Busy Busy!

Can you believe it, it's already halfway through May! I feel like 2025 has already been so full and it's just getting started!  So far, I've been to three retreats, two quilt shows as a vendor, and on two cruises! April slowed down a little bit, but May has been crazy!!!  My youngest turned 18 last week and this week, will be graduating from high school, as well as getting her Associates degree.  She plans to head off to Lamar University in the fall to study American Sign Language.  In the middle of all of this, my oldest, who is temporarily back at home, has decided to join the Army!  Lots of big changes in our family!!!  

So, what have I been doing on all of these quilty adventures?  Well, I kicked off the year at Stitchin' Heaven at their Camp New Year retreat and started on the 2025 New Year's Mystery Quilt.  It's currently in the UFO pile, but I plan to get it done this year!  I had a blast at that retreat and have been thinking about attending it again for NYE 2026.

Then it was off to Houston for the quilt show in Stafford.  That was a fun weekend and I loved seeing the fellow vendors that I had met at previous shows.  

After Houston, I flew out to Miami for a quilting cruise with Stitchin' Heaven.  I had a couple friends also on that cruise and we had a blast. It's always fun cruising with friends, but sadly my mom, who is my usual partner in crime, was unable to make that cruise, she was teaching at a retreat that week.  Don't worry, I still haven't heard the end of it.

The week after getting back from the cruise, I headed down to Corpus Christi for another quilt show!  My good friend Dennis joined me and we had a great time.  

I had a week home after that show before heading out on a Friends of Judy Retreat with my mom.  What a great time!!!  We've recently started hosting some small retreats and are loving how different they are from our big retreats.  Don't get me wrong, our big retreats are always so much fun, but at our smaller retreats, we really start to get to know people.  The quilters that come to our retreats have become good friends of ours and we love getting to know them better!

In March, Mom, Helayna, and I embarked on a road trip to Miami!  Mom was teaching on a cruise and we decided that this would be a great senior trip for Helayna!  We had such a great time, made some amazing memories, got Helayna hooked on cruising, and then decided we are NEVER driving to Miami again, it took us 7 business days to drive out of that state!!!  And I'm from Texas, so it's saying something that I felt like we were never going to get out of Florida!  

We had such a great girls trip and Mom and I are counting down the days until we set sail again, on September 18!  

Then, we were right back at it with another retreat at the start of April!  This time, it was our smallest retreat so far at Galveston.  We highly recommend Pelican View Retreat House if you're looking for a place to get away with a small group of friends.  The retreat center has sewing space available for seven overlooking the water.  

Things have been a little slow, business-wise, since then.  I have been busy behind the scenes, but at least I've been home.  Which is good, because my personal life has been super busy this month with Helayna graduating and deciding that maybe the previous plan of a gap year wasn't the best and applying to Lamar University to study American Sign Language with plans to become an ASL interpreter.  She has her graduation ceremony this week and in two weeks, we're going to visit the Lamar campus.  

Now I'm off to pack up my sewing machine and head to one of my monthly sewing groups!  Our local Veteran Outreach Center has started a monthly sewing circle to work on Quilts of Valor and I am so happy to have joined with a lot of other local creative minds to honor local Veterans. 

Stay Creative, my Friends!

~Krista

2024 Recap

Well, 2024 has come to an end and 2025 is here, whether we're ready or not!  Grunge+Grace has grown a lot through 2024 and I am so excited to see where 2025 takes my little business!

I am so thankful for all of the growth that Grunge+Grace has seen over the last year.  A year ago, I felt like I was struggling to find my true target market and now, I feel like I've found it!

I discovered that I love vending at quilt shows and am looking forward to being at more shows this year.  In just a few weeks, I'll be at the Joy of Quilts Show in Houston, put on by the Quilt Guild of Greater Houston.  Then, a few weeks later, I'll be down in the Corpus Christi area for the Kaleidoscope of Color Quilt Show, put on by the Coastal Bend Quilt & Needlework Guild.  There are a few others that I'm currently thinking about, so my 2025 calendar is still not finalized.  

I also discovered my love of cruising in 2024!  My mom surprised me with a quilt cruise in May and we had a blast!  She is actually teaching on two cruises in 2025 and I'll be sailing with her!  Then, I decided to book a cruise by myself for the end of January.  I do have a couple friends who will be on the January cruise, so I'm looking forward to seeing them on board!

My Etsy shop is officially back in business for 2025!  I'll be adding new custom items in the next week, including tumblers with the new Tula Pink Untamed!  

I'm also adding new products in 2025, including fabric wrapped seam ripper/stilettos and a couple other surprises.  

I've been doing more quilting this year, and entered my first quilt show!  I also designed a couple quilts and have toyed around with putting together a few quilt patterns.  I'm hoping to include more of my quilting here on the blog in 2025.  

That pretty much wraps up my year and I am really looking forward to what 2025 will bring!

Stay Creative, my friends!

~Krista

New Year on the Horizon!

 I can't believe 2024 is almost over and a new year is on the horizon!  So much has happened this year and I am so thankful for everything!  I started the year as a children's sewing teacher and working on tumblers here and there, trying to find my footing with this little business that I had started.  Then, after Urban Spools moved to a temporary location on the other side of Dallas from me, I decided to really focus on Grunge+Grace and see what this could grow into.  

I made the decision over the summer that I wanted to try being a vendor at some quilt shows and that was probably one of the best business decisions I could have made!  I made my quilt show debut at the Plano Quilt Show in August and it was a huge success!  I had 5 other quilt shows approach me, asking me to be a vendor at their shows!  A couple months later, I was a vendor at the Texas Star Quilter's Guild Show in Canton, TX.  I've already signed up for 3 more quilt shows for 2025 and have been in contact with a few others.  

At the same time, the Etsy shop has been picking up!  I've been tagging Tula Pink in a lot of my Instagram posts and she has reshared some of my tumblers, which has really boosted my online sales!  Right now, the shop is on vacation mode so I can get caught up with my end-of-year bookkeeping.  The Etsy shop will be back in early January!  

I know a few months ago, I shared how I had gone insane and decided to enter 5 quilts in the quilt show in Canton and still had to quilt and bind all of them.  I ended up with two first place ribbons, one third place, and two honorable mentions.  Not bad for my first quilt show!!!  One of the first place quilts and the third place quilt are ones that I designed.  I'm looking forward to making more quilts in 2025 and entering more shows!  I just started a Quiltworx quilt and I also picked up fabrics that I love but have no plans for.  I'll also be participating in the Stitchin' Heaven New Years Mystery Quilt.  I just have to pick my fabrics and get everything cut out by the end of this month.  I currently have a love/hate relationship with mystery quilts, I love doing them, but sometimes hate shopping for fabric with no idea of what it's going to be.  I'll be sure to update with how it turns out.  

I'm planning to post more on the blog in 2025.  I know, I say that every year, but this year I mean it!  lol  I have recently picked up a knack for quilting on a budget and would love to share some of my tips and tricks!  One of the quilts I entered in the show was a $20 quilt top!  Don't get me wrong, I love my expensive designer fabrics, but my budget doesn't always like those fabrics, so I've been getting creative with my fabric shopping!  I'll also be playing around with putting some more quilt patterns of my own design on here.  I've already posted Tossed at Sea, and will be writing the pattern for Untamed Grace (the purple and teal quilt I entered in the show) soon.  

Things have also picked up with the business that my mom and I run, Friends of Judy Retreats, and that has been taking up a lot of my time as well, but I'm loving every minute of it!  We have 8 retreats planned for 2025, plus I'll be joining my mom on two cruises that she is teaching on! I'm also going on a quilting cruise with some friends in January out of Miami, FL that I'm looking forward to!  

What are you looking forward to the most in 2025?  

Stay Creative, Friends!

~Krista

Quilt Market 2025 Recap

 The afterglow is finally wearing off and life is returning back to normal after our weekend at the International Quilt Market 2024 in Houston, TX!  I had a great time and my mind is racing with new ideas!  

My pupper was super happy to have Mama back home after a long weekend!

Things kicked off with Tula Pink introducing her new line, Full Moon Forest II, which is gorgeous!  

One of my favorite things about Tula Pink is how humble she is!  She is always lifting up those around her and loves connecting with her fans!  Recently, she shared a few of my tumblers on her reels, along with items from other makers.  To me, that was huge!!!  Not only the feeling of being SEEN by someone as talented as her, but it led to people finding my shop and it gave a nice boost to my sales this summer.  As a thank you, I made her a custom tumbler and gave it to her at Market.  It just so happened that in my memories that day, I had been at Market with a purse my mom had bought for me out of her line Elizabeth and she had seen me on the Market floor and approached me for a picture.  I had to do a "then and now" post!

While there, I was on the lookout for new fabrics for my tumblers and I did spot some Ruby Star Society that's coming out next spring that I'm really excited about!  I also got a bunch of new Villa Rosa Patterns that I'm excited about!  

Another big thing coming this year are Acorn Pressing Pens!  I swear by mine when quilting and decided last month that I wanted it to be prettier!  I got busy and wrapped it in fabric!

I took a small batch of them to my last quilt show and almost sold out!  While I was at Market, I placed a wholesale order and will be getting 48 of the pens in and will have them at upcoming retreats and quilt shows!  

My mom is a Quiltworx Certified Instructor and asked me to make tumblers for Judy and Judel Niemeyer, as well as an Acorn Pen for Judy.  Judy especially loved the Acorn Pen!  And my mom has already put in a request for a new tumbler for herself, so guess what she's getting for Christmas!  

I did pick up a few more byAnnie bag patterns, and I swear that this time, I'll actually make them!  I love this purse and tote set, the goal is to make it by the end of 2024.  I'll keep you posted on how that's going!

And finally, we ended our Market journey by walking through the quilt show.  My favorite part of the show was the patriotic quilt display.  There were so many beautiful works of art on display!  I was pretty awesome.  

Maybe next year, I'll also go down for Quilt Festival, which is happening right now.  I am a little sad that a couple friends are there now and I'm missing out on seeing them while they're in Texas.  However, if things work out, I'll be seeing them at a retreat over New Years!  

For now, I'm working on getting my current ready to ship stock listed on Etsy, and I really need to get the sewing room back organized after the chaos of finishing up the quilts for the Texas Star Quilt Show a couple weeks ago!  My Etsy shop will be put in vacation mode from November 25-January 6 so that I can enjoy the holiday season with my family (and do the not-so-fun end of year bookkeeping).  Then I'll be hitting the ground running with a quilt show in the Houston area Jan 17-18 that I will be a vendor at.  Looking forward to seeing what 2025 holds!

Stay Creative, Y'all!

~Krista

Show Prep and Holiday Plans!

 This week, I'm staying busy with preparation for the Texas Star Quilt Show in Canton, TX next month, plus I've gotten a few custom tumbler orders out!

I'm in love with how this one came out!  It was a custom order taken at the Plano Quilt Show that was shipped out last week.  

I have a few other custom orders in the works, plus Etsy orders that will be going out soon!

I decided that this year, I will be stopping custom orders on November 1, so that I have time to get all custom orders shipped and delivered before Christmas.  I will have ready to ship tumblers in the Etsy shop, available to order.  In December, I'll be putting the shop in Vacation Mode so that I can focus on family this holiday season.  If you're planning to order a tumbler as a Christmas gift for a quilter in your life, please get those orders in soon!  

Now it's time to get back to both tumblers and quilts as I get ready for the Texas Star Quilt Show!  I only have about 3 more weeks and still have three and a half quilts to get quilted!!!  

Stay Creative, Y'all!

~Krista

I May be Insane...

 So, I've come to the conclusion that I may actually be insane.  

I'm a member of the quilt guild in Canton, TX, a small town that is well known for it's monthly trade days.  IYKYK.  Our guild has a quilt show next month, where I will be set up as a vendor.  The show organizers have been encouraging members to enter quilts in the show and yesterday at the meeting, I turned in entry forms for 5 quilts.  

Now, that wouldn't be horrible if the quilts were complete.  But in true ADHD fashion, only the tops are done.  I have started quilting one of them, the table runner. 

I made this table runner almost 2 years ago, at one of our Friends of Judy retreats at Stitchin' Heaven.  It was our November 2022 retreat and my mom bought this for me for my birthday.  It was a super quick project and has been living in a box since that retreat.  I'm quilting this (and all of the others) on my Bernina 1230. 

Among the entries will be the Tossed at Sea quilt I designed last spring with the Tula Pink Saltwater scraps from my mom's Saltwater Chevron quilt.  I finally bought some backing for it and will be finishing it this month!

I'll also be finishing my latest quilt design, Untamed Grace, to enter.  

Last Christmas, I made a quilt for my husband from a kit I picked up at a shop in Dallas.  Unfortunately, I didn't actually have time to finish the quilt, so he was gifted with a quilt top and a promise that I would quilt it and finish it soon.  Well, we all know how life happens and it never got finished.  It's been in my UFO pile since last December, so he will be happy that I'm adding it to the list of entries and I will be finishing it this month.  

I'm also going to finish the Hero's Star wall hanging that I made on the cruise in May.  

And to add to this laundry list of quilting, Helayna, my 17 year old daughter, will be entering her first quilt in the show!  She came with us to our Friends of Judy retreat this summer and made a jelly roll quilt using fabric from a dear friend of ours who recently passed away.  This quilt is really special to her and I'm so excited to help her finish it and see it entered in the show!  

But wait, there's more!  The Plano Quilt Show was a huge success for my business and that's means I'm busy re-building stock!  So, in the middle of quilting, I'm working a full-on tumbler assembly line!  

And I decided to start making fabric wrapped pens again!  The pens will all be made with InkJoy pens, which are refillable, so you will be able to use your pens for years to come!  I plan to offer the pens only at quilt shows and in-person events.  

It's going to be a busy month!!!  Bring on the caffeine!!!  

As always, Stay Creative, Y'all!!!

~Krista

Summer's Gone, Time for Fall Planning!

 I can't believe it's already September and my favorite time of year!  Summer seemed to fly by this year!  I stayed busy with quilt retreats, my first vendor experience at a quilt show, and lots of sewing and tumbler making!  I previously posted about the quilt cruise and how much fun I had!  My next quilting cruise will be in March and I'm counting down the days!  

In more recent events, I set up as a vendor at my first quilt show and it was an amazing experience!  I was at Quilt Plano and the event was a huge success!  I am now in prep mode for my next quilt show, in Canton with the Texas Star Quilters Guild.  The show is October 18-19 in Canton, TX and I'm also planning to enter a couple quilts in the show, which will be a first for me!

Speaking of quilts, I have recently been playing with EQ8 and designing my own quilts!  This started last spring with the Tula Pink Saltwater quilt, Tossed at Sea, which was made from scraps given to me after my mom made a chevron quilt with Saltwater.  I had 255 triangles and no idea what to do with them!  I love the final result and can't wait to see it in the quilt show!

Here's a sneak peek at my latest design, which will be in the show as well!  I'll be making a post soon about my inspiration and process on how this one, Untamed Grace, has come to be.  

I have been staying busy with the new Tula Pink line, Tabby Road!!!  The tumblers are available for custom order in my Etsy shop and they have been a hot seller!!!  I'm about to add a 30oz Hydro-Sport style to the lineup which is super cute!  It will be available for order later this week.  

In addition to all of my Tula Pink tumblers, I've been adding Tilda, Anna Maria Horner, Kaffe, and other designers to my stock for the quilt shows.  I'm definitely staying busy going into fall!

Stay creative, y'all!

~Krista