New Products from the Chicago Quilt Festival

I discovered several new products at Quilt Festival last week. Although not brand new to the market, they were new to me.

Kaleidoscope Kreator allows you to create beautiful, one-of-a-kind kaleidoscope designs from your own photos with just a few clicks of your mouse! You can then print the designs on fabric using a product such as EQ Printables fabric sheets and incorporate them into a quilt. I have had this programme since Version 1, but Version 2 along with the new template packs and a project CD were all new to me. Be sure to check out this website if you enjoy creating memory quilts as much as I do.

Fusible thread from Superior Threads has all kinds of uses including binding and applique. Look here for some great tips on using this product.

Because I use a lot of lace and trims in my memory quilts, I was very excited to see the new products that are available for dyeing lace. There were several booths at Quilt Festival selling paints and dyes for fabric and lace. I bought this set from Sara's Bloom along with 3 different brushes. This technique of dyeing lace will be perfect for my newest pattern, Portraits in Lace, because it will allow me to dye the lace to match the fabrics.

As always, way too much fun stuff to try and not enough time!

Chicago Quilt Festival

On our first day in Chicago we visited 3 wonderful quilt shops: The Quilt Merchant, Fabrics Etc. and Quilt Fabric.com. There was an amazing selection of fabric, patterns and books and the staff in each store were most hospitable.

Here is my friend and fellow pattern designer, Janet Rice-Bredin, buying even more fabric for her stash. Be sure to look at Janet's Blog for more pictures and information about our time in Chicago.

Our delicious box lunch arrived just as we finished visiting the last shop. I guess this is the Chicago version of a tail-gate party. All the food was arranged in the luggage compartment of the bus!

During the afternoon we drove around the downtown area of Chicago. What a fascinating city! I would love to return some day to visit the museums and galleries that we only had time to drive by this time. The highlight of the scenic tour was a visit to the "Bean". This is an amazing stainless steel sculpture in Millenium Park that reflects the entire downtown skyline. The second picture, below, was taken from the centre of the sculpture, looking up. Check out this website if you would like more information about the "Bean".

Although it was cold and rainy for most of our visit, the day of the bus tour was bright and sunny. You can imagine how beautiful this city park will be in just a few weeks time after all the plants are in.

Daily Photographs

If you missed seeing the daily photographs during the last few days, you can find them all here. More great pictures of the International Quilt Festival coming soon!

Quilt Festival, Chicago

I am still at Quilt Festival in Chicago. The quilt show is amazing and the booths are very tempting. There is a wide variety of styles, and lots of Memory quilts, which, of course, I always enjoy. I will have lots of pictures to post when I get home on Sunday.