2008 October

Bitty Dog Went to Market

October 31, 2008 By Anne 14 Comments

Bitty Dog went to market and she was so traumatized it was awful! There she was, next to Bitty Kitty, Bitty Bird and Bitty Bunny and she was shy and totally quiet. I kept asking her what was wrong, but it wasn’t until we got home that she finally told me. She felt out of place…like an outsider! Why you ask? Because she wasn’t made out of wool! I created her out of fabric. Once I heard what upset her, I knew what I had to do. Today she got a new coat…a spiffy herring-bone one at that! Then to make her feel even better I gave her a little pink star collar. What more could a girl ask for?

Tomorrow she leaves to see that famous photographer Gregory Case. He’ll take a new photo for her new look. Soon she’ll be right at home with the other little critters and now Bitty Dog is a very happy little girl. What? You like her better in fabric? Well, you can still make a fabric Bitty Dog, but she won’t be a cover girl. You’ll find the fabric bitty on the back of the pattern. Shhhhhhhh…Gotta keep this little dog happy so don’t tell her there’s a fabric dog on the back. (: After all she thinks she’s a wool star!

Speaking of stars, there were a few who stopped by my booth at market.

Anne (that’s me) and the other Anne were working away setting up the booth when who should stop by but…

Annie Downs from Hatched and Patched. She creates wonderful stitchery patterns. Traveling all the way from Australia, she’s such a sweetie!

Kaari Meng, the author of “The French-Inspired Home” and owner of the shop called “French General” is just as sweet as she looks. She’s working on a new fabric line for Moda that will debut at Spring Market. I can’t wait!

Lila Tueller, a new designer for Moda. “Arnie” my kitty quilt features her fabric! She’s as beautiful as her fabric!

Pat Sloan ! I love everything she does!

Michele Bencsko of Cicada Studio! Michele’s a new designer for Henry Glass Fabrics and what a vision she has. She’s got a lot of talent and a wonderful new line called Dogwood.

More stars to come so stay tuned…

Filed Under: Crafts

Back from Quilt Market!

October 29, 2008 By Anne 25 Comments

A committee of my favorite little furry friends greeted me at the door when I returned from market yesterday. Such excitement you have never seen! I dropped everything in my hands, got down on the floor for licks, barks and purrs all at once! After a rise and shine at 4AM, a few licks felt pretty good (:

We had the best time at market. I swear if I didn’t sell a single pattern I would still have a great time! The excitement builds as we see all the booths come together and all our friends stop by to say hello. Hugs all around! What more can you ask for?

These famous shoes stopped by for a hug!
Pam Kitty Morning herself!

Our first day was a sit and wait day. Seems UPS did their part, but our boxes sat on the loading dock most of the day. We’re not allowed to carry them in ourselves, so we waited and waited. It wasn’t until 4:30PM that they finally arrived and we could finally begin setting up.

A look down our aisle (1800) on day one of setup. We flew in a day early to get started, so waiting and waiting for boxes was NOT fun.

…and here’s our booth pretty much all of day one.

The Bunny Hill booth only had two bunnies in it this year, me and my good friend Anne. All the other bunny helpers were home sick, so we were a bit nervous without their help. But we did it and I have to say we were pretty proud of ourselves (pat ourselves on the back Anne!) Once we got our things, I did what any smart woman would do…I hired two men (yes you can do that!) to help us set up the drapes and flooring. That caught us up pretty quick.

Finally by the end of the second day of set up we were able to pull everything together.

Here’s an overhead shot of market from the windows on the second floor looking down on the main floor of market.

Behind this board of classes on the second floor, you can see a peek of the round window (left side) that that looks down on the convention floor. This is where I took the overall picture of the convention. It’s so exciting to look down and see it all coming together! These round windows are the most popular spot at market before it opens!

And final picture for today is my first purchase on my trip to market. I bought this little Brighton purse at the airport in Phoenix. I had a two hour layover…what’s a girl to do? Don’t tell my husband. He’d never in his wildest dreams believe that I could shop in the airport! LOL!

Lots more pictures to come and I’ll have the new patterns done soon I promise. Hope you all had a great week while I was gone! I missed every single one of you!

Anne

So does anyone know why the photos don’t enlarge? I’m putting them in at a high resolution on large setting. Any blogger ideas?

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Controlled Chaos

October 20, 2008 By Anne 24 Comments

This man loves Bunny Hill…yes he does!

These boxes are in that UPS truck and on their way to Houston. This is only the first shipment. More boxes were shipped today filled with quilts, and tomorrow we ship forms and last minute things from the printer. It’s controlled chaos here at Bunny Hill.

I leave for Houston on Wednesday and I’ll be back in a week with lots of pictures to share and stories to tell.

I hope to have patterns on my web site very soon! Until then here’s a few sneak peaks …

Bitty Dog, the newest little pincushion. He’s pretty excited and feeling a bit perky for sure. He’d be happy in any fabric and he promises to be a good little pup and hold your pins.

And do you remember these strange little things I showed a few weeks back…so what on earth are they? “Jelly Roses” leaves!They go with my new pattern called “Jelly Roses“. For years I offered the Fabric Roses pattern, and now it’s even better with Jellies! One jelly roll will make two bouquets! The fabric is “Woodland Bloom” by Moda, and the container comes (not from the Ritz) from Layla Grace!

And of course I have to have a few bunnies…“The French Rabbits”is an applique pillow to decorate your home. It’s the little things that count when decorating so set this on a chair, or a bed and have instant charm in a room. The fabric says “French” and the rabbits say cute. (:

Some of you have asked when the pattern for the redwork bunnies will be ready. The blocks are all embroidered and I’m just waiting for fabric. It all depends on how the strike-off’s go. I hope to have some fabric by early January if things go as planned, and the pattern will follow shortly after.

Before I sign off for a week, I have one tidbit I HAVE to share with you. Jessica Sprague is offering a FREE scrapbook journal class, yes, FREE starting in November. This is a chance for all of you to get a feel for her classes and make something really cute at the same time. All you need to do is go to her web site, register and then sign up. She’s never done something like this before so take advantage of it. I am! http://www.jessicasprague.com/ Anyone can join! It’s free!

Have a great week everyone! I wish you could all come with me. Hugs to everyone and I’ll be back soon with lots to share!

Anne

Filed Under: Designing Patterns

Things to Come at Chelsea Manor

October 18, 2008 By Anne 26 Comments

Chelsea Manor was inspired by my love of embroidery. You didn’t know I had a love of embroidery? Well if you look back over the Bunny Hill block of the months you’re sure to find a touch of embroidery on every quilt. It’s been a part of my life for many years and part of the handwork that I love.

The idea for Chelsea Manor was born when I decided to do a redwork version of “Rabbits Prefer Chocolate”, called “Rabbits Prefer Embroidery”. I reduced my drawings, made changes, added new ones and as I saw the little blocks come to life I knew I wanted my own redwork fabric! I approached my fabric company, Henry Glass Fabrics, and they said yes!

I don’t know how much you can see from the little swatches above, so here’s a closeup of the main print. I own a vintage calligraphy book from the mid 1800′s and the rabbits are filled with the alphabet from this book! Pretty fancy rabbits don’t you think? There’s a brown version too! And of course little prints and stripes to co-ordinate!

If you’d like to try my redwork bunny quilt, the pattern will be released as soon as the fabric is ready. Here’s a little preview of what to expect. I’ll keep you posted as I have lots of other redwork projects coming to go with this fabric line! There’s even a suprise free pattern that will be up on my web site early next year. I think you’ll love it!

If your local quilt shop is coming to market they can order Chelsea Manor now. If not please ask them to check with their local Henry Glass representative after market is over. 2009 is looking like it might be a very fun year!

Chelsea is a very happy little dog right about now. I just told her the name of my new fabric line. Hope she doesn’t get a big head!