home a lot of memories. This was a Quilt Market like many other Quilt Markets, but this time it was held in 

St. Louis, Missouri. From what I understand, St. Louis was one of the first locations for a Spring Quilt Market, but it hasn't been held there for about 20 years. So, it was fun to find new restaurants to tryout & I do believe there was quite a lot of site seeing, with the beautiful Arch, & with the St. Louis Cardinals having baseball games every evening, & so many new things to experience. 

The Americas Convention Center - St. Louis, MO

For me, this was a Market where I did a lot of reflecting - about the journey the Lord has led me on, as a designer, & how thankful I am for the people I get to work with & the amazing team at Moda & the great bunch of designers that I have the privilege to be part of. In an odd way, I think that's why I didn't get a lot of photos taken, because I was absorbed in the moments of catching up with, & listening to other around me. I don't want to take any of this for granted. I consider it a great blessing. I truly do. 

The Moda Designers - Spring Market 2017

One of the very best parts of this Quilt Market for me, was that my Dad, Aaron, came to visit for the last day! After Quilt Market last fall, he let me know that he, "would like to see Quilt Market." He sees all that I do getting ready for it, hears the stories, & after all these years, he really wanted to see some of what his daughter had been a part of. 

Family members with Moda designers - there's Dad in the back row(!) - second from right.

Lissa Alexander even had a very special photo take with all us designers - that includes any of the family members that happened to be there for the photo too… This will always be a very special photo for me. (Thanks again Lissa! )

Needless to say, he was a bit overwhelmed with the size of Market (even Spring Market... & it's always smaller than Fall Market!) & he thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet the folks at Moda & was full of stories for everyone he met. I will always treasure this time we got to share.

Dad & I in my booth space in the Moda Designer area.

My booth space.

My new fabric collection - Caroline

You can see it all here

So, now that I'm back home & pretty much recovered from the post Market stupor that overcomes us... I've been busy getting things organized in the studio (...the office is next!). I've also made the decision to take pre-orders for bundles of Caroline as well as pre-orders for some of the new quilt designs (but for a limited time!). If you'd like to see more - check out the latest e-newsletter, or you can see it all on the website - under 'New Items'.

Next time, I want to share with you the very special side trip my Dad & I took after Market...

Sweet, sweet memories...

♥ Bren

:: Spring 2016 International Quilt Market

Quilt Market... there’s so much preparation (weeks & weeks . . . & weeks!) & then the actual weekend seems to just fly by! (& then sometimes it feels like it takes at least a week to recover... but maybe that’s just me!) 

(Warning... this post is bit wordy!)

Spring Quilt Market was held in Salt Lake City a few weekends ago, & SLC certainly kept us on our toes! The whole area around SLC is beautiful & the Wasach Mountains greet you whether you arrive by air or land... & they are a stunning backdrop for a great city. The one thing I’ve learned is that you never know what to expect for weather when Spring Market is in SLC. THe last time I was here for Market - it snowed! (Well, flurries... but when that happens in May... I declare it to be full blown snow!) This time, it was the wind & thunder/lightning storms that made themselves known.  The wind was predominant (I never knew it could be so windy in SLC!) & pretty much re-styled your hair every time you went outside. The lightning & thunder did their part on the first night of Market by taking out one of the areas main electrical power stations & all of downtown SLC & beyond (they reported over 83,000 customers) were thown into a complete blackout.

Salt Lake City - (actually you're looking at several big tall buildings!)

Thankfully it didn’t happen until later in the evening (about 10:45 pm) & most everone was already at least in their hotel rooms (or slept right though it!) I must say it was really interesting to see the whole city dark...! By morning... thankfully everything was back to normal. (On a funny note... one of my thoughts - as I was drifting off to sleep was ‘Oh!... I hope I’ll be able use my blowdryer in the morning...!... & then it really didn’t matter with all the wind!) :-)

Market was wonderful - although I didn’t get to walk around all that much. What I did see was - as always - so inspiring & encouraging to see this industry continue to grow & draw folks in. My little spot for Spring Market was in the Moda Designer ‘neighborhood’ (my favorite place to be!!) I was showing my next collection, called ‘Fleurs’. Fleurs is filled with softness & lots & lots of flowers! (...of course!) The colorways for Fleurs are very similar to those from my Ambleside line (with the addition of a little bit more reds & I also added a sweeet lavender to the mix) so, if you want to add some to your Ambleside stash - Fleurs is perfect! (Although - actually it will work well with any of my lines as well!)

 By the way - the yardage of Fleurs will be shipping in October 2016 - bit if you just can’t wait - keep checking back to the website as we will have a very limited amount of precuts & some fun scrapbags of all my lines - including ‘Fleurs’ available soon!

I will post about the new patterns in the next week - but her you see peeks of the new designs - Snowflake Fleurs (center - on wall), Little Stitches (front left on quilt rack), Hopscotch (mini & large on wall right side), & hanging on one of the Moda pillars - Coventry. (All of the patterns are up on the website in paper & PDF format - click here to see all the new items.)

What was so great about the new set-up was that we were able to visit with each other so much more easily... it really was a little neighborhood of Moda designers! Here are some of the sweet designers (when I remembered to bring my phone & that I could catch in their booths!)

Kathy Schmitz - Kathy Schmitz Designs

Janet Clare

Alma Allen - Blackbird Designs

Betsy Chutchian

The final memory I have of Spring Market was that on the final night - we were evacuated from our hotel rooms at 3:00 in the morning! I learned all too well what going down 12 fights of hard concrete stairs will do to your calves in about 48 hours... (ouch!). Thankfully it wasn’t anything threatening (a hot water pipe had burst & the steam set off the fire alarm for the 12 - 15th floors... (& I was on the 12th floor... of course.) What I learned is that the LOUD alarm that sounds & the voice that sternly states, “Hotel emergency. Leave NOW!” makes you not want to question anything... but when it doesn’t repeat... call down to the front desk... just to be sure. (It’s better than going down 12+ flights of stairs - ending up outside on the sidewalk with a bunch of strangers - having to walk arund the corner to the hotel entrance - only to find there was really no need to evacuate (... go ahead... get a good mental picture of this... it’s good for a giggle!). (sigh...) At least we could all take the elevator back up to our floors! 

So there’s the highlights of my Spring 2016 International Quilt Market! If you stopped my little spot in the Moda neighborhood - thank you! The people... that’s the best part of Quilt Market!

I'll bee back soon with the close ups of the new designs.

♥ Bren

:: nine months, three weeks, five days... (or so)...

Honestly...

How sad... that I've not done a blog post for that long! 

So how are you?!!! So much has happened, & even though in my mind, I think that I could spread things out over several posts... I know that I've failed on that one before, so I think I'll try & do a 'catch-up' post this time.

So let's see... I know that Bailey caught you up a wee bit about what it was like just before Spring Quilt Market, including introducing my new line for Moda, called Windermere. You can see the upcoming line by clicking 'here'. You can also see all the new patterns that are up on the website...

I guess to pick up right after the happenings of my last post, (& something I didn't write about because at the time, I wasn't sure what the outcome would be... & I'm not a fan of speculation)... about two weeks after I got home from last Fall Quilt Market (around mid-November), I fell & broke my left wrist. (& I'm a lefty!). That put the brakes on a lot that I had planned to do right after Fall Market, like some house projects (painting, room sorting...) At first they thought I either broke two bones, &/or I might have some ligament damage, but thankfully it appears it was just the bigger bone & the break was clean. Unfortunately, I didn't get any physical therapy until the end of March, & so any detailed hand work was out of the question. (I did though, get a lot better at being ambidextrous!) With all that happening, I missed the deadline for my next fabric line to debut at Fall Market, but it has been sent to Moda & will hopefully be not too far behind. I'll let you know when it will be shown to shops (hopefully soon after the new year)... (I promise!)

My second line with Moda, Windermere, did debut at Spring Quilt Market, & I'm excited about it arriving in shops in November. (you can see the entire line by clicking on the 'Windermere' graphic on the sidebar.)  One of the fun things about Market this past Spring is that it was in Minneapolis & my brother, Scott & his family lives there, & he got to stop by the convention center & got a peek at what this is all about. He said he was surprised at how big it was (& this was Spiring Market - which isn't quite as big as Fall Market), & I was just so pleased to have him stop by. (That's Scott & me in my space in Moda's Designer Studio in the photo above.) 

After Spring Market, I was off to Norway! I had been looking forward to this trip ever since Fall Market when two lovely quilt shop owners invited my to come to Norway & do some workshops & trunk-shows. (Hi Åsne & Siw!!!) I had such a wonderful time... & that is something that needs its own post! So I’ll be gathering all my photos & will be back with those soon! (The first of the two photos of Norway in this post was taken at a bit after 10 pm!... gotta love the 'midnight sun'! The second was the lovely view I had of the Oslo Fjord that I had from my kitchen window.)

Until then, the new patterns are up on the website, both printed & PDF versions, & coming soon - some Ambleside (just in case you missed some) & Windermere pre-cuts. I just finished putting the finishing touches on my line for next Spring Market, & now that it’s sent in, I'm hoping to do some updating to the website... with some new items & a new look! I hope you check back to see!

Before I sign off, I want to thank everyone for all you enthusiasm about Ambleside. I have had so much fun seeing all the beautiful things you are making on Instagram  (including all the cute YouTube tutorials that Jennifer at Shabby Fabrics did using Ambleside!). It has touched my heart, & I thank you so much. Also, if you are following this blog, I want to thank you for hanging in there & waiting patiently for me to get my 'ducks-in-a-row' & start blogging again. It is one of my big goals to get much better at it! 

I will be back with a few more special things from this past Spring Market... & Norway!!!

❤️ Bren

… my first Needlework Market

First, I'm just going to post a bunch of my (long overdue) photo from Needlework Market. . .

(the TNNA Needlework Market neighborhood)

I had visited a couple of  TNNA (The National NeedleArts Assoc.) Needlework Markets,  but I took my time before 'dipping my toes' into the needlework industry. . .

. . . & I'm so happy that I (finally) did!

What a fun time. . . & what a great way to have a trade show market!

For this Market - instead of setting up a booth, the Market is held at an Embassy Suites, & as exhibitors, we simply set up our displays in the living room area of our suite! It makes for such a home-y & comfy setting, with comfy furniture (if needed) & a coffee maker, sink, microwave, & bathroom right there! It's like hanging out in your little house & the shop owners come to visit. . .!

I made up some samples of Betsy's Closet - In Stitches, & Benji's Pockets - In Stitches, for the needlework shop owners to get for their own shop displays, & then I also made some bunting for my window. . . (had to have a little quilt-y pretties in there somewhere!)

The photo's pretty much take you around my suite from when you walk in the door.  You may see a little peek of the fact that I 'slipcovered' the sofa & then covered it with one of my quilts (Opie's Home).(It was a pretty sofa. . . just with a pretty busy print that would have been a bit of a distraction.)

I'm really looking forward to the Nashville Needlework Market (in February), & am already starting on new designs(!)

The (cross stitch) designs I presented at this Market are on the website. . . & they are:

By My Hand

Hill Farm Hydrangea

Vintage Christmas

Amazing Grace

Believe

The other (embroidery) designs I took were:

Betsy's Closet - In Stitches

Benji's Pockets - In Stitches

Floye's Garden

Seasons of the Heart

By My Hand - for stitchery

Stitching Winter Memories

(you can click on the pattern name & see it closer on the website.)

Whew! Long post. . . lots of photos. . . (!) If you hung in there for all of this. . . thanks. :o)

(p.s. . . . the sale is still going on - on the website (including the new designs), but will be ending this week. So, if there's anything you've been thinking about. . .  

Hope you have a great week!  (. . . the last few days of summer!)

♥ Bren

… countdown . . .

Things have been a little crazy around here.

 I'm getting ready for my first Needlework Market, (exhibiting that is. . . I've attended a couple to check them out), & I feel just like I did when I did my first Quilt Market! 

I'm feeling a bit nervous, wondering if I'm bringing enough patterns, flyers. . . etc.

I find I'm laughing at myself, at how anxious I'm making myself. I know that it will be just fine, & I'm so looking forward to getting to set up my 'booth' in the living area of my hotel suite! The Needlework Markets (for counted cross-stitch & embroidery) are held in an Embassy Suites hotel, & instead of having to go to a convention center, you set up your display in the living room area of your hotel suite, open your door, & everyone comes to you. . . isn't that great!?!  When I have attended a couple of needlework markets in the past, I have loved how comfortable & 'homey' they feel. (. . . & it's so nice to have your own bathroom & kitchenette right there!) 

So, I've been busy finishing my new needlework (counted cross-stitch) designs, deciding which of my existing embroidery patterns to take, picking up new pattern covers, 'stuffing' patterns, making some fun little samples (peeks coming!), printing flyers, . . . you name it, I've been doing it. In the past few days, there have been a couple of times that I have wished that I had everything done already, but then I realized that I would just be getting antsy to leave - so it's good that I have things on my 'to-do' list. (Although. . . that list is getting really small!)

One of the things I am introducing is the beginning of a stitchery collection I'm calling the 'Chalkboard Collection'. I just love chalkboard art, & so this series of designs will be capturing the look. . . but with stitches instead of chalk. I found a wonderful over-dyed linen from Weeks Dye Works that is the perfect dark grey & it looks so much like a well used chalkboard. Then they also had a perfect over-dyed floss that is a white with a touch of grey, that resembles the uneven white you get with chalk on a chalkboard. (. . . & yes - there will be some kits coming!)

I will be showing you all the new stitchery designs in the next week. . . & soon (when I return from Market) they will also be available on the website.

Yesterday, I caught my Dad sitting on the couch, talking with Bailey. . . & they were making 'guy' plans for when I go to Market. . . Those boys!

I'm off to bed. . . tomorrow is filled with more 'to-do's'!

♥ Bren

… my little Market cubby

It's been a week since I've been home. . . & I think that I've recovered in the sleep department. . . (sleep is one thing that gets neglected  before & during Market time!). So, I thought that I'd post a couple of the the photos that I took of my booth - what I like to refer to as my little cubby - my little home away from home  - for three days at Market.


I've tried several different types of booths at Market - but last spring the smaller booths caught my eye & so I tried one of them this time around. . . & I loved it! It was just right for me - in every way - so I was really happy with my choice!


Now, I must confess. . . I didn't even bring my camera to Market (I know. . .duh.). I'm blaming it on the lack of sleep in the days before Market. . . so all these were taken with my iPhone. (Yea! - for cameras in our cell phones!)


Here's the booth from across the aisle (a bit crooked). . .

. . . the right side of the booth. . .

. . .  & the left side of the booth. . .

. . . & from both sides of the booth. . . I had Mom there with me. . .
(& thank you to Lecien for the lovely the pink roses bouquet! Wasn't that sweet of them!?) 

. . . The adorable Lynette was just across the aisle - on the corner. . . Loved getting to see her & her hubby Vince every day!

I have a couple more photos that I took of some of my favorite quilts in the exhibition. . . & I'll post those soon!

 ♥ Bren