New.  I don't know if it's the excitement of unwrapping a package or just trying something different, early November always brings a treasure trove of new products debuting at Quilt Market and the arrival of "we've been waiting for these to get here!"

These were some of the treats in the United Notions booth - a mix of new, almost new and tried-and-true favorites.  One of my favorite things is the Daylight Wafer Light Box with Cutting Mat.

While the Wafer Light Box isn't new, the Wafer Cutting Mat is - and it rocks.  A cutting mat for a light box... why is that needed?  The obvious answer is it helps with fussy-cutting.  Yes, the fabric is still opaque but the light behind it does help see edges, especially when working with a template with shaded or solid edges.  But once I started playing with it - new toy, duh? - I liked having the protective surface on the lightbox.  It's like the shield-thing we put on phones and tablets - this will eventually get scratched but I'd like to keep the surface as new-looking for as long as possible.

Then I started thinking of other reasons why the mat is a good thing - appliqué blocks.  You can place the pattern-layout underneath the mat and use the grid lines on the mat to properly align the fabric and pieces with the pattern.  Tracing anything onto fabric - quilting designs, sashiko designs, lettering.  Labels!  Even with a piece of freezer paper ironed to the back of the fabric, I could see the grid lines on the mat.

The Wafer Light Box comes in three sizes:  Wafer 1 measures 9" x 12.5" - Wafer 2 measures 12.5" x 17" - Wafer 3 measures 18" x 23.5".  The Wafer 1 Cutting Mat measures 8" x 11" - the Wafer 2 Cutting Mat measures 11" x 17".

These are the softest throws... the snuggle is real!  Zen Chic - Half-Square Triangles (which really should be half-triangle squares...) and X Marks The Spot.  Both are 100% cotton and measure 50" x 70".  (The throws will be available in March.)

I don't know when these arrived in the warehouse but I saw them at Market and went looking... five new Punchneedle designs from Lecien Cosmo, the makers of the gorgeous Cosmo embroidery floss.

Do you embroider - do embroidery?  I'm an off-and-on embroiderer... mostly off in recent years.  But when I see these beautiful Floss Sets, it makes the idea of getting back to stitching very appealing.

These sets are by French General - Jardin De Tournesol Fall - and Bonnie & Camille, an assortment to coordinate with Handmade.

Lecien has also come out with a beautiful thread - tsu mu gi.  (tsoo-moo-gee.)

tsu-mu-gi is a 2 ply, 40 wt., 100% extra-long staple Egyptian Cotton thread made in Japan for use in quilting, sewing, appliqué and other stitching pursuits.  The thread is very smooth and everyone in the office who has used it loves it.  These are the 500 meter spools - approx. 546 yards.  There are currently 25 colors with more on the way soon.  tsu mu gi also comes on a 5000 meter cone - approx. 5460 yards.

I will use these tins to store my... I don't know yet.  Fortunately I have a few months to figure that part out but I know I'll be getting a set when they arrive next Spring.

Feedsacks: True Blue was the inspiration for this set of True Blue Nesting Tins.  (These are the mock-ups... they are the only thing we have right now so try to ignore the funky edges on the tops.)  (There are also tins for Swell Christmas and Overnight Delivery... shhh, that last one is a sneak peek for a Holiday group debuting in January.)

These finally FINALLY arrived!  They debuted at Spring Market in St. Louis and I've been not-very-patiently waiting for these Zen Chic Modern Backgrounds and BasicGrey Compositions Extra-Wide quilt backs to be here, on the bolt, ready to be cut and used.

Here are the nine backings available...

There are three prints from BasicGrey's Compositions and six prints from Zen Chic's Modern Backgrounds.

I've cut a few of the pieces so I can wash them before they're used.  Did you know that pre-washing extra-wide backings is recommended?  There are two good reasons to do so.  First, if the color is highly saturated - red, navy, purple, dark green and black come to mind - removing any excess dye is a good idea, especially if the finished quilt will be washed in a modern high-efficiency washer.  (A conversation for another day.) . Second, the process of washing and drying helps straighten the backing.  Simply put, rolling the extra-wide backings onto bolts is challenging.  Even the very best "rollers" can get a few bolts that aren't perfectly straight and lined up.  The double-fold required can lead to a little bit of pulling, a distortion that is best straightened before the quilt is basted or loaded onto a long-arm quilt machine.

Given how silky soft and smooth these fabrics are, I'm happy to take that extra step.

One last thing that came home from Market... not a "found object" so much as a salvaged one.

Not Janet - she went home to the UK.  (We wish she was here - she's funny, talented, kind and just a whole lot of fun to be around.)

The walls of the booths in the Designer Studio are cardboard - brown, kraft-paper-colored cardboard.  Janet covered her walls with white paper, a lovely backdrop for her quilts, panel and other items.  To the right of Janet, right below the cream apron... the drawing.  It's of a Children's Artisan Apron - a child-size version of the Artisan Apron that Janet is wearing.  (It's quite wonderful - every one of us loves seeing what additions she's made to the apron from one Market to the next.)

This is the cover of the Children's Artisan Apron pattern.

As we were helping Janet and Tony - the Chief of Everything - pack up their booth after Market, Lissa - aka ModaLissa - saw the drawing on the wall and wanted to save it.  Could the paper be removed?  Not really... not without tearing it.  Wait... doesn't Tony have a sharp cutting implement in his "bag of tricks"?

Presto!  Artwork saved - and autographed!  Rumor has it that Lissa is planning to frame this.

After the edges are straightened, of course.  (Hey... I did the best I could with that pocket knife.  :))

That's all I've got for today.  Don't forget the All In a Row Again Blog Hop, or the chance to win a couple of books and a Fat Eighth bundle of Confetti.

Here are the hoppers for this week... each will be giving away an e-book copy of All In a Row Again.

Tuesday – 11.14: Pat Sloan – Janet Clare – Corey Yoder

Wednesday – 11.15: Laurie Simpson – Stacy Iest Hsu

Thursday – 11.16: Anne Sutton – Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs

Friday – 11.17: Lynne Hagmeier – Betsy Chutchian

Happy Tuesday!