10 Best things at Quilt Market Spring 2012

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Here are the best things that existed at Quilt Market*. According to moi, of course.(You can see ALL of the things I thought were awesome by perusing my entire Quilt Market Kansas City 2012 photo set)1. Melody Miller

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This booth was knocking everyone's socks off. Melody managed to embody her entire look so effectively in one booth, and included so many awesome details and retro props that you wanted to steal the whole thing and bring it home with you.

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Especially that couch.

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Check out that adorable Booth Babe at far right with her awesome pink hair and fishnets. A.DOR.A.BLE. Shown with Karen LePage, me, and Rashida Coleman-Hale, who we had so much fun hanging out with. Rashida's Washi fabric line was also on display at the Timeless Treasures booth and was oh-so-adorbs.2. Liberty Lifestyle Fabrics

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Everyone is going gaga for the new Liberty quilting weights, which will be more affordable (I heard $14/yd?) than the Tana Lawns. Not great for garment-sewing, exactly, but fantastic for anyone who wants to OWN MORE LIBERTY. Read more about these from True Up or on Katy's blog.

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As you can see their prints are amazing. The chick who was handing out sample packs gets an A+ in marketing for making me feel like I got the only Liberty sample pack that existed in the universe. I think she actually said "don't tell anyone" (to which I'm thinking, "we were both there when I told you I was a blogger...right?) and later it was funny how everyone had them. She needs a raise.3. Sarah Jane

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I love this little outfit so much, it just slays me.

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And there were bunkbeds. BUNKBEDS! in her booth. Are you seeing this?

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4. Amy Butler

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This floral print with the grey background in the pillow above is great. Can't wait to own it. I want to make it into a picnic blanket with pale pink crochet trim. Wouldn't that be great?

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The whole booth had a cool Rococo thing going on.

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The Miz Mozelle dress by Jamie Christina looked great in Amy's fabric too.5. Oliver + S

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This bird print? Love. From Liesl's Ladies Stitching Club line for Moda.

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The chalkboard walls were fantastic too.

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OK, and if I had had a pair of these adorable little red wooden shoes to go with my Dutch costume when I was a kid, I would have died and gone to heaven.6. This rose printed rayon maxi dress at Free Spirit.

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If i was a better woman I would have gotten a full shot of the thing so you could see how amazing this looked head-to-toe. Instead you have this poor shot of it sliding off of the mannequin's boob. Oh well. Closeup:

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7. Cloud 9

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Am I biased because my Charlie Tunic made it up onto the Cloud9 booth wall? Of course I am!

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And we've already talked about Ed Emberley's Happy Drawing line, right? Right.The Cloud 9 simpatico line is one of my favorites (far left).

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8. Tula Pink

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These quilts were showstoppers.

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9. Green Bee Patterns

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New pattern designer Alexia Abegg debuted an impressive collection of quilt, bag, women, and children's patterns.

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The diamond quilt was hands down my favorite. Cute kid's clothing too:

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10. Ever Kelly

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Great cuckoo clock prints and cheerful colors from this new designer for Andover. How cute is that moss mountain? Cute enough to walk up and start playing with those softies (part of her new line, Storybook Lane), is what.OK, so that's my quick little round-up. There were so many more awesome things that I wanted to include in this post but couldn't, so I tried to include the things here that really stuck out in my mind, but you can also see the rest of the things I thought photo-worthy or amazing by clicking through to the entire set:[miniflickr photoset_id=72157629834109974&sortby=date-posted-asc&per_page=21]*Quilt Market is a pretty amazing event. In a nutshell, it's a trade show where all of the fabric manufacturers debut/display their new and current lines, and where thousands of fabric shop owners come to place orders for fabric, notions, and sewing patterns. This means that someone like me doesn't exactly "belong" at quilt market, but it's a great place to go if you have people you want to meet with to grow your sewing-related business. In addition, over the past few years more and more bloggers go to quilt market because it's a visual feast for any fabric lover. I think it started with the fabric designers who blogged about their trips to Quilt Market, which in turn made other sewing bloggers want to go. It's also a good excuse to meet all kinds of designers and craft book authors, who we've "celebritized" as we've come to admire their work. They're like sitting ducks in their booths, poor things.I also want to say one other thing, what I feel like almost no one is saying outloud because they don't want to be rude. Quilt Market is a trade show, not a fashion show, so picture miles and miles of booths that all look alike, and then throw in the fluorescent lights and you have yourself a pretty good picture. The vast majority of Quilt Market is not "fresh" or "modern." Most of the quilts at Quilt Market were not my taste at all (though I do want to go on record as saying that they are extraordinarily beautiful when considered in terms of craftsmanship and number the hours it took to make them -- these are skills that MUST be passed on to the next generation of quilters!!!). This is mainly because the biggest market for quilting fabrics and quilting patterns is still in the 60+ quilting crowd. This will change, certainly, but for now you can still see at Quilt Market a clear representation of the economics of the quilt industry, do you get me? Quilt Market It is NOT a blogger meetup, which is something I knew before I went, but I'm not sure everyone understands; for that you really need to go to Alt Summit or Sewing Summit.Ellen wrote a great QM wrap-up post on her blog the long thread that is really spot on, which included all of the other great things at Market that I missed in this post, but also giving her (awesome) thoughts on what she would like to see from the quilting fabric industry. Be sure to take a look!