LizzyHouse

where am I?

I keep walking into the living room expecting to see my family, expecting to lay on a red couch with fifteen billion quilts to choose from, expecting to pet a cat, expecting there to be food in the fridge. I keep expecting Texas, when all I get is Idaho. Home vs pseudo home. I am one of those peeps (assuming there is a group of people who do this) who wakes up in a different place than I am. I wake up in the living room at home or in the past when I am actually in my bed in Rexburg. It's a weird feeling. I am in Rexburg though. Getting back here was the worst its ever been. Hard time getting on a plane, delayed shuttle, charter size bus without air conditioning. I don't know what I was being punished for, but I got what I deserved; I guess...

I am sorry that I forgot to mention that I would be gone for a while. Maybe I did it intentionally; a disappearing act. I can't remember. Maybe I just forgot. I am actually a very forgetful person. I have to actually try really hard to remember some things, and other things that are just random nonsense stay with me. That and number sequences. I can see a phone number once  and tell it to you once you have lost the gum wrapper you wrote it on. And don't even get me started with pi. I could easily rattle off fifteen numbers. What a strange thing to remember.

It was a good trip home. I am always so happy to spend time with my family. Nothing means anything without them. We watched movies, ate really good food, played video games (we beat Sonic 3) played music, laughed until our stomachs ruptured... just kidding. My sisters are the funniest people I know. I seriously cry, pause the game, whatever it takes to keep from dying. They are hysterical, and it makes me sad that we are all together less all the time. We need a family vacation real bad. Also, I just can't seem to spend enough time with my Mom. That's that

I had an impromptu trip to Kansas to visit my dear friend Amy. It was so pretty there! I had no idea. It just goes to show that the more you know, the more you realize you don't know anything at all.

I had a trip to Boston planned that fell through because of our fake, nonsensical hurricane, Edourd.

here are my dear kitties

dream cat Stella

sweet little Pinecone

the girls with Mickey.

This is a video of Ashlee playing one of the songs from her album. She's just a dream come true.

you can now purchase the shirts that I designed for her and her cd in the shop!

You guys would be proud of me for not cutting my hair again, yet. It has gotten pretty long, and what's strange is it seems to grow even more in the humidity? Is that possible? If I could get a little time off, this is where I would go to get my hair cut. How cool would that be?

ps. if you ordered something from the shop while I was gone, it has been shipped.

ok, i'm done

party.

Friday was Melissa's (my littlest sister) Birthday. She turned 19. We had a small party Friday night and a dance party tonight. Needless to say it was a lot of fun. Also, the cake really turned out well. If you think this is something that you want to try, leave yourself some time to make it (half a day or longer)... there are millions and millions of steps. But be patient; you will be rewarded. Plus it serves far more than 8-10 because it's super rich. The grapefruit is a perfect way to cut right through that. Happy Birthday Melissa.

Party after International Cinema. I candied some grapefruit for the top instead of piping ribbons

the theme for the dance party was "let's get physical". A Success.

It's been a great weekend.

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.

an a+ weekend

This weekend end my little sister Ashlee came up to play a show. She really has only gotten better, and that in an of itself is impressive. It was so nice to spend a little bit of time with her. I think the only reason I was able to keep her over night was because I promised her some really good food...my pesto pizza, and curried vegetable potpie. This was the first time i've seen her since Christmas. It's a bummer not living closer... or having a car I guess.

with all the House girls together this weekend, we had a lot of people wishing they too were House's. Boys and Girls alike, but for different reasons... all legitimate though.

PS. I refuse to acknowledge that it's cold outside anymore.

I have a new quilt in the works. I probably won't be able to start it until the semester is over, but it's running around in my head. Yellow and Black (with charcoal gray) I want to make something a little more graphic than the last. I don't know if they were SO last year, or what, but I am still obsessed with Michael Miller Mirror Ball dots, and very few places still have them, but if you go to ChristaQuilts.com she does! AND if you are a first time customer you get 10% off. Cool

new fabric, new book, new paper cranes, new tea cup, new week. Cheers.

gone with the wind.

The day that my cat Pumpkin died, I was devastated. Who wouldn't be? But I am the kind of person who has to do something about it. I have to start making something when I am facing something heavy. Loosing Pumpkin was heavy. Most of the time I can start baking and I can feel better, clean something, and feel better; I used to cut my hair...I think it's just the idea, or feeling that you have control over something in your life when you feel so helpless. I know it has improved my baking ten fold not necessarily my hair cutting. But this was bigger than a loaf of bread, and bigger than a cake. So that night I started making a quilt. My Mom was willing to let me do whatever it was that I needed to be OK. I think that there are four people in the world who can handle me when I am like this... so we made a plan and cut every piece of my favorite fabric into strips, and I just started sewing. I decided that I would finish it in three days before I went back to Idaho... yeah right... I was just kind of on a sewing rampage. The whole time my Mom was at work I would sew. I would go for 4 hours at a time trying to get as many blocks done as possible. Also... this was and is just my second quilt, and I decided it needed to be on the diagonal. Whatevs. So, I experienced quilting as therapy, as so many of you know it to be. I was unable to finish it in three days (go figure)... and was not able to work on it until I got back home for the Christmas break. Again we were down to the last hours before I left for the new semester, and Gone with the Wind came on, and we worked until it was over. So, now the theme from the movie reminds me of my Mom, Pumpkin, and finishing this quilt. I have been stitching the binding every time I have had a couple of hours and it's finally finished.

Can I just say how much more respect I have for quilters. Especially, my Mom! She can bind a quilt in one night and you would never know that it was rushed! I am amazed at the dedication and the skill that making a quilt really entails. This was my first quilt that I did start to finish, and it truly is an act of love. You know, I am a part of the Business, Cherry House Quilts, and now I am a part of the industry, but I am still just barely scratching the surface of what any of this means. I really am just amazed...

Because it was diagonal I had leftover corners from trimming the blocks, so I sewed them into squares and made pillows. I left some of the corners at home and my my mom made pin cushions and a little zipper bag for me.

just so you know though, I am really happy right now, no worries. Plus, I have a new quilt for my bed!

back to work.

so, I am back in Idaho, and it is completely WHITE! Everywhere. Here are some Before and After pics.

Before in Texas

after in Idaho

I am a little scared to be going back to class, because all semester long I was able to do whatever, whenever... I got soo much work done. We'll see, a friend tells me this is supposed to be a great year.

First things first, the cover and press release for the newest pattern from Cherry House Quilts. We teamed up with Robert Kaufman and one of my very favorite peeps, Amy Schimler, to create Animal Crossing.

ok, I am off to go to the Rexburg Temple open house! I am so excited! Have a nice day!

Ashlee's birthday

We had a little party last night for Ashlee's birthday. I made dinner and a pie, instead of a cake. It was a big hit. Here are some of the highlights. I love the little desert bowls.. (actually they are tea bowls) I got them the last time I was in San Fransisco. I love the stripes and they are great for everything!

happy 21st birthday Asher.

and a happy new year.

Christmas was great. My Mom ended up waking us up at around eight (a good two hours before normal everyday holiday wake up call)... we opened present, and that was nice. I got the first season of one of my favorite cartoons, and Melissa, my little sister, got us all i-pods. What a doll! Mine is a product red Nano. I gave books, and prints to everyone, because I am books and prints rich, not so much i-pod rich...

we spent the afternoon at my Grandma's house. It was so great to spend time with her! It was funny though: I walk into the main room, and there are all these new pictures on the wall... I was wondering how she got them because I had taken them in Idaho, and then I realize that my Grandmother is a regular Hacker, and she has taken every usable picture from my BLOG! I laughed and laughed. She has gotten really good at the computer in the last little while. I am really excited though, because when my Mom comes to visit me in Idaho (the week after mother's week) she is coming too! It's going to be a lot of fun

we really had a great Christmas. Later we went visiting some of our dearest friends and we recounted our tales of Belgium.

Speaking of Belgium... I am working on a project that requires some research that can only take place in Belgium and Germany. I will be making my way over there in April. I am still working out the details but I am looking for a field assistant.

Ashlee loved the quilt, and it made me happy. It really wrapped up that quilt experience for me... picking out the fabric, cutting it out, piecing it together, basting it, (watching it being quilted, and bound) and then giving it away. What an interesting set of emotions goes along with that.

somebody likes me! go listen to Simple Arts, Annie Smith's new podcast about Houston Market. She, her daughter Kirsten and Holly Mabutas do the podcast and they are just a riot. It's a fun recap of the show. Come back to Houston!

I hope that you all had a great Christmas, and that you have a wonderful and safe new year. So many wonderful and crazy things have happened this year, and I can't even imagine how it went by so swiftly. But I am so looking forward to this coming year, and all the opportunities it holds. To be really honest I feel really nervous about the next four months...I don't know why but I just do. Keep your fingers crossed for something good though. I am so grateful for your friendship and support. Thanks for caring, it means so much to me

well wish me luck, and I'll do the same for you

Lizzy 

a girl button book!

OK, so up here in Idaho everyone has the week off for the holiday, and I just got back from my voyage, so I am here in Rexburg, and I have the apartment all to myself. I have already gotten so much work done. Last year I decorated quite a bit. I used all the office supplies I could find to make our Christmas a memorable one, but this year, I don't know... I don't know if I'm feeling it... I mean I am definitely going to put up snowflakes (more on that later), but I just don't know. We'll see.

At market I found the coolest buttons! There were a couple of booths that were selling things (for immediate take away) and one of them was called Nifty Thrifty Dry Goods by Susan Gower. Now they don't have a website, but she did give me her show schedule.. As a lot of you know... I am a ribbon-a-holic, and they had vintage French ribbon. Give me a break! But also they had these really great 20's girls faces buttons, and I think I bought them out. Turns out Dale Fleming bought the same ones! I would be very interested to see what she does with hers, but here is what I am doing with mine.

I am making books! who knew... The paper I am using is good for drawing with pen, and taking notes.  I have always been leery to use black book cloth, because everything shows up, but it really worked out! So, just so you know this book is already promised to someone in a far away land (literally) but I have 4 black buttons and 4 red ones left all for the destination of books! If you would be interested in purchasing one of these Girl Button Books just email me. I have eight for sale. You just have to let me know before December 1st though. They are $35 each. Remember the handmade pledge you took, or the handmade pledge you are going to take! Wink!

Home!

Ok I made the list today of everything that I have to get done before I leave for Home, Market, Paris. I split it up into groups so it would be more managable

It's called, "things that have to get done before Wednesday Morning."

Travel: Book Trailways ticket, book hotel

Cherry House Quilts: Create JPGs of all the pattern covers for envelopes
City Scape
City Blocks
Foreign Currency (oh you'll see)
i Do!
City Garden (top secret!)

Books: Finish Allen's sketch book (done! its got a big X through it), give Allen his sketch book

PaperAirplane: format to print

Bank: deposit checks

Blog: update (CHECK!)

Post office: Write and mail Mindy a letter, Mail Chelsea her copy of Spirited Away, Josh Groban and her new journal!

Home: Clean room, clean bathroom

What to Bring Home: i Do, My CityScape 3-4 Books as gifts and sales, prints, passport, jump drive, rain coat.

wowowow. I was really happy to cross something off that list, but the evening is young and there is much to do. I am so excited to go home. More excited to go home than to Paris. I will get to pet the cats and sleep on my favorite couch, and watch movies with my Mom while she sews. I got her the newest Pride and Prejudice for her birthday, so that will be nice to watch. I really do reccomend it, and the music is so nice to work to. I will probably sew some text blocks together while we do.

Can I just say really quick how much I love making books? I sent out an order the other day and it was so fulfilling to pack up these books that I had so much love for, and the idea of them meaning so much to someone else! Oh I just love it.

and now for a jumble of pictures that I like for different reasons that have absolutely no pertinence to anything previously stated

one other thing before I really have to run. We have decided as a family this year to only give eachother stuff for Christmas that we have made. We all have been given these great gifts and a capacity to learn and use them, so Christmas will be sans the shopping this year. I am actually so excited to see what everyone makes. I think it's a really fun idea

ok. Wish me luck and a little godspeed to boot