When the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival was in Phoenix earlier this year, I went with my official quilt/sewing expert – my mom, Cyndee – to see what was new since the last time we went.
The textile-arts-focused expo moves around the western United States throughout the year. It features a mix of local and national/traveling exhibitors, demos, and seminars. Some exhibitors offer open make-and-take projects for a small materials fee (usually $3-5).
Here is a sampler of who and what we saw at the Festival…
Fabric and Patterns
Elkhorn Quilt Company – Based here in Mesa, Arizona, Debbie Dominy specializes in modern quilts and a curated collection of contemporary fabrics. You have to catch her at an exhibitor booth, since she sells exclusively at quilt shows and festivals.
African Everything was founded by Mary Ogwel (a.k.a. “Basket Mary”) to help women lift each other out of poverty. Her imports span the continent and include coiled bowls, hand-painted batik fabrics from Tanzania, beaded wire bowls from Kenya, and artisan baskets from Ghana and Tanzania.
England Design Studios – Designer/owner Cynthia England developed her own style of quilting called “picture piecing” for her beautifully detailed quilts. The technique allows you to reuse your pattern, does not waste fabric, and makes it easy to fix mistakes. She now sells her patterns, kits, and books to help others learn picture piecing.
Spirit of the Artisan – Formerly Stitch in Time, Gale Carson continues find and import gorgeous artisan textiles from Southeast Asia, including vintage Hmong embroidery and Thai silk batik, as well as hand-loomed silk, Ikot, cottons, and wools.
the-sampler.com’s booth is covered with day-glow quilts and vibrant All About Color fabrics! They also sell patterns and quilt kits.
Rochelle’s Fine Fabric and Quilting had all kinds of odds and ends, but what really caught our attention was the woman with the scissors through her head! It’s just one of the gag headbands they offer – you can also choose from options like cleavers and plungers. They sell other novelties, as well as handmade aprons, mesh totes, and patterns.
Embellishment + Decoration
Chenille-It: Nannette Holmberg invented a type of bias tape that allows you to easily get a chenille-edge effect. She had examples of it lining quilt squares and embellishing sweaters.
Laura Murray Designs– Just as we were visiting this booth and puzzling over a product called “Paintstiks,” we heard Laura Murray was about to give a workshop about them. So we rushed into the seminar building and slid into some seats. After watching the demo, Paintstiks seem pretty neat – kind of like a sophisticated crayon that you can use to make patterns on fabric (or other porous surfaces like paper).
Taylor Made Iron-on designs has all kinds of bling for embellishing fabric. They also had a t-shirt with a U.S. map captioned “Been there, done that,” so you can decorate the states you’ve visited with iron-on rhinestones or embroidered RVs, etc.
Jewelry
Bob Miller continues making rad steampunk accessories! He also does custom craft-themed jewelry with teeny scissors or sewing machines or knitting needles. You can make a fob to decorate your keychain or claim your favorite crafting scissors at his booth’s make and take.
Karen and Chuck Nolke – It was great to see these artists again and talk to them about their team process for creating the one-of-kind jewelry pieces in their collection. She chooses colors, he fires them, and she then adds paint, which creates a unique layered look.
Guilds
The Lacey Ladies of Arizona (chapter of the International Organization of Lace, Inc.) were super excited to show off their different types of lacemaking, often talking over each other!
Arizona Desert Weavers and Spinners Guild demonstrates traditional spinning and handweaving techniques. They have monthly fiber artists’ meetings October through May.
FB Group: Arizona Desert Weavers and Spinners Guild
More Info
Quilt, Craft + Sewing Festival
Upcoming 2018 shows:
Phoenix event
- January 31 – February 2, 2019
- Admission: $10 for all 3 days.
- Largest of the Quilt, Craft + Sewing Festivals.
- Held at the Arizona State Fair Grounds.
- The closest parking is the South Lot at the Fair Grounds. Enter through the McDowell Gate at 17th Ave and McDowell Rd.)
- Parking $8.
We were guests of the Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival.
