Studio Kat Designs

AQS Paducah ’26: My Favorite Quilts

Kat — Wed, 20 May 2026 12:05:16 +0000

So… as you might expect, the competition among the quilt entries at AQS Paducah is always TOUGH! To even have a quilt accepted to be shown at this prestigious show is quite something!

But having said that, I really enjoyed walking among these outstanding beauties. They were a lot of fun to see, and it was a hard choice, but below you will find “My Nine Favorites”!

"A Calm Day at Sea" by Linda Neal of McKinney, TX
achieved 2nd place in the "Wall Quilts" category

"Confabulation" by Caryl Bryer-Fallert Gentry of Port Townsend, WA
achieved 2nd place in the "Large Stationary Quilts" category

"Mystique Lillies" by Claudia Pfeil of North Rhine- Westphalia, Germany
achieved 3rd place in the Large Quilts category

"Ruth's Treasure" by Marilyn Badger of St. George, UT
achieved 2nd place in the Large Quilts category.

"Color my World" by Karen Kay Buckley of Carlisle, PA
achieved BEST of SHOW in the LArge Quilts category.

"Kaleidoscope Garden" by Judy Ballance of Huntsville, AL

"Beauty in the Broken" by Kathy K Wylie of Ontario, Canada
achieved 1st place in the Wall Quilts category

"East Meets West"by Molly Hamilton & YanGe-Gong of CotodeCaza, CA
achieved "Best Movable Machine Workmanship'

"Cathedral Trees" by Angie Tustison of Arcata, CA
achieved 1st place in the Wall Quilts-Modern category

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

Which one of these amazing creations "speaks" to you?

And remember, we love reading your comments and answering your questions too, so please feel free to leave either or both in the space provided below.

Check out the best sewing pins with me on Pinterest, join in on discussions or show off your work in our FaceBook Group, or get your daily sewing fix on our Facebook Business Page or the behind the scenes scoops on Instagram! And don't forget to check out our video tips & tricks on our You Tube Channel and be the 1st to know about new patterns, discount codes and sample sales by signing up for "Bag Making is Fun", our bi-monthly newsletter.

The post AQS Paducah ’26: My Favorite Quilts appeared first on Studio Kat Designs.

AQS Paducah’26: the Recap

Kat — Wed, 13 May 2026 13:14:56 +0000

So... rather than giving you the usual play by play of the AQS Paducah'26 show... I thought that this year I'd give you some idea of how we got to where we are at this show, and why the AQS show in Paducah, KY is still the show I enjoy and value the most!

Truth is, for the 1st four years that we were in business, we didnt venture away from the studio. Why? Because I just didnt know what to do or what to expect!

So in 2007, I volunteered to help one of my distributors in her booth. It gave me a risk-free chance to check out the International Market (in Houston), to see what what was involved in setting up a booth display, and gave me some great ideas as to how I could best display my bag samples & patterns!

So in 2008 we started vending at both the Spring & Fall Quilt Markets every year & that was the only place we vended until 2013. WHY? Because the very idea of retail scared me half to death!

But all we kept hearing from our vending friends was... "You NEED to stay in Houston for the International Quilt Festival (which was the week AFTER the Quilt Market), but let's face it.... The International Quilt Festival is literally the LARGEST retail quilting & sewing show on the planet! So... rather than just jump in cold & possibly unprepared... we decided to first test our "retail chops" in a far less intimidating venue... in our own backyard!

the "Original Sewing & Quilt Expo '13"
in Raleigh, NC

And you know what? We learned a lot at this little show... mostly how much we still had to figure out! Nonetheless, when we headed to Houston in the Fall, it was with the intention of staying & vending at the International Quilt Festival, which turned out to be an amazing show for us! Did everything go smoothly... NO it did not! But I came away determined to figure out how to incorporate a barcode scanner into our checkout experience!

But you know what? As successful a show as Houston has always been for us, it has NEVER been a stressfree, easy show for us. It's a HUGE city that I we've never wanted to navigate with a car & the downtown area is a little scary, particularly after dark. What few restaurants that are open after dark are VERY expensive... too expensive to be eating at every night for 2 weeks anyway, & we always seemed to be hungry, tired or BOTH the whole time we're there!

All of which only served to make Paducah, KY a totally refreshing venue when we first arrived in April of 2015! We were first assigned to the 2nd floor & made some long-lasting friendships up there! (Here's how our booth looked back then!)

And Paducah is such a welcoming place! The whole city seems to turn out for this show! There's LOTS of cool restaurants & the show has ALWAYS been good for us, which became all the better when we were moved to the elite Expo Center in 2018!

But here's some things that maybe you didn't know about our booth location in Paducah, (which is way easier to notice in this less-busy picture)!

- They kinda "made room" for us in the Expo Room! Look closely & you'll see that our booth had to be squeezed into a corner of the room. First off there's an "alley on the left side of our booth to maintain access if necessary to a fire extinsuisher!
- The booth "foot print" blocks ~1/2 of the roll-up access door! This is the very door that literally EVERY Expo vendor loads their supplies in & out thru! Which means we're kinda in everyone's way on the 1st and the last day of the show! And to make things even MORE interesting, it's perpetually windly in Paducah, which means at times there's gale force winds whipping thru our booth when the roll-door is open when we're setting up or loading out... enough to make our curtains (AND THE STEEL RODS) sometimes fall down.
- But here's the deal... we love our spot in the "hot" corner (& actually, it's never hot, because of the breeze when the door is open). Firstly, our spot REALLY IS a hot corner. because as people turn this corner, the natural inclination is to look to the right... at US! And Secondly- we've got GREAT neighbors- Havel's Sewing to our left, and corkandcloth to our right. And lastly, we have a picture perfect view for the opening day Parade, which I LOVE!"

So... is it any wonder that we LOVE going to Paducah, KY?

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

Is there a place in this world that YOU just love going to? If so, I'd love to hear about it, because we might just enjoy going there as well! And remember, we love reading your comments and answering your questions too, so please feel free to leave either or both in the space provided below.

The post AQS Paducah’26: the Recap appeared first on Studio Kat Designs.

PPC35: Back to Tucson

Kat — Fri, 08 May 2026 12:22:29 +0000

So in our last post... we had finally accomplished most of the improvements we felt HAD to be made before we could go forward finalizing the instructions & making show samples... but there was still one area that needed a generous tweak, and that was the bottle Pouch area. Due to some excellent reader feedback, we decided to make this pouch deeper, and if you check the pictures above, you can see that we DID... (maybe a bit too deep?) I might shave just a bit of this height down, considering that this is a standard-sized Aquafina water bottle in place, and it's almost swallowed whole!

The above pictures should give you a good idea of this bag's size (I'm still contemplating a name for this bag... any ideas?) And just so you know... I generally do all of my own photography, which should explain why the bottle pouch instantly jumped over to the opposite side of this bag!

And SURPRISE!!! This time I decided to add an optional card holder to the front pouch area! I put it in sideways, because that's probably the way you'll be accessing it, especially if you're carry this bag as a sling bag.

It could however, be easily added instead, or in addition, to the back circular pocket instead (or also). Maybe in our next sample, I'll give you an idea of how it would look there?

Pictured above, are the various ways the zippered strap can be configured so that it can be carried as a shoulder bag, a sling bag, or as a backpack!

And speaking of that circular back pocket... here it is at left. I sized this pocket so that it can securely accommodate any smart phone currently on the Market and additionally... if you place your phone in this pocket, it will be held housed safe & sound against your body, regardless of what configuration you choose to carry it!

Here's two closer looks at the way I "doctored" these zippers to match the contrast fabric I used for this sample. This was my first foray into transforming zippers this way and I had a lot of fun, I'm proud of the result, but if I had it to do over again, (which I most assuredly will!), I would have chosen a solid turquoise fabric rather than the dotted turquoise I used.
As it turns out, even though this contrast matched the exterior perfectly, it was probably a little too busy for this complex exterior.

It's OK! as they say... live & learn!

But if you're interested in using this technique on one of YOUR upcoming projects, I've written up a nice little tutorial for you to use free of charge, and I'll share that in the next post in this series, so stay tuned for that?

And finally... here's a few words about this fabric! It's called "Gold Blanket Stripe" and it's part of the Tucson Collection from Elizabeth's Studio.

I'm not carrying this fabric on my website, but if you Google that info above, I'm sure you can find some! It comes in several colorways!

BUT---Here's a word to the wise!

I purchased 1/2 yard of this fabric, and by the time I got through fussy-cutting the exterior, I literally only had the scraps in the picture left (above right), and several of the smaller pieces had to be pieced and sewn together! YIKES! So maybe go for 3/4 of a yard>

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

I'd love to get some feedback on how you feel about this design thus far! If you have comments you'd like to share, suggestions you'd like to make, or questions you'd like to ask about this design in general, or this sample in specific, (and I hope you do), please feel free to leave any or all in the space provided below.

The post PPC35: Back to Tucson appeared first on Studio Kat Designs.

AQS Paducah’26: Seen at Show

Kat — Tue, 05 May 2026 12:15:34 +0000

So… even though I’ve been in business for 20+ years, I still get a BIG kick out of seeing our customers carrying bags they’ve made from our patterns! And what better place to “spy” these customers than at a retail trade show, right?

And you know what? we only “spied” SEVEN of our bags “walking the floor” of the AQS Paducah Quilt Festival ’26! I'm not sure why there's this few, except that it seemed like there were SO MANY brand NEW customers this year!

Whatever the reason,
here they are, & they're ALL AMAZING!

First off- here's Pat Trapp with her Sling Along,
with an excellently placed medallion print!

And look how totally coordinated Judy Avant's Sling Along looks with her show outfit! She's runway PERFECT!

And year after year, this duo sews together and always brings something brilliant to the show!

At left, is Fumiyo Stuvengen & her peacock-themed Sling Along, & at right, Pat Burtness' Sling Along is giving off "Northern Lights" vibes!

And look at these beautiful gals, all family members, and how dumb is it, that I let them get away without getting all of their names???

I do know that Mom is on the left, the daughter is in the middle, and she created this Sling Along with the help of Mom & the aunt (at right, who I know from past show's is named Sharon Campbell), who helped her sister & neice create this amazing bag!

And here's Marie Dieckmann and her Springtime Katalina! Is this bag beautiful or what?

And finally... just when the show was about to end, Barb Flowers came in to show me her fantastic batik'ed Cignet Phone Pal!

Barb has been a follower of our Blog for many years & it was fun to finally meet & talk to her after all this time!

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

Do you have a favorite amongst these beauties? And if you have comments you'd like to share, or questions you'd like to ask about these samples in specific, please feel free to leave either or both in the space provided below.

The post AQS Paducah’26: Seen at Show appeared first on Studio Kat Designs.

the May ’26 Eye Candy Showcase

Kat — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 12:15:08 +0000

So... now that warm weather is here, it's time to share with you, our Eye Candy Showcase for May 2026!

#Mamajay55 says that the Cignet Phone Pal is great for a Fiesta bag, keeping your hands free, while navigating around the various booths! I LOVE the beaded zipper pulls!

Marjorie Baker used "Flight of Beauty" by Camelot Fabrics for her Expand-o-Matic, and she LOVES the way it turned out! (I do too!)

Here's the Everyday Attache that #funwithtotes created with just a few changes of her own & she just can't wait to use it! And you know what? I crazy over her "rick-racked zipper"!

Maureen Hawkins embroidered a rooster on the front pouch of this Sling Along for her daughter who's plumb crazy for chickens and roosters! The result? AMAZING!!

Here's Deb Piereman's Sling Along which she said was "SEW much fun to make", & these have to be the most colorful & interesting peacock fabrics I've ever seen!
GREAT job Deb! I'll just bet she's turning heads everywhere she goes!

Spectacular is the only way to describe this Sling Along which Nancy Rosa created for a friend who originally wanted neutrals, but changed her mind when she saw Nancy's stash of amazing bold colors!

Paula Blass created a truly delightful Porta-Pockets PLUS Purse Insert! Now she can use each one of these units alone, as a duo, or as shown! It's an organizer's DREAM!

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

Did you feel inspired by any of these beauties? And would you like to see one of YOUR creations on display here for everyone to admire & aspire to? If so…that can happen in either of these two ways.

Attach picture(s) of your SKD creation to an email & send it to me here- info@studiokatdesigns.com
Join our FaceBook Sewing Group HERE, and post picture(s) of your SKD creation there (with the extra added benefit of getting some well-deserved applause from our members).

And remember, we love reading your comments and answering your questions too, so please feel free to leave either or both in the space provided below.

The post the May ’26 Eye Candy Showcase appeared first on Studio Kat Designs.

PPC35- Sun & Moon

Kat — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 13:07:37 +0000

So finally, I'm satisfied enough with this design to actually start thinking about making some show-type samples, of which this one will be the 1st one to be considered!

I made some pretty significant changes this time, but most are not easily detectable in these pictures. For example...

This sample has a totally redesigned Cord Channel for the bottle pouch, which makes it much easier to engage. I've also totally reworked the "Base area", as I've been aiming for a more "rounded" and in my opinion, a more aesthetically pleasing look. While I find this sample more pleasing, I may tweek this look even more in the next round.

Here's a closer look at that aforementioned Cord Channel. It operates WAY smoother now, but I'll improve the construction much more next time.

And this is a good shot of the Bag Back, (with the backpack straps secured out of view). It gives you a good look at the circular zippered pocket which is large enough for any cell phone currently on the market today.
It's also a great place to store anything else that you'd wish to have completely secure (since it'll be placed against your body, whether you're carrying this bag as a sling bag or as a backpack)!

And finally... here's a couple shots of me wearing this new design (as of yet, un-named), in order to give you a good idea of the scale. It's probably one of the larger bags in our repetoire, but it would be great for taking on a trip, to a show, or even as an everyday bag!

And finally, several customers have mentioned to me that they would like to see a photo of a water bottle in place in the front Pouch area of this bag, and my response was.... GOSH! Why didn't I think of that?

So... here they are. I'm happy with the functionality of this pouch (for reference this is a standard bottle of Aquafina water), however, even though the cord lock secures this bottle in place even when I bend down, I still think I'll make a bit taller next time. So stay tuned for that?

And now... a word about this fabric, which was fun to work with, (but not particularly easy to fussy-cut with).

It's called "Sun & Moon" and it's part of the Magical Medallion Collection by David Galchutt for Benartex. We're carrying it on our Fabrics page and you can pick up some for your own HERE.

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

I'd love to know what you think of this design thus far. Does this bag seem like one you might enjoy carrying? And if you have comments you'd like to share, suggestions you'd like to make, or questions you'd like to ask about this design in general or this sample in specific, please feel free to leave either or both in the space provided below.

The post PPC35- Sun & Moon appeared first on Studio Kat Designs.

PPC35: Let’s Try it in Denim

Kat — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:15:11 +0000

So... I've been waiting for a long time to fix up a sample in denim, and I was thinking that this just may be the bag design for a cool denim finish!

I was excited about this particular denim as it was quite lightweight (they said it was 6 oz), and denim this flexible is kinda hard to find. I liked the way it performed and I may just use it again for another sample as I find this sample a bit on the boring side! (I'll make up for this in the next sample!)

Here's a good look at two of the storage areas for this design.

At left- the first look I've given you at these two areas. The front-most pocket is the smaller of the two, but still quite roomy. Its the perfect place to place important items that you need quick access to, like your key fob, a small wallet or a cosmetic case.
The back-most area is a large main storage area, large enough in fact for a good sized iPad, along with all of your other everyday supplies and maybe even a lightweight sweater?
At right- My favorite feature for this bag... its a dedicated bottle pocket with a cord-lock closure, something folks have been asking us to include for some time. My intention is to make this pocket a bit taller in a future sample.

And here's a look at the bag back area.

At left- I really like this zippered pocket. It's PLENTY big enough for virtually ANY cell phone currently on the market, PLUS... I plan on including an optional credit card holder here, since most folks find that handy and it'll be pretty secure held close to your body whether you're wearing it as a sling bag or as a backpack.
At right- A good look at the convertible strap which allows you to wear this bag as a backpack (when the strap is unzipped w/the snaphooks each snapped into both sides of the bag), or as a sling bag (when the strap is zipped closed and both snaphooks are snapped into the same side D-ring.)

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

So... please stay tuned for the next post in this series, because I think I'm FINALLY ready to start making up some show bags, worthy of potentially being on the cover for this pattern! Woo-Hoo, let's GO!!

And... if you have comments you'd like to share, suggestions you'd like to make, or questions you'd like to ask about this design in general or this sample in specific, please feel free to leave either or both in the space provided below.

The post PPC35: Let’s Try it in Denim appeared first on Studio Kat Designs.

PPC35: A Prototype, My 2nd Try

Kat — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:45:58 +0000

So...

I can't remember the last time I've had to make more than one prototype for a design... but... this is truly a completely different bag design than any that have come before it! (which is kind of exciting!)

And for that reason, if no other... it's worth working EXTRA hard to straighten the "bugs" out of this design, because I feel it in my bones, that this design will be totally worth the extra effort!

The Bag Front features 2 pockets. The lower pocket will be a great place to store smaller items safely and securely while keeping them within easy reach. The upper pocket unzips to reveal a VERY large storage area where anything & everything can be stored.

Your iPad?- NO SWEAT!
Your everyday items?, wallet, brush, glasses case, cosmetic case- ABSOLUTELY!
A lightweight sweater? GO AHEAD!

Here's a closer look at the Bag Back area which includes a large circular pocket... large enough to accomodate the largest cell phone on the market today. (This would also be the perfect place for a passport... close to your body, whether wearing on your chest, or your back.)

I'm also including a Strap that can be configured as a "sling strap", OR, as backpack straps, depending on how you arrange the snap hooks.

I've included these pictures to give you some idea of the size of this bag,
and how it looks when its being worn as a Sling Bag, and also as a BackPack!

And here's a closeup of the Water Bottle Pouch. For years folks have requested I add this feature to a design, but I hesitated to do so until I could think of a way to make it part of the overall exterior design and I'm actually pretty happy with this feature.

I'm planning on making this pocket a bit taller (by request from customers, but that alteration will likely appear further along in this process!)

So how do you like the channel we've added
for a cord lock to hold the bottle in place securely?

I decided to reuse some extra fabric I had leftover from a previous prototype (the Expand-o-Matic), since I enjoyed using it, and I liked the resulting finished look! I wish I had used my black/gold zippers though instead of these tan & white mini-striped ones!

This fabric is called "I Dream in Color" and its by Jason Yenter for In the Beginning Fabrics.

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

I'd love to know what you think of this design thus far. Does this bag seem like one you might enjoy carrying? If so... please stay tuned for the next post in this series.

And if you have comments you'd like to share, suggestions you'd like to make, or questions you'd like to ask about this design in general or this sample in specific, please feel free to leave either or both in the space provided below.

The post PPC35: A Prototype, My 2nd Try appeared first on Studio Kat Designs.

PPC35: A Prototype, My 1st Try

Kat — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:15:36 +0000

So....

it's that time again...

I'm starting over once again with a brand new design!

And if you've been following our process for any length of time, then you know that I always start with a basic sketch. (Emphasis on the "basic", because as you can see, I'm really no sketch artist, but in my case that's OK, because I'm just looking for a basic shape and a few key design details.)

Above left: Here's the Bag Front. It's my intention that this be a new convertible bag. As you can see, there are two zippered compartments. The smaller compartment is for smaller items.I intend to place some pen holders in there and maybe a credit card holder. The larger zipper leads to a very large main compartment. And on the left side of the bag there's a very roomy bottle holder (I intend to secure the bottle in place w/a cord lock. It'll be effective AND it'll add a fun design element.)

Above right: Here's the Bag Back. There's a pretty good sized zippered pocket back here as well. It's plenty large enough for a cell phone & anything else you might kept secured & close to your body.

The photos above demonstrate the two ways this bag can be carried. You might remember that I've utilized this zippered Strap idea before, first in the addendum we wrote for the Sling Along pattern, and more recently for the OutBreaker pattern.

When both strap snaphooks are clipped into ONE of the two side D-links, then this bag can be carried as a one-armed sling bag and can be worn as a chest bag or as a back pack.

But when the strap snaphooks are clipped into separate side D-links, then the zipper can be unzipped, providing two individual straps and can be worn as a back pack.

So what was the verdict on this prototype?

First of all-- this design is unlike anything I've done before, so it's no surprise that I was very conservative with this prototype. There's no lining inside for example and there are definitely things that need to be changed, or worked out. so here goes...

I want to add a cord lock to the bottle Pouch. It could be tightened or loosened depending on the size of the bottle, AND... it would add an interesting touch to the final look of the bag!
I thought I'd like to go with 1" wide snaphook straps, but this will force the Zip Panels to be too wide, so I think I'll drop back to the 5/8" wide straps.
And the big thing is... the Bag bottom area needs some serious change. The base needs to be smaller to allow the side and front edges to be rounded.

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

So I hope you'll stick around to see what our next sample looks like. It'll actually be a 2nd prototype, due to the amount of changes that need to be made to this design! And remember, we love reading your comments and answering your questions too, so please feel free to leave either or both in the space provided below.

The post PPC35: A Prototype, My 1st Try appeared first on Studio Kat Designs.

the April ’26 Eye Candy Showcase

Kat — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:20:30 +0000

So... now that Spring is here, and with Winter officially gone for a long, LONG time, (maybe until 2027), it's time to share with you, our Eye Candy Showcase for April 2026!

So... #mamajay55 finished this Sling Along just in time for her son's birthday! She's had this 80's punk fabric for some time, and has saved it for him, since he's an 80's kid.

What a wonderful combination of fabric & design! This Quattro created by Christine Tantine is really special!

WOW! What a GREAT fabric combo, right? This was Sara Mallory's very 1st Sling Along. PLUS---She said she's learned a LOT & really enjoys carrying it!

Elvira Quintos used Japanese fabric to fashion this Sling Along! And I loved that she shared this picture with me at the Road2Ca show!

And if you're a fan of Laurel Burch fabric designs, then you're gonna flip for this Go-Go Compact by Tracy Williams! SO cute!

Debbie Harris says that after making bags for others for years, she's FINALLY keeping one of her creations for herself! (I can really identify with this!) Because who could blame her? I could never have given this incredible Sling Along away either!

And last but not least... Jeanette Jay said that she's SO excited to finish this Cignet Phone Pal because it's been cut out for months!

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

Did you feel inspired by any of these beauties?And would you like to see one of YOUR creations on display here for everyone to admire & aspire to? If so…that can happen in either of these two ways.

Attach picture(s) of your SKD creation to an email & send it to me here- info@studiokatdesigns.com
Join our FaceBook Sewing Group HERE, and post picture(s) of your SKD creation there (with the extra added benefit of getting some well-deserved applause from our members).

And remember, we love reading your comments and answering your questions too, so please feel free to leave either or both in the space provided below.

The post the April ’26 Eye Candy Showcase appeared first on Studio Kat Designs.

Studio Kat Designs

AQS Paducah ’26: My Favorite Quilts

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

AQS Paducah’26: the Recap

the "Original Sewing & Quilt Expo '13" in Raleigh, NC

So... is it any wonder that we LOVE going to Paducah, KY?

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

PPC35: Back to Tucson

It's OK! as they say... live & learn!

BUT---Here's a word to the wise!

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

AQS Paducah’26: Seen at Show

Whatever the reason, here they are, & they're ALL AMAZING!

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

the May ’26 Eye Candy Showcase

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

PPC35- Sun & Moon

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

PPC35: Let’s Try it in Denim

Here's a good look at two of the storage areas for this design.

And here's a look at the bag back area.

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

PPC35: A Prototype, My 2nd Try

So how do you like the channel we've added for a cord lock to hold the bottle in place securely?

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

PPC35: A Prototype, My 1st Try

So....

it's that time again...

I'm starting over once again with a brand new design!

So what was the verdict on this prototype?

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

the April ’26 Eye Candy Showcase

And now.... it's YOUR turn!

the "Original Sewing & Quilt Expo '13"
in Raleigh, NC

Whatever the reason,
here they are, & they're ALL AMAZING!

So how do you like the channel we've added
for a cord lock to hold the bottle in place securely?