Monday, May 19, 2008

New Products from Spring Market

So I got to do a little shopping!
I am always on the prowl for new tools to use in the sewing room and I found some fun ones at Spring Market...so have a look...

The first one requires a little backstory. One of my houseguests, Tracy Kincheloe (a teacher of sane quilting from L.A.) had told us about an early business of hers. She was "The Quilt Whisperer" and cut out the quilts for sewers with arthritis and such. Ladies who wanted to make quilts but could no longer do the cutting would hire Tracy to do it for them.
Well, my other house guest, Holly Casey, had brought me a lovely palette of neutral cottons as a hostess gift, so I asked the Whisperer if she would cut out a nine patch quilt for me out of them.
It took her all of about 20 minutes, I swear, including binding. But she thought the state of my rulers was appalling.

So she got me the Omnigrip 8 1/2" X 24" that you can see here, along with Tracy's strips and business card and my pathetic old ruler. The 8 1/2" width is going to be so great for cutting out fabric sheets for the printer. Thank you, Quilt Whisperer!

Other goodies I found at the show...

I bought the stencil on the left from a company new to the States--they're from Scotland--called Stewart Gill USA. They provide "Professional textile paints and accessories for seriously demanding multimedia artists".

Here's another page from their info sheet, showing all their different paints. I am no seriously demanding multimedia artist and couldn't begin to appreciate all the doors these paints open...but I felt the fabrics they were painted on and the hand was soft and they are washable.
I can tell these products are "next generation" in their capabilities.....Stewart Gill has a fabulous book that explains how all this stuff is used too.
They have a new distributer in the USA named Sally Richards, who can be reached at 877/843-7801. She'll be back from Market at the end of May and would love to hear from you with any questions.

Moving right along...

What beader and embroiderer isn't always looking for new and great needles? These supposedly are long beading needles that do not bend. They take beads as small as #11s.

This one could be cool...it is the "Big Eye Beading Needle". It really is two wires joined at top and bottom...so you can fit yarn in there and then bead onto it. (How could you fit yarn through a regular beading needle?) They might be a little fragile, so I bought three of them. I think these open up some neat possibilities.

This is the Grip-n-Grip rubbery sheet that you use as a work surface. Say you are writing on fabric...it will grip your fabric and keep it smoothly in place while you write on it, or draw with fabric crayons, or whatever. No longer do you have to iron your fabric to freezer paper to stabilize it, or tape it into place. I tested out some silk chiffon on it and it really didn't move! I left this photo big so if you click on it you can read the information on the sheet. This is washable, you can heat set on it, and it seems like it could be very useful....

...like for when you are using the foiling pen here. This is like having a ball point pen write in glue. You lay out your fabric on your Grip-n-Grip and then write on it with the pen. After 3 minutes the glue becomes tacky and transparent, and will stay that way indefinitely, until you either rub glitter into it or a mylar foil sheet over it.

Here's a little demo, with the little packet of foil sheets I got. I thought this would be a great way to add some veins on leaves, for example.
Of course, the lady who ran the booth had foiled all over her shoes. You know those gals...
Her name was Betty Blais, and she owns Embellishment Village, where all these products came from, and where you can get them, too.

Alas, I found no evidence of crazy quilting except for a template from EZ Quilting for making a 5 sided center for piecing a block. Lame, in my opinion. Crazy quilting is just not big business in the quilt world.
But we stitch on, regardless.....!!!!

12 comments :

Anonymous said...

Wow! I have to admit, I've been reading, oogling, and drooling over (etc.), your page for the past few weeks. I'm very new to crazy quilting, and as a newbie - just a little intimidated to give a shout out there...
So far I've been crazy piecing by hand, cuz I don't (**yet?!**) have a sewing machine...the work for piecing alone is enough of a challenge, so other than trying out some stitches I haven't even begun to embellish....
Even as a newbie though, I have to say, I was stunned and maybe a little appealed to see the mention of a five sided template!!! The greatest creative, or purely random if you choose, moment in creating a crazy block - is allowing the center to shape it's self!! LOL
I love your work Allie - and of all the sites I have stumbled across yours has to be the one I keep coming back to time and time again!! Thanks!!
Theresa :)

Vicki W said...

Looks like you had a blast! You will love the Stewart Gill paint. I've got to try that Grip-n-Grip stuff.

Anonymous said...

perhaps you need to represent with a booth next year :) .....stocked to the brim with floral mandalas....

Kay said...

I'm pretty skeptical about new products, but I have to admit that Grip-n-Grip sounds great.

Summerset said...

Lucky You! It looks like you've had a great time at market. What fun goodies.

Judy S. said...

Sounds like you had a great trip, Allie. Lots of new toys, right!

Possibilities, Etc. said...

Crazy quilting seems so much more creative - a personal art thing. I can't imagine, tho', a market without it.

Rian said...

Oh, what fun. We do love shiny new gadgets and gismos, don't we. It really is fun.

Marty52 said...

Cool stuff, Allie. I may have to check some of those out, I'm especially drawn to the non-beding needles and the foil pen. It sounds like you had a great time, even with the lack of crazy quilting goodies.

LouAnne said...

Wow, Allie I am intrigued with the concept of a "Quilt Whisperer!" As my hands have deteriorated due to osteoarthritis I have found I am unable to do things like use a pair of pinking shears. If I ever start having trouble with rotary cutters, I might have to look for my own "whisperer."
Have you seen the grip-n-grip product anywhere online or in stores? I am intrigued and think it would be very useful. Also the foil pen - need to find one of those!

Deb Hardman said...

I may have to try some of Mr Gills paints. They look like lots of fun. So do all the goodies you showed here. Sounds like a great time. Sometimes I wish Alaska weren't quite so far away.

Robin said...

Oooooh! My favorite of your new goodies is the stencil. It's a beauty!

If ever you need a "big eye needle," here's a tip. Use a regular, comfortable needle. Take a 6" lenght of sturdy thread (I use nylon beading thread). Thread the needle and tie the two ends together with an overhand knot. The resulting thread loop is the new "eye of the needle"... thread whatever you like through it!