LizzyHouse

better.

Cherry House Quilts has a new shop, a nice shop. The old shop was fine, but it wasn't refined like this one. It looks really nice, and it's super easy to use!

And since our old shop just stopped working and you peeps weren't able to order anything, we are having a sale till Sunday. That's right 10% off any pattern when you enter the word BUMP in the discount code. From now until Sunday. So go get your quilt on.

have a great weekend everyone!

I'm a Quilting Machine!

I truly didn't realize how different it is from sewing! But it sure is cool to be done with a quilt so quickly. I had a thought though, what would our ancestors do if they saw a long arm quilting machine? Probably keel over. It would be inconceivable! I have another quilt to do this week. SO MUCH work to do! and all you tricked out acrobat sewers/quilters blow my mind!

would you believe it?

would you believe that I put together a quilt in 15hrs? Or less... i'm  just figuring here. But probably, I know some of you are out of control fast... my Mom can get a quilt done start to finish in 4 days, which of course is mind blowing/ danerously explosive... how fast is fast Peeps?

My sweet Mom got me a sweet action sewing machine from a garage sale, and it turns out it's one of the best machines Singer ever made AND it's in tip-top shape now.... well as part of my personal mission to be better at what I believe in, I needed to make a quilt. I started this project (by purchasing the fabric) back in July. I keep trying to make a LizzyDish quilt but this quilt was plaguing me. SO, since I believe in quilting, and I have a new sweet action machine, and a plague of fabric I made a quilt almost as fast as I could. I started, and I just didn't stop. 200 degrees that's why they call me Mr. Fahrenheit, i'm traveling at the speed of light...

There was even a party in my living room tonight where I was sewing, and it didn't throw me for a second. There were several guys I didn't know trying to make conversation with me, asking if I bought this in a kit, asking if I was in a sewing class or if I was a home-ec major, asking if they could sew a block...

my responses:

I'm graduated
I have a BFA in Printmaking
I did not buy this in a kit
my Mom is professional quilter
I am a fabric designer
I am busy on Thursday
would you excuse me, I need to iron this.

What was I supposed to do? I was on a mission.

I'll quilt it sometime this week. It's a nice quilt. I used the foreign currency pattern.

But the thing is, the only way I could get my own quilt with my own fabric underway was if this one was out of the way.

Mission accomplished.

All of my quilty moms out there would be so proud of me, and my corners... yeah I used pins and everything, and they all match up.

have a great week everyone!

oh and go get some Lizzy Dish!

in and out... Quilt Market all parts.

so I just got home from Market, and I am SOO tired. Unfortunately I am having to alot my energy as I am in the last leg of finishing my BFA so, sorry peeps this is going to be brief.

Market always feels like a reunion. I like that about it. You get to see your blog friends, and fabric peeps in real life. It's a fun thing, and something I have really come to look forward to. Also, in light of being really tired, I didn't take too many pictures... here are the ones that I did take though.

always good to see Laura and Heather! Laura's fabric is being released in the Spring! So exciting!

I was super excited to meet Jay McCarroll who is designing for FreeSpirit, and so happy to see my dear peep Melissa of Yummy Goods. I'm working on moving to a place where we can be friends all year long. Who knows!?

I just love Elizabeth and Pam SO MUCH! 

darling Mark Lipinski.

dream Kim Kight, of True Up. I was really happy to finally meet her!

It was so nice meeting and chatting with Patty Young!

I loved meeting Jessica Jones of How About Orange. She is someone that I could also see trying to make a friend on a more regular basis. Unfortunately there are no pictures of us though, as all were taken way too late, and were... unfortunate.

I met so many great people. I wish I had gotten to spend more time with Patricia of A Little Hut, Jenean of PoshPattern, and Michelle of Cicada Daydreams to name a few. Also, too fun Myrinda, of Fabric Hound. So many fun people. Forgive me for leaving anyone out. I don't know what exactly I am running on at this point

This keeps on not being short...

One of my very favorite people that I met was easily Caroline Devoy (and Robin). Fabric 2.0 was super fun, and she had an incredible award winning booth. It's great to find like minded people in a giant convention center full of "like minded" people.

OH! Lizzy Dish is doing well. It should start popping up in stores near ye. OH and I recorded a podcast with Annie Smith of SimpleArts, and Quilters Stash the first podcast for quilters. I'll link to that when it goes up, if you are interested in hearing me talk about stuff... I sure missed Kirsten! Too much fun, everything. Ok i'm done. For real.

Ok one more thing. It was super fun to be there with my sister Ashlee, and my Mom. Lots of success for Cherry House Quilts!

OK! i'm going to try and graduate now. Wish me luck.

I'm a Pika peep!

First. It's my Mom's birthday today! AND she is having a drawing, not for her birthday but for fall, she is giving away some sweet action Robert Kaufman fabric. So enter today. HERE. or just wish her a happy birthday! If anyone deserves it, it's her!

Second. Have you guys all heard of the Project Pikapackage?

"A PikaPackage is a monthly collection of goodies from illustrators and artists who sell their wares online, resulting in ONE or TWO free monthly PikaPackage giveaway to readers and the rest to be sold as a lucky dip package to spread the word about their fantastic art."

I think I found Amy's blog through a friend on etsy ... or maybe it was flickr ...  you know when you start clicking on peeps lists, you have no idea how you got to where you are? That was me for sure. I am glad that I did though! Because I got picked to participate in the December project!! How cool is that? I've been trying to think of what I would send in... any suggestions? Stationary? Little Books? Little Prints? Whales? Your suggestions are more than welcome.

Go visit Pikaland and have a great day everyone!

it's that time again.

it's been a couple of months since I had a quilt to work on. I've always got a million things going on, but for the next couple of weeks i'm just working on my BFA by day, so why not a quilt by night? I am going to do our new (sort of new...) pattern by Cherry House Quilts: Foreign Currency. It's going to be sweet action. I was really proud when I bought the fabric. I got everything for the entire quilt, including the back, for under $70! Cool, huh? The great part about the pattern is that you use 20 fat quarters so it makes everything really easy, and most shops offer some kind of deal on fat quarters. The back of the quilt was a  real steal because the shop in Idaho Falls, the Quilted Daisy, has a great discounted section and I got nearly half of a bolt for 60% off. Too bad it's really beautiful fabric, too. I am not way into reproduction stuff, but I just really like this one pattern, by Jo Morton, and my peeps at Andover. It couldn't be softer and the printing is really nice. So, needless to say I was very pleased with myself.

So, Mal's birthday was fun. I made s'more cupcakes like I said I would, but the funniest thing happened. I originally got the idea from these peeps, but they do more of a graham cracker flavored cupcake, and we wanted chocolate, but the one bowl recipe for chocolate cupcakes is easy enough to make vegan... if you wanted to make them vegan, lower fat, and or kosher. All dreams come true. Well, here is the funny part. I made essentially what is a butter cream frosting with marshmallow cream. Well, marshmallow cream has this inherit desire to be one with the lowest possible point of possible contact. This frosting would creep! At first I thought, "disaster!" but then I thought it just looked like a melted marshmallow, and the graham cracker crumbs made it look at little burnt. Plus they tasted really good (kind of messy though), and the villagers rejoiced.

we thought the matches were a nice touch.

We played a really great game of charades, and by great I mean we came up with some really impossible/ hilarious things for the other team to act out.

It's been a really eye opening week. I feel like a new person... not because of the cupcakes, but just a lot of different things, and I couldn't be happier. I feel like I really have a new understanding of who I am, and what I am supposed to accomplish. It's a good feeling.

Also, thanks to everyone for all your kind words of encouragement and everyone who has bought something from the shop. Your support means a lot to me.

Let's all have a really good week!

Portland part two: market.

This is going to be a while as this is my whole Market wrap up.

Market was so much fun! Just a quick update about Lizzy Dish, we are working out a few more things vis. I am going to NYC in a few weeks (for real this time) to change some colors and then it's off to the printers. SO what this means is, nobody really got to see the line at market... so you all got to see the same preview down below. Enjoy it... it's all you will see till I think about September. Sorry little peeps. Keep your chin up though, it will be worth it.

So what this meant for me at market was no major obligations, which was nice! I just got to run around and meet peeps. Which is what I love. I also got to shop, which is what I love also. For some reason I didn't get too many pictures while at market, so just follow the links and you will know who I am talking about.

Fabric/ Designer Peeps:

I did however get a picture with one of my very favorite people. I love Amy Schimler. She is like my illustration/surface design mother. I was so happy to finally meet her in person. She really has been an incredible mentor to me. It was pretty funny though. I was coming down the escalator in the convention center and someone just starts shouting my name. It was Amy! I didn't realize I was so recognizable.

I also met new dream girl Melissa Averinos of YummyGoods, who is designing for Free Spirit. She is so fun! Power to the girls with short hair! We had a good discussion about loop holes and Japanese fabric. She and I were in the same, no artwork, no fabric till Fall boat.

Lovely lovely Oliver + S, Liesl + Company. Talk about dream team, really. They have a great team. They do so much nice work. Really good graphic design. All together a very happy 20 minutes spent with them! I got one of Liesl's Day Pack Tote patterns and I am really excited to put it together. Hopefully we will be working under the same umbrella some time soon. Wink!

My family! Takes over Andover Fabrics! Eric and Julie Comstock, own CosmoCricket and have two lines out right this very minute with Andover, Jitterbug and Half way Cafe.

Sandi Henderson and Anna Marie Horner, both had sweet action booths!

Talk about Aprons:

No really... This could easily have been International Apron Spring Market 2008. I don't mind one bit though. Because everyone will need to prepare their apron making skills for Lizzy Dish.

My new peeps at Vanilla House always do such a nice job. Remember the, out of control, awesome apron that Joan made for me for Christmas? Well it was Vanilla House the whole time. Any House is a friend of mine.

The Apron Lady makes really great aprons. I finally found the apron pattern for me + printmaking. Turns out I go to school with Mary who is the daughter of Jan who IS THE Apron Lady. There was definitely a BYU-Idaho reunion in Portland... we were all missing school.

I met Robin Mynatt at Sample Spree. She is ParisBebe. I got a really cute apron pattern from her. It's the ruffliest one I have seen yet, and that is what I was after. Not only that... I got some fabric from her too, for the apron... yeah turns out she designed it. Cool lady!

I will also say there were many hugs given in the name of Printmaking. Whoever you are, where ever you are... printmakers have the innate ability to find each other.

Japanese fabrics:

I heart Seven Islands. They are the distributors of Kokka and Echino fabrics. They will have a new website up June 1st. I could be wrong but I think that they said you would be able to order wholesale from the new website??? If so... yet another dream come true. I loved the girls who were working the booth. They were really sweet, and not annoyed with me for hanging around. I was lucky enough to get some brand new Heather Ross Rabbits and Race Cars for Kokka at sample spree. It is really nice fabric. 85% cotton 15% linen. It's "decor weight". Dream weight is what I say.


And I was sooo worried that my friends from Bunny Designs wouldn't be there... but they were. Good thing too. We are always told to have a year supply... so that is just what I did. I got a year supply of pink hedgehogs, and little red riding hood fabric. Now I will not have want for new hedgehog fabric for one year. Angela the owner actually imports and distributes really fun Japanese fabrics from Cosmo Textiles, and the pink hedgehogs that I speak of were so popular that she has had to put in for a reprint... so they will be here around July. That's ok by me.


Bloggers and the like:

Said hello to the fab Pam Kitty Morning

So sad to have missed Monica the oh so Happy Zombie

and of course a hello to Gina, Quilters Buzz

The Bosses:

Too bad  David our President at Andover pulled me aside on Wednesday night at dinner to discuss my line... I thought I was in trouble. He is the nicest man ever, seriously, and he is a really inspirational guy...I just always think I am in trouble, always have (deep rooted issues I assume)... even though I never do anything wrong.

I got busted for sure. I went to my fairy god mothers of quilting's booth Diana McClun and Laura Nownes, of course. It was so good to see them, and get to tell them the good news about my fabric contract, as it was at their booth in fall market where it all happened. Dale Fleming dragged Clifford from Andover to their booth to look at my designs. And it's all history from there. Turns out Dale has been asking about it ever since, just wondering how it worked out, and me being the shmo that I am, never sent her a thank you. She is getting a handmade book that's for sure. I love seeing them. They really mean so much to me. I was sad that Dale wasn't there.

The man himself Mark Lapinski. I was so happy to finally meet him! As soon as he saw me he ran around his little podium thing and hugged me. I think my bow must really give me away. Maybe you could see me in the Magazine sometime? I just think.... that we could be a very dangerous pair as we are both such smart A's. True story.

Spring Market Crush:

it's always just going to be Kaffe Fassett. It will be in the Fall too.

Quilt show:

There were lots of really beautiful quilts, but my very favorite was by Heidi Stegehuis-Ihle of the Netherlands. Her piece was called Digitale Revolution and it just cracked me up.



It was a great market. Oh yeah one more thing. City News was the talk of the town. It was hanging in the Robert Kaufman booth. It was a dream come true for my Mom.


Now I just can't wait for Fall Market.

City News

a brief history.

i won't even show the earlier ones. October is as far as I am willing to go. It just goes to show that my Mom's quilts are amazing, and my press releases are improving... thanks to everyone for your support.

We aren't even a year old!

cf photo shoot

Today I woke up really early to take the photos for Cherry Fizz. I planned out the shoot Thursday and Friday and then shot this morning! My lovely model was Isabelle Jimison. She is actually quite the photographer, but was kind enough to let me take her picture. She was a really great sport, and very photogenic. Hooray for Izze, and the new patterns completion.