Original Quilt and Sewing Expo

We have our booth all set up at the Original Quilt and Sewing Expo.  This is the first time this event has been in Indianapolis, and excited customers started arriving an hour and a half before the show opened!  But there are lots of quilts and displays to look at here at the Marriott Center here at 21st and Shadeland.

The show runs 10-6 Thursday and Friday, and 10-5:30 Saturday.

If you want to purchase fabric for clothing, there are booths here with knits, fine woolens, and other dressmaking fabrics, plus lots of garment designers!  

Don't miss this chance to see a world class show right here in Indy!

And speaking of world class, here's our booth with new quilts.  Can you pick them out?

Recent Fabric Arrivals

We've received loads of new fabrics in recent weeks.  1930s fabrics abound from Moda, Marcus, and Windham.  Check out our new Pinterest board for quilt ideas.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

One of our new favorites is homespuns from Diamond Textiles.  They have the look and feel of Japanese Daiwabos with a much lower price tag.  They would make great backgrounds for wool appliqué, too.

Our new Kim Diehl club is starting in September.  Called Simple a Whatnots, the club will feature a different small quilt each month.  The price is $12 for 6 months, and participants are required to purchase either a fat eighth or fat quarter bundle.  Call the shop at 317.882.2120 or stop by to sign up.

Jo Morton's latest collection is a delectable group of lights.  Haberdashery will make a terrific background for all your reproduction quilts, whether you use one fabric, or all eleven.

We have the cutest sewing fabrics right now.  From zippers to thread, buttons to pincushions, and lots of coordinates, you'll find the perfect fabric for your sewing room projects.  Think totes, zippered project bags, sewing room curtains...the list is endless.

Finally, we have lots of new wool.  We are carrying brilliant Woolylady hand dyed wools, in addition to all our other more primitive colors.  We have different sizes from yardage to small 4" by 6" pieces.  Whatever your project, we can help with your wool needs!

Downton Abbey Tea Time!

Here we are, ready to serve you!  No, wait, we are definitely the downstairs staff.

We are joined by the upstairs staff.  From left to right, Kevin, Linda, Teri, and Brian did the honors as hosts and hostesses.  The fun commenced as people started filing in, dressed in their Downton Abbey best.

Brian's proud mom is front and center, with her friends surrounding her.  The outfits were a lot of fun to look at, and we all had a great time.

 

Most of Teri's sisters were able to come.  Her twin sisters are above, and four out of the five girls are below.  We have here three flappers and a housemaid!  Guess Teri hasn't risen as high in the world as her sibs.

Local designer Brian Haggard circulated among the guests, giving his best impression of Carson...

then he began his talk, covering topics such as photo transfer, crazy quilting, using buttons in quilts, and the use of calling cards in upper crust society.

Brian brought quilts from both of his books, some of which we had only seen in the books.  It was great to get to see them up close.

He answered questions from the floor before our time together was up.

Our guests got to see the quilts even closer as Kevin walked them around the room.  The white gloves came in handy!

Ready for the Downton Abbey Tea

The big day has come!  We rearranged tables and chairs, and got our Annex ready for our special visitors.  Our first visitor was the doll Fiona, made by Martha Powell Jungclaus.  She's watching over pincushions that will be door prizes.

We have pretty Downton Abbey fat quarter bundles all tied up with tulle.  Some of these will be door prizes, also.

Kris Ranck made the large Downton Abbey Mystery quilt from Ebony Love below, and the quilt thrown over the top is from Andover's web site--it's a free download!

Our special guest for the day was local designer Brian Haggard.  He brought us a number of quilts from his two books so we could display them ahead of time.

 

Brian's quilts striking, with lots of hand stitching and buttons.

Known for sepia quilts, he also has quite a few colorful quilts.  Photo transfers appear in most of his work, and each quilt tells a story.

Since this was an English tea party, we thought we'd hang our English Paper Pieced quilts, all from designer Sue Daley (Australia).  Here the quilts provide a nice backdrop for our purse patterns, samples and kits from Pink Sand Beach.

We also have a darling Tea Cozy pattern from Pink Sand Beach, made up in Down Abbey fabric.

All those quilts make a lovely display!