I'm struggling to finish my first crazy quilt ever for the Crazy for Quilts contest benefitting the nonprofit Alliance for American Quilts. I'm finding it somewhat frustrating to work with finicky fabrics like silk and velvet that I never use in my quilts, but the process itself is very liberating. It's wonderful to add and cut as I go along, not worrying about measuring or templates. Then there's all that great bling to add! This is only the second time I've made a quilt for a contest, and already I get that this is a great way to push me past my comfort zone.  Clearly, this is an appealing technique that I will want to spend time on, but I doubt I ever would have tried it and bought a book about crazy quilting without this incentive. What would I do without deadlines?

GOOD TIMES COMING? COX QUILT SHOP INDEX RISES

I'm delighted to report that, after months of trending downward, my economic indicator for quilting has risen. The Cox Index rose nearly 12% from last month, up to 671 from 600. These numbers reflect business for April. For those who are new, I started reporting this Index in January, covering December sales for ten top quilt shops across the country. Each month, the quilt shop owners give me a number that reflects their sales compared to the previous year. If every shop had its best month ever, the Cox Index would hit 1,000, which isn't likely. Don't go celebrating too soon: this tide isn't lifting all boats. And while fabric sales are up widely, expensive items like sewing machines are still hurting. Of the 10 shops, there are five who reported sales that are flat or down. But for the five shops reporting sales gains, there is much good news. Indeed, the Best Friends Quilt Shoppe in Cincinnati is knocking down a wall and taking over the shop next door (a sewing machine dealer who went bust), doubling their space to 5,500 square feet.  “We won't be adding machines; that feels too risky,” says Jan Doench, who opened the shop in 2000 with her daughter Jessica. “People are avoiding big ticket items, but they are definitely nesting” and doing more crafts. The debut of the expanded Best Friends shop will be July. This month's Index of 671 represents a healthy increase, but it's still below where the Cox Index had its debut, at 725. Stay tuned to this newsletter to see if this uptick is a fluke -- or a long-term trend.

REPORT ON QUILT MARKET: ATTENDANCE DOWN, MOOD UP

Yep, you read that right. Quilts Inc. honcho Karey Bresenhan reported to those at the trade show that attendance and vendor numbers were down, but it seems the mood was generally upbeat. I didn't get to attend spring Quilt Market this month in Pittsburgh, so I can't report from personal observation. But I've interviewed a good number of quilt business folks to get their measure of Market and the scoop on hot tools and fabrics. Although many quilt shop owners took a smaller entourage than usual, they did plenty of business and spotted some trends. “Although traffic was a bit light, we found everyone we spoke to very positive about the future. I didn't have that feeling last fall,” reports Karen Montgomery, owner of The Quilt Company shop near Pittsburgh. Val Sparks, co-owner of the Bernina Connection in Phoenix says, “Market was great! If we had to pick out a trend, it would have to be circles - on fabric, as a shape on quilts, everywhere. And there seems to be lots of new fabric lines for children's clothing, which is a great demographic.” Like many shop owners, Val is a fan of the emerging “it” girl of fabric design, Laura Gunn, whose first line for Michael Miller is called Lantern Bloom and is based on her flower paintings. Although she's new to me, Laura Gunn has family ties to the world of cloth: her sister-in-law Heather Bailey is one of the leading designers now, and her mom is colorful doll maven eleanor peace bailey. Check out Laura Gunn's painterly fabric style at her blog. Gadgets and gizmos were the big buzz at market. Several stand-outs are: Clover's Stack'n Store Bobbin Tower, a nifty six-tiered bobbin holder that holds up to 30 bobbins, and Simplicity's Bias Tape Maker, which automatically folds and presses up to 12 feet of binding in a minute. I've heard great feedback about Simplicity's gadget and expect to be testing it soon: I'll be back with a full report before this device hits your local quilt shop.

NEW QUILT TV SHOW FOR MARK LIPINSKI & JODIE DAVIS

I'm sure I'm not the only fan of Quilter's Home magazine who's been eagerly awaiting the day when Mark Lipinski put his act on the tube. His larger-than-life personality begs for another showcase, and he's got the producing chops, considering his previous career working on such popular network shows as Oprah and The View. Well, finally that day has come.  The new show, fittingly titled Quilt Out Loud!  will be as unlike other quilting shows as Mark's irreverent magazine is unlike the rest. Mark and his co-host, Jodie Davis, head of QNNtv and author of 30 quilt books, say the format will be fast, funny and full of surprises. And I mean that literally: they are going to show up, cameras rolling, at the homes of unsuspecting quilters across the country. Yes, they will show quilts and demonstrate new tools in Quilt Out Loud!, but they'll also get into the lifestyle aspects of quilting, just as the magazine does. Like The Quilt Show, this new show will be running online, and like the show co-hosted by Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson, you'll have to pay to watch it. Some may flinch at the idea of paying for television, but in case you haven't noticed, most TV hasn't been “free” for some time, considering the high cost of cable and satellite . I'm afraid that's the world we live in right now and personally, I think Mark and Jodie will be worth the price. (For the record: Ricky and Alex are too.) Quilt Out Loud! will premiere in late summer but you can watch a preview teaser now at the website www.quiltoutloud.com. To subscribe to the show, you can either subscribe to QNNtv.com for $24 (which also gives you access to a bunch of other quilt shows and a vast video how-to library), or, for a higher fee, you can join Quilters Club of America and get a bunch of extra goodies.      And here's a special discount deal: if you decide to join Quilters Club of America, you can get 20% off by using this promotional code in the online application: QHM09.

READ MY LATEST

Recently, I've been too busy writing to quilt. I'll link you to several recently published pieces of mine, including an article and slideshow for Tina Brown's website The Daily Beast about Obama quilts (http://tinyurl.com/q5mv7d). Last weekend, the Wall Street Journal ran my story about great summer quilt shows and that too includes an excellent online slideshow. Go to this website. What cracks me up is that I always tell people I researched The Quilter's Catalog as though I were “the Wall Street Journal reporter for quilts.” As many of you know, I was a staff writer at the WSJ for 17 years and left in 1994, when my son was born. This is my second quilts story for the Journal, and I'm hoping for many more! Coming next: an article in the summer edition of the SAQA Journal about how to market your quilt book in a tough economy.

QUILT SHOW REVIEW: PAULA NADELSTERN'S KALEIDESCOPES

This show marks the first solo exhibit of a contemporary quiltmaker at the American Folk Art Museum. But don't go because it's a milestone, go for the eye-popping quilts. This is a well-curated show that takes the museum-goer into Paula's process: there is an unfinished block displayed from the back so you can really appreciate the meticulous construction of these bravura works. While many quilts today emphasize a near-obsession with elaborate surface quilting and embellishment, Nadelstern's quilting is minimal: it's her piecing and color sense that dazzles. Make a point of seeing this show before it closes in September, and don't forget the gift shop: the notecards and tote bags featuring PN's kaleidoscope blocks are gorgeous, and a bargain.

That's enough for this month. I'll be back in June with much more, including an update about the new quilt shop I've been following since fall Market, the Missouri Star Quilt shop. Invite your friends to subscribe if you enjoy this monthly newsletter, and keep in touch.

Quilt on! Meg