What I'm Working On Spoiler Alert: It's NOT Quilt Market Related

Last week I went on a mini shop hop tour and visited some of my favorite local quilt shops. Now, you should understand that I use the word local very loosely. Here in my hometown- there are zero quilt shops. The next town over has a small shop but it's primarily very traditional fabrics and the colors range from mauve to mustard to snow flakes. We do have a Michaels and a Hobby Lobby though if I get in a tight pinch. On any account, if I need some good Floriani or OESD (embroidery products) or want to grab a new presser foot for my machine- I'm driving at least an hour away.

With all of that being said I don't often make it out to my dealer, or any of the others as often as I'd like. However, I've started stitching up samples for my upcoming lectures at BERNINA University in July- and I need fabrics (and some other supplies too) so I dropped by both Pennington Quilt Works in Pennington New Jersey and Steve's Sewing, Vacuuming, and Quilting in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania this week.

Choosing fabrics, is like a thorn in my side. I love admiring prints and colors but when it comes to pulling things together all of the options make my head spin. It takes days. Weeks! I call in back up for help and I'm grateful that I have talented friends who put up with me and my fits. I started with this color palette.

This particular lecture is geared towards designing an eco home. Before I'm even sewing samples I'm thinking about how the room will be set up, the items displayed (not just laid across a table!), the colors used in my presentation the fonts etc and what roles they play in the overall experience.

We have some fabrics here and much of the work from here will be behind the scenes- but I'll be sure to share a few glimpses on techniques and other fun things along the way. I'm excited to share more about the new overlocker/serger too!

3 layers of medium @pellonprojects 931td interfacing + 9 layers of faux leather 💪 outfitting a huge #nerfgun blaster with a strap for Sambo's Finn (starwars) costume

A photo posted by Jenelle Montilone (@trashn2tees) on May 11, 2016 at 12:00pm PDT

In addition to prepping for BU, this weekend is our local Comicon so I've been doing some final touches on costumes. Plus I'm still working on a collaboration quilt using beautiful fabrics from Art Gallery Fabrics.

Wishing everyone heading to Salt Lake City an amazing and connected time with friends and fellow makerlys folks. I'll be here hopping between projects. Do you work on more than 1 project at a time? Don't read this- So You Think You Can Multitask? Think Again.