This year's Quilt Market (trade show for the quilt/sewing industry) went by quickly. We set up the booth, sold at Sample Spree, then spent the next three days so busy that we never got to walk the show. Dena and I did get to see the quilt exhibit one evening. For a thread maker, it is so exciting to see your threads used in designs. We saw many things stitched with Kreinik threads; there was even a piece with the rings of Saturn where the Kreinik Iron-On Ribbon was used. Side note: I had given a talk a few weeks ago to the judges from the National Quilt Association, and they were amazed with what could be done with the iron-on thread on fabric. In fact, one of the judges related a story where she had judged a piece and could not figure out how the metallic ribbon had been stitched on to the fabric. Now she knows: the "magic" of iron-on thread.
I always like to look at the dolls at the quilt exhibit, and this year's selections were outstanding. Kreinik again sponsored the Gypsy Doll exhibit. Those designers are so creative, their little critters really are life-like and fun to view.
Our demo teacher for this event was the inimitable Louis Carney - a showman extraordinaire, highly technically skilled and knowledgeable. The ladies love him, he is funny, truthful, and he will not accept whining. He assisted us in giving our class on Creative Trims. It was very successful, the participants did not want to leave and our class ran over by half an hour. We covered cording, creating trim from bits, creating tassels, playing with the iron-on threads for trimming, and just having a lot of fun. We recorded several segments from class to post on our YouTube channel so all can share in some of the ideas.
Louis created some unbelievable effects with the Kreinik Micro Ice Chenille, the Kreinik high-speed sewing threads and Kreinik braids. We will post two of his project ideas on our web site in December. I learned many new tips from him. He pointed out, for instance, that on the Baby Loc serger, you can use almost all of our braids, chenille and trims because of the jet threading system. Soon we will start posting videos from the show on our YouTube channel, so stay tuned:
www.YouTube.com/Kreinikchannel.
Many designers stopped by to show us their latest creations, and we met many new people that we hope to work with in the near future. It was the best show that have I attended all year. The shops were enthusiastic, their customers were happy, kit manufacturers that we spoke with were looking forward to producing new products, and this all led to a very upbeat market.
by Doug Kreinik
