Hello Quilty Friends!
Happy Thursday to you!
I’m now back home after the H&H Americas Show last week in Chicago and I’m trying to get everything caught up, which to be honest, I probably never will completely, but I’m sure going to try.
H&H was a really busy show. The show vibe was very vibrant and youthful with a unique blend of quilting, wool, fiber arts, and cosplay. I found it really interesting to see one area spill into another such as quilted garments in cosplay.
One of my favorite parts of the show was the opportunity to work with our VRD owner and Rose Queen, Pat. As I live in Pennsylvania while Pat and the VRD shop are in California, we usually only get to work together in person in Houston for Quilt Market. So, some extra time this year being face to face was amazing!
The VRD booth was insanely busy during the show and I want to thank everyone who stopped by. We LOVE our shops! Here’s a big thank you hug to all of you who came by the VRD booth to chat, share stories, and show quilts. Your energy is what keeps us going!
About H&H
H&H Americas is a relatively new trade show in the US for handmade industry businesses and professionals. The Americas show stemmed from the H&H Cologne (Germany) show. Let me share some of the numbers from this year’s show:
- Over 550 booths
- 5000+ professionals attended
- 48 countries, 50 US states, and 2 US territories
Awesome applesauce!
Good news! In 2026, H&H is adding a Fiber+Fabric Craft Festival for consumers from April 30-May 3 in Chicago. So that’s something new to look forward to next year.
Upcoming Shows
Of course, in October 2025, Fall International Quilt Market will be in Houston, TX. It will be followed by Quilt Festival October 9-12, also in Houston. If you’ve never had the chance to attend a Festival, I highly recommend it. It’s the perfect place to see hundreds (or more) quilts on display along with tons of great vendors. It is overwhelming and wonderful at the same time!
I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of the Road to California show? Well, to make everything even more exciting in 2026, Road to California is debuting their Road to California Quilter’s Conference & Showcase event in January.
Spring International Quilt Market will return in April 2026 in St. Louis, Missouri. So far, I haven’t heard anything about Spring Quilt Festival for 2026, but if I hear anything, I’ll let you know.
Wowzer! Sew much is happening in the world of quilting!
Cool Stuff
Whenever I attend a show, I always like to share cool stuff I find, booths I visit, folks I see, and any trends I notice with you. Please enjoy!
Here are the booths of a few of our quilting partners. I apologize, but I didn’t get a lot of time to snap photos of our quilting partners.
The fun thing about the Banyan display is that it includes a quilt block from our VRD pattern, Waverly (top left block). Also in the display are 2 blocks from my friend, Cathey Laird of Cathey Marie Designs (the Bumblebee on the left of the sign and the House block to the right of the sign). What fun!
I stopped by to see my pals at Best Press and get some of their new Lemon Mist scent. I cannot find it anywhere around here, not even on Amazon so I bought the rest of the Lemon Mist bottles they had and also grabbed a refill bottle of Peaches and Cream. I should be set with Best Press for a while.
I even caught up with a few quilty pals –
Here I am with Swan of Swam Amity Studios, who is the designer of my favorite machine quilting gloves. Swan also designs patterns and teaches classes. She kindly took the time to show me the Designers Showcase section at the show which featured 18 different designers.
Here is Swan’s mini booth at the Designer Showcase.
I also got some time to chat with Christa Watson of Christa Quilts. Christa is an amazing machine quilter, teacher, pattern designer, fabric designer, and author. We are standing in front of Christa’s booth in the Designer Showcase area. She has a fun modern aesthetic and is definitely NOT afraid of color. LOL!
I found this really fun designer booth, Whole Circle Studio, in the showcase section, too, and I just had to snap a few photos to share with you. Sherri, the owner, created an amazing miniature quilt shop featuring teeny tiny patterns and quilts (all her designs, of course). What a showstopper!
I stopped by the Purple Moose Designs booth in the Designer Showcase and I discovered a cool new quilting card game called Quilter’s Block Party. It’s kind of like Pictionary for quilters. Can’t wait to try it out with my Friday gals.
I must admit that the show layout was a lot different than I am used to and I got lost frequently, trying to find specific booths or simply the ladies room – LOL! On one of my meanders, I found a fabulous Kaffe Fasset display with his quilts and knitted items. I couldn’t tell you where I found it – by that time I had no idea where I was. Kaffe and Brandon Mobly were there at the show, but I never really got a chance to say hi. Please enjoy.
During the show, there was a cosplay contest as well as a cool cosplay display. Check out these awesome costumes. Which one is your favorite?
What’s Trending
Whenever I am at a show, I try to see what’s new and upcoming and what’s trending. Here is a list of the things I noticed at the show:
- Mini, Mini, Mini — mini quilts, mini animals, everything is getting smaller
- Quilted jackets and wearables
- Combining different crafts such as cosplay and quilting or wool and quilting
- Small handwork projects and kits everywhere — handwork is hot!
- Animals — stuffed, patchwork, knitted, quilted, etc., etc.
One thing I was quite fascinated with was the use of puffy batting in machine quilted quilts on display at the Art Glass Fabric booth. Not sure if this is going to be trending or if it was just to catch attention (which it did). Have you seen or heard anything about puffy batts making a comeback?
Well, I guess that’s it for me this week. My final photo is an aerial view of Chicago and Lake Michigan as I was headed back to Pennsylvania.
Take care and make time this week for some quilting. With all the inspiration from the show, I hope to get some quality time with my sewing machine, too.
Until next week –
Sew. Laugh. Be inspired. Repeat.
Always,
Tricia @VRD
Villa Rosa Quilts 