Checker Newsletter

The last day of Market is always crazy!  Everyone is running around trying to place orders and talk to everyone that they haven’t had time to see the previous two days.  And, everyone is tired because they have been putting in 16 hour days!

Being a vendor at Market is exhausting!  Remember, these people have designed their booth, shipped it to Houston – and then had a day to set everything up and get organized before you even walk in the door.  AND, if they are teaching at schoolhouse or participating in Sample Spree, their time is even more limited. 

Then, they arrive an hour and a half before Market opens to clean and organize their booths and get ready to meet all of you.  When Market closes, there are sales meetings and appointments that can continue until midnight!

When Market closes, they have a 5 hours to load up their entire booth and ship everything back home!  But, we are not complaining – it is SOOO worth it!  It gives us a chance to interact with the most creative people in the world – and we love every minute of it!  We get a chance to catch up with old friends – and make new ones – and it is hard to say good-bye!

For the Checker buyers, they spend three days running around market talking to our favorite designers – and meeting new ones who are joining our family soon!  They will spend the next several weeks entering all of the new items into our system so you can order immediately.  Many of the designers sent their “new stuff” before Market so we could get a jump on the paperwork, so you may want to check out everything that has been added since the middle of August – just so you don’t miss anything!

I spent the last day running around to the booths taking pictures of the new notions, patterns, and books that the buyers have just added!  Some of the pictures are a little blurry – but, at this point, I was a little blurry-eyed myself, so I didn’t notice!

Buggy Barn has a new book out – so new that we don’t have a picture on our website, but the picture of the booth came out great! 

Debbie Caffrey has two new books – Delectably Simple Mountains #DCM110 and It’s Hip to be Square #DCM111 – which are full of great patterns and helpful hints.

June Taylor has some new rulers, mats, and a spool rack that will be on the website soon.  The most popular is a large mat that is great for shop owners.

One of my favorite new vendors is “X Blocks”.  They designed a ruler that makes it easy to make some absolutely beautiful quilts that are very geometric!  And, because you sew – and then cut out the blocks, it is a great project for beginners.  And, if you are a shop owner looking for a technique to demo, this can be done in 15 minutes or less!  You will love their techniques and patterns!  They will be entered into the system soon.

We also picked up Michelle’s Designs.  She designs machine embroidery patterns that are affordable, doable, and beautiful!  Her customized buttonholes were spectacular.  And, her instructions are easy to follow.  You will love her designs.

Suzy’s Hobby Baskets made with Kaye England’s Spice Market fabric collection are a new item picked up by Lynn.  If you need a quality sewing basket, these are great.  This is NOT your grandmother’s sewing basket!  They have that nostalgic look – but the quality is great!

Mary Ellen has come out with gallon jugs of her spray starch – and a new unscented version.  She has also added a product called Fabric Smell Away which eliminates odors from everything! 

CM Designs has added an “add-three-eighths” ruler that works with flannels!  They have also added the original 6″ and 12″ Add-A-Quarter rulers in pink to help fight breast cancer.  They have introduced a new product – “Add-Enough” that helps determine how big to cut the fabric pieces when paper-piecing.  And, they will be introducing an “add-a-quarter” 18″ ruler soon!

Fairfield has introduced a line of battings that are made with bamboo and cotton.  This is a new “Earth Friendly” product that has gotten rave reviews from some of the world’s top quilters.  

And, Debby Kratovil stopped by to explain her new “Calendar Girls Quilt Shop Program”.  The 12 month program is free to shop owners.  Their customers use the blocks in her calendar to make a different project each month.  The shop owners can download the patterns to teach in classes – a win/win for everyone.  Shop owners, if you are interested in this program, contact Debby at www.quilterbydesign.com.

For those of you who did not get to go to Market, join us at our Open House at the Checker Warehouse on November 16th.  We will have all of the new products displayed so you can see them first hand.  We look forward to seeing you – it’s always a good time!