marie-madeline studio

Our Booth!!

We are so happy to be able to share pictures of the booth we had at International Quilt Market last weekend!  Of course, Abiah was so sweet and shared some pictures with you all last week too.

Our past two booths (here and here) both had the white beadboard walls, but this time we decided to go with curtains.  We hemmed drop cloths (that was fun) for our curtains, and went with a more poppy color-theme than our two previous booths.

We just can't thank FreeSpirit Fabrics and the ever-lovely Jennifer for sending us yardage of Jennifer's brand new Lucky Girl collection for our booth samples!!  We had the best time sewing with them (the colors are just perfect!).  And, since we received our bolts just a few days later the three of us that attended were able to have outfits to match too! 

We also used some of Jennifer's Circa fabrics, as they mix perfectly with Lucky Girl.

We were delighted to introduce our brand new patterns, angelica and charlotta, at Quilt Market!

Our trips to Indiana always require some booth talk (our brothers get so bored, just ask them).  So, naturally, last time was no exception.  After seeing the awesome ladder our Nan and Aunt Ginger hung from our aunt's beauty shop ceiling, we knew it was the thing for our booth.  We bought one while we were up in IN, and Paps and Nan brought it down when they came (aren't they the best??).  We purchased burlap and lace, and intwined it across the top of our curtains and through the ladder.  We loved it.  Of course the ladder needed to be sawed some, which reguired a bit more work, but definitely was worth the effort. 

Apphia made some darling ever-popular posies to display on a three-tiered cake stand near the front of the booth.  And of course, we can't sign off without thanking our bestest friend, Jenny, for bringing us some GORGEOUS flowers to put in three blue Ball jars.  We loved them!

We have loads of pictures on our Instagram page, so go there to see what we did every.single.day!  It's always so much fun to get to chat with old friends, and make new ones too!  (Just ask Lindsay... we stood in her book line three different times so everyone could get a signed copy...)

It goes without saying we girls had a marvelous time with Nanny and Paps, and we can never thank them enough for all they do for us!  We love you two!!!

But, of course, we did leave part of our hearts at home with Mom and Abiah.  We just can't wait for the next time we can all attend Quilt Market together!!!

xoxoxoApphia, Achaia, & Abigail

PS... We did buy some fabric too!  We can't wait to show you!

A Post Full of Instagrams...

First of all...we miss these girls terribly. We as in Mom and I (Abiah). You see, someone has to hold down the fort! It sure is a good thing that my sisters are good Instagram-ers. Our Instagram page stays at the bottom of our computer screen most all day...so we can pop it up and refresh the page, of course!

Second of all, and not less important than number one... we miss this adorable couple! What WOULD we do with out them? Not to mention the fact that they're just pure amazing for putting up with us!!

Third, our booth is GORGEOUS. Period. Ok, that takes care of number three.

Fourth. We love this cute lady!!! Huge hugs to Jenny from Kristie and Abiah!!

Fifth. We love Pam Kitty!!!!!! Thanks for hugging her for us, Abi!

Sixth. These.Girls.Are.The.Cutest. I guess the other cutest one was taking the picture.

Seventh. Because it's the number of completeness. Oh, and you see that teeny skirt hanging on the dresser handle? I have a little soft spot for it. Ssh.

I think it's safe to say that we can't wait to hug these adorable people again.

And I'm not even thinking about all the goodies they usually bring home to me. Promise. Well, almost promise. They're such great sisters!

xxxx, Abiah

PS. Here's a link to our Instagram page, because it's not coming up on the side bar. Now you can be obsessed like me, and check it every five minutes! Ok, maybe I'm not that bad!

Preparations.

So.  We received our sample fabric for International Quilt Market last week.  Market is next week.  This is probably needless to say, but our hands and sewing machines have been running wild!  We decided to go with a different look than our previous two booths.  We can't wait to share more with you! 

Nan and Paps are here now, and we're making final decisions on the last outfits that need to be sewn.  In the past day I've stitched on three t-shirts... one more to go. 

Apphia, Nanny, and Abiah had to run some errands to pick up last minute things (like the quilt that needs to be bound before we go....), so Mom, Abi, and I are home.  Abs is making a nice, loooong stack of cut out clothes that need to be sewn.  I'd better get going.

One last thing, if anyone is planning on being at Market, please be sure and stop by our booth, #1408!  We really want to meet you!!

xoxox Achaia

From the Shop.

LUCKY GIRL

VALENTINE ROSE

SUNSHINE ROSE

It was a great week for getting in some lovely new fabrics!  Don't forget to check out our Hard to Find fabric section, where we've listed some great ones, that aren't so easy to get your hands on.

Don't forget the coupon code FALL15 for 15% off your order!!

That's all for now.  Off to sew more for Quilt Market!  We spent about 1 1/2 hours yesterday finagling drop cloths through Apphia's industrial machine. 

xoxo

Full Week.

Whew!  The last week has been so busy... the birthday bash, Mom's birthday, starting to prep for Quilt Market, and throwing ourselves into something brand new!!  It's been fun, so no complaints.  We especially couldn't complain when the brand-new-something required us to spend the day with best friends (!), a new friend, eat cupcakes, sample chocolate, and dash in and out of the rain.  It was a fun, full 12-hour day. 

Today feels like the first "break" day, but it won't last long.  We have custom orders to sew, more Quilt Market related work, and it's almost time to start sewing for the booth.  Oh, and the laundry is full too.

We're not sure we are ready for summer to be over.  How 'bout you?

xoxo Achaia & Abi

Quilt Market via Instagram!

Hitting the long road to Houston (packed into the back seat of Paps's truck)...

Crossing the Red River (hours later)...

Eating Texas-shaped waffles in Huntsville on Thursday morning before going downtown to the convention center...

The first glimpse of our booth, 1305!

Getting started (we miss Nan and Paps already!)...

Meeting up with our sweet friend Kay on the second day of set-up!

Pressing, pressing, pressing...

Sisters at Schoolhouse (we really REALLY missed our Abiah)...

We got to help out our Jennifer at her Schoolhouse!  And we love her to pieces!!

Our lunch (split two ways) and the view from our hotel (at the top floor)...

Apphia and Achaia at the Riley Blake Schoolhouse, looking very professional...

On our 7-block trudge to the convention center...

Here we are at last!

Before the floor opened (Paps, we love and miss you so much!)...

What we spent a lot of time doing with Jenny (!!!)...

The marie-madeline booth!

With beautiful Heather Bailey!  And Tasha Noel, the sweet lady responsible for a lot of the gorgeous fabrics in our booth!  We didn't get a picture with our Pam, but her fabrics were splashed all over the booth, too.  We can't wait to get our bolts of Pam Kitty Love!

Westminster Fibers had a really neat new booth layout...

With our favorite friend Jenny, at Guadalajara!!!  Love her so much!

Abs wearing her fabulous new dress, thanks to Carla and Jennifer.  Jennifer, we miss you and your hugs already!

We were given the booth award for merchandising!!!  Out of over 1000 booths, they chose ours! We about fell over when the comitee came by to give it to us...

We couldn't be more grateful for such a wonderful market trip!  The Lord continues to bless our little company beyond what we ever dreamed.  We're so thankful for all of the talented and generous people He has placed in our lives!  They have blessed us, encouraged us, laughed with us... and we're grateful for each and every one.

xo.

Apphia, Achaia, and Abigail

P.S. But we missed Mom and Abiah like crazy.  It just doesn't do to leave part of us at home, you know?

a Tuesday Report brought to you by Achaia

Samples garments made = check.  Brochures = check.  All the extra booth necessities = check.  Trailer loaded = check.  Nanny and Paps here = check.  Bags packed = almost.  Time to leave for Houston = tomorrow.

It seems that we have been sewing non-stop for the past week on all of the goodies for our Market booth.  This time around we decided to hold off on our sample sewing until the week before (we know, we know... not the best idea...) so that we could use some of the great new fabrics we wanted to include: namely, Pam Kitty Love, due out in December, designed by our wonderful, cute friend, Pam.  As you can see above, we used everything she sent us, practically down to the last scrap!  I suppose we could say 'all's well that ends well', since we sewed up the last little happy girl apron this afternoon, and everything's done and loaded!!  Yay!!!

Sadly, we have to leave our other/better half here at home: Kristie/Mom and Abiah.  We're going to be so sad without them!  Abiah has kindly loaned us her camera, so we're obligated to take some good pictures for them.  The other night at the table someone came up with the idea of carrying around a recorder so we could make sure they would stay up to date in the end and we wouldn't forget any important happenings.  I think we decided against that --- no promises though!  So, Bug will be handling the blog while we're gone.... she's so cute, she's just bound to do a good job.

Oh, and did I mention that in the past week we had the birthday party for this little hooligan + a graduation party for the other little hooligan, Abiah Hope Kingery???  Oh, yes, we squeezed those in too.  Saturday night and Sunday night, respectively.  Along with deciding to enlarge the storage space under my bed today, naturally, with 5 1/4" stands.  So, a little cleaning under the bed happened too (how does it get so dusty under a bed??  I guess I'll save that for another day.).  Did I mention that I'm a little tired?  Yes, I think I'll sleep all some on the way to Houston. 

Off we go!  We would greatly appreciate prayers as we travel, and that Market will be a big success!  We'll plan on reporting back when we get home.  Sorry to say we won't be taping it....

Hugs and kisses! 

Achaia ~for all

Oh, oh, oh, I just have to give a shout out to some new fabrics that I put up recently!!  They're just that great, and it wouldn't be fair for me to keep them all to myself ourselves.  So, what are you waiting for??  Go see Garden Party, Happy Land, Hua Hua Lu Lu, and The Simple Life!!!  They're all cute! xxx

The scoop on Quilt Market!

First off, here it is -- Kansas City in all it's glory, from our hotel window.  Nan and Paps drove down from Indiana just for Market!  We couldn't have done it without them.  Nan designed and Paps constructed our lovely booth walls (white bead board) and also masterminded the packing of our stuff into our Suburban and their mini van.  When we made it the convention center on Wednesday, this is what we saw (minus the flooring)...

And in just a few short minutes, it looked like THIS...

But we worked really hard, and pretty soon it was looking more like this...

We were blessed to have our booth surrounded by the nicest people ever.  Ever!  Especially Pam and her daughter Frankie.  They are SO cute and sweet and gobs of fun -- it was nice to get to visit with them during the weekend.  And ours booths looked like they were made to go together.

See what we mean?  We can't wait to get Pam Kitty Love in the store.

Here we are with Nan and Paps!  (Abs must've taken this one.)

The sweet girls at Violette Field Threads!  We talked about patterns and blogging and transforming thrift-store coffee tables into ottomans.

Julie and Connee from Bits n' Pieces, our neighbors across the aisle.  They kept us in stitches (pun intended) and let us borrow their stapler (which was the only thing we forgot to pack).  We shared giggles and Cracker Jacks.

The sweet folks at Shabby Fabrics, who tried to talk us into having a booth in Houston this fall (it didn't take much to convince us)...

And a group shot with Pam and Frankie over at Lakehouse!

Finally, some more shots of the marie-madeline studio booth.  It's still hard for us to believe that we actually did it!!!  Check out the sneak peek of our upcoming pattern.  (Formal introduction coming soon!)

And of course, here are the obligatory Amy Butler and Anna Maria Horner photos!  We're so excited to receive bolts of Amy's Cameo and Anna Maria's Field Study (coming in July and August respectively).

So there you have it all in a nutshell!  We were blessed with an all-around awesome trip.  Thanks for all your prayers -- Quilt Market was a huge success.

xoxo, the Long ladies

PS. We can't wail till you see all the lovely fabrics we have coming in later this year.  Some fabulous solid pique, gorgeous (and fun) new goodies from Lecien, stunning stuff from Liberty Art London...!