a country fair...

moda style. come along for some fun on the midway...

a clown toss, some popcorn, old fashion coke bottles and cupcakes.

even a ferris wheel.

moda in lights. right behind lissa alexander, the brains behind these setups.

now let the fun begin.  look who's here...it's moda mark. he takes very good care of us.

sarah get's to spin the prize wheel.

i wonder what we won?

it's a jelly roll of panier de fleurs. can anyone guess who the designer is?

game time over. it's time to get to work. if you can call buying fabric, work:) that's kathy behind the table. she spends her days at moda and is going to assist us today.  we are trying to get her to come to cleveland to visit our store and the rock and roll hall of fame. she has never been there. but then, neither have i.

designer smiles...

oh the creative people we have met. such fun. be sure to refocus your eyes to what's behind the smiles too. it will give some clues as to what will be coming to our house of fabric soon.

gudrun erla owner of gedesigns.

bonnie olaveson of cotton way and her daughter camille roskelley of thimble blossoms.

jonna figueroa of fig tree & co.

emily herrick from the pattern company crazy old ladies and now with her first fabric collection, going coastal, for michael miller.

jana nielson from izzy & ivy designs.

amanda herring from the quilted fish. we were delighted to meet amanda. click here to find out why.

and the gals of sweetwater for moda, mom karla and daughters susan and lisa. i personally love everything about these three. so happy to get to meet them.

a star is born...

we are thousands of miles from home. yet sarah has a fan base here, just as she did as we walked as girl scouts in the local memorial day parade back home. me...well i'm proudly the chauffeur and the photographer. capturing the smiles on faces of strangers who have fast become friends as they celebrate with sarah and kristen. and their beautiful story...
.

it first started when we stopped at quilts, etc.

such wonderful women to share in sarah's glory.

priceless for a girl. any girl really. especially one sporting an extra chromosome.

the gals from the quilted fish.

michelle from lila tueller designs.

and another mother/daughters team, sweetwater.  thank you so much to everyone who made my girl feel so special this weekend. you make my heart swell with pride.

miss you kate...

our next stop would be with kate...

...except kate spain is sadly not here. she is in new york city at surtex. but there is a quilt hanging made with her newest collection called...terrain. sarah gave a sneaky peak on her blog a few weeks ago. the quilt pattern is called taffy and is designed by julie herman of jaybird quilts. we will have it in the shop once terrain arrives in september.  we miss you kate.

quilting changes everything...

our second stop needed to be here...

the better homes and garden's american patchwork & quilting booth. i wanted to meet maria charbonneaux. she is the staff writer who so beautifully wrote the story. about two girls, two pillowcases, two moms, and changed lives. i was told she would be there at 3:00 p.m. it just so happened, or did it? that before three o'clock we rounded a corner and there was... 

...jennifer keltner, the executive editor for american patchwork & quilting. it was jennifer who first found sarah's pillowcase project on her blog and left a comment. we were beside ourselves that she did. today, the story comes full circle. jennifer, polly (kristen's mom) sarah and me. she was ever so gracious and i so appreciated the kindness she extended to polly. i can only imagine the day was so very bittersweet for polly. the pain of not having kristen with us, yet she walked by our side allowing sarah to shine in her stardom.    

and then we met maria. she is as sweet in person as on the phone. i will never forget the time she took to talk with sarah. never getting frustrated with her short, sometimes unintelligible answers. and from our fragmented conversations, wrote a succinct story, that conveys our message and the fact that quilting does indeed change everything.

me and my sister...

for most shop owners, quilt market is a time to purchase new delights for their store. and although i will have the ability to do this, my primary objective is to meet the people who contributed to our being where we are today. the story of jellen's house of fabric is not ours alone. there have been many others who have played an important role.
 
for the sake of new readers, please allow me a quick review. i have been sewing from the time i was seven years old. in 1989, i gave birth to my only daughter. many times over the years i attempted to interest her in my love of fabric. she had no desire. i dismissed it, often blaming the extra chromosome that resulted in her having down syndrome as the reason. until the night...

...i left a turnover packet of clementine by me and my sister for moda on the counter. i'll never know if it was the shape or the colors that caught her eye as she is not capable of expressing that to me, i simply know she was all of a sudden interested in my fabric. and nothing could make me happier.

so i knew our first stop today needed to be with barbara and mary. i wheeled sarah to their booth and started to tell them who we were. mary stopped me and said, "of course i know who you are" and proceeded to embrace sarah in a big hug.

i love this picture. the look on mary's face. the look on sarah's face. and behind them. polly. that story comes next.

mary, sarah and barbara

me and my sisters

and then the fun began. check out this cute creation. the newest pattern from the talented sisters. a fabric hopscotch...

...or in this case, a fabriholic version of the cornhole toss:)

good one sarah!!!

me and my sister in true style. we will always love these two. and their fabric collections...

as evidenced by our own stash in the store.  stay tuned for amelia. the next collection designed by the sisters to arrive in august.

welcome to quilt market...

we awoke to a picture perfect day in salt lake city. sunny and warm.

the view from our hotel window was clear for miles. the snow capped mountains in plain sight.

polly kirton was kind enough to come sit with sarah at the hotel while i went for a quick scope of the layout.  there were certain people that i wanted to make sure we met.

as i walked through the outer hallways of the convention center, i was super excited to see they had chosen purple carpet. i took it as a sign the day was going to be perfect.  once i determined the aisles that we needed to visit, i headed back to the hotel to get sarah and polly.

sarah was simply overwhelmed when she looked in and saw all the color before her.

we just stood there for a few moments to take it all in.

and then we entered the doors.  our very first journey into the world of market.

the best of...

what a life!!! sarah and i spent the day shop hopping through the southern salt lake area.  there are many shops to choose from in the utah valley.  we'd like to share our top three...

pine needles in west jordan. we stumbled upon this one by taking a wrong turn. so glad we did. they had me at the bird house hanging outside the door.

and the inside certainly did not disappoint.  sarah was a bit surprised and not to happy to see that huge quilt hanging overhead in central park. i'm thinking she was under the impression she had an exclusive with her friend kate. i assured her she was not to worry. she does have an exclusive. in lyndhurst, ohio:)

our next stop was planned from the minute we knew we would be coming to salt lake city. i've been following this shop for sometime, even before we had decided to open a store. i just knew there would be an element of fun here...

sure enough. nadine does it so right at material girls quilts in south jordan. madonna music and all. so worth the drive.

our final stop of the evening was such a delight. quilts etc located in the historic sandy, utah area. such friendly women working here.

the front room was adorable. then we walked into the back room. can i just say...wow. you know i love the white cabinetry, but how about all that fabric?!?

and that was a wrap for today. sarah told me her bones were hurting and managed to find this great little alcove to park it for a few moments. we had such a great day. we are moving downtown tomorrow.  stay tuned...

we've landed...

yikes!!! it's freezing in utah. like need a winter coat freezing. slight problem. we left them in cleveland. oh well. it's been almost two years since i have flown. who knew this neat little screen now becomes a television. i watched hgtv most of the way while sarah was thrilled to have the disney channel. all while being served hot chocolate chip cookies. frontier airlines out of the akron/canton airport was a stellar idea. i'd highly recommend it.  now i think a nap is in the immediate future.

and we're off...

we have been turning on google and mapquest finders and sure enough up popped our starting location...the store...we forgot to put a sign on the window letting people know we are closed. i sure hope no one comes from far. please pass the word to your friends that we are closed this week. ok, next stop...salt lake city...stay tuned...

we leave you with this...

thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!!! we have the very best customers ever. we are exhausted, yet so energized to know we have room for new finds in salt lake city. stay tuned... 

last day for $5 fabric...

today is the last day of our 5-5-5 sale... 

all collection cottons will be $5.00 per yard.  Check website for more details.

modern workshop...

by oliver + s has arrived...

at first glance it might seem like simply a trendy and contemporary collection of fabric. yet it's deisgner, liesl gibson, was inspired by wiener werkstatte, a circle of artists and crafts people based in vienna at the turn of the twentieth century. hop on over to the blog of oliver + s to read more and watch a video of liesl talk about this fascinating story. 

we have the entire collection for your enjoyment displayed in our front room. if you click here there is also a free pattern to download.

i must once again thank crystal of frivolous necessity for the amazing samples. click on the top photo to take a closer look at the tiny detail work on the pillow.  i just love it and know our customers do too as i have  already been asked many times if it can be purchased.  the answer is no, not today.  however, i'm sure there will come a time when we will conduct a sample sale in the future. i will announce it on this blog first, so be sure to follow along.

this next picture i lifted off of liesl's personal blog. it very nicely shows both of her collections working together so well. city weekend + modern workshop.

love the hexi's too. still my favorite shape to make. we have some city weekend still in the store.  hurry though, it all will be a part of the big pre-quilt market sale at $5.00 per yard on 5-5, 6 & 7.

announcing the 5-5-5 sale...

Announcing our first annual

5-5-5 Sale

beginning 5/5

all cotton collection fabric

from

Moda, Free Spirit, Red Rooster

Robert Kaufmann and Riley Blake

including flannels and batiks

will be

$5.00 per yard*

hurry this sale only lasts for three days

thursday   5/5   10 - 8

friday        5/6   10 - 8

saturday   5/7   10 - 5

 

*in full yard cuts only. price does not apply to previous purchases nor does it guarantee availability. sorry, we will not be stamping frequent buyer cards during this sale. laminates, pre-quilted fabric, marbles and basic fabrics are not included in the special pricing.

Store Closing

please note the store will be closed the week of

May 9 - 14

so we may travel to

Salt Lake City for Quilt Market 2011

where we hope to find many

new treasures to purchase for the shop