Are you PamKittyMorning?

Sample Spree is an event held the night before market. Exhibitors have tables filled with... samples! Pattern makers have bundles of 1 each all new patterns, some people have finished goods to buy to go with the patterns so your shop has a sample right away. There's fabric bundled up from fabric companies. When I first went to market with the owner of the shop I worked at, we'd buy up the pattern bundles and then take them back to the hotel and review them, to plan our order strategy. Knowing what we'd have coming in pattern and book wise helped us pick fabrics for samples and kits. It was a lot of fun. Sample spree is crazy.

Moda has a big group of tables that they cover with their new bundles and jelly rolls. Its all the latest fabrics, and shop owners and designers crowd in like crazy people to buy buy buy. That way they can make up samples or design new patterns that will be ready when the yardage becomes available. I find the whole thing fascinating. But back to the Moda thing. They give you a big Moda bag to carry your bundles in and this time it was a really cool Utah bag. Kind of a vintage map hankie looking bag, I have last years Minnesota version. I WANTED THAT BAG.

I struck up a conversation with a couple of girls about what the minimum purchase was, and how I wanted that d**m bag so bad. Pretty soon one of them asks, "Are you PamKittyMorning?" That cracked me up. She recognized my bag for market.

So here are Mary Cowan and Ann Hansen. Mary is so nice, she offered to give me her Moda bag. Can you believe that? And being the greedy girl I am, I accepted! Is that just super nice? Of Mary that is, I'm greedy, so not nice.

Mary ended up getting a bag just so you don't have to feel sorry for her, Ann went back for seconds, so she shared. I don't have to feel guilty. Even a little bit. I really enjoyed meeting Mary and her friend Ann. (And my Moda bag.)


Mary has her own pattern company, Mary's Cottage Quilts. This was her first market, and I look forward to seeing her at Fall Market in Houston. And thanks again for the bag Mary!

Here's what I bought. I love Susan Branch, and somewhere I have a photo of me with her at Quilt Market ages ago. My first market was when her first line of fabric came out. I still have some snippets of it, it was such a great line. Now I have a bundle of her new line!


The last thing I bought at market was Michele Blackhurst's new book Seasons of the Heart. Her quilts have a soft romantic look, just as she does. I can't wait to make the framed wall pocket quilt from the back cover. Yum.

There's still more to come..

Amended to show a photo of the bag.. see what I mean!!! That's a bag you gotta have. Thanks again Mary.