Off to Quilt Market

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, my dear sweet Husband and I are off to Quilt Market in Minneapolis.
I feel so blessed to have a husband who would so graciously drive me to Market. Of course, we are going on vacation when we leave Minneapolis to his home town of Manistique Michigan and then on to visit the kids and grand kids in Lansing, but he's still on a high pedestal with me right now.

My main goal is representing Woolin Rouge and hanging out with my Peeps from Bigfork Bay Cotton Company. The new Woolin Rouge pattern Star Light Snow Bright will be dabeaueing as will the Hippie
Birdie set of Table Runner, Placemat, Napkins, and Napkin Ring.  I have a very long list of my "absolutely have to stop at" booths and I have been in training for Speed Shopping for Sample Spree.

I will be updating with pictures of my favorite "Best of Show" (which is a pattern by Bigfork Bay) and some of the fun and exciting people I run into. I CAN'T WAIT!!!
Stay Tuned!

Iris and Rose Pattern by Brenda Yirsa for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company

When it comes to floral quilt designs, Brenda Yirsa is at the top of my list. She knows how to bring fabric to life in her flowers. I love how unique each one of her designs are. Bigfork Bay Cotton Company has just added these two new patterns to her collection. These two quilts have that WOW factor when  finished.

As always, the Patterns, Fabric Kits, and Aurifil Thread Kits are available on the website of 

 Bigfork Bay Cotton Company.

Bigfork Bay Cotton Company's patterns are very well written and designed. It takes an outstanding team to create something this good. Katie Bramante is one of the best in the industry at writing the pattern directions and no one can touch David Boggs with his graphic design and cover designs. The owners John and Lynn Stalowy run not only the pattern business but also the quilt shop and John is the photographer of Stalowy Productions. He is the photographer for ALL of the quilts done for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company's covers. There are so many more involved behind the scenes. I will write about them in future posts.

Hippie Birdie Table Runner by Woolin Rouge

Here is a sneek peek of the newest design by Woolin Rouge for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company called Hippie Birdie.  Traci Suzanne Marvel had done a painting of the bird and the flowers and I loved it so much that I just had to turn it into a wool applique design.  The hand dyed wool is from Ram in the Thicket and the cotton fabric is from the Girly Girl Line by Art Gallery Fabrics which are designed by Patricia Bravo.

The thread I used for the wool applique is Aurifil Lana Wool Thread. I realized after using it for a long time that I had never had a single problem with it like most wool thread. It didn't shred at the fold through the needle and it never once knotted up.  I have used it by machine with a 100 needle on other preojects and it sews like a dream.  For the rest of the table runner I used Aurifil Cotton 50wt. It is my mainstay of quilting thread.  I can't imagine ever using anything else.

The Hippie Birdie Pattern will include the Table Runner, Placemats, Napkins, and an adorable Napkin Ring.  It is due to come out at Spring Quilt Market in Minneapolis.

There will be more surprises to come too so stay tuned!

Star Light Snow Bright Cover by Woolin Rouge

Traci Suzanne Marvel, Jane Anderson, and I have joined forces to start a pattern company called Woolin Rouge.  We will be producing a Caberet of Folk Art Designs so easy you Can-Can do them. Our goal it to bring a new and modern approach to wool applique. Even though Star Light Snow Bright is more traditional, we have some new twists we will be adding to the coming designs.

Star Light Snow Bright can easily used as a Redwork Design too just by using the layout guide as your pattern. So, you get two for the price of one!

Traci Suzanne Marvel and her son David Boggs designed the cover and John Staloway Productions did the fantastic photography. Bigfork Bay Cotton Company is producing the patterns for Woolin Rouge so all wholesale and retail orders can be made through them once they are ready.  I want to thank them all for all their hard work. They are all so amazing. I am Blessed to be working with them all.

This design for Star Light Snow Bright was drawn by Traci Suzanne Marvel and I turned it into a wool quilt. We are very proud and excited about the designs that Woolin Rouge is bringing to you so stay tuned because there are 3 more in the making!

Star Light Snow Bright

Traci Suzanne Marvel did this adorable drawing called Star Light Snow Bright. I loved it so much that, with her permission, I just had to create it out of felted wool. I used new and repurposed wool, which I felted myself.  The roof of the cabin is actually my husband's old suit coat.  The green plaid in the trees was old wool yardage given to me by Deb Carroll that she got in one of those boxes with all sorts of stuff in them at an auction, and the trunk of the tree was an old coat bought from a second hand store. The new yardage came from Bigfork Bay Cotton Company.

Aurifil Lana Wool Thread was the perfect choice for the applique stitches.  The only quilting I did on this quilt was on both sides of the inner border. I did it on my machine with my walking foot, a size 100 needle and the Aurifil Lana Wool Thread.  The thread worked beautifully in my machine and it melted into the wool so you can't even see it. I am definetly going to play more with the Aurifil Lana Wool Thread using my sewing machine. Bigfork Bay Cotton Company is a distributor for Aurifil which means shops can buy it wholesale or the rest of us can buy it retail. If you would like to know more about the Aurifil Thread call them at 866-245-5718 or click on their name above to go to their website where they also sell outstanding quilting patterns.

Bigfork Bay Cotton Co will be making Star Light Snow Bright into a pattern soon so let them know if you would like to purchase one. They sell Wholesale to Shops too. I am very excited to be working with Traci Suzanne Marvel. There are more surprises to come so stay posted!

Hippy Birday

Hippy Birday was painted by my good friend Traci Suzanne Marvel. She gave it to Toni Whitney for Toni's Birthday. I thought it was such an outstanding painting for so many reasons that I decided to recreate it in wool felt, with her permission of course.

I used Lana Wool Thread from Aurifil for the stitching. What a great thread. I wasn't surprised to see how much I loved it since Aurifil makes such wonderful cotton thread.

I'm still working on our Hippy Birds eye because it isn't quite right. I'm also in the process of making 3 more blocks to make into a table runner, pillow, and wall quilt.

I love working with the wool so much and Traci has so much folk art I want to make into felt designs. I wonder what's next?

Whoopsy Daisy by The Quilted Fish

Whoopsy Daisy by The Quilted Fish is one of the tops I finished at the cabin retreat this last weekend. This picture is taken off their website and mine will be quilted by Jan Barnett.

My Granddaughter Mackenzie wanted a black and white quilt so I thought this would be perfect for her. I even copied most of the fabrics because I loved it exactly as it is pictured.

To finish off the edges of the daisies I used a blanket stitch on my machine since the petals were fused with Pellon Fusible Web.

I can't wait to give this to her for Christmas.