What a whirl wind trip!  All that preparation for just a few days that seem to fly by all too quickly…  It’s almost like Christmas and I find myself wishing I could just slow time down when I’m at Quilt Market so that I am able to savor all the amazing sights, sounds and people.  There never seems to be enough time to see all the quilts, fondle all the fabric, check out all the new gadgets and fully admire each and every booth that was no doubt painstakingly designed and planned months in advance.  Every year I come home and regret not having taken more pictures.  The best I’m able to do it seems, is run around like a crazy quilt paparazzi Saturday morning before the show officially opens, snapping quick shots of all the Toadusew quilts.  Our Toadsters have to sew and quilt at the speed of sound to get those samples done in time and if I came home without photos of their quilts proudly displayed at Quilt Market, they’d be most displeased.  They’re pretty amazing ladies, we simply could not have pushed through the last three years without them (to get to know them check out our Team Toad Gallery).

The highlight of the trip for me definitely had to be getting to meet Alex Anderson.  The lady practically taught me how to quilt via Simply Quilts and the many wonderful books she’s put out.  She looked fantastic, had a great sense of humor and was gracious enough to sign not only our Toad, but also offered to give me an autograph for every Toadster back home.  I was really happy to get the autographs, not only because the Toadsters will treasure them, but it took Miss Alex about 10 minutes to sign all the cards – I was more than happy to keep her company .

We met with all of the editors and magazines we’ve been working with this last year as well as a few new ones.  We’re really excited about all the projects that will be coming to the newsstands in 2010 in even more of your favorite magazines, so be on the lookout.  We also got a sneak peak at some pretty incredible fabrics…  there was one or two collections that really gave us a fabrigasm!  We’ll be posting previews of our favorite picks from Benartex, Robert Kaufman, Avlyn, Windham and a few others in November so be sure to check back!

A really nice surprise was the great display Fairfield Batting build for Toadusew in their booth.  They had a whole section set up that was just for us – too cool!  We love their 80/20 Quilters Blend, Wool and Bamboo Batting, it’s simply amazing stuff and is the batting we use for our samples these days.  It’s the most forgiving batting we’ve come across, recovers from being folded faster than anything else on the market, breaths and insulates well and drapes like your favorite worn and loved quilt.  They sent us some samples last year and we were immediately hooked, If you haven’t tried it, you’re really missing a great product.

Our long arm quilter Cathy Messner came with us again, thank goodness.  She is a true angel and if we could box up her smile and charm, I think we’d make a million!  Special thanx to Miss Cathy for all her patience and unyielding sunny disposition.  Colleen’s husband Mario also came with us and was a super trooper as well.  The man destroyed a brand new shirt building us a make shift table, had to walk seven blocks to get us Advil, hauled crates, ironed drapes, lay flooring – with a smile on his face and the enthusiasm of a teenager going to prom.  The man is a saint.

As much as I loved Market, I’m glad to be back at the studio into a normal routine again.  Colleen and I are all juiced up and inspired by our trip to Market.   The design wall is a blank canvas that begs to be covered in shrapnel of fabric and color.  Just a few more chores to take care and then we can dig again and have some fun!

We’ve got some of the pictures on-line already in our Gallery if you’d like to see some more of our quilts dressed up in new colors and fabrics plus get a preview of some exciting things to come…