Quilt Market and Festival Report

We’re home! We’d been home a couple of weeks actually, but I had wanted to give a report on our trip. After more than three weeks on the road, having your own bathroom is sooo nice. I know most people miss their bed, but Holiday Inn’s beds are REALLY nice. Plus, the home we rented while in Houston was lovely, but there is no place like home.


We started on our road journey to Houston Quilt Market and Festival by first taking a slight detour to Colorado. It was on the way, right? My niece was getting married in Estes Park, and it was gorgeous. We all had a great time. Altitude took a wee bit getting used to (puff, puff, gasp, puff) No sewing during those few days, but it was super cool to see all of Lora’s lap quilts brought out for the guests to use during the outdoor ceremony. One little guy was snuggled on a lap in a Minky backed quilt, looking quite comfy and toasty. Lora had 23 quilts for the guests to borrow, and none of those were our pattern/show varieties.

Of course, the night before we leave, it started blowing snow like a typical Mountain storm. Scary for a couple California fair-weather quilters, towing a U-Haul trailer with a big fat Ram Truck. We pleaded for Kelly, Lora’s husband, to drive us down the mountain, and then once the snow was clear, we dropped him off at the airport to fly home. We bravely continued on.

We made it to “Amarillo by Morning” and continued the trail south. BIG open skies. Big. Driving along the highway I see a sign for Waco. WHAT?! Waco is on the way to Houston?! Only 20 minutes out of the way, but I made it in half the time! I’m a fan of the “Fixer Upper” show with Chip and Joanna Gaines. Their Silos remodel turned out great. If you’re close to Waco, stop in to see the Magnolia farms, and don’t forget cupcakes at the bakery!  The lemon lavender was terrific!

Houston, we have a problem. Houston’s downtown roads are ridiculous. Every overpass was under construction. The road signs were amuck. It took two GPS tracking phones, the truck’s GPS, and Mom’s AAA map to get us where we wanted to go. Whew.

We had no idea what to expect for Quilt Market. We were winging it. Our booth size was 10′ x 7′ and the tiniest booth we’d ever rented. The first day of Market, I gave away all our promotional materials. I underestimated the number of buyers wanting our flyers! Quick, more copies.

We were invited to a Marcus Fabric’s Designer Dinner. We pretended to be oh so cool, but on the inside, we were jumping on the bed! We had such a lovely time. The team at Marcus Fabrics is fabulous.

When Quilt Market was complete, we took it all down and put it all back up again, but this time in our standard 10′ x 20′ size booth. We opened on Halloween. “Double your pleasure with Doublemint Gum!” was a hoot. Gave away a lot of gum too!

https://www.facebook.com/QuiltFestival/videos/424688304886755/

The Sapphire Celebration Quilt Show was beautiful!!

I’ve got a ton of photos. We should get together for coffee, and I’ll bring my iPad so you can see them all.

We made it home in one piece. (Not the U-Haul tho, we broke that 30 minutes from making it back!) We’d never have made it without the Material Girlfriends Team, however. They are such a fun, hard-working crew, Carolyn Wooldridge, Diana Garnhart, Judy White, and Katheline Monnier. They stuck it through thick and thin, sickness and health, chiggers, and cockroaches! A true testament of friendship – after sharing a house for a week, we’re still all the best of friends. HUGE hugs to them all. I wouldn’t do it without you, ladies. I really would not.

With Thanksgiving just a couple days from now, I am reflecting on how truly grateful I am for the blessings we have received over our little pattern business, our Material Girlfriends Team, our super supportive families, and our encouraging customers. What would we do without you? Thank you from the very center of my heart.

Absewlutely,

Lisa Norton

 

 

First Day of Fall

Did you know the first day of fall was September 1? Yes! It was. I missed it too. Had I known, I would have run out and bought a Pumpkin Spice latte. It wouldn’t have mattered that it was 95 degrees outside. It is officially FALL people! Whoohoo!!! Autumn is probably my favorite season. Everything from fall weather to harvest menus – Autumn rocks.

I’m celebrating. Not just with the blissful arrival of Fall, but with our new pattern! It’s called Autumn Breeze.

We have our FIRST class with this cute pattern at the Alden Lane Nursery’s Quilting in the Garden event. The class is Wednesday, September 25, 2019. Click here to sign up. Only people taking the class can receive their pattern before the Quilting in the Garden show.

Quilting in the Garden is the Autumn Breeze Pattern debut and then it will be officially launched at the Houston Quilt Market and Festival at the end of October. However, you don’t have to wait until the end of October to receive your copy. Click to pre-order Autumn Breeze $19.95 and pick up your copy at our Booth at Quilting in the Garden showor we’d be happy to ship it to you after the show on September 29th.

Absewlutely,

Lisa Norton

Show Time

Wow, what a fun show.

The day started early. We were told to leave for the show early because traffic gets pretty bad. No kidding. We were staying in Bend which is about 25 minutes from Sisters. We left at 8:30 expecting to get to Sisters about 9am but the “unknown voice of experience” was right. We arrived about 9:50, found a great place to park and set out to see the show.

It is quite large! Quilts are hung throughout downtown covering several blocks. By the end of the day, our fitbits were having fits. There were so many visitors the streets looked like the Main Street in Disneyland.

It was crazy fun to discover one of our patterns hanging in the show! Living in the Moments was displayed quite beautifully!

The quilts are hung on the buildings. In case you were interested in entering any of your quilts into the show, just a heads up, they are hung low and we noticed lots of touching (a quilt show no-no). One horrifying moment, we saw a quilt being tucked in a woman’s chair and she was actually sitting on it so it wouldn’t blow into their dinner. Yikes!! Where are the quilt police when you need them?

Over-all, everything was beautiful. High quality craftsmanship abounded. Every type and style was represented. We were impressed with the number of modern quilts represented. I love the simplistic modern lines. Not everyone appreciates the modern quilting. “Looks like an inflamed colon.”

The show was over at 4pm. We crawled back to the truck on stumps, ordered iced-coffee through the Dutch Boy drive-through. We then cruised the now open streets of Sisters, watching as the quilts were being taken down.

You really should go. It really is a lovely experience.

Absewlutely,

Lisa, Lora and Carolyn

Sisters

I love a road trip. A road trip with my sister is even better. Throw mom in to navigate and we’re having a hootin’ good time. Sisters headed to Sisters, OR.

The Sisters, OR show is tomorrow and we’re FINALLY going. It has been on our bucket list for a very long time. Since we were going through some gorgeous country, Lora brought along a small suite case of some of our quilts. You see, she has been working on her skills as a quilt photographer. She’s pretty dang good too! Check out some of the pictures she captured on our Sisters heading to Sisters trip!

Lora’s tips when photographing your quilts.

Work with one quilt at a time. Take several shots including…

The “Environment” shot. Pay special attention to your backgrounds. Lora did a mid highway u-turn for this wall!
The “Messy” shot that reveals a bit of the backing
The “Full Quilt” shot
The “Folded/tidy Quilt” shot
The “Rolled or Folded Binding” shot
The “Close Up” shot. Zoom in for the fabric detail and quilting.

After you’re photoshoot be sure to note where you took your shots. Lora took these photos at the Butte Valley Museum in Dorris, OR.

Most importantly, have fun with this! Play papparazzi! Play with the lighting. Take a quilt on vacation and play! Even if all you do is share it on Facebook or send to your friends, it is always good to have a record of your quilts. AND Lora took all these shots with her iphone. No special camera was needed.

This fun quilt is called Easy Earl. It is 2 1/2″ strips so it is jelly roll friendly. It goes together very fast and the size is compatible with the Quilts of Valor program. https://squareup.com/store/material-girlfriends-patterns/item/easy-earl

We’ll share more photos tomorrow!

Absewlutely,

Lisa, Lora, and Carolyn

Innuendos

Lora and I have been so fortunate to have met Pati Violick, Director of Advertising & Marketing of Marcus Fabrics. We had been designing patterns for Pati using lines of Marcus batiks for a few years now. Last year Pati invited us to create our very first Material Girlfriends fabric line. We were a little overwhelmed to say the least. I’m a graphic designer by trade and my BS degree in Graphic Design has an emphasis in illustration. Designing patterns? A piece of cake. Designing fabric? Hmm…we decided to go for it. Our first line has hit the quilt shops and is now available for sale! Wow. I’m still pinching myself. I’d pinch Lora too but she pinches back.

This is Marcus Fabric’s advertising line for Innuendos by Material Girlfriends:

“These fresh, light batiks by the Material Girlfriends feature a rainbow of soft, whispery pale of pales, just right for backgrounds and low-volume projects. Each color is named for a virtue: Joyful, Kindness, Compassion, Temperance, Hope, Growth, Love, Wisdom, Mercy, Valor, Peace, and Contentment. Virtues are subtle but critical for a noble character. The collection is understated, bringing integrity and contrast to your textile art. Lisa and Lora explain: “As pattern designers, we love designing with a variety of intensely colorful batiks, but were continually challenged by the short supply of light background choices. We set out to fill this void in the market by designing a colorful variety of light batiks for backgrounds and/or low-volume quilts.”

We set out to design fabrics that we would buy for our own personal use. I truly love them all. And I bought a bolt of each, lol. I guess Marcus is pleased too because we are already planning the next Material Girlfriend fabric line!

Lora and I wanted to celebrate Innuendos by giving you a pattern. A’Peeling Innuendos has three layout options. It is an easy-peasy pattern. The Peels are fusible appliqué. Download by clicking below.

We plan to have a party too and you’re invited. Bolts have arrived at my local quilt shop, In Between Stitches, in Livermore. Melissa and Leslie just moved the shop so things are a little crazy (but I LOVE their new space, 167 North Livermore Ave). When we get a date for the Grand Re-Opening Celebration, we’ll have kits available and give the pattern away at their new location. Party Party Party!

Plus, we have another pattern made with the Innuendo line called the Allusive Goose. We’re still proofing and printing this one but we’ll have it ready by party time. I just couldn’t resist sharing Lora’s awesome quilting.

We’ve got a Kolidescope Kalidescope Kaleidoscope class scheduled at In Between Stitches in Livermore. It’s a hard word to spell but easy to sew. It is a paper piecing class on June 5 from 6-9pm, $30. Make it small or make it big. Sign up here. We will have A’Peeling Innuendos and Allusive Goose classes schedule in the next quarter.

I hope to see you sewn!

Absewlutely,

Lisa Norton

DYSLEXICS UNTIE!

Yes, I’m dyslexic. So is my son, sister, brother, and other family members. Where I’m more on the moderate to mild end, my brother and son tip toward the moderate to severe end of the dyslexia scale. Dyslexia is genetic and it has been estimated that 15% of Americans are affected by it.

What is Dyslexia? The Mayo Clinic defines,

“Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding). Also called reading disability, dyslexia affects areas of the brain that process language.”

Also from the Mayo Clinic, some common dyslexia signs and symptoms in teens and adults include:

  • Difficulty reading, including reading aloud
  • Problems spelling
  • Mispronouncing names or words, or problems retrieving words
  • Spending an unusually long time completing tasks that involve reading or writing
  • Difficulty summarizing a story
  • Trouble learning a foreign language
  • Difficulty memorizing
  • Difficulty doing math problems
Esher

Bummer man. What they don’t tell you is that a huge number dyslexic adults that grew up in the US educational system, believed they were stupid. Yet, dyslexic people are just as intelligent as the non-dyslexics. Dyslexic’s brains are just wired differently. I’ve been reading a lot about dyslexia lately and have found numerous articles online about the BENEFITS and the GIFTS of dyslexia. Yes!

Did you know dyslexics have a spatial genius, an ability to see patterns, and take in a whole scene far quicker than “normal” learners? In The Upside of Dyslexia by Annie Murphy Paul she wrote,

“in some situations, it turns out, those with dyslexia are actually the superior learners.”

Wow. Feeling a little validated there. Thanks Annie.

I’ve had many students that are thrilled at their ability to excel in quilting, confess to me they always thought they were stupid because they couldn’t excel in school. Taking a quilt class was a huge personal risk because of their academic history. The more students I met, the more I found students with dyslexia. I was quite surprised that dyslexia only affected 15% of Americans. It felt that I had at least 30% in my classes.

Annie Murphy Paul also wrote, that although people with dyslexia are found in every profession, including law, medicine and science, observers have long noted that they populate fields like art and design in unusually high numbers. 

Ah hah!! That’s is why my classes seems high in dyslexic quilters. We’re artists!

Echer quilt, 1997, by Ineke Poort (Netherlands)

If you’re a dyslexic quilter, you rely more on the diagrams than the written word. If the instructions are written, read them a couple times, even out loud. It will help. Or get your non-dyslexic quilting friend to help you figure out the instructions.

If you’re a non-dyslexic quilter, grab a dyslexic quilting friend when you’re laying out your blocks. She’ll be able to see the ones upside down or to help spread out the color placement of your blocks.

If you are one of those dyslexic adults that fear failing or cringe at the thought of critical teachers because of your scholastic history, shrug that off and take a class. Check out my class list here and check out the classes available at your local quilt shop. Remember, in some situations, it turns out dyslexics are the superior learners!

Absewlutely!

Lisa

Christmas Gift Wish List

IMG_0537Our family writes up lists for gift ideas to help each other purchase gifts that the other would really like. I get stumped at this every year. I lack for nothing. The house is warm, food is stocked in the kitchen and I have family and friends to celebrate the holidays with. What more could I want? I decluttered the house earlier this year and prefer not to stuff it with more “things”… Are you with me on this? So what options do our family have? Instead of writing a wish list of things, think experiences. Classes are at the top of my list. It is a fun way to learn something new, enjoy the company of other quilting enthusiast and it doesn’t clutter up my house!

I’ve taken quilt classes for the past 19 years and still do! Why? There is sew much to learn, but mainly because classes are fun. Quilters are a great community of women! I love being a quilting teacher. It really is my passion. We just had our preview party at In Between Stitches so I wanted to share my current list of classes. What is really fun about this class list is that I am team teaching many of them with my sister, Lora. We always have a great time together and tend to get pretty funny. Come join us for the laughter. You can register through In Between Stitches website or call them at 925-371-7064. Oh! and I made kits for most of these, another thing you can add to your wish list.

The Circle is the New Square

Join us for one or all of these fun technique classes. Learn curved piecing Jan 2-Drunkards Path Runner, Fusible Appliqué Feb 6-Orange Peel Runner, and paper piecing Mar 6-New York Beauty Pillow.

Dates: Wednesdays January 2, February 6, March 6

Time: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Cost: $25 per meeting. Sign up here.

 

 

Open Options

Encore! Encore! Open Options was the 2018 Mystery Class. This poplular design is back as a fully revealed class. Don’t miss out on this super easy, beginner friendly project.

Date: Saturday, January 5

Time: 10am to 5pm

Cost: $45. Sign up here.

 

Lisa’s Finishing School for Wayward Quilters

Is one of your goals to “Finish Your Quilt Projects”? Then join us,  Lisa Norton and Lora Zmak, on the 1st and 3rd Saturday evenings and work on your projects. We will be on hand to assist with any piecing and quilting questions.

Dates: Saturdays, January 5, 19, February 2, 16, March 2, 16

Time: 5:30pm – 11pm.

Cost: $20/session. Sign up here.

 

StartQuilting101 Start Quilting

Learn to quilt from beginning to end. Complete a sampler quilt in this six week class. Classes include demonstrations and instruction on rotary cutting, 1/4″ seam, pressing, assembling blocks, adding borders, machine quilting, hand quilting, bindings and more. Level, Beginner.

Dates for the six week session: Mondays, January 14, 21, 28, February 4, 11, 18

Time: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

Cost: $125. Sign up here.

 

Night Watchman

Material Girlfriends is launching a new Block of the Month pattern and they need your input! Join us to sew and perfect the pattern before the national launch. Pattern is included in class fee.

Dates: Sundays, January 27, February 17, 24, March 10.

Time: 11:00am to 3pm

Cost: $80, includes pattern. Sign up here.

 

102 Beyond the Basics

Ready to expand your quilting skills?

This is the class for you! Work through the “Quilt Block Cookbook” with us and learn new techniques to take your skill to a new level. Learn to sew with templates, paper piecing, curves, fusible applique, and much more!

Dates for the six week session: Mondays, February 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25, April 1.

Time: 6:00pm to 9:00pm.

Cost: $125. Sign up here.

 

Material Girlfriend Mystery Party

This is an “Oh Sew Simple!” mystery quilt class! Solve this mystery with 24 background 10″ squares, and 24 medium to dark 10″ squares. You will end up with an Oh-Sew-Sweet wall or lap quilt. Lunch will be included. Lisa and Lora will be choosing fabrics for some mystery kits!

Sunday, February 16, 10:00am – 4:00pm

Time: 10am to 4pm

Cost: $65 Sign up here. SOLD OUT in one day!

 

Confetti Star

This Material Girlfriend best seller takes a complex Hunter Star block and simplifies it from a 10″ square. No specialty rulers, templates or y seams! Sew fun!

Date: Saturday March 16.

Time: 10am to 4pm

Cost: $45. Sign up here.

Merry Christmas and I hope to see you in one of our classes in the New Year!

Absewlutely,

Lisa

 

Living in a Haze

Some days I can see clearer than others. Lately I’ve been living in a haze. Literally. The air quality in the Bay Area has been.. cough, cough, thick… to say the least. But none of that compares the trauma the victims of the recent Camp Fire are experiencing.

We were in Sacramento this past weekend at the River City Quilters’ Guild show. Look how much fun we were having.

As we are working like crazy, helping customers, doing demos, etc., I came aware of few friends talking… “Oh my God, the pattern is called Living in the Moment.” The other friend inhales a quick breath and says, “I have to have this!” She was a survivor of Paradise. Her home and all her treasures were lost in the fire. She was staying with friends and earlier had shared with them that she was living moment by moment. She had so much to process. She was living in a haze. Living in the moment was how she was coping.

She thought our pattern was beautiful. The houses represent community and in the psychology of color, teal blues represent peace and lime green, new growth — all the things she was needing.

 

I am seeing clearer today. The haze has been very effective in giving me insight. I am well, my family is well, my home and ‘stuff’ are safe. I am feeling very thankful and blessed. Please continue to pray for the people affected by the California fires. There are lots of families living in a haze. I can’t imagine how difficult it is trying do deal with their losses.

We ask for continued prayers of protection for our firefighters too! This is a picture of Lora’s nephew, Christopher taking a break from fighting the fires. Thank you Christopher. And a huge thank you to all the firefighters and first responders. We are so grateful for your hard work.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving,

Lisa

Knock Knock. Who’s there?

Orange. Orange who? Orange you glad we have a new pattern for you?

Introducing Open Options by Material Girlfriends!
What a fun pattern!! It is so versatile that we changed our mind on the name and decided to call it Open Options. Here is why. The pattern is easy-peasy, GREAT for beginning quilters but you end up with a really cool and complicated-looking quilt. The fabric requirements are 10″ squares. Depending on the size of the finished quilt, you can use 18 of light and 18 of med/dark 10″ squares, or for a larger quilt, 24 light and 24 med/dark 10″ squares. Go for the 24 of each. But add a few extra for more lay-out options and room for those oopsies.

When creating the blocks, you’re making two at a time, one light and one dark.

And then the fun begins! You have so many lay out options! We included 14 lay outs in the pattern. But check out our design wall! We finally chose the cover designed and called that lay out “Orange You Glad.”

Plus a few sexy shots on the river and an adorable puppy. Who can resist this pattern now?!

So what’s the story on this block?  It is an eight-pointed star and the first published likeness that I have found, is called the New Hampshire block, first published in the Birmingham News, October 12, 1943. When researching for our pattern, we also found similar blocks published by Missouri Star Quilt Company, but their pattern doesn’t use 10″ squares and a similar pattern called Kira by GE Designs, but their patterns uses the Stripology Squared ruler by Creative Grids. Magic Stars by Aneela Hoey seems to have beat us all to the publishing punch and launch her pattern in 2013. I bought her pattern since hers was the earliest. There were some differences, having been a graphic designer for 30+ years, I am sooo copyright sensitive. We would never want to exploit someone else’s creative genius (and visa versa!). I contacted Aneela and shared our pattern with her. She said go ahead to publish. She was a very nice woman. She had told us she had also spoke to GE Designs regarding Kira as well and told them the same. It seems our technique wasn’t quite as unique as we had hoped. It is basically a Disappearing L Block.


This is a different lay out that Lora did using some civil war fabrics. It is called the “Wanda” after our grandmother. It has also been a popular lay-out for our students. Plus a pic of the quilting.

This lay out was the one given to our Mystery Sweet Heart class.

This is my lay out plus a picture of Lora’s quilting. And also a lay out when playing on the design wall.

Jennie’s lay out

Nicole’s lay out

Georgette’s lay-out

And as soon as I think I’ve included all the versions in the pattern, Kim sent me her lay out. This will be the 15th layout version “Kim” in the next print. Send me your lay out design too! I’d love to include it into the next pattern run. I think the design options are endless!!

Yes, all those design lay outs are from the same two squares shown above. Amazing, right?! You don’t even have to decide on the final lay out until you’re done creating the blocks! This is the current lay outs list (up for a limited time). Click to download OpenOptionLay-outs.

Take this class with us at the Alden Lane Nursery! Sign up for the Open Options class hereThursday, Sept. 20, 9-4 pm at the Alden Lane Nursery in Livermore CA.

The Open Options pattern will be available soon at In Between Stitches in Livermore and Quilters’ Hollow in Stockton. You can also purchase here at our online store.

I think you can see why we named this pattern Open Options. The options seam limitless!

Absewlutely,

Lisa

Beauty From Ashes

Last year, during the second week of October, Lora and I were glued to the news and social media outlets. Sonoma and Napa County was a blaze. Thousands of homes were burned to the ground. So many lives were lost.

Three of our family members, a cousin, a brother-in-law and a nephew, are California firefighters. Plus our dad is a retired Livermore Pleasanton firefighter. Believe me when I say we were praying for the extinguishing of that fire and the protection of our family firefighters, as well as, all of the people in that area.

Lora and I had been scheduled to speak at the Napa Valley Quilters guild on October 14. I called and called but lines were down. Power was out. People had evacuated. As the lecture day drew near, we did get a call from the program chair confirming the meeting was cancelled. Of course.

We were reschedule for earlier this year in March and had an absolute blast with the Napa Valley Quilters guild. The hills were turning green from the rain and everyone was joyful in seeing the burned hills become alive again. As a community, they had lost so much, but we’d never had a guild that laughed so much, and so hard, at our antics. It made me think of this verse.

“and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:3

This year the 2018 Wine Country Quilt Show will be dedicated to honor the First Responders and Survivors who lost everything, by displaying quilts and artifacts that celebrate quilters and the practical comfort quilts bring to us all.

Plan to come to the Santa Rosa Veteran’s Memorial Building, June 2 – 3, 2018, to enjoy the display of over 400 Quilts, including those dedicated to Survivors and First Responders.  Visit the gift boutique and the vendors, including us! We will be there too. We wouldn’t miss it! Look for the Material Girlfriend booth towards the back of the main Quilt Show room.  The admission is $12.00 (adults) $5.00 (children 6-12) and PARKING IS FREE.  If you want to know more, check them out online at http://www.mqsc.org/annual-quilt-show or Wine Country Quilt Show on FaceBook.

See you there!

Lisa Norton