Like many quilters, I love to make quilts for family members. The latest to receive a quilt is my niece Abby.

Abby is my youngest niece and she lives outside Chicago. She is also a college freshman and her quilt is going to college.

My other two nieces grew up five miles from me. I was blessed that they spent hours at my home being creative. They started sewing early on. If you search back through the blog, you’ll find photos of the work they did, from scrunchies to quilts.

When I started Abby’s quilt, I knew I wanted to make a fresh, happy, colorful quilt. I asked her for a little guidance on color. She told me she liked blues and purples.

I had lots of scraps. What quilter doesn’t?

I just love Quilt Market. It’s inspiring to see new fabrics, new notions, not to mention all those quilts! While space does not permit a full review, here is a highlight of some of what I saw.

• Downton Abbey® was the rage, and not just on television. Andover Fabrics showcased its new Downton Abbey line at a packed, standing-room only Schoolhouse where they were joined by the show’s head of costume production and head of set design. The line features collections for the major characters.

• Blue and navy are trends right now, as is gray as a neutral. Gray is also moving toward the warmer, tan side. You could see this in a number of booths, including Michael Miller, pairing the gray with citron.

• Use of social media was big. Lots of people were shooting videos, posting on Facebook and Instagram, and using hashtags. Moda had a good time with hashtags shooting a video of its designers saying “Hashtag, show me the Moda!”

• Bernina introduced several new products, including its new top-of-the-line sewing, embroidery and quilting machine, the Bernina 880, which features a full 12 inches to the right of the needle, a 1,200 stitches per minute speed, a bobbin with 80 percent more thread capacity and a seven-inch color touchscreen with scrollable navigation, and more. Also new, and available in the spring, is Bernina’s longarm machine, so watch for more on that.

• Stella Lighting introduced its new Stella Edge, which clamps onto the table edge. This LED light features the same Tri-Color Spectrum technology as in Stella’s other two lamps.

• Clover introduced its new Perfect Press Collection by Joan Hawley. This line of 10 products is designed to bring great basics back into your pressing station. I particularly liked the Hot Hemmer, a hand-size ruled, heat-resistant surface that lets you measure, mark and press straight hems, round, interior or miter corners. Also useful is the Dry Heat Pro Finish Pressing Sheets for use with heat-sensitive projects including vinyls and laminates. And, if space is an issue, you’ll love the 2×4 Mighty Mini Board, a compact ironing board that’s also perfect for small items.

• LaviShea introduced new scents to its popular Lotion Bars. The moisturizing lotion bars melt with your body heat and do not leave a greasy residue making them perfect for handworkers.

Please share your thoughts on your favorite finds below.

As always, Quilt Market is inspiring. Fabric companies have new lines to show, pattern designers have their latest releases, and new products are introduced to the quilt industry. Here’s some of what I saw.

1. Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star. Following up on her success with the Rapid Fire Hunter’s Star, Deb Tucker has introduced a ruler for this block.

2. Big Beautiful Bugs! Andover Fabrics introduced this latest line from Lonni Rossi that features moths dragonflies and bumblebees, bugs with wings. The bugs, all drawn with dots, are available in 3 colorways: spa colors; red, gold and black; and green and brown.

3. Shabby Chic Hits Quilt Industry. Rachel Ashwell of Shabby Chic fame has released a line of cotton quilt fabrics. The 46-SKU line is her first for quilt shops and will be followed by a home dec line. Rachel told me that she was humbled by the tradition of community of quilters.

4. Quilt Designed Hot/Cold Bags. Kona Bay Fabrics introduced a line of hot/cold  bags in 11 designs. Available in two series, the Great Northwest and Elegant Beauty, the bags retail for $8. These would be perfect for shop hops that want to include a meal.

5. Bag, bags, more bags. We continue to see lots of bag patterns. Sometimes I wonder why, and then I remember a bag always fits! I also saw lots of patterns for aprons and little girls’ clothes.

6. Water-soluble, iron-on, pre-printed guides for crazy quilt stitches. These came in kits with wool pieces, threads and the guides. I saw people on the plane using the product and the results were lovely. They were from Sew Cherished.

7. Lots of bright, clear colors. I really like the clean look of today’s fabrics,  and I found lots to like in many booths. I particularly liked the display in Michael  Miller’s booth with the story boards of the colors that went with the new lines.

8. On the gift side, I liked the lotion bar from LaviShea. The bars melt with your  body heat and absorb quickly and completely without leaving a greasy residue, perfect for quilters and fabric.

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Morna McEver Golletz is the founder and CEO of the International Association of Professional Quilters, an association to help quilters, fiber artists and other creative arts entrepreneurs build business success. Her weekly e-zine offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from your creative arts passion. You can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://www.professionalquilter.com.