To Market, To Market...

What a whirlwind week it has been!

I had such a great time at Spring Market in Salt Lake City.  Not only did I get to create the booth you see here, but I got to reconnect with old friends, make some new ones, and meet so many wonderful quilters!  It was a fantastic experience.

I had been dreaming of this moment for years, and planning this booth for nearly a year, so it was great to finally see it in tangible form.  I could not have accomplished all you see here without the help of so many people!  First I want to thank Karen and Sharon for dropping many of their other activities once my fabric finally arrived (11 days prior to leaving for Market) to help me with the quilts.  Actually the only thing I did on the quilts was piece the Argyle (the big blue and green one on the wall) and the Ascension (the whirling one on the bench); they did all the rest!  Karen pieced 3 quilts and quilted 4 of them, and Sharon quilted the Argyle and did the hand binding on 4 of them.  A HUGE THANK YOU to both of you!  There is no way I could have done 5 quilts plus all the other stuff by myself - you totally saved my bacon.

I made 3 skirts denoting the 3 colorways...

...and I made a flower box to display the 7 patterns that I am selling.

Some local friends helped with the backdrop curtains and some pillows (thanks, Whitney and Murray!)

 

Once I got to Utah, a bunch of us (thanks Edith, Emilie, and Star!) worked on these cute and easy flowers made with yo-yo's and fabric-covered buttons, which were scattered in the flower box and the "bushes".   Edith and Emilie also worked with me for the day and a half it took to set up the booth.

I had hurriedly made this appliqued sign before I left, but as you can see it has issues.  All you professional quilters out there, don't look too closely!  I spent my flying and airport layover time working on the hand-stitching on it, but didn't ever finish it.  Ah, well.  It got the point across, anyway.

Here's my favorite li'l critter, the Huggable Slug - isn't he just, well, huggable?  The pattern for the slug and his pal Sir Snake is coming soon!  And all net proceeds from this pattern will go to One Heart Bulgaria.

Speaking of One Heart Bulgaria, my Sewing For Orphans project was enthusiastically received by a lot of women who were excited to bring the project back to their hometowns to work on.  This makes me SO happy!  Hopefully the project will really start to snowball from here.  If you are unfamiliar with OHB and/or SFO, please click on the icons in my sidebar for more information.

Here's a closer look at the bags for my Infinity Tote pattern.   Isn't that the cutest wagon ever?  My friend Emilie borrowed it from a neighbor, cleaned it all up and sanded the rust off, then when I got into town we painted it together.  Love it.  She also painted her garden bench red just for the booth.  And she found the white stool that I recovered with my fabric so I could have a place to perch during the show.  Not to mention helping me set up and take down the booth, printing more business cards at her house after I ran out the first day, and driving me everywhere for several days.  Thanks for everything!

Here's Emilie Daly, in all her stylish splendor.  She's a prospective designer and her impressive portfolio attracted a lot of attention from several fabric companies, so keep a lookout for her name in the upcoming year!

 

 The little birdies and flowers in my prints are perfect for applique, as you can see on my Eliza-sized mannequin.  I made both mannequins to be the sizes of my girls, for obvious reasons. 

 

 

Now Hazel, whenever she sees the blonde one, shouts, "That's me!  That's me!"

I had Mod-Podged fabric to fit underneath the "stepping stone" spaces I cut in the fake grass, but made the mistake of cutting the fabric before decoupaging it = shrinkage!  Some pieces didn't even quite fill the gaps, but with a lot of carpet tape Edith and I made it work.

Here I am in another matchy-matchy outfit.  I inadvertantly scared so many people when I was sitting calmly in my chair - when I moved around they totally jumped because they thought I was a mannequin too!  Nearly gave one lady a heart attack. 

For any of you who are awaiting the release of my patterns (I didn't have time to get them printed before I left, despite spending all day last Monday trying to do so), please look for the pattern images to appear in my sidebar.  I've still got to get a lot of ducks in a row before I'm ready to fill orders, but it should happen in the next week or so.  Thanks for your patience, and to all of you who helped me this month (including my Mom, who came about 2 weeks before I left to help entertain the kids so I could sew, and of course my husband Steve, who took a week off of work to play Mr. Mom in my absence), thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

 

 

Comments

[Jayneofall]

Wow. I don't even have words. I can't fathom how you accomplished all of this but you did a tremendous job! Your booth looks absolutely amazing. Your tote bags, the skirts, the quilts, all of the signage and decorative accents... you sure do have an eye for design! Congratulations in what I am sure is the tip of the iceburg. Proof positive that where there's a will, there's a way!

[DeAnn]

Congratulations! Everything is amazing. I'm glad you have so many supportive friends that helped you pull the whole thing off.

[Shelley]

Thanks ladies!

[Edith Songer]

Hooray! I'm glad you put up your pictures so my family can see your stuff--and I forgot my camera like I usually do.
That is so funny about scaring people because you matched the background! Hopefully that woman will suffer no long term effects.
It was fun to be part of the experience. Good luck with your patterns.

[Jenna Consolo]

I've been checking for days to see this update! What a beautiful booth you put together and all the projects are just a delight for the eyes! Great work!

[Deanne Morris]

The booth, fabrics and products all looked beautiful. Well done!

Deanne Werth Morris

[Jane]

Hi Shelley,
Wow. Still, I stand all amazed at what you manage to get done. And what a funny thing to happen when the lady thought you were a mannequin. Absolutely adorable prints!!! Love them! Which fabric company should I start haunting to find them? I can see such adorable baby quilts in my future. Thanks! --Jane

[Katrina London]

Congratulations Shelley, everything looks ridiculously beautiful.

Not really ridiculous because you've put so much heart and energy into it.

It's been wonderful to have followed the journey here and to see it pay off!

Well done, well done, well done. I think you probably deserve a very very veeery long hot bath. With bubbles.

xxxKL

[shelley]

Thanks SO much, everyone, for all the love! I really really appreciate it!
Jane, Benartex is producing and distributing the fabric. I know that Fabric.com will be carrying it, I'm not sure of other online sites yet. And there's always your local quilt shops! If you have a favorite one, ask the owner if she/he is going to be carrying it - maybe you can persuade her to if she isn't planning on it! :-) It will be available in July/August timeframe.
Katrina, I chuckled at your bath comment - I'm actually not a bath person, but I can assure you that I wasn't very productive the first few days = spent lots of time recuperating and spending time with my family!

[Ingrid]

Shelley! Wow! Good work! I was thinking about folks from home as our big reunion is coming up and I thought I would look you up. It's fun seeing your stuff. You have really integrated your art into your ENTIRE life. That is so awesome. Congratulations for all your success. You so deserve it.
Okay, now here is a challenge for your fabulous fabricy-ness--- help me find someone who makes some funky boy clothes. Ever notice that there is about nothing out there that is interesting for boys? I have two girls and one boy and my boy loves to get attention for looking cute, but fun clothes are few and far between. Maybe our culture has issues with boys and fashion? Anyway, good work! I love to see what you've been up to.

[Jane]

Thanks Shelly, Benartex, got it. I will watch for it online and snatch some up when it is available. Love your dots and solids especially, but I'm sure I can't resist those birds either. Congrats on a successful venture! Live long and prosper!!

[Jane]

Yikes, misspelled your name - how awful is that? Chalk it up to a typo please, and not old age forgetfulness! I keep looking at your pictures and am jazzed that your designs will be in the stores. Love that Lime Squeeze! Success to you!

[shelley]

Jane, I didn't even notice that you misspelled my name....it happens all the time, I'm used to it. And I'm jazzed that you're jazzed!

[Jennifer]

Shelley, your Argyle quilt turned out so pretty! I just wanted to say thank you for letting me help with that one. I look forward to your other patterns coming out!

[shelley]

Thanks Jennifer! Thanks for being such a wonderful pattern tester for this quilt! You weeded out so many glitches, thanks so much. I'll be sure to send some patterns your way as soon as they're printed!

[Sunny Price]

You never cease to amaze me!! Congratulations. It looked wonderful!!

[katie trott]

I loved meeting you at QM! Your booth was just amazing with so much detail. It was all so well done! And your slug was just adorable, as were your fabric covered buttons :)

[sherry]

OMG! Your booth was just gorgeous. So glad I found your blog. Wishing you all the best with your new patterns & fabric.

[shelley]

Wow, thanks so much Katie and Sherry! I really appreciate it!

[Connie]

That was amazing - wish I could have seen it in person

[alamhati]

beautiful...like it mucho

[Marina M F Filipp (Brazil)]

Hi, Shelley! Everything is amazing!!! You are a real artist! It seems that you put your soul in your work. I loved everything.

[Maureen Rauch]

How do we buy your fabric

[Account Deleted]

One word, FABULOUS!! I love your color combination and also all the pretty things you have created. Where can we buy the fabric that you have posted here? Thank you

[Mcdanielbritt]

Everything is very pretty! Love everything! Nice job!