Quilt Market Swag

One of the cool things about Quilt Market is all the goodies to be found. Companies anxious to debut new products often give out free samples. How do you say no to that?

And then there's Sample Spree. Oh yikes! (These fat quarters are just part of a huge bundle of Jinny Beyer's newest fabric collection. Yummy!) The spree opens the evening before the official start to market. Originally the idea was to offer samples, already made up, for purchase, to be used in a quilt shop to help sell the new product. Over time it became a way for shop employees to decorate their homes. And now it is an all out free-for-all with companies (especially fabric companies) selling individual items at wholesale (or less!) prices. Attendees line up more than an hour in advance to be the first folks through the door. Being shopping impaired to begin with, I like to show up about an hour into the event and just breeze through the doors. Hey, what's left is way more than I should be buying anyway.

This is the delightfully huge button we are given to wear while at Market, to advertise the newest issue. (Congratulations to Kathy H. She'll be receiving the newest issue! Thanks for all your terrific comments. We are going to be busy quilters this holiday season!) The fabric shown here is Mary Engelbreight's newest line. It's a-dorable. Lots of happy colors.

 

There are the free magazines to pick up. I've only read through a couple, the ones geared to the "modern" quilter. While well done, they are not for me. First of all they made me feel ancient (which I am at least ten years away from!), most definitely geared to the younger crowd. And, I have to say, the content was so simplistic (even childish) that I felt myself getting stupider by the minute. Still, I'm so happy to see young folks taking up the rotary cutting and making quilts. (Uh, did that last comment just confirm that I am ancient?)

 

My last great find came on my last shopping day, the first full day of Festival. These are pearl cotton from Lizbeth. They are gorgeous! The packaging says that they are for crochet and tatting, but you'd better bet I'm going to try working with them as both bobbin and hand embroidery thread. And the cool bubble thing? It has a little spindle inside, and a hole in the top, a perfect little carry case to keep the thread clean and ready for travel. I think it might be very handy for filling bobbins from balls of thread.

 

I have no intention of talking about the fabric that may be finding its way here. Suffice it to say that I've found a couple of new fabric manufacturers with terrific collections who are willing to play with me. I didn't go crazy in my requests, but I'm already worried about where I will put it.