The town goes wild!

Oh yes - last night was a crazy night as - well - the Houston Astros won the World Series! Now they were not playing in Houston, but there were 40,000 fans at the Minute Maid Stadium watching the game on the big screen.

We happened to be at the Convention Center doing Preview Night which started at 5 PM. There were people walking around watching the game on their phone!  And we did get announcements from time to time to update the score. There was a HUGE roar through the center each time they did that and there was an even bigger roar when they scored three runs (or whatever it was).  It was great fun to be part of that and hopefully today things will go back to normal?

I went over to the convention center in the morning and got everything all tidied up in the booth. So that meant we didn't have to worry about it later in the day.  Then off to meet with someone and then it was time for a couple of lectures.

While I enjoyed the first lecture, I was a teeny bit disappointed. The lady was chatting about how many UFOs she had and how to get them under control. I really think I could have done a better job and provided way more information to the audience. It was entertaining, but not enough meat. I met up with Anne from back home so we had a good chat. But with all the going that we have been doing, the moment I sat down, well I wanted to go to sleep. I was tired and I think I drifted off for a moment or two.

I'm not bragging or anything, but honestly sometimes these BIG names speakers - they get a draw because of who they are, not because of the content of their presentations.  In many cases, I could do way better!  But no one would come because they don't know who I am.

And I hate the fact that when I'm tired or bored, I'm restless.  I just can't sit still and it's bad! Sometimes one of my legs gets extremely annoyed and is restless.  It's totally crazy!

Then I popped over to the line for the banquet. It was the winner's circle banquet and while I didn't get to sit with Marilyn and Audrey, I had a chat with them and found a spot at a table where I chatted with ladies from various parts of the US. A very entertaining story about publishing a book which I had heard before, but it was still good.

I forgot to mention that one of the big prizes went to a lady from Nelson, BC.  I want to say her name was Donna James?  Machine quilting - very amazing!  Anyway, we got to listen to the stories of the top 8 winners.  Three from Japan, one from Spain, one from Canada and the rest from the US. These are the kind of quilts that take YEARS.  I think the longest was 6 years.  Seriously?   I couldn't do it.
And Donna?  Her quilt was on her long arm frame for 4 months!  And it's about 60 inches square.

Then to another lecture about making bags and using various constructions methods for dressing them up.  The lecture was good, but I was not.  I actually fell asleep in this lecture. I just couldn't help myself.  The least amount of downtime and I'm out!  But I did learn some things so it wasn't a complete wash.

I had one hour before I was to meet the rest of our crew in the booth so we could get ourselves organized for the evening. I walked the floor - very quickly.  I had pen and paper and I had my camera to record certain things. The set up seemed a wee bit rushed as it seemed that people were still way behind in the setup and the show opened in an hour.  It all gone done, but for some it was close.

There are some interesting things, but it sure seems like the jewelry category is large and it seemed to me there were a lot of finished goods?  I'm going to check with my colleagues on that one. Or I'll see again today as I'm going to be there at 8 AM so that I have two good hours to walk the floor. 

The evening was fun but ended at 10 PM at which time we came back to our hotel and watched the last of the game. I really wanted to go to bed, but I stayed up and it was midnight before I got to bed. I'm a tad tired this morning so you're not getting pictures.  It just isn't going to happen.

And last night they announced the new theme for the Cherrywood challenge.  The color is purple, the theme is Prince - as in the singer Prince.  I'm picking up a kit (with half yard cuts!) and I might buy a few more purples to go with it.  I have months so need to get myself in gear. It's a great learning experience even if my piece doesn't get into the show. I know not much about Prince so a bit of research is going to be in order.

I have to run as I have one e-mail that I have to send this morning before I go down for breakfast. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!