Now that it's May, we can say that Quilt Market is THIS MONTH! And that brings delight (and maybe a little bit of fear and trembling) to the hearts of Moda designers, as they work on the goodies that show their new fabric collections to best advantage. 

We asked them about the preparations they were making for spring market, held from May 19 to 21 in St. Louis this year. Here's what they had to say:

Janet Clare

My quilt market prep looks like this: Boring Betty with long days in the studio...

Drinking lots of coffee, eating too much sugar and microwaved things, and wondering how quickly scurvy sets in...

And when it all gets too much, running to the Bluebell Woods for a recharge.

 

Pat Sloan

It's just a few weeks until Quilt Market in St. Louis which I'm PRETTY excited about! I used to live in St. Louis. It's where Gregg and I bought our first home and I worked at Anheuser-Bush in the computer department located at their downtown headquarters...I may have to do a little touring! But, there is work to be done first!

For this show I will have a space in the Martingale booth next to Moda for The Splendid Sampler™ book and quilts. I'm deciding which blocks to share demos on. Jane Davidson and I showcased every technique in our book with our 82 designer friends, so I may have to do a little demo on each! Although Jane is much better at English Paper Piecing so she is going to be giving THOSE lessons at market! Shhhh....don't tell anyone....I am really looking forward to getting tips to make her 6" mini-hexie block in the book.

And my other super exciting share at market is my quilt in the Moda All Stars Lucky Charm book! My quilt uses several charm packs and I adore the Moda linen dots fabric I paired it with! I just added it to the collection of my books that are in my studio....can't wait to share this with everyone!

Alrighty, I''m fueled with leftover Easter candy (is there such a thing?) and coffee....back to making samples and getting ready!

Crystal Manning

My first quilt "Fire Water" is ready to take to the quilter this week with two more soon to follow.

My assistant keeps me on track with a checklist as I make garment samples for all ages.

Kathy Schmitz

Just got my fabric at 8 p.m., last night!

Deb Strain

Before Market, I: Drink lots of coffee!

Finish painting my next fabric group.

Try to choose which paints to take for booth demonstrations.

Look forward to seeing all of my Market Buddies!!

Lynne Hagmeier-Kansas Troubles

Several of Lynne's projects are still being quilted, but she shared these (and said she's looking forward to seeing what everyone's been working on for Market).

Sandy Gervais

Although I am unable to attend market this year, there still is market prep. We still make the quilts. Moda will display one of them in their booth. We are down to the pieced border on this quilt.

However, we are far from the bottom of the market to-do list. Things to do yet: Finish quilts and ship off to Moda. Do some photo shooting for social media post. E-newsletter. Sell sheets. Sample covers for distributors. Finish up a new product introductions…think a new medium.

Kristyne Czepuryk-Pretty by Hand

In the frenzy of designing, measuring, sewing, planning, proofing, contemplating, organizing, booth-making, tea-making, ordering take-out, delivering, picking-up, and leaning on some pretty fantastic and talented friends for some marathon quilting, (deep breath) there's almost no time to step back and process that I'm working with my very own fabric. Almost no time, that is. I still find a few moments to just stare at my worktable and smile. And possibly giggle a little bit too. If this is a dream, please don't pinch me...I hope I never wake up.

Phew! That's a whole lot of busy-ness! And we're not done—tomorrow we'll share the pre-Market activities of another eight designers, so stop back. You won't want to miss finding out which designer is building furniture!