Pearl Pereira - P3 designs

I got a new shipment in from Pearl Pereira of P3 designs and I thought I should share. These are wonderful. She does beautiful applique patterns including the most wonderful Christmas quilt. Unfortunately intricate applique isn't my thing, but I love them. I do have one put aside to do - Fantasy Flowers - it has big blocks so I might be able to do it (by machine of course).

This is Fantasy Flowers - big blocks and beautiful.

The ultimate Christmas quilt - called Baltimore Christmas. For applique lovers everywhere - a real heirloom quilt for your family.

This one is called Quails Table runner - isn't it cute. I have a soft spot for Quail, so I really like this one.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the P3 designs on the SewArmadillo website. There is so much new stock coming in I am having trouble keeping up with it. But that means there are great new things to look at and lust after. And lots of new stuff in the eBay store as well. I'll try and keep the blog and Facebook updated with the new stock as it comes in.

More new stuff

Well I'm working at the fabric store again and new stock keeps arriving daily. Today it is Kathy Schmitz. Her patterns are generally stitcheries, but many are made into wall hangings and quilts. She also has a fabulous new book out with her sister Bonnie.

This is the main quilt from the book - isn't it gorgeous. 

I love these birds - they are from the book as well.

The perfect stitchery for quilters.

One of my favourite designs - I have been doing it for a while. Probably should finish it.

This one is fabulous too - very traditional and full of things that make Kathy happy. 

Home and back to work

Well I've been home nearly a week now, and all settled in. Got lots of new stock to deal with but that will all happen in time. I've put some stuff on the Facebook page and will put more up as I find interesting new stuff.

But I want to post some of the great photos from my trip. Not necessarily quilting related - these are just because I want to.

All these photos inspire me in one way or another.

Japanese umbrellas hanging in a shopping area

This was a cement 'thing' in the ground - with buttons and stuff - Fabulous

Fabulous store name, and a great store inside as well.

Not sure if it is driveable, but it's cool

Fabulous old building, recently moved to the town, I think

Quilt Market - fun class

I have been having a great time in Houston, it's a lovely city, very clean and friendly.

This is the view from the bus coming back into the city after a fabulous bus trip, early evening. The view is stunning any time of day or night.

 This is the quilt that I started in the class with Robbi Joy Eklow yesterday. Fun class and great quilts. I am nowhere near done yet, but I have made a good start. And I got to play with the Go Cutter for some of my applique shapes.

Robbi and I in front of one of her award winning quilts.

Quilt Market

Yahoo, I won something. At Quilt Market there are all sorts of things to win and today I won a fun pack of fabric from Susan of GourmetQuilter.

Susan and I sitting at the table in her fabulous booth. It's set up like a kitchen with fabric food and appliances - so much fun. And she has great patterns. They will be coming to SewArmadillo really soon.

This is the dining area at the Convention Centre at the start of the day. It gets very crowded during opening hours but there is always a chair somewhere.

I did a great short class with Suzanne McNeill doing Zentangles on a little fabric bag. These are a few of the samples. There are Zentangle books coming soon as well.

And this is the gorgeous Kelli Wulfson of Don't Look Now in her booth. This is her new robot quilt - isn't it fabulous.

Each row has a number and they start at 100, this is from the other end. It takes me most of the day to get around the booths, and I haven't had a chance to look at any of the quilts on display yet. They will be there for Quilt Festival next week so I will check them out then.

Fabulous Bus Trip

Today was a bus trip arranged by Quilt Market. It was an early start but a really good day. We went to 3 great quilt shops - where a little fabric was purchased - got to keep as many shops open as possible. And they all had fabric that was different, some I hadn't seen before anywhere and some I already have in my stash but 'needed' a little more of. And I found some great mini pompom braid that I had to buy in 7 different colors. Several of the other women asked what I was going to do with it - no answer - I have no idea, except maybe something for Sophia as it is so cute.
We also went to a great little town that is having major work done, and one of the things that is happening is a new tourist / art complex called Copper Shade Tree. There were lots of fabulous shops there selling gorgeous handmade arts and crafts.

This is one of the many fabulous old buildings that houses great new stores.

What a wonderful name for a store, so appropriate. They had stunning clothes - very different  and all gorgeous

Not sure what these were - there was a pair hanging each end of an old building, but I thought they were cool

One of the many derelict buildings in the town.

The side wall of the new Texas Quilt Museum in La Grange Texas. It isn't officially open yet, but has a great display of quilts - all made by Texans. La Grange is about an hour from Houston, but if you get the chance to have a look, it is well worth it.

Houston

Well I made it to Houston, unfortunately my luggage took the long way and only arrived this morning. I got here about 7.30 last night and I was exhausted. But I slept really well and had a lovely day today.
Houston is pretty hot, and steamy. It was 28 plus degrees today but a bit overcast. Looked around and did a bit of shopping.

I'm staying at the Hyatt Regency in Downtown Houston and I have a fabulous corner room. The pic above it the view looking toward the Convention centre, you can just see it at the end of the street.

And this is the view looking the other way - cool.  I love staying on upper floors of hotels. This one is a bit different though. The elevators have glass walls. There are 2 banks of elevators, one looks into the hotel, and you can see down to the lobby and across to the rooms from the elevator, and the other looks into the street. I must take some photos from the lifts when there aren't too many people around who would think I'm a hick tourist.(I really am but other people don't have to know that.)

Tomorrow starts the Quilt Show. Not open yet, but I have a bus tour to some tourist spots and some local quilt shops. It starts at 7.45am. So it might have to be an early night for me.

Ready or not, I'm off

Well I think I have everything done. I still have to pack but that is always the last thing I do. This post is to make sure it works from my laptop. I knew I should have practiced earlier,  but I'm very good at leaving things to the last minute.  And I seem to have lost my emails on my laptop, that could be a problem in Houston.
Anyway,  I'm happy, and nearly ready. Here's  a pic because I haven't posted any for a while. Isn't he gorgeous.

It's not a very good photo, it was taken thru the window (which needs cleaning) and the screen. But he is fabulous and hung around for quite a while. I had to stop work just to watch him.

Ready for Houston

I have finally got everything (almost) organised for my trip to Houston. I have a plane ticket, and accommodation and my classes and registration for the show booked. Still have to get to Sydney to catch the plane, but that is only a minor issue. 

Belinda is running things while I'm gone - it's great to have friends who will help out when they have to stay home and I get to go travelling. I hope to post while I'm away, just not sure about photos.

Anyway the featured designer for SewArmadillo this week is Serendipity Studio. These are fabulous clothing for women, and great bags - a bit of a change from quilts.

This is the Betty June dress, the designer was wearing it at Salt Lake City and it's gorgeous. I may have to start making my own clothes again soon.

This one is a great bag, with lots of pockets and fully reversible. Called Rita.

And this one takes me back to my youth. It's a retro style tunic - very reminiscent of the 70s. And I love the bright fabrics.

It's spring

Well, it's really Spring, the clocks have changed to Daylight saving, and it is getting warmer. Not too sure about that bit really - it's been really cold in the mornings here. But now I have finished in my temporary job and I'm back to SewArmadillo and eBay - millthorpe. I've got several orders in the last few days, including a new supply of fabulous rulers. Here is a quilt I made a few years ago with the Tri Recs ruler - I love these rulers - you can do heaps with them.

This one was given to a friend for her 50th birthday.

I'm going to go and check out the rest of the parcels and see what new goodies I have got in them. I'll post more when I find out what I ordered.

Sale - eBay and SewArmadillo

Things have been fairly hectic the last few weeks, but should slow down a bit now. I have been helping a friend in her shop while she has been travelling - she's home in a couple of days. And I felt like celebrating the start of daylight saving - so I'm having a sale in both my stores. All the sale items (which is most of them) on my eBay store are marked down on the site. If you shop from SewArmadillo then you have to put the code Spring11 in the coupon area on the shopping cart. 

And I'm getting a lot of new stock in. I got several parcels last week, and thought I would show them here as I list them.

The first ones are fabulous stitchery kits from Bronwyn Hayes. Some have preprinted fabric and some need to be transferred - they all have fabric and threads included. I have just finished one for myself, haven't worked out how to finish it, but I'll put a pic up when I do.

This is the one I have done, I haven't put a name on the cup because I haven't decided what to do with it yet. Quick and easy and fun. It's called My Favourite Cup.

I love this one too, perfect for everyone who loves sewing. It is called Sewing Basket.

And this is a classic design, called Vase of Flowers - perfect if you like samplers with alphabets.

SewArmadillo featured designer

I have been hoping to do more blogging but finding the time is the hard part at the moment. My offsider at work is off sick so I am working more than I planned, and my website is taking a bit of a back seat for a couple of weeks. But I do want to keep up the Featured Designer - this week it is Bits 'N Pieces - a fun US pattern company. I love this one because they have fabulous button bracelets and dangles to hang off your scissors and keys and stuff. 

These are the button dangles - aren't they fabulous.

And this is a pattern called Southern Star - it is lovely - I saw a version of it in a show and it was spectacular. It's on my list of designs to do.

I took my camera out the other day, thinking I would take some photos of the gorgeous spring flowers and show off the fabulous weather, and it didn't work. I think it was only the card, hope so anyway. Haven't got around to changing the card yet.

New patterns

Everything is going well here, the changes are nearly done to the website and there are lots of new patterns arriving. This weeks Featured Designer is Annie Smith of Country Keepsakes - she does fabulous dolls. I love them all and would love to have time to make a couple (or more). Maybe I will treat myself to one later in the year, or make one for Sophia. 

This one is called Bibi and Bob, aren't they cute. These are medium size - about 17.5"

this one is my favourite, her name is Bellatrix, and she is a big doll designed to hang on the wall. 35.5" tall. She is top of my list to make for me.

And this is one of the recent ones - called Butterfly Dreams. A different style for Annie. And reasonably small at only 11.5"

There are lots more in the store, and for the next week there is a 10 % discount on any of Annie's patterns. I will do the discount manually after purchase. 

Everything else here is pretty quiet, the weather has turned cold again, but there are blossoms out everywhere, and they are gorgeous. I will have to get my camera out and take some pictures. 

I'm Back

It's a while since my last post. I have been upgrading the website, there are lots of changes. Hopefully it will be more user friendly. And there are a lot of great new products. We are having Featured designers each week. This week it is the turn of Don't Look Now - the fabulous pattern company of Kellie Wulfson. All purchases from this range get a 10$ discount - it has to be done manually because I haven't worked out how to do it on the site. Just buy normally and I will refund if you pay by Paypal. 

This one is called Pretty 'n Pink. It is one of my favorites. All Kellie's designs are done with raw edge applique and free motion quilting. I haven't made one yet, it is on my list of things to do.

Another pretty pillow pattern - called Willow

Fun for the kids - especially little boys - appropriately called Little Monsters.

And one that is suitable for anyone. I would like this one for me - I have a thing for alphabets and this would be a great addition to my collection, but I think I will have to settle for the pattern for the moment. It is called Animal Alphabet

And lastly for the moment, is Oh Christmas Tree - this one would be great in any home to decorate during the holidays.

Ebay Sale

Well it's Sophia's 3rd birthday on Monday and I can't be there - I sent her presents so I hope she will think of me a little bit. There are a couple of dinosaur coloring books so that should keep her happy and her Alphabet quilt (pics a few posts ago).

So I decided I would have a 3 day sale to celebrate. Only on ebay because we are in the middle of a major renovation of the SewArmadillo site. It should be finished in a couple of weeks and I will have a big sale there too. 

I have got lots of fabulous new stock in, including some great new Amy Bradley patterns and I actually got one made. It is called Scottie Love, and I have a thing for Scottie dogs so it was the perfect quilt to make. 

Mine is done with black and white backgrounds and Kaffe dogs, the hearts are actually gold, doesn't show up very well in the pic. My godson, Harry, his first comment when he saw it was did I realise I had one of the dogs wrong. Isn't he sweet. He doesn't understand about being a bit odd. 

This is the original pattern, it also has a version with only 9 blocks like mine, but still soft and pretty.

And this is my favourite Amy Bradley quilt - big and complicated. It comes in a book form and has a story for all the characters. If I find some time I may get around to making it for my gorgeous Sophia.

Flying Fish Kits

Wow, I can't believe it's so long since I posted. I have had so much new stock arrive that it has taken up all my time. But I'm back, with some fabulous new products. Today it's Flying Fish Kits. Wendy Williams is so clever, she does wonderful quilt patterns and gorgeous bag patterns as well. I haven't had a chance to make anything yet, but she is high on my list of want-to-dos. It will be hard deciding which pattern to make up - there are so many I love. I suppose it will depend on the final disposition of the quilt - whether I make it for me, for charity, or for a gift for someone in particular. I have posted some pictures on facebook if you want to see. I'm also interested to see what other people have done with her patterns so if you have made one, or know of one, send me a picture. 

This one is called Hot Chocolate and Tim Tams - I love the name and the quilt. I'm not a brown person so I would change the colors but I think it's fabulous.

And this one is a pretty little pillow called Cathedral Windows. Gorgeous.