I just love Quilt Market. It’s inspiring to see new fabrics, new notions, not to mention all those quilts! While space does not permit a full review, here is a highlight of some of what I saw.

• Downton Abbey® was the rage, and not just on television. Andover Fabrics showcased its new Downton Abbey line at a packed, standing-room only Schoolhouse where they were joined by the show’s head of costume production and head of set design. The line features collections for the major characters.

• Blue and navy are trends right now, as is gray as a neutral. Gray is also moving toward the warmer, tan side. You could see this in a number of booths, including Michael Miller, pairing the gray with citron.

• Use of social media was big. Lots of people were shooting videos, posting on Facebook and Instagram, and using hashtags. Moda had a good time with hashtags shooting a video of its designers saying “Hashtag, show me the Moda!”

• Bernina introduced several new products, including its new top-of-the-line sewing, embroidery and quilting machine, the Bernina 880, which features a full 12 inches to the right of the needle, a 1,200 stitches per minute speed, a bobbin with 80 percent more thread capacity and a seven-inch color touchscreen with scrollable navigation, and more. Also new, and available in the spring, is Bernina’s longarm machine, so watch for more on that.

• Stella Lighting introduced its new Stella Edge, which clamps onto the table edge. This LED light features the same Tri-Color Spectrum technology as in Stella’s other two lamps.

• Clover introduced its new Perfect Press Collection by Joan Hawley. This line of 10 products is designed to bring great basics back into your pressing station. I particularly liked the Hot Hemmer, a hand-size ruled, heat-resistant surface that lets you measure, mark and press straight hems, round, interior or miter corners. Also useful is the Dry Heat Pro Finish Pressing Sheets for use with heat-sensitive projects including vinyls and laminates. And, if space is an issue, you’ll love the 2×4 Mighty Mini Board, a compact ironing board that’s also perfect for small items.

• LaviShea introduced new scents to its popular Lotion Bars. The moisturizing lotion bars melt with your body heat and do not leave a greasy residue making them perfect for handworkers.

Please share your thoughts on your favorite finds below.

Tags: Andover Fabrics, Bernina, Bernina 880, Clover, downtown Abbey, Joan Hawley, LaviShea, longarm machine, lotion bars, Perfect Press Collection, Quilt Market, Stella Edge, Stella lighting, Tri-color spectrum

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 6th, 2013 at 7:55 am and is filed under Quilt Market, Trade Show, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.