Benny at Market (with a cliffhanger ending!)

If you've been a follower of ours for a while, you may remember our good friend Benny. 

Twice a year he attends Quilt Market with his Benartex coworkers. His short legs mean that he can't run to catch the flight to Houston, so they are nice enough to give him a ride through the airport.

His coworkers also ensure that he's well fed so he has the energy he needs to perform his numerous duties at the show.

While in Houston, Benny takes on a supervisory role, overseeing the booth set-up and ensuring each quilt is hung straight.

 He sat on fat quarter bundles and quilt kits at Sample Spree, making sure that latecomers to this wonderful free-for-all sale could still find fabric to buy.

During the show, he introduced himself to customers, encouraging them to purchase his favorite fabric collections (hint: he's a fan of anything with dogs on it) and posed for photos among the various vignettes in the Benartex, Kanvas and Contempo booths. 

Here Benny poses among the larger-than-life fabric lollipops from Kanvas' Bright Ideas booth (which won First Place, Best Double Booth award...more on that in another post!).

 Relaxing on a park bench in the idyllic Our Town fabric scene, from the award-winning Contempo Studio booth (more on the booth design and its "Best Creativity Award" later as well!).

And maybe a little bicycle riding...

It's a doggone exhausting job, but somebody's got to do it! 

This year, however, things escalated to a whole new level. Benny's celebrity status reached new heights. He started making appearances on Instagram.

He rode around Houston on a Bentley.

When his Benartex coworkers returned to work after the show, and went to unpack Benny (even with his celebrity status, he still didn't get a first class seat on the plane!), they couldn't find him. They began posting signs.

It soon became clear that some nefarious characters decided to capitalize on his celebrity by kidnapping him! His coworkers are currently awaiting contact about the ransom--they expect to have to pay it in fabric!

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Help us look for Benny! He's hidden once on the Benartex website and three times on the Facebook page. Send the locations of all 4 Benny sightings (what page on the website and the names of the 3 fabric lines he's hidden in our Facebook page) plus your name and mailing address to socialmedia23 (at) gmail.com with the subject line "I found Benny." The contest ends Monday November 3rd at 11:59 pm EST. On Tuesday we'll randomly draw one winner from the emails to receive a fabric prize as a thank you for your investigative help.

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Guess the fabric line winners!

Thanks for playing along with our "Guess the fabric line" game! It was fun to see your name suggestions! 

We hope you also enjoyed the sneak peek at some of our new fabric collections that debuted at Market. We'll be featuring more information on them over the next few months. 

Here are our randomly drawn winners:

Day 1 -  Bright Idea
Jennifer W.

Day 2 - Fabracadabra
Laura Sue P.

Day 3 - Our Town
Sharon D.

Day 4 - Night at the Opera
Elizabeth S.

Day 5 - Avignon
John H.

Congratulations, winners! 

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Guess the fabric line: Day 5

Today is the last day of International Quilt Market 2014 in Houston, Texas! Many beautiful new fabric collections will be making their debut ... and we thought it might be fun to give you all at home a chance to win some of them!

As we have the last four days, today we are posting a picture with a sneak peek of one of our newest fabric lines. We want you to guess the name of the collection!

Please e-mail your guess to us at socialmedia23@gmail.com with the subject line “Guess the Name Day 5.” In the body of the e-mail please include your guess, along with your full name and mailing address. Only one guess per person per day please.

The contest is now over. Thanks for playing! Scroll down to see the name of the fabric collection.

Each day’s contest will last for 24 hours. At the end of the 24 hours we will randomly choose a name from all of the e-mails to receive a fat quarter bundle of that collection. You do not need to guess the correct name to win. Feel free to post your guess as a comment to each photo if you would like, but comments will not be counted as entries into the contest--you must send an email to the address above to enter the giveaway.

We hope that you all enjoy your sneak peek of the new lines, and look forward to seeing what you think the names should be!

Day 5:

See Day 1 here.

See Day 2 here.

See Day 3 here.

See Day 4 here.

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Guess the fabric line: Day 4

This weekend is International Quilt Market 2014 in Houston, Texas! Many beautiful new fabric collections will be making their debut ... and we thought it might be fun to give you all at home a chance to win some of them!

Check back each day through tomorrow, Monday (October 27^th), as we will be posting a picture with a sneak peek of one of our newest fabric lines. We want you to guess the name of the collection!

Please e-mail your guess to us at socialmedia23@gmail.com with the subject line “Guess the Name Day 4.” In the body of the e-mail please include your guess, along with your full name and mailing address. Only one guess per person per day please.

This contest is now closed. Thanks for playing! Scroll down to see the name of the fabric collection.

Each day’s contest will last for 24 hours. At the end of the 24 hours we will randomly choose a name from all of the e-mails to receive a fat quarter bundle of that collection. You do not need to guess the correct name to win. Feel free to post your guess as a comment to each photo if you would like, but comments will not be counted as entries into the contest--you must send an email to the address above to enter the giveaway.

We hope that you all enjoy your sneak peek of the new lines, and look forward to seeing what you think the names should be!

Day 4:

See Day 1 here.

See Day 2 here.

See Day 3 here.

See Day 5 here.

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Guess the fabric line: Day 3

This weekend is International Quilt Market 2014 in Houston, Texas! Many beautiful new fabric collections will be making their debut ... and we thought it might be fun to give you all at home a chance to win some of them!

Check back each day through Monday (October 27^th), as we will be posting a picture with a sneak peek of one of our newest fabric lines. We want you to guess the name of the collection!

Please e-mail your guess to us at socialmedia23@gmail.com with the subject line “Guess the Name Day 3.” In the body of the e-mail please include your guess, along with your full name and mailing address. Only one guess per person per day please.

The Day 3 contest is now over. Thanks for playing! Scroll down to see the fabric collection name.

Each day’s contest will last for 24 hours. At the end of the 24 hours we will randomly choose a name from all of the e-mails to receive a fat quarter bundle of that collection. You do not need to guess the correct name to win. Feel free to post your guess as a comment to each photo if you would like, but comments will not be counted as entries into the contest--you must send an email to the address above to enter the giveaway.

We hope that you all enjoy your sneak peek of the new lines, and look forward to seeing what you think the names should be!

Day 3:

See Day 1 here.

See Day 2 here.

See Day 3 here.

See Day 4 here.

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Guess the fabric line: Day 2

This weekend is International Quilt Market 2014 in Houston, Texas! Many beautiful new fabric collections will be making their debut ... and we thought it might be fun to give you all at home a chance to win some of them!

Check back each day through Monday (October 27^th), as we will be posting a picture with a sneak peek of one of our newest fabric lines. We want you to guess the name of the collection!

Please e-mail your guess to us at socialmedia23@gmail.com with the subject line “Guess the Name Day 2.” In the body of the e-mail please include your guess, along with your full name and mailing address. Only one guess per person per day please.

The Day 2 contest is now over. Thanks for playing! See the name of the fabric line below.

Each day’s contest will last for 24 hours. At the end of the 24 hours we will randomly choose a name from all of the e-mails to receive a fat quarter bundle of that collection. You do not need to guess the correct name to win. Feel free to post your guess as a comment to each photo if you would like, but comments will not be counted as entries into the contest--you must send an email to the address above to enter the giveaway.

We hope that you all enjoy your sneak peek of the new lines, and look forward to seeing what you think the names should be!

Day 2:

See Day 1 here.

See Day 3 here.

See Day 4 here.

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Guess the fabric line name game!

This weekend is International Quilt Market 2014 in Houston, Texas! Our booth will be full of many beautiful new fabric collections which you'll soon see in your local quilt shops. Since not everyone can attend Market, we thought it might be fun to give you all at home a chance to win some of these new fabrics!

Starting today (October 23rd) through Monday (October 27^th) we will be posting a picture with a sneak peek of one of our newest fabric lines. We want you to guess the name of the collection!

Please e-mail your guess to us at socialmedia23@gmail.com with the subject line “Guess the Name Day 1.” In the body of the e-mail please include your guess, along with your full name and mailing address. Only one guess per person per day please. 

The Day 1 contest is now over. Thanks for playing! See the name of the fabric line below.

Each day’s contest will last for 24 hours. At the end of the 24 hours we will randomly choose a name from all of the e-mails to receive a fat quarter bundle of that collection. You do not need to guess the correct name to win. Feel free to post your guess as a comment to each photo if you would like, but comments will not be counted as entries into the contest.

We hope that you all enjoy your sneak peek of the new lines, and look forward to seeing what you think the names should be!

Day 1:

See Day 2 here.

See Day 3 here.

See Day 4 here.

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Susan Rooney: Paper engineer turned fabric designer

Breezy Blooms, the first collection from artist Susan Rooney, starts with garden flowers. Lots of 'em.

And more flowers: The panel, complete with blocks and lengthwise borders to fussy cut 

You'll also notice dotted lines that swirl, an idea the carries through pretty much every fabric in the collection.

And a unique not-your-grandmother's plaid, comprised of smaller patterns:

Scribbles with flowers and heart shapes worked in:

Scribble coordinates in a variety of colors:

Whirl coordinates in a variety of colors:

We asked Susan a few questions about herself and Breezy Blooms:

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I've been a licensed designer for a very long time. I've been doing greeting cards and other types of product design. Now I'm designing fabric as well, and I've teamed up with Ruthann Stillwell, a sewer/quilter to design and write patterns..

What was the starting point for Breezy Blooms?

It was hard to choose where to start, because I have such an extensive line of designs for licensing. Benartex suggested focusing on bright colors. I'm all about bright colors. We picked some florals in my portfolio and began adjusting and changing them for fabric. I always like looking at intricate things—the center of a sunflower—it has that whirl in it. Such an amazing pattern to play off of. Or zinnias, which have a little flower within the flower. I had a bunch of flowers in my garden, and I used photos to help design the fabrics.

One of our favorites is the plaid—how is it different from a typical plaid?

I call it a progressive plaid—the pattern is made out of dots and squares—all those textures and colors in one fabric. I went with the warm colors mixed with black and white, and at the last minute tried to make it work in lime green mixed with black and white as well.

Everyone finds themselves doodling scribbles from time to time. How did your scribble become fabric?

I had a scribble design already created, and then one time in the scribble I noticed something that looked like a heart and a flower. I adjusted the repeat of the pattern to have the hearts and flowers be all over. I like that challenge—making the scribble look random, but having the shapes appear. The dotted scribble line works well with the textures in the flowers.

Do you have a favorite print in the collection?

First, the plaid. I'm excited about it because it's different and it worked. You can play with the pattern and really make something dynamic.

Second would be the whirl, in the pink and yellow combination. The whirl pattern came from flower centers and it really has a nice texture to it.

What makes your panel unique?

I chose the mini flower border because I wanted to do something a little bit different. And with designing patterns, I can come up with ways to use it, like on the free quilt pattern. The flower squares have enough room around them to fussy cut squares from 6-1/2'' up to 12''. And the scribble pattern in the background carries the dot through, pulling everything together.

You said you love brights. Why do you like this color palette so much?

It's kind of fun to play around with the blenders in this collection. Depending on the combinations, you can come up with everything from watermelon colors, to Halloween colors, to just black and white.

What's the advantage to designing fabric and quilt/project patterns?

Ruthann and I work together—it's neat to brainstorm how to use the fabric and how they'll work indifferent patterns. We can take the fabric and design around it for patterns or vice versa. 

Here's a look at some of the patterns Susan and Ruthann have designed:

"Brees Blooms" uses the plaid print to create the illusion of a pieced background for the quilt's 3-D components. The oversized dimensional blooms stem from Susans' background as a paper engineer: "I specialize in pop-up and die cuts, and it's been fun to bring those concepts, particularly the 3-D aspect, into patterns."

Another dimensional project--a blooming pillow that goes with the Brees Blooms quilt.

"The 'Breezy Blooms Purse' is one of my favorites because it's the first one I designed." (back shown here)

"Breezy Blooms Purse" front

Ruthann's Swirly Girl apron pattern--angled with attitude...

...and reversible!

Don't miss Susan's free quilt pattern for her "Breezy Blooms" quilt!

Click here to download the free pattern.

Click here to see the entire Breezy Blooms fabric collection.

Click here to see more of Susan's patterns and other work, and to find out about ordering patterns.

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Boy Meets Girl

Boy Meets Girl: A new fabric collection from Kanvas

(Because while we all know that while "Quilter Meets Fabric" indicates the same feelings of love, it just doesn't have that catchy ring when you say it. Maybe it's the single syllables?!)

Classic herringbone, modern flowers and dragonflies come together in one great fabric line.

In earth tones:

 In red, black and gray:

 And a free quilt pattern you can download here:

"Mad About You" designed by Tailormade by Design

Click here to see the Boy Meets Girl collection.

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Feels Like Fall Bundle Winners!

We hope you enjoyed our Feels Like Fall Blog Hop last week!

So many tutorials and fabrics to choose from, so little time!

Here are the winners of fabric bundles from the blog hop giveaways:

Day 1: Harvest Song

Day 2: Spooktacular

Day 3: Daily Zen

Day 4: Fall Festival

Day 5: Spooktacular

Day 6: Indian Summer

Congratulations, winners! We'll be emailing you for your full names and mailing addresses.

If you missed any of our autumn-inspired tutorials, you can find links to them here:

Day 1: Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation featuring the Harvest Song collection
Day 2: Christina from Sometimes Crafter featuring the Spooktacular collection
Day 3: Melissa from My Fabric Relish featuring the Daily Zen collection
Day 4: Benartex blog design team featuring the Fall Festival collection
Day 5: Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts featuring the Spooktacular collection
Day 6: Erin from Why Not Sew featuring the Indian Summer

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