I'm absolutely spoiled. Twice a year, I get to attend one of the finest and most exciting trade shows--the Craft & Hobby Association trade show. In addition, the last two shows have had a companion show for consumers, where retailers can sell goods and show off how products are used and manufacturers can get feedback on products directly from the consumers. And the best part is that consumers can learn a new craft and expand their skills. It's really amazing to see and to experience the demonstrations and make-it-take-its at both shows. So that's where I was last week, which is why there weren't many posts. In the coming weeks, I've got some making to do, so I'll be sharing lots of fun stuff. Meanwhile, take a stroll around some of my buddies' blogs.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Another project is in the works, a super duper red scarf in yummy cranberry.

About Family Crafts
If you are looking for ideas for fast and fun home-made St. Valentine's Day cards, check out what Sherri has to offer.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi's shibori background quilt is finished...yay!!

Cross Stitch at About.com
Stitch a simple Be Mine Valentine design for your beloved.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside went to CHA and it brought back tons of fun pictures of all sorts of creative people. Check out some of the fun pictures and projects along with a link to more studio space photos and how to bead quill around a core bead from the book Bead Quill Jewelry.

The Artful Crafter
Do you have any crafty angels – angels you’ve made or angels you’ve met?

Aileen's Musings
Aileen is participating in One World One Heart International blog giveaway. Stop by and see what OWOH is all about and enter to win some goodies!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Check out fun pictures with some great crafty and stylish peeps at The Craft Super Show and CHA

As I type this, I can hear the fireworks over at Disneyland. I had a great day, a really fabulous day, and, though I'm exhausted, I'm really looking forward to another wonderful day tomorrow. The day started by attending the Awards Ceremony and Keynote Speaker, Dr. Martha Beck. Her presentation was inspiring, exciting, and energizing, and I'm so glad I'd listened to Steering by Starlight in the weeks leading up to the show so I felt like I got even more out of her presentation. I also purchased her book and she was gracious enough to sign it and permit us to take this photograph. That's me in the middle, with Martha Beck on the right and Carol Zentgraf, a former coworker from McCall's Needlework on the left.

I was able to see so much today. So many new products, presentations, and people. It's amazing to be surrounded by wonderful, creative people, all of whom share the same goal--in some way, helping the consumers learn a new craft, explore their creativity, or hone their skills and talents. It's about service; I believe that everyone in this industry is in it because they believe their products, designs, programs, publications, etc., will serve the consumer or help the retailer do so. And that's what it's all about. It was a blast to see new products that made me say "That's the coolest idea--I'm SO glad someone came up with that idea!" I'll update you in the next few days about some of those items.

Today, I'm updating you on a product I mentioned yesterday after the Creative Options reception. I stopped by their booth today to see if they'd send one of these to us at the office to review, but Kathy was kind enough to send me home with one to pass along to the staff. And as I carried it around the show floor, a lot of people noticed it and asked me about it. Everyone commented on the shape and the lines of it (as did I), but I told them all that the best part was inside. So I'd do a little show-and-tell and open it up. And here it is....six shelves with segmented containers in each shelf, perfect for beading supplies or embellishments, such as brads, eyelets, or other doo-dads. I find myself wishing for a bunch of them for my cardmaking area in my craft room--wouldn't they be great hanging on the wall or something! And I still do love this color scheme! Everyone I showed it to oohed and aahed about it, wishing they had one, so I'd tell them to stop by the Creative Options booth and check it out.

Tomorrow's another day of meetings and trend-spotting and learning and seeing. I'm on a panel tomorrow talking about how designers in this industry can market themselves. I'm addressing the publishing aspect and can't wait to hear what the other presenters have to say and what the attendees want to know. Here's to Monday!

I got to do a little more wandering around the CHA Craft SuperShow today. In addition, I toured the LA Convention Center and the LA Live area that surrounds it. And then I attended the Creative Options by Plano Molding reception, where they unveiled their new color scheme for their totes and containers. The new line is called Vineyard and it's lovely! In addition to containers like this, they make the rolling totes and all of that as well! The line is beautiful, and the company is located near where I grew up, so it always holds a special place in my heart. But it's their ingenuity that always impresses me. They have an awesome container for beads that I just love the shape of. I'll try to get by their booth tomorrow and snap a few more pictures. Meanwhile, these pictures show the inside and outside of the container.

After that reception, I got to catch up with my artistic and wonderful friend from college, Victoria, and her almost-17-year-old daughter. We had a great meal, got to catch up, and it was marvelous. And on the drive back to the hotel, the Disney fireworks display started, so we got to see that too! All in all, a fabulous day!

I'm at CHA (Craft & Hobby Association). Friday and Saturday are dedicated to the CHA Craft SuperShow, which crafty folks can come, see products demonstrated, make items of their own via make and takes to try out interesting materials, and, of course, SHOP. I did a little shopping myself yesterday--buying a few beachy fat-quarters from Tall Mouse and a few embossing templates for cardmaking from Heritage Handcrafts. Come Sunday, the trade show portion opens. That's where the folks who work in the industry get to see the new lines and the people who own shops and work in publishing, like me, get to learn more about the lines, try them out, and see the great new ideas that designers have come up with using these products. I have to tell you, the minute I walked in the door of the show yesterday, my heart lifted. I've worked with so many great people over the years, and I get to see so many of them here. Plus, of course, there's the energy and excitement of seeing new products, seeing people be creative and try new things. And I love seeing a company take a product from a year or two ago and figure out another even-more-fabulous use for it!

But lest I forget my true purpose of this post, here are some links you'll love for this week.

Cathie Filian
Check out this cute appliqued apron that Cathie whipped up for Better Homes and Gardens.

Cross Stitch at About.com
Have you ever stitched on silk gauze? Vote in the poll and tell us about your experience or lack thereof by leaving a comment.

Jewelry & Beading
Check out Kathryn Lane Berkowitz's gorgeous seed bead work!

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Happy UnValentine's Day from Madge with this tongue in cheek card for iLoveToCreate

Crafty Princess Diaries
Get the 411 on a group of crafters who can help you help Haiti. 

About Family Crafts
Sherri has gathered together a collection of projects that would make great St. Valentine's Day gifts. Nothing quite says 'I Love You' like a personalized gift, hand-made by you.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen's isn't quite up to full speed again after having pneumonia so she's reposting the link to her freebie's page full of how-to's, tutorials and freebie images. Peruse and have fun playing!

The Artful Crafter
How to use waterslide decals for decoupage under glass. Put your original designs anywhere with inkjet or laserjet decals.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
At Craftside there is the full low down on all the signings, classes, and make & takes with the authors for the big winter 2010 CHA show, some wonderful journal page art, how to make an Egyptian stick, a great tool for making stripes, turning a paper clip into a jazzy bookmark and some recycled zipper jewelry.

Sometimes I wonder how everyone else seems to keep on track, because there are weeks when I feel a little derailed. That's why I haven't done a Links You'll Love for a few weeks. But I'm back on track, and the house is looking better and work is crazy but that will pass.

Meanwhile, there's much going on. CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) is having two shows in Anaheim. Traditionally, CHA only has a trade show--a show where all the manufacturers display their wares, both new and standards. But last year, they tried something new--a show for consumers. Here's how it works. Manufacturers can display their new products, let consumers try them, and of course, there are also retailers selling their stuff. There will be star sightings, make-it-take-its galore, and so much stuff to see, try, and learn about. So if you'll be in the Anaheim area Jan. 22nd and 23rd, check out the CHA Craft SuperShow.

One of the best parts about trade shows is that I get to see a bunch of my friends. Having worked so long in this industry, business contacts, fellow board members, and designers become friends. In fact, I'm sure I'll catch up with several of the folks in my Links You'll Love gang while I'm there. And speaking of Links You'll Love...

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
This week Craftside's got tutorials on how to make a paw print place mat, a tasty "bite" from the new book The Designer's Graphic Stew, how to sew a neckband into a neckline, all the CHA author details and how to make a scratching box for your cat.

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
It's Chipboard Week at The Impatient Crafter and Madge throws down an 80s inspired mixed media necklace for iLoveToCreate!

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner
Get into the early Valentine spirit with these colorful and cute Valentine brooches!

Crafty Princess Diaries
Is it really possible to quit your day job and become a full-time crafter?

Cross Stitch at About.com
Cutesy Cross Stitch not your style? Seeking stitches for your sarcastic friends and family members? Check out Connie's snarky stitchery patterns for a refreshing change of pace that avoids an X rating.

The Crochet Dude
Drew reviews Arctic Lace by Donna Druchunas, and enter to win some lace weight qiviut!

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi's shibori fabric is finished...and it was easy to make!

Cathie Filian
Check out Cathie's CHA plans! Her new book 101 Snappy Fashions and her new product line will be unveiled.

About Family Crafts
Sherri shares a collection of craft projects, all made from fleece fleece fabric. You can make everything from Sleeved Blankets for yourself and your pet to simple hats and scarves.

The Artful Crafter
Are you sometimes frazzled by all the demands for your time? Here’s Eileen’s plan to make more time for her art.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
See how I use some fun Sweater Surgery and button flowers to dress up a clutch and check out my Craft Super Show and CHA Schedule so you can join me in Customizing a Greeting Card Album and making all sorts of goodies with recycled wool felted sweaters.

I was in Toronto last weekend for a CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) board meeting. Because of how I had to book my flight, I had 6 hours from the time I landed until I had to be at the hotel for the start of the weekend. Yes, you guessed it, that was just enough time to visit a few quilt shops. But since the week prior had gotten a bit chaotic, I hadn't had a chance to do much research online to double-check locations, hours, etc. I located addresses of several shops, thanks to Dad's GPS, but only two of them were still where they were located when I printed a quick map from Google. But one shop staffer suggested another shop, so in the end I visited three shops and still had the chance to look around the town and get ready for the meeting.

What shops did I visit?, you ask.

First, I stopped at Cock-a-Doodle Quilts. I found some fat quarters--I'm assuming they're quarter meters, which is slightly larger than a US fat quarter. But since fabric is more expensive in Canada, I didn't want to get carried away. They had some lovely batiks, this adorable farm print (I'm pretty sure this is bigger than a fat quarter, but I don't have it here to measure), and a panel that I can't yet disclose. As always, you know I'm a sucker for farm fabrics.

Next, after a few misses, I had another hit. The Quilter's Block is a smaller shop, but it was filled with some great fabrics. It's more of an urban shop, which was a new experience for me. As often happens, I ended up with two of the same prints in different colorways. And I also picked up a black-and-white and a black-and-gray print, which are also becoming a pattern for me. And the gal in the shop was very helpful, as we chatted about my mini-shop-hop, she suggested one other store in the area. So off I went.

The shop she suggested was Sewing Machine Factory Outlet in Scarborough. (Again, thank goodness for Dad's GPS!) I found some bolts of fabric that weren't full price--some marked down and some buy-one-get-one-free. Yes, at this shop, I bought yardage, but only off of four bolts. And then there were two fat quarters. As before, the two circle prints are the same print in different colorways--and I love circles and dots. I absolutely fell for the geometric print--it reminded me of some of the ones I picked up in Utah. As for the mosaic-looking print, I thought it would be a great fabric to use to get some practice freehand quilting with that big ole machine of mine. It's beautiful--shades of teal, creams, and brown, and there are birds and florals. I'll do another show-and-tell after I get it quilted--I'm itching to play with that machine again. I need much more free time! As for the two fat quarters, just some batiks that I thought were interesting.

And to round out my trip, here's a funny story. As I walked into the shop, I noticed a gentleman just hanging out in the store. Turned out, he was a fabric rep. I should have guessed--this is not the first time I've been visiting a shop while the fabric rep is trying to do show-and-tell. I don't mind it at all, I love to get a sneak peek at fabric lines, but I always feel bad for the shop owner and the rep, as it's much easier to do fabric selection when there's no one around and you don't have interruptions. I know when I was managing the quilt shop in Florida, we did our best to have the reps come in the evening, which was probably quite inconvenient for them but was very convenient for us. When I was in North Carolina on that vacation I mentioned a few weeks ago, the same thing happened and I bought a lot of fabric then too, partially because I wanted to make it easier on the shop owner, so I just had her cut half-yards. Talk about a tough time getting everything to fit in an already-packed-full suitcase! I was much more frugal with my purchases this trip and was able to get the fabric in my carry-on bag without too much trouble.

So that's my tour of the quilt shops in Toronto. I'm sure I missed some, so if you know of any that I missed, share it in the comment section so anyone who stumbles upon this posting looking for quilt shops in Toronto will have a more complete list for shop hops of their own.

(P.S. If you haven't heard, CHA's planning another Craft SuperShow in Anaheim in January 2010. For a recap of the Summer show, check out these blog posts: Judikins, fabric, Kaiser, JustRite Stamps.)

I bought some panels after Christmas on sale and just thought to take some pictures and share them. I figured they'd be good practice for quilting around on the machine, but I haven't gotten to them yet. But they're on the list. Anyone have great ideas on panel ideas? I think I want to add stuff around the edges or make them part of a larger project.

Since I'm still on vacation in CA, I'm unable to post any photo or projects, since I haven't created anything since I've been out here. But I did press some pennies at Disneyland, so maybe I'll create a project or two from them when I get home (thanks for the inspiration, Cathy).

Gotta run. More boxes to pack at Vickie's!

Today I spent a great deal of time in meetings, but I did get a little time on the show floor. And I got to catch up with some more old friends. Michael Jolly and I (right) worked together more than a decade ago in Birmingham, and we got to catch up on our lives and our business ventures. He works at Plaid as their creative director and I can't imagine a better title for him because he's amazing in the creativity department. Cathie Filian took the picture for us even--she's such a creative gal and fabulously friendly to boot!!

I also got to see all the lines that Blue Moon Beads has out right now. In addition to what you see on their web page, I got to preview their new line, called Noir. I didn't think to take a picture of the line, but I'll try to swing by there tomorrow and get a picture. It's a great line--as their press sheet says: edgy, dark, sultry, moody, mysterious, extravagent. Except it won't be extravagent in price, which makes it even better.