Ready for day 2?

View of the show floor from windows above, this is a small portion of what is here.

     What a day! We have just finished walking the show floor for the day and in about 45 minutes we are heading to a party that Moda puts on each year. Dinner and fun! We had a really great day today, there is just so much to see.... I'm in overload right now. I have collected a lot of fliers from only about a quarter of the booths, I will review them tonight and decide which I will order from. It is a tough decision.....what will everyone like and what will be popular?  I have some beautiful pictures to share with you, I can't fit them all on this page, but I will put the whole collection of pictures on the Cloth Castle Facebook page and you can enjoy them all there.

Blackbird Designs Booth. Isn't it gorgeous!

 

 Hop over to Cloth Castle Facebook page to see the rest of the pictures! Have to run and get ready for the party......until later!

Natasha

 

News from Houston

 Hi Everyone

   Houston we have a big problem...... I want it all!

   Miriam and I arrived Oct. 28 in Houston, Texas. It was a long journey here, it seemed like it was never going to end. We left our  house at 3am and arrived here local time around 4pm. We wandered over to the convention hall and then relaxed. I don't think my sister really understood how busy we were going to be on Friday.

Miriam's first Quilt Market

   Today was our first day of activities. There a series of classes called Schoolhouse Series, you can choose from around 250 different classes, some are only 15 minutes and some are 30min. We selected classes of things we thought our customers would like or new notions or tools that we should take a close look at. So we did that all day, only breaking for a very quick lunch. It was  really fun. The following photos are quilts that were featured at some of the classes I went to.

These 2 quilts are new from Piece of Cake Designs and using the new fabric line Daisy and Dots.

These 2 quilts are all done on the embroidery machine! This was my favorite class I took today, I wish you could see the detail in the stitches. This is from HoopSisters.

      After a busy day of classes we had one more event to attend this evening, it's a big one not for the faint of heart! The event was Sample Spree and it is  the running of the bulls for Quilters! Hundreds of people start lining up hours before the doors open and then make a dash for your favorite fabric suppliers.

Waiting for Sample Spree to Start.

    This a chance for stores to pre-buy fabric bundles, fat quarters, charms, gadgets and more. The big booth to be at is Moda and no I don't go near it, it's DANGEROUS over there! I looked for a few new things for the store, which I found. My sister,  she had a ball, she bought a few fabric bundles and book she really liked. We'll get back to her she is going to give us a special report. We spent about 1.5 hours shopping there, it is only open for 2 hours. The picture below is the mob around the Moda booth. You haven't seen a more dedicated group of shoppers until you've seen shop owners and their staff looking for deals!

 

As I mentioned my sister had a ball and found a few things she really liked.

  

Well I better sign off for now, I'll keep you posted on what I see and pick up tomorrow.

Natasha


My First Quilt Market- By Miriam
    What a day, today I did schoolhouse classes all day with my sister. After picking the classes that I would do, I was having an amazing time, when I realized I forgot my camera at home! I know how horrible. The classes I really liked was a Sashiko Stencil Quilt and stacking the large Dill buttons to make great broaches and embellishing. I won a sweet door prize....4 charm packs from a vintage collection called Clothesline Club.
    The most interesting thing I learned was when in line for Sample Spree...Don't get between a women and her fabric, they take you down! The women will do anything to get to the Moda booth: pushing, shoving, elbows anything goes just to get to the Moda booth. Sample Spree is crazy, fun and little nuts. I will admit I was ready to shove a few people to get some Robert Kaufmann Fabric! The fever infects you!
    All in all I felt like a kid in a candy store and I love Candy! What a great day plus I'm here with my sister, we are having fun.
    Day one down, next we get to see the show floor...... almost 1000 booths to look at!

Miriam

Halloween Pumpkin Carving Party

     Wow what a turn out! We had about 35 people over and sadly the weather didn't cooperate! So.... we had a lot of people trying to find corners to carve their pumpkins but they managed and they all turned out great. So an afternoon spent with friends turned out great! Thought I would share a few photos, enjoy.

A few of my wonderful friends and my sister in her costume.

Our Youngest little guest, Tori dressed as a little spider! With her mama Megan.

My sister made this wallhanging. You can't see it but the spider web is stitched with Glow in The Dark thread and she also made her own bat buttons.

 

Apple Cider Recipe

1 Quart Apple Juice
2 cups Cranberry Juice
1/3 cup packed Brown Sugar
4 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks (3 inches)

In a large saucepan, combine the apple juice, cranberry juice and brown sugar. Place cloves and cinnamon sticks on a double thickness of cheesecloth, bring up corners of cloth and tie with kitchen stringto form a bag. Add to pan.
Bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
 Disard spice bag. 

I like to put it into a crock pot and let it simmer and keep warm. 

Natasha's Spinach Dip
CAUTION THIS IS ADDICTIVE!

2 Sour dough bread
1lb Bacon
10oz Spinach Thawed
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 large garlic cloves
2 packages cream cheese
1 cup Mayo

1. Cut a whole in one bread. Tear the left over pieces into bite size pieces as well as the second bowl.
2.Cook bacon until crisp. Blot excess fat, cool and crumble.
3. Squeze out excess water from the spinach.
4. Mix all the ingrediants in a bowl.
5. Serve in the hollowed out bowl.


Happy Halloween everyone!

Natasha

Pumpkin Patch

     Don't you just love the sight of a pumpkin field. I love pumpkins! My mom, sister and I went to our local pumpkin patch and picked up a few for our Pumpkin Party this weekend. We have about 30 people coming over to carve and have fun.... keep you posted on that one.



Which one should come home with me?

Me with the pumpkins at The Red Barn Market.

       The three of us had a really great day, the sun was shining, one of those perfect fall days.  My sister has already carved some of her pumpkins. Using different stencils she carves all different characters, this year her favorite is Alice in Wonderland.

     We just got our Accuquilt Go! in at the store, can I find time this weekend to play? I'm sure if I try really hard there will be time. I can't wait to use the tumbler dye, it has always caught my eye. There are so many projects that can be done with this cutting system.....hmmm new club?  I'm just learning that I LOVE gadgets, this is trouble.

I leave for Houston in.... 6 DAYS! I'm starting to get excited now and can't wait to see what's new in the quilting and sewing world. My sister is REALLY excited, she has a game plan for all the booths she wants to see. It is probably a good thing we can't buy from the booths directly! She'll be coming home with heavier bags than when we left.
I'm hoping to be sending some blogs from Houston, I will be taking lots of classes and ordering new "stuff" for the store, you'll be the first to know!

Well better sign off, have a great weekend everyone.

Natasha

 





Fall...what a great time of year!

I just love the fall, cool evenings, sometimes nice days, thanksgiving and Halloween. The colors are so rich and inspiring.


This past weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving and I have to share with you all, my favorite Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe. It tradition in our family and very easy to make. If any of you get the What's Cooking Magazine from Kraft you may already have the recipe. If you don't get this magazine you should, just visit Kraftkitchens.com and register and quarterly you will receive the magazine FREE! There are always easy meals ideas and I look forward to getting it every season.

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake


Prep:20 min   Total: 5 hours including refrigerating


18 Peek Freans Ginger Crisps (1 sleeve crushed)
1/4 cup finely chopped Pecans
1/4 cup butter melted
3 pks (250g) Cream Cheese
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1 tsp Vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Dash ground cloves


**** I have used Pumpkin Pie Spice in place of the above spices and it works great****


Preheat oven at 350 degrees (300 degrees if using dark pan). Combine cookie crumbs, pecans and butter. Press into the bottom of 9" springform pan.


Beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended.


Remove approx 1 cup of batter; place in a small bowl. Stir remaining 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin and spices into remaining batter. Spoon pumpkin batter into crust; top with spoonfuls of reserved plain batter. Cut through batters with knife  to create a swirl effect.


Bake 45 min. or until centre is almost set. Cool completely. refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.


Enjoy!

Now our next event Halloween! My sister is a HUGE fan of Halloween, but this year my sister will be traveling with me to the Houston Quilt Market. I will be going as a buyer for the store, taking classes and learning new stuff! My sister is coming to keep me company and give her opinion when needed. The trip is right over Halloween though. Sooo... we are planning a pumpkin carving party for the weekend before we go. So this weekend my Mom, Sister and I got the ball rolling. We love the harvest side of  Halloween and enjoy seeing kids picking their pumpkins and just being with friends! Have you guys met my sister yet? I don't think so, everyone meet my sister Miriam.

This picture was taken a couple years ago when we went to Mexico. These are Ridley Turtles that were just hatched and being rescued by a Sea Turtle Conservation Centre. It was  a special treat to get to hold the turtles!

Anyway back to Halloween. I pulled out my Cuddlebug and we made our invites. I have to say it was fun to work with a different craft medium!  Here's a pic of  our invitation.

Just as I'm finishing up my blog, I just got the call that my friends Maria and Michael are going to have their baby tomorrow! I better get going I'm watching their son Matias while they do their check in today for c-section. A new baby, no better blessing! Have a great day everyone.

Natasha