The Quilted Fish

Thinking Back….

Tonight I have been scrolling through the website of a company that I started purchasing from at Quilt Market.  I bought some super cool things from there to put on my website, but as I scroll through I am not finding much that I like!  What I AM finding is lots of little crafty things that are taking me on a walk down memory lane. 

When I was very young my mom used to take me to a local store called Twila Dawn Originals, or as my mom (and I, of course) called it “the don’t touch store”.  This store had bin after bin of crafting supplies.  Doll heads, little flowers, circus clown heads, beads, lace, you name it, she had it.  I remember this place really well.  In fact, I remember how it smelled.  I know roughly where it was located, and I can remember what the outside looked like.  Recently I was talking to my mom and I mentioned “the don’t touch store”.  I was laughing about it.  And….can you believe it….my mom DOESN’T REMEMBER!!!!!  She had no recollection of this place.  The funny thing is that it seems like we went there often.  This place (and it’s smell, which wasn’t a bad smell) are the very beginning of my creative memory.  The first place I can remember wanting to make “stuff”.  Even with clown heads if I could.  And yet this place, with it’s bins of wonderful goodness was where I started to formulate what I would later become.  I am so sad that my  mom doesn’t remember.  I can’t find any pictures of Twila Dawn’s online anywhere.  I did find the obituary for the woman who owned it (who I also remember), but that was it.  Only the picture in my memory is left.  I would love to have something to show my mom to jog her memory.

What is your earliest crafting memory?  Do you remember Twila Dawn????

 

my adventures at Quilt Market ... by Elliot

Don't tell Amanda, but I got the secret code to her blog!! I just had to share my Quilt Market adventures with you! I had the greatest time there, thanks to sweet Amanda for bringing me (and some rogue Creative Team members for kidnapping me!!)

So you know me...I'm Elliot...I usually hang out with the Quilted Fish booth at each event Amanda goes to. This year's Spring Quilt Market was no exception!! And through most of the show, I hung out on this little table in the back of the booth!!

...and in the blink of an eye, I was whisked away!

This was a great way to travel around to see all of the cool booths!

Kay from Serendipity Studios and her husband, Keith, were so hospitable and let me play around a little in their booth!!

(I particularly like this purse because, of course, it was created with Amanda's Sugar and Spice!)

After this first stop, I was on the lookout for more Sugar and Spice creations...

and I found these cute dresses...

...in the Vanilla House Designs booth. I fit perfectly in that pocket, don't I?

My new best friends, Kris and Kim from DIY Dish!! 

I just wanted a little better perspective in this cute booth, Pine Mountain Designs.

and of course, it's wonderful to get the whole scene!

Then I had to get my patriotic hat on...

Stunning...

It was super fun to meet John and Katy from Fat Quarterly...super fun...

What do guys do at Quilt Market? We watch TV, of course!! :) (thanks to the guys at Ackfeld Wire for letting me watch their TV for a few...)

Back to booth visiting...

Here I am sporting my gymastics training in Beth and Liz's booth, LizzieBCre8tive, and I'm sporting their book! yay for them!

and here's Shelby from Material Girls...nothing better than a little shoulder sitting with my friends!

and Terry...one of the LizzieB girls...(guys, quilt market is the place to be!!)

Tula Pink and I had a great time meeting!! 

and Valori Wells also welcomed me into her booth!!

And Amy Butler...I think I may be too tall for her...but it was fun to see her again!!

After all of that booth hopping, I needed to work at my tan in the Threaded Pear booth! Thanks for the suntan lotion, Gina!!

But you know my home is Riley Blake Designs...

So back I went...

Cindy and I had a moment...so special...

Jina let me try out that fun Riley Blake bicycle...

Then I just had to sit in that tree...what a nice birdie to share its nest with me!!

and after all of that...whew!! I was tired...and a bit thirsty...

...so it was nice to be home!! next to all of that water...and maybe a little soda...don't tell the girls!

Wait...don't leave yet...I have one last accomplishment I have to share with you:

Yes!! Thanks to the guy at Handi Quilter, I learned how to long arm quilt!! I am now officially a quilter!! (I only charge $.05 a square inch...well? when you only quilt an inch per project, you gotta charge high, right????)

Thanks, first to Amanda, for letting me have this little adventure! 
Thanks to all of my new quilting friends!!
and thanks to my kidnappers who shall remain nameless as of right now...
Hope you had as much fun as I did with this adventure!!

Happy quilting!!!

Crazy about the 80’s

Do you remember the 80’s?  I do.  I loved them!  Big bows, tulle skirts, big hair…okay, so I looking back I don’t love the big hair, but who doesn’t like a side pony tail???  Okay.  I don’t.  But I do love the 80’s! 
Riley Blake hosted an 80’s party one night at market.   It was SO much fun!  We were exhausted but we still managed to dance for 3 HOURS!  I think this is really the reason my market recovery has taken so long.  Here is a fabulous picture of me(right) with Kayce (middle) and Connie (left).  Kayce won for best costume, but I think it was really because she could do the centipede.  I didn’t know she could.  My best friend of four years really surprised me!

Here is another of me and Kayce with Candice (from my creative team) and her sweet mom Robbie.  Let me tell you that Candice’s dress was a HIT!  80’s prom.  It was fabulous!  Crazy zombie eyes….

If you don’t know who this is you are missing out! This girl is my kind of girl.  Party all the time!  It is Carina Gardner.  I love her!

I am sorely tempted to post some video that I took, but I am pretty sure that skinny little Lila Tueller will KICK MY BUTT.  So, I won’t do it.  Today….Mwahahaha…..

Recovering?

Market is over.  I am sitting here in my pajamas wondering if I WILL recover.  But I will tell you that I HAD A BLAST!!!!  It was SO worth it!  I think I might have acted a little crazy.  Okay, maybe a LOT crazy.  I am seriously scared to see some of the pictures on the internet!  I won’t recap the whole weekend in one post, but I will share some bits and pieces.

One of my favorite things that happened was that I got to meet a few of my team members!  It was SO fun.  I am ashamed that I don’t have very  many pictures (we also use my phone to run credit cards, so it didn’t leave the booth much) but I will share what I have.

This is me, Candice, Julie and Sally getting ready to head up to Schoolhouse.  I had just met Candice and her sweet mom Robbie and I thrust a hat on her head.  I think she was ready to go home!  Not only did I make them put them on, we wore them all the way through the convention center on our way to our Schoolhouse.  We got a lot of attention for them (or maybe it was the cart full of cupcakes?). 

It always takes forever to set up the booth and I wonder….how long can it take to decorate a 10” x 10” square?  Long enough.    We gave away cupcakes to go with our theme at Schoolhouse and on the first day of market…

I have lots of things that I love about market, but one of my favorites is sharing my new patterns and creations.  Here is a new pattern called Glamp

I am in the process of getting the hardware manufactured to go along with this pattern.  It will be available in the next month!!!  They are so fun and easy to make.

 

This is a new quilt called Mad Hats.  Fun and easy piecing!  There are a couple of other new patterns (like the HATS!)  I will talk about them tomorrow.  That is all I can do today since I can’t keep my eyes open any longer!  Seriously, market is exhausting!

The NEW to do

Hello!  I have been frantically trying to scratch things off of my to do list as market marches steadily closer.  How did it get so close so fast????  It is NEXT WEEK!  I realized this as I sat at an eye appointment over the weekend.  I had to schedule a follow up visit and they said “would next Saturday work?”.  “Oh, sure” says I.  “Okay, that is May 7th” says the unsuspecting person behind the counter.  “WHAT???????????????”  I scream.  “ARE YOU KIDDING ME????” People start staring.  They are pointing and talking behind their hands as I start pulling large clumps of hair from my head. 

Okay, okay.  That didn’t really happen.  In real life.  It definitely happened in my head, though!  Seriously.  It did dawn on me during an eye appointment scheduling.  And I did completely freak out…in my head.  BUT I am feeling better now…more under control.  Crossing things off the list. 

But I have been thinking about the list.  Don’t we all have “to do” lists?  A master list of all of the tasks that we need to complete today, this week, this month or sometime in this lifetime?  Sometimes I make a list and one or two or three items never seem to get crossed off.  They are the same items. The ones that I put off.  When I finally do cross them off, it feels good….BUT….one check?  One strike through?  Does that really seem like enough?  That thing was on the list FOREVER.  OR it was HUGE!  It may have only been one thing, but it took me a month to do it!  So I have a theory and I think you are gonna like it!  I think that we should write our to do lists the way they FEEL.  The biggest things that take the longest or that we dread the most should be written the biggest.  That way, when you do get to cross it off, you can REALLY cross it off.  AND, think of the impact it makes on your to do list!  You just crossed something BIG off!  Don’t you love it???

So here is my example…not actually true to life, but you get the picture!

One more tip for your to do list.  Sometimes I get something done and I look at my to do list and it isn’t on there.  What a bummer.  I wanted to cross something off!  So…write it on, then cross it off!  I checked this with my facebook friends, and they said it was okay.  So you can do it, too!