Rohling Studios

The Artgirlz

Meet Allison and Tracy Stilwell, better known as the ARTGIRLZ!

I was finally able to catch up with them at their booth at the Chicago Quilt Festival.  They are both wonderful artists and quilters and, their latest venture allows them to combine their talent and their love of materials and has grown into a line of Artgirlz Collage Kits and pewter charms for the scrapbook, rubberstamp, altered art and doll making markets. The kits contain handmade paper, tags, beads, yarns, hand painted fabric and wool felt. The collection offers coordinated, interesting materials that can be used in a wide variety of projects as pictured below.

       

They invite you to be bold and have fun with their products.  To visit their website and to get to know them better click HERE.  While at the show my t-shirt ripped. They shared in my plight of what to do about it!  Both of them thought I should rip it some more and make it work for me!  LOL!  So if you talk to them tell them Claudia with the ripped t-shirt says hello and sent you their way!  I love their products!  I will share with you what I made when I finish it!

International Quilt Festival/Chicago/Country Threads

While at the Quilt Festival I had the pleasure of meeting Mary Etherington from County Threads.  She gave me permission to film her for the blog while she was doing a demonstration of rug weaving.  A chicken house in north central Iowa became home to Country Threads, Inc. in 1983. Connie Tesene and Mary Etherington, two friends who loved to sew, started a small quilt pattern business, which has become Iowa’s largest and best known “quilt shop in a chicken coop.” Country Threads is based and located in Garner Iowa.  Be sure to visit their web site and go out of the way to visit them if you can. ("Four Miles West of the Garner Stoplight on Hwy 18...Look for the signs.") Their next stop is the Spring Quilt Market May 4,5,6 in Salt Lake City, UT.  Then they are on to Minnesota Quilters June 15,16,17 in St. Paul.  They have a fall Camp from September 18-22.  The cost is $175.  The two entrepreneurs, who started by designing four patterns, currently have designed over 800 patterns and books. Country Threads patterns are sold in quilt shops around the world. They also put out quite a newsletter called "Goat Gazette".  See for yourself....Their booth was packed full of the most wonderful things! 

I'd like to make these great banners and I know my daughter would love their punch needle patterns. And...

I'd love to order this to make!  Isn't it just the most adorable Quilt (with a capitol "Q")?  To visit their online shopping click HERE.

The International Quilt Festival/Chicago 2007/Little Stitches

Oh my!  I have never been in such a large area with as many REALLY NICE PEOPLE all at one time!  It must be the nature of quilters and people who love fabric.  It was crowded but let me tell you...everywhere you heard..."oh excuse me....I'm so sorry....Isn't this wonderful....I'll share it with you!"  My goodness I came out of this day thinking that if quilters ran the world we'd be so much better off! I have a whole weeks worth of things to show you and people for you to meet!  So I guess I will just start from the beginning!  There is bound to be something you will like going on in this blog for the next week....lots of new people to meet and lots of eye candy!

This is where I met Debbie Lofgren from Little Stitches.  She is from Escondido, Ca.   Their patterns are a mixture of primitive, folk-art & a bit of whimsy. AND.........they are super nice folks too!  Be sure to visit their website and get to know them better HERE.  You can order from their website so treat yourself to looking at all the wonderful patterns from penny rugs to punch needle and more...they offer it.  Tell them I said hi!                                                                                              

       

To order these check out there website on this page!