Bitty Dog Went to Market

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...

Back from Quilt Market!

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?

Controlled Chaos

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

Things to Come at Chelsea Manor

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!

Almost Time!

Hi Everyone!

It's the home stretch and I leave for Houston in 6 days! I need 14 days to finish up, but it looks like I'll be swept up into the frenzy of market one way or another.

Thank you to all of you who left me comments yesterday. I had a wonderful birthday! I got flowers from one of my sons and flowers from that little Emma Jolly. I swear she is as sweet as her mom. Must be the upbringing. Her mom is having a REALLY fun contest called "What do you want out of Houston?" and you could win a fat quarter bundle of some new Moda fabric. A little bird told me the new lines are wonderful!

Look at my Market Morning quilt in PINK! This little gem is going to Houston with me and I'll be replacing the picture on the pattern with the pink version. Thank you triple times over to Rhonda Beyer for letting me use her quilt! She's an award winning quilter and I'm so excited to have it for my booth. If you're going to be in Houston stop by my booth (#1852) to see this beautiful quilt. You won't believe the quilting.

I'll be showing you my new fabric line "Chelsea Manor" very soon. Here's a little hint...if you love embroidery and you love redwork you will love this line! Might find some brown in it too! Oh where did I leave that embroidery needle?

Back soon. Hugs, all!

Eleven Days and Counting!

I've been so busy that I'm not sure my head is still on straight. Things are coming and going around here and every day it gets get a bit crazier! Quilts go out express mail and come back express mail. I've seen the postal lady more times this week than I have all year! And what do I have to show for all of this craziness? New patterns I hope! Or maybe little sneak peeks...

I'm so lucky to have other designer friends to share this craziness with. It's wonderful to be able to share trials and successes, to have others that you can ask a question when you're not sure of something, and others you know are feeling just like you! I sometimes think it's what I like the best about this business. Friends that you can see at every market. And friends that you will dearly miss if they skip a market. And to think that new designs are coming from all these friends!

Last market I handed Lynette a bundle of my fabric "Flowers For Emma" and we laughed because it's not in the color range she works with. So home to Australia she took it and ta da! Look at the new pattern she created! It's a sewing set! There's even a cover for your tape measure! She's one of those designer friends I just love, and she's traveling from Australia for quilt market! She's just two booths down from me at market so I'll be able to see her darling bag up close! If you want this pattern ask your local quilt shop to visit Lynette at market, or visit her blog for a list of the shops that carry her patterns.

I met two other designers from Australia last Fall and I'm so excited they are coming to market again! Rosalie and Melly just make me smile and I love their designs! If you read their blog, you know they are busy pulling out their hair trying to get finished for market. Maybe we'll all be still sewing when we arrive. This is the excitement of quilt market!

As for me, I'll have some new designs to show you very, very soon. Until then, just look at what I found in a catalog today! It's a kitty with bunny slippers! Needless to say I've ordered her. If you love bunnies (I mean kitties) you can order her here. Either way I hope she makes you'll smile. (:Hugs all!

It's Doll Dress Week!

Holly's having a party and you're invited! She has 13 designers playing with doll dresses! That's right, we've all been playing dolls LOL!

We each created a quilt block using Holly's new line of fabric called "Doll Dresses"! We began with Renee Plain's little dress pattern and you can too. You'll find it here . Just take her basic pattern, look for Holly's fabric in the stores very soon and have some fun! There's no end to what you can do. And wait until you see the finished quilt! It's so cute! Follow Holly's blog to see the blocks and then the quilt! Here's my little doll dress...

I love embellishments so I made an apron with pockets. Then I added a scissor button in the pocket. This little doll is obviously a quilter. Add some lace, gingham ribbon and some tiny buttons and the dress is ready to go!

And speaking of dresses, look at these vintage "Dolly Dingle" paper dolls I found from the 1920's. Don't you love them?

Everything old is new again, and my grand-daughters LOVE this game. You can find one here for the little girl in your life.



Be sure and join the fun! It's doll dress week!

Little Things Make Me Happy!

I had forgotten all about the magazine subscription to Romantic Country, and then today the postman left my first subscription copy in our mail box! What a sweet unexpected treat! And arriving at the same time, the next issue of Romantic Homes. Oh I must be in heaven. It means I have to finish this post, curl up in my pajamas and read them cover to cover! And Rachel Ashwell's back! I can't wait to see her new look.

Little things like this mean so much when market is right around the corner. They're the best stress relievers ever! I even debated on saving these magazines to read on the airplane, but the pajamas won out.

And then to make for a more perfect day, my neighbor surprised me with red roses! She had been to the flower mart and wanted to share. So as I read my favorite magazines tonight, I'll be able to enjoy these roses at the same time. Shabby chic for sure!

I'll leave you with a few rose pictures I took with my camera set on aperture priority. Before today aperture was a strange word. Now, thanks to Jessica Sprague I'll be using this setting a lot.

So, have any of you been to the Henry Glass Blog lately? Just curious!

Hugs for now. Magazines are calling (: