You remember how I mentioned that Martingale had gotten together with Quiltmaker magazine to publish the first two issues of 100 Blocks in book form? Well right now over at Stitch This!, the Martingale blog, Quiltmaker editor-in-chief June Dudley has done a guest post talking about how the collaboration came about, and they’re teaming up for a fantastic giveaway.

Not only can you win a copy of the book, if you win you’ll get the first two 100 Blocks mugs too! I just happen to have four of these mugs and I treasure them :).

So go on over to Stitch This! and good luck!

Another item you might find of interest is the Checker Distributors blog, where Penny Haren put up a couple of posts with wonderful photos of designer booths at Kansas City. It’s another taste of Market.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, Part 1

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, Part 2

In other news, I’m off to southern California this weekend to the Beach Cities Quilters Guild Show in Aliso Viejo. That’s in the famous O.C. don’t ya know, near Irvine. If you’re in that area, hope to see you there!

And, mark you calendars for our upcoming Scrap-Appliqué Playground blog Book-A-Round, June 7-16! I put the schedule up on the Book-A-Round page here on the blog. Each day we”ll see what the other quilting bloggers have been playing with in the Playground, and there will be prize-winning opportunities all along the way. It’s going to be a blast!

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

P.S. So glad you enjoyed Fabric by the Mile!

I hope this doesn’t bust WordPress.

First off let me direct you to a couple of excellent blog posts, one by Kathy Mack of Pink Chalk Studio and the other by Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill. They’ll each give you a taste of Spring Market in Kansas City.

This was the view from my hotel room. The convention center is the long building on the right. Très convenient, no? I was going to be staying at a hotel far removed from the epicenter, but through a series of conversations that went sort-of like the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, I ended up with this splendid room right in the middle of the action! My friend Carmel talked to her friend Bettina Havig, who talked to Marti Michell, who had an extra room reserved, and then it went back down the chain to me! When I checked in, the Marriott even told me I was a VIP!

Across the way, Jersey Boys was playing in the Music Hall so I went to see it Thursday night. Fun!

Here’s my new book in the Martingale booth, prominently displayed with the other April releases. Seeing stuff like that makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Now for the main event of this post. One day at Market, I had tromped all the aisles and had about an hour before going to see some people about some stuff. I decided to make it my mission to take a picture of every single fabric company. I held my camera in my hand and went down each aisle once more, not trying for photography perfection but just going snap, snap, snap. I think my camera’s going to need new batteries, and by the time I covered the floor, I tell you, my dogs were barking.

Thankfully I learned how to use a feature in Photoshop to resize and optimize all the photos for the web in one fell swoop, and now WordPress can import multiple files, so that saved a bunch of time. I then set about the task of linking all the pictures up to the websites of the fabric companies. I think I got them all pretty well.

Keep in mind that these companies largely sell only to the wholesale trade, so consumers may not be able to order fabric directly from them. But you should bookmark this post! It’s a fabulous resource for when you want to go window-shopping for fabric online!

Enjoy my photo essay, Fabric by the Mile.

Alexander Henry

Rowan

Rowan

Rowan again, and that is Amy Butler on the left.

Amy Butler's Cameo collection from Rowan

Amy Butler's new Cameo collection

Andover

Art Gallery Fabrics

Art Gallery Fabrics

Avlyn

B. Black & Sons

B. Black & Sons

Batik Textiles

Batik Textiles

Benartex

Benartex

Birch Organic

Birch Organic

Blank Quilting

Blank Quilting

Blend

Blend

Blue Hill

Blue Hill

Camelot Cottons

Camelot Cottons

Chewie and Darth

Chewie and Darth

Choice Fabrics

Choice Fabrics

Clothworks

Clothworks

Daiwabo

Daiwabo

David Textiles

David Textiles

Dear Stella

Dear Stella

Diamond Textiles

Diamond Textiles

Elizabeth's Studio

Elizabeth's Studio

Ellen Medlock

Ellen Medlock

Exclusively Quilters from Classic Cottons

Exclusively Quilters from Classic Cottons

EZ Fabrics

EZ Fabrics

Fabri-Quilt

Fabri-Quilt

Fabri-Quilt pigs, chillin'

Fabri-Quilt pigs, chillin'

Fabri-Quilt sheep

Fabri-Quilt sheep

Fabric Finders

Fabric Finders

Fabric Freedom

Fabric Freedom

Foust Textiles

Foust Textiles

Free Spirit

Free Spirit

Frond Design Studios

Frond Design Studios

Golden D'Or

Golden D'Or

Hamil Group

Hamil Group

Henry Glass

Henry Glass

Hoffman

Hoffman

Island Batik

Island Batik

In The Beginning

In the Beginning

Kanvas by Benartex

Kanvas by Benartex

Robert Kaufman

Robert Kaufman

Kinkame Shigyo

Kinkame Shigyo

Kona Bay

Kona Bay

Lakehouse Dry Goods

Lakehouse Dry Goods

Lecien

Lecien

Liberty Art

Liberty Art Fabrics

Marcus Fabrics

Marcus Fabrics

Maywood Studio

Maywood Studio

Michael Miller

Michael Miller

Michael Miller circus elephants

Michael Miller circus elephants

Michael Miller inpiration wall

Michael Miller inspiration wall

Moda

Moda

Monaluna

Monaluna

Needlecraft

Needlecraft

Newcastle

Newcastle

Northcott

Northcott

Oilcloth by the Yard

Oilcloth by the Yard

P&B Textiles

P&B Textiles

Print Concepts

Print Concepts

QH Textiles

QH Textiles

Quilt Gate

Quilt Gate

Quilting Treasures

Quilting Treasures

Project Linus from Quilting Treasures

Project Linus from Quilting Treasures

Red Rooster

Red Rooster

Riley Blake

Riley Blake

Rimmon

Rimmon

RJR Fabrics

RJR Fabrics

Rockland Industries

Rockland Industries

Shannon Fabrics

Shannon Fabrics

SPX by Spectrix

SPX by Spectrix

South Sea Imports

South Sea Imports

STUDIOe

Studioe

Textile Creations

Textile Creations

Timeless Treasures

Timeless Treasures

Tonga Batiks by Timeless Treasures

Tonga Batiks from Timeless Treasures

Trans Pacific Textiles

Trans Pacific Textiles

Treasures by Shabby Chic

Treasures by Shabby Chic, sorry dude caught you drinking a Coke

Troy Corporation

Troy Corporation

Tula Pink

Tula Pink

Windham

Windham

Yara African Fabrics

Yara African Fabrics

Yuwa Shoten

Yuwa Shoten

And I didn’t even get them all…

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Swag bags

Filed Under Prizes | 1 Comment

Ellen asked, “Why is the stuff you get called swag?”

Here’s one of Wikipedia’s several definitions of the word ‘swag.’




That makes them swag bags!

I was so heartened to see how many people are already in the reusable bag habit. Here in Santa Cruz, plastic bags were recently outlawed and we pay 10 cents for a paper bag. I’ve vowed to get in the habit of having my bags with me… not to avoid paying the 10 cents but to support the cause. One time, after a trip, the bags never got back into the car. So I grabbed a cardboard box lid from the stocking cart and said to the clerk, “I’ll do it like Costco!”

The winners are:

#13, Robin Gold!
#27, Jane H.!
#36 Stephanie Kluk!

Congratulations gals! Please email me with your shipping address and I’ll get the bags right out to you. My email is kay at kaymackenzie dot com.

I’m still working on a photo post about a pretty amazing aspect of Market.

Until then,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

I got home from Market last night at 8:00 p.m., one tired puppy. I had to check my carryon bag because it was so heavy with all of the “stuff” that I dragged home. I have swag to share!

During the Schoolhouse breakout session on Thursday, fabric companies were very generous in handing out totebags made with the latest and greatest lines. Here are three that I’m sending out into the world to live with you.

The beautiful brown one is from Jo Morton‘s newest fabric collection with Andover, Alexandria.

The black one is from Jane Dixon‘s line City Scenes, also with Andover.

The blue floral bag was gifted by Amy Butler, whose fabrics are with Westminster. Amy told us that a friend of hers makes thousands of these bags and gives them away, asking only that they be used as shopping bags instead of accepting a bag from a merchant.

I ask the same of the winners of these bags. Keep them in your car and the next time you purchase something, skip the shop bag and use this one. It’s a great habit to get into.

If you’d like to win one of these, please leave a comment here on this post by 7:00 pm. on Wednesday, May 23.

The fine print: Open to U.S. and Canada mailing addresses only. Don’t reply to your email feed; instead, click over to the blog itself and leave your comment at the bottom of the post.

More to come from Market, including an astonishing aspect of this huge trade show.

Until then,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

I’ve always thought that “That Patchwork Place” was a funny and quirky name for a publishing company, and that there had to be a story there. Sure enough, on the Martingale blog Stitch This! theyve told the story behind the name, and revealed the exact long-kept secret location of “That” Patchwork Place . Wonder no more. :)

Speaking of Martingale, they’ve teamed up with Quiltmaker magazine to publish in book form the blocks from the first two issues of 100 Blocks. That makes 200 blocks! Aptly enough, that’s the title of the book, 200 Blocks from Quiltmaker Magazine. I’ve already got my advance copy and it looks fantastic. There’s even a bonus CD so you can print the full-size appliqué and foundation-pieced blocks from the comfort of your own home.

In addition to book form, the staff at Quiltmaker has been going to town with all sorts of options for the 100 Blocks franchise. Go to Quilty Pleasures and check out all the different ways you can get the blocks, even from the very earliest issues!

I had a fantastic time talking with Pat Sloan on APQ Radio yesterday. If you missed the chance to listen live, you can still catch the podcast. There are a couple of other great guests on the show following my segment.

Tomorrow I’m getting on a plane to fly to Kansas City for the spring version of International Quilt Market. This huge, bustling event is a trade show for quilting industry professionals only, where designers, publishers, and manufacturers show off all the latest and greatest for shop owners to see. I’ve tried to describe it to Dana, who can’t quite picture the ginormity of it. I tell him it’s the size of several football fields but I don’t think he believes me. I can’t wait to see all my old buddies and make new ones! If you’re going to be at Market, come and see my demo/book signing at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday in the Martingale booth.

Back soon,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

The very awesome Pat Sloan has invited me to be a guest on her American Patchwork & Quilting Radio show this Monday afternoon, May 14.

Guest on American Patchwork & Quilting Radio, Hosted by Pat Sloan. Click here to learn more.We’ll be gabbing about my new book and whatever else comes to mind. This a live broadcast (no pressure, ack) and you can listen in real time on your computer, subscribe by iTunes (search American Patchwork & Quilting), or download the show later to a player.

The show airs at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time, so translate for your own time zone. For me here on the west coast it’ll be 1:00 p.m. But no worries; if you miss the live action, you can always listen to it later.

I’m looking forward to chatting with Pat! Just click one of the images above to be whisked away to APQ Radio!

Until then,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

I read about this in American Patchwork & Quilting: an online Color Sense Game sponsored by Pittsburgh Paints. I played the game, so much fun!

And boy was it right. Here’s what the game declared me:

Almonds and Honey! Really? Then I clicked on some of the accompanying palettes to see what they would look like in a room.

Yeah, that’s pretty much exactly what I painted my house in Ohio.

(Not to mention that load of fabric I just got in Reno.)

And ooh, I just love this:

I’m an Almonds & Honey!

Go see what you are!

In other news, this coming Monday afternoon I’m going to be a guest on American Patchwork & Quilting Radio, hosted by the wonderful Pat Sloan! I’ll remind you again before then, just wanted to give a quick heads-up. Pat is so much fun to talk to… she’s fascinated by everything and makes you feel so welcome.

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

More felines!

Our PVQA guild member Mickey Beebe, designer of the world famous BB Bag, is coordinating our opportunity quilt for 2014.

At our last guild meeting she doled out dozens of a cute little cat block that she had designed to those members not afraid of hand appliqué. I took three.

Mickey had already traced the cats with a silver pencil and had provided a measurement-based placement system. I put on my thinking cap and came up with a method that slops into back-basting, except that it’s front-basting! That’s why I call them hybrid cats.

I positioned the cats on the background as directed, pinned in a couple places, then front-basted along the silver marked line. Take out the pins, and voilà! it’s ready to stitch, just as if I had used my favorite back-basting method.

Trimmed to shape, leaving the turning allowance, and a little reverse appliqué to delineate the legs.

Stitching away, removing the basting a little ahead.

Three cats all done and ready to go back to Mickey! I feel like there are more in my future, since there are a whole lotta cats in Mickey’s quilt!

Notes:

Cat block is © Mickey Beebe. Mickey is a natural-born quiltmaking soul. You can see two of her Road to California ribbon-winning quilts, #6711 and #6712, at the R2CA site.

When I looked at the webpage I was tickled to see one of my quilts on there too! We had a good year!

If you didn’t win a copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, Volume 5 in last week’s blog hop, I now have it available on my website, on the Patterns page.

Also, if you can’t wait until the Book-A-Round June 7-16 to see if you win one, you can order your signed copy of Scrap-Appliqué Playground now! It’s on the Bookshop page.

Cheers,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Thank you so much to all 268 readers who entered the 100 Blocks drawing! That was a party!

I appreciate all the nice words about my cat-in-basket block, even from self-proclaimed non-cat people. Guess what? I’m really a dog person myself! However, we have the most incredible young cat right now that we are over the moon about.

Our cat Max, eight months old, giving a bath to foster kitten Priscilla, two months old.

The winner of a copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, Volume 5, is #106, Jocelyn. The reader who won a copy of my book Growing Hearts to Appliqué is #52, Cecilia. Congratulations to the both of you!

The contests are still going on, through the end of the week. Hurry on over to Quiltmaker for all the details.

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie