Houston Quilt Market!

I know this is a few months past. But it took me a while to process all the fantastic things/feelings about Houston Quilt Market.

The first trip is in the books,  walking through those convention doors, the mass amount of space in front of me, the twisting aisles of fabric, quilts, notions, clothing, tools, designers, and industry professionals… Overwhelming. But exciting and inspiring at the same time.

Day 1 – Houston Quilt Market

I got to meet up with Yolanda from Sew! She owns a shop in the burbs of Houston, where she teaches people to sew.  Her shop is a lot like ours, except she doesn’t have retail hours; it’s by appointment (or at least it was when I was writing this.)  Her shop is full of color and light; it’s beautiful and inspiring. Yolanda has been sewing since she was little and has brought something unusual to her community!

She took me to her shop, showed me around Houston, then took me to the convention center and met up for Fabric 2.0.  If you are ever in Houston, you really should check out her studio!

I got myself registered, then went to look for everyone. Then I realized I was on the wrong side of the convention center, started walking towards the right side, and was looking for Sandi Sawa Hazelwood, The Crafty Planner; she runs the most excellent podcast! It was also her first quilt market.

As we were trying to figure out where I was standing and where she was sitting, I became sidetracked by Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness (which was so awesome!!).  I sat down and talked to her for about 2 hours about all the fantastic designers, authors, and more that would come through. Also, I met Kim Niedzwiecki from My Go-Go Life; she works for Aurifil and is super fun! It made the ice-breaking much easier!

I went to Fabric 2.0, a meet and greeted of the professionals attending the market. I met so many amazing people while networking. Arleen from Birch Organics FINALLY met up with Sandi, Vanessa of Crafty Gemini, Art Gallery folks, Lucky Spool authors, Yolanda from Sew, and of course Brenda and the Pink Castle Fabrics Group.

I know that there were so many others I met this night. I am so sorry if I missed you <3

Day 2 – MARKET! OMG

It is the most fantastic experience you can imagine if you love fabric, notions, tools, new techniques, and books!.. (and so far more)

I thus emerged in my experience on the market that I forgot to take a lot of photos. I am trying to live more at the moment, instead of having to document all my adventures. Plus, it was my first year at the market, so I wasn’t sure of the proper etiquette, and I didn’t want to be in people’s faces trying to snap photo’s all of the time.

I walked around Market with Sandi; we met up with a few designers, pattern makers, and authors. I learned SO much on that one day about the industry, the people, and how crazy and fantastic everything is at the same time.  Block printing at the Lucky Spool booth and meet Krista Fleckenstein, author of Beyond Cotton. Then, I met up with the Birch Organics group again at their fantastic booth; some onesies from their organic cotton knits were phenomenal!

Lizzy House showed me all of her new substrates coming out through Andover Fabric; I bumped into Jamie and Amber of Fancy Tiger Craft.  Anita from Sew to Speak, Violet Craft, Heather Givens from Crimson Tate.. have to say I was a kid in a candy store!

Again I know a lot of names missing from this post. I apologize for ~ <3 send me an email, and I will update you!

Day 3 – Back to Ohio

The whole day 2, it was raining in Houston. Day 3 – the trip back home was no different. We were getting some crazy amounts of rain! Luckily I was able to get to my plane and leave on time. Did you know that in Houston, the highways are under sea level? So they fill up quickly when there is a lot of water? Alas, I was on my plan by 6:15 and back home in Dayton, OH, by 3 pm EST.

The trip is something that I will be striving to go to year after year. It’s nothing but a HUGE benefit for small shops like ours.

Spring Market is in May, and I will be taking my short vacation to Salt Lake City, Utah, this spring to reunite with my kindred spirits in sewing. If you can go to the quilt market, I highly recommend it as a small business owner. It’s always great to meet the designers, pattern makers, and employees that you talk to all the time when ordering, and it makes a huge difference.