We are finally done getting ready for the big Houston International Quilt Festival! Hooray! Tomorrow we pack the truck and one SUV. On Thursday, I will be driving down to Houston. I will be staying with my Mom and she is like a kid at Christmas - so excited that she will be having company! I can't wait to see her. Its been too many months since our last visit. My how time flies! My summer was a little too eventful to fit anything else into as you may remember. Anyway, she asked me this morning if I could make a short stop over in Corsicana at the Russell Stover factory outlet. She loves chocolate and says that candy bars are getting too expensive - she's precious!
I was counting up all of the new kits that we will be taking to Houston this morning and came up with nine! "Holly" (pictured at left) is new for the holidays ~ a super quick and easy to sew project. In addition to "Holly", I also listed "Candy Cane", "Lala" and "Billie Jean". They are all precious. I love the Olive Anne pattern that we used for "Candy Cane". It is the same pattern that we recently used for another kit, "Hopscotch". This time we eliminated the pockets and decorated the front of the jumper with a Christmas stocking ~ we found that if you leave the top of the stocking open, you can slide a real candy cane in as a treat! Here it is below . . . isn't it cute?!
I sewed up the skirt, "Holly" and decorated the tee-shirt. Janice, my "manager", right arm and dear friend, sewed up "Candy Cane". I love it! I don't do all of the sewing for our kits. I know that you are probably shocked to hear this, but I really am not a "wonder woman". I do try to be, but I fear that my age . . . or could it be my level of "system overload" . . . prevents this. Janice and Linda, who also works in the shop at least two days a week, both help with the sewing. I do however design nearly all of the kits and have veto power over all! Yeah, I know, I am such a control freak! But, I try to be nice about it.
Not all of our new kits are just for the holidays. "Lala" and "Billie Jean" are not. Check them out if you get a chance on our website. So, what are the other kits? Didn't I say that there are 9 new kits?! Yes, but you'll have to come to Houston to see them! Like always, we make up kits that we should label as "limited editions". That really means that we do not have very many of them - less than 20. If they do not all sell at the Houston Quilt Festival, we will list them on Sew It Up. And, if I have time between now and next week, I will list them all on our site.
So, we load the trucks tomorrow. On Monday, November 1st, I will go to the Houston Market to see all of the new designer cottons for 2011. I'll be ordering for the shop as well as for new kits. Then, Tuesday, is check in and set up day at the George R Brown Convention Center for the Festival. I'll keep you posted!
