Where credit is due

The first day of the show is over! It started with the awards ceremony, which was nice, as we got to see all the winning quilts on the slide presentation.

Waiting for the awards presentation to start

What I love about Coutrepointe Quebec is that they try translating everything into English. Not that I need it—although there are a couple of times when I miss what is being said, and it's primarily casual conversations. If I were to live here for six months, I'm sure I would have my French back and even stronger than before. 

Hmm. Is there anyone here that I can live with for six months? Based on my dream - I might need that. So I had trouble getting to sleep last night, and when I finally did, I had a dream. I was being graded on a written assignment, and how it was graded was terrible. So much so that I stomped out of where I was staying and left with nothing! It wasn't home. How do our brains twist the many details of the day into a dream? 

Anyway, I'm not going anywhere! We had a great day at the show. There were lots of people, and we had to laugh when a bus of people came up from Vermont. It used to be the opposite when bus loads would go down to the Vermont Quilt Festival. All in all, it was a great day! 

Claire and I walked part of the show in the morning, and we are very much alike in what we like as far as artistry goes. The one thing we noticed is that the show labels do not allow room for the credits of the original pattern maker or designer. I think the show organizers expected people to put that information in the quilt's description, but I don't think we saw one credit in that description. 

As usual, if the information isn't requested, people don't provide it!

And here's an interesting thing we saw. On one quilt (that won a ribbon), the owner admitted to seeing a pattern on Pinterest and went to EQ8 and reproduced it. They did not say that it was an inspiration, so we don't know that it was an exact copy, and no mention of who designed the original quilt. One thing I hate about Pinterest is that so many pictures get posted, and there is NO CREDIT for any of them. Sometimes, they are reposted and then reposted, and the source is lost. 

I know many people who put a watermark on the photos they publish for that reason. I don't do that on the pictures on my blog, so I'm sure there are photos of mine out there with zero credit. 

Let's face it --- we've all done the "copy" the pattern thing, but I would at least admit where the source came from or say it was inspired by. And I don't think I would admit that in a show - well, I wouldn't put the quilt in the show. Or I'd just make an original. 

Be careful—you do not want to copy someone else's work without permission. It is intellectual property! I could go on and on, but I won't. I'll write more about that another day. 

We did not see the entire show, but we're going over early this morning to hopefully get through the rest of the quilts. I don't think we will, so we can check them out later today, as I'm sure the show will be quieter. You never know. 

I love that the show closes at 5 PM. It's much less exhausting, and we actually have time to do something in the evening. We had a very late lunch, so we were not too hungry for dinner right at the end of the show. 

I felt pretty good, so I went for a walk!! OH my!! I decided to check out a geocache or two for something to do. I found this one, which was minus a container. That will hold up poorly in the coming months with the snow. 

A geocache minus its container

Then I decided to walk down to the mall, Galeries de St. Hyacinthe, where I found a five-part Adventure Lab (part of geocaching). So I had to walk around the mall and answer questions in French. I only had to translate one small phrase as I didn't know what it meant—a compass!!! And then, I walked back to the hotel to meet the others for dinner. 

Look what I found!!! When I lived here in the 80s (I know—so long ago), this gym was THE gym to go to. I guess everyone else thought so as well since it's still here!!! Nautilus Plus!!!

Nautilus Plus

We ended up going to St. Hubert, which has changed a whole lot since I was last here. It reminds me of a Moxie's and is quite upscale compared to what I remember. But what the heck is this? We could hear some singing of the Happy Birthday song. OH MY!!! It's a robot zooming around the restaurant!!! 

A robot in the restaurant

We spotted this on the way to the women's washroom. I love signs like this!!!! 

The ladies' room sign

We made a quick stop at the grocery store (in the mall) for some fruit, and then we walked back to the hotel. Yesterday, I walked over 13 km. When has that happened? But I was feeling great, so why not walk? 

And then I couldn't get to sleep. I tried reading, I tried just relaxing, and nothing. So it was late when I got to sleep, and I might even still be sleeping except for the person in the room above me has a heavy foot, and I think they got up to go to the bathroom!!!

I'm feeling OK. Those day and night meds are great at masking anything. At least they work for me. And it's not so much that I'm sick as that my throat is so tired of talking! Thankfully, the talking is less here than when doing an all-day event. So, while I'm a bit tired today, my throat feels a bit scratchy, and that's it. 

I went back to chat with the ladies from the recycling place—I have more to tell you tomorrow, and I signed up for something pretty unique—more on that tomorrow!!!

Be sure to check out QUILTsocial this morning. There is some great stuff that I accomplished using the mySewnet Embroidery Software and the Husqvarna Viking DESIGNER EPIC 3. 

On that note - I'm out of here. 

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!

Set up day at Salon Quebec 2024

It was quilt show set up day! My body and my Fitbit are going into hibernation mode. I have NEVER walked as little as I've done this past month, and I don't see that changing in the next few days. I'll be able to get back into my routine next week. Usually, I'd be up early as I would at home and have a long walk already in. I've slept in again. 

However, I know I'm fighting a cold and need my rest, so the rest forfeits the walk. It's not surprising that I'm fighting something with all the travel and long days. I stopped by the pharmacy yesterday and stocked up on some supplies, and I'll take it easy!

There are MANY quilts at the show—I think someone said there were 350 quilts, and OH MY—there are some beautiful ones. I can't wait to take a few minutes to study them rather than zipping around on the way out or to the washroom. 

There are many vendors. All the major sewing machine brands are represented, some through dealers and some through corporate booths like ours. 

We have prettied it up, and this is what it looks like. Here's the Husqvarna Viking side. 

Husqvarna Viking booth

And this is the PFAFF side. 

PFAFF booth

This is the Singer booth with sewing and embroidery machines and the Momento. 

Singer booth

So what's your preference. If you're looking for a sewing or embroidery machine - do you want to see samples of what the machines can do? We are the booth with the most samples, which has always been that way. I find it's even the same if you go to a dealer to do an event. I've been to several competitor events, and they take very few samples. We take suitcases full of samples. I want to be inspired by what the machine can do!!! 

And here's Paul!!! I told you he is everywhere! 

Paul and I

I'm not even sure how I met Paul or how many years I've known him. I wonder if he remembers? Anyway, Paul and I both write for QUILTsocial, and one year, we even made the same quilt (along with Claire, who designed the quilt) in three separate colorways. Drat—we should have each brought our quilts and had our pictures taken with them, as Claire is also here. 

Well, Paul just knows a lot of people, and as mentioned, he's everywhere! He stops at our Virtual Retreats and is a nice guy overall! 

I'll try to figure out how long I've known him or where I first met him. 

OK—so this is the booth across from us, and I was intrigued, so I went to look. At first, I thought they accepted old clothing to be recycled. Well, in a way, that's what it's all about, except they take the clothing, cut it up into squares, and then resell it! 

Recycled denim cut into squares

I've checked out their website, and they are an actual recycler of many products. They accept donations, or you can drop your stuff off, and they find a new life for it. Interesting -- this is the first time I've seen clothing cut up for resale like this. I didn't check the prices of the fabric squares, but the prices on the website are reasonable. I'm guessing that the squares they have here at the show are advertising in a way and also a way to show people that they can reuse clothing in this way. 

I've met lots of people that I know, and quilt shows are always like old-home week—getting reacquainted with people you haven't seen in a long time. I love these shows even though they are a lot of work—all the setup and then putting on the happy face for hours at a time. 

However, I am happy with the hours of this show. Today, it opens at 11, as there is a presentation of the winners this morning. The judges have been hard at work for TWO days judging all the quilts. The show closes at 5 PM on all days except Sunday, when it closes at 3 PM. It opens at 10 on the other days. That's a doable time frame. I never liked the shows that stayed open late at night. 

Be sure to check out QUILTsocial today- there are more great things you can do with the Husqvarna Viking DESIGNER EPIC 3. 

Well, it's time to organize myself for breakfast, and then I'll be off to the awards ceremony. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Cutting it close - AGAIN!

 OK - I really tried - I made an honest effort to get to the airport early. There is someone out there who is trying to give me heart failure!

My flight was at 5 PM. I live 20 minutes from the airport, so I left the house at 3 PM, which is loads of time to get to the airport in the afternoon. Not so! 

It all started badly when the UBER driver came to the door and sat in the front seat while I had two suitcases and a backpack. He did ask if I needed help, but seriously? Surely, you can't expect a tip and do nothing. 

We get on the highway, and there are HOV lanes, which makes it super fast. All is well until we get to the second highway and don't merge onto the right lane, but that's OK because there are really two routes—the express or the collectors. We stayed in the express, which is usually faster, but not always. 

Well, we didn't get lucky—the collectors were faster on this day, and the express was like a parking lot. It didn't help that he wouldn't move to the lane beside us. You see, there is an exit, and of course, everyone else thinks they are more important than those in the line-up to exit, so they come in at the last minute and cut the traffic off. 

The Uber driver would NOT move to the inside lane, which would have sped us up a wee bit. And I'm watching the clock. The minutes were rapidly being eaten up by the traffic. There was no accident, just stupid drivers, which in turn caused more stupid drivers. 

My only saving grace was that the airline still has 45 minutes for baggage drop in the app - I was going to use that as an excuse if needed. 

We finally arrived at the airport at 3:56. I had FOUR minutes—that's a lot of time. So I took my bags out of the car—no help from this guy—and made my way to the kiosk. Of course, the first kiosk would not scan my passport. I have this issue almost always—is it me? or the kiosk? I went to the second kiosk, and it worked just fine. 

Printing the bag tags

One of the attendants in the area came over to help me put on my tags, which was very helpful, although I'm getting good at it. But they are different at every airport; you must figure out which end to pull. 

I went to the bag drop-off and had to try THREE different machines before the silly thing would scan my bags. Why is that? 

Anyway - the bags were gone, and I was good. It was 4:02. 

Through security, and of course, there was some lady in the wrong line, and I'm not sure how she got there, but there were no issues as it wasn't very busy. I put everything in the tray, which is great. It was a pain having to take out laptops, etc., in the past. Then I realized my phone was still in my hand, so I had to toss it over the plastic barrier into the bin just as it went into the X-ray machine. All was good. 

I had enough time to get to Tim's to get something to eat and then onto the plane. No time was wasted, but that was cutting it a bit short. OK—next time, I will have to check the traffic first. But seriously, I gave it loads of time and still almost got caught. 

My flight was 30 minutes late leaving the gate—there was no reason—and I was meeting a colleague in Montreal who was a bit early, so she ended up waiting for me. No worries. We made our way to St Hyacinthe and settled in for the night, but not before meeting Paul in the hall. Of course! Paul is everywhere!!!! Someone asked a while back who Paul is. He's a retired veteran - I don't think that is right. You can't retire from being a veteran. He's a guy who picks up quilting and hangs out everywhere. More on him another day. 

I popped out for a quick bite at Tim's around the corner. 

Tim's for a quick bite to eat

This has to be quick this morning as I slept in. And now I have to meet someone for breakfast at 7 AM. Did you see the new Cherrywood Challenge? OMG—I love the colors and the theme. I've already asked for a kit. Sigh. You can buy them at Stitch by Stitch in Kingston and also at The Cotton Mill Harvest store in Seaforth. More on that another day—I'm rushed for time this morning. 

The Cherrywood Challenge

And seriously? Someone is drilling in this hotel, and it's not even 7 AM. 

Remember to check out QUILTsocial this morning. Loads of great stuff for the Husqvarna Viking DESIGNER EPIC 3. 

I'm off to set up our booth and then four days of the show. If you're in the area, I'll be in the PFAFF or Husqvarna booths, so be sure to stop by and say HI. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

25 years of no use - let it go!!!

OK --- First, if you sent me a note about the Spice Market class, I created the distribution list last night and will be sending out a note this morning. Everyone who sent me a note is in the class if you want to—some people just asked questions, and they are on the list and have the option to stay in or opt-out. I have not yet reached my 100 limit on Zoom, so all is good. I ask for your patience just a wee bit longer. 

It's so nice to be home and not have to run around like an idiot prepping for the next trip, which I leave for later today. I still have a few things to prep, but my main goal was to finish the writing. That HAD to be done. 

I'm happy to report that I'm on the last article. I finished almost all of the editing this morning, and I'll complete that when I get back from walking the girls. Then I'll let it percolate for a couple of hours while I finish prepping for the trip, and then it can be sent before I need to leave for the airport. 

Speaking of the airport, I've always attempted to be at the airport one hour before the flight, as the baggage drop-off was 45 minutes. That left me a buffer of 15 minutes. Going forward, I'd better plan on being there one hour and 15 minutes before my flight, as they have changed the baggage drop-off to 60 minutes. When I don't have luggage to check, I'm pretty laid back about when I get there, but I still aim for 60 minutes. 

Can you believe that it's October 1? I may have a couple more trips before the end of the year. OK, so I'm very shallow—but I'm so close to getting my 35 K status next year that I will book a trip just to get enough points. My flights this week are short, so I'll still need some points. Hey - I was planning on a trip to Saskatchewan. DH knows someone who booked flights to Tokyo and Buenos Aires just to keep his Super Elite status. 

It was Monday Sewing, and I spent the entire time sorting and putting things away from the trip. All suitcases are unpacked, and two are sitting, ready to be repacked. The third one is in the closet. This is what the cutting table looked like in the morning, and it has almost been put away, which is great!!! 

The cutting table is a mess

Of course, Miss Murphy was downstairs helping! She was just sitting under the table, but the minute I pulled out my phone, she lay down! 

MOM -- so glad you're home!!!!

The "to be quilted" area is still in disarray because I did not put away the quilt tops I used for my presentations. That's a job for today. 

The "to be quilted" area

While chatting, someone mentioned a need for corduroy for the backs of fidget quilts. Their guild is actively making these and donating them. There's a significant demand. Well, guess what? I have an entire basket of corduroy, and I haven't touched it in years. Yes -- it kind of "hurt" to give that beautiful piece of red corduroy away, but seriously! I think I bought it to make M an outfit when she was little. She's almost 30 - I don't think I'll miss it. 

The basket of corduroy

So I packed it all into a bag and put the empty basket back on the shelf, where it'll be repurposed for something. I'm sure a few baskets could be sub-sorted, and this will soon get filled. I'd like to see more empty baskets, and actually, there are, as I got rid of all my flannel two years ago, but the baskets were repurposed to hold other things. It's all about keeping EVERYTHING accessible. And I'm getting there. 

An empty basket on the shelf

We were chatting about clothes yesterday and how people store them. I've seen so much excess in clothing the last week that my mind is still blown. I guess if some people looked at my fabric, they would be shocked, so I guess it's no different than their clothes. But I'm still on track to do that purge next week. Even though I have something every day next week, I'm home at least to work around appointments. 

I was checking out some USBs yesterday and came across a pile of Barbie pictures. These are pictures that I took of someone's collection many years ago when I was making a quilt to honor Barbie. Shoot, I should take a picture of that quilt. I'll try to remember today. Well, I do not need all these pictures, so bye-bye Barbie! 

Barbie!!!!

I can only imagine how much other junk I will find on those USB sticks. So much junk needs to go! I get that it's on a USB, so who cares? Well, I do when I want to find something. So I've got to get a better system in place, and at some point, I need to work on my digital filing system. I have an excellent filing system, but not everything has yet been put in its home. So, there are a few things that I struggle to find. But I'll make it happen. 

This coming week, I'll be at Salon Quebec in St. Hyacinthe, on the east side of Montreal. It's going to be an easy week as there is no driving for me, no being the entertainment for 6 hours in a day. I'm just there to answer questions; otherwise, I'll spend the time sewing or embroidering. That's what I'm trying to prep. Thankfully, I have many projects that need quilting, so I went through that "to be quilted" list and pulled out four smaller projects that will be perfect for dealing with at a show. 

Remember to check out the QUILTsocial blog posts this week. Here's the link to the first one, which is about personalizing the Husqvarna Viking DESIGNER EPIC 3. If you have a DESIGNER EPIC 3, you should check out this post. There is lots of good information there!! If you don't have this sewing machine, there are always some tips you can pick up for use with your sewing/embroidery machine. 

Well, I'm off to get the girls out the door. They were both so excited yesterday to go for a walk, and Lexi is in desperate need of grooming again. The hair is literally falling out in handfuls. But would DH think to grab the brush? Nope. So we had a good session in the forest yesterday, and we will again today. 

I can hardly wait for next week. Not only will I be home, but I have to be home. DH had an incident a few months ago and tore his rotator cuff. So he's been going through the process, and surgery is scheduled for next week. However, the surgeon called yesterday saying he cannot do the surgery. Nope. It's so badly torn that fixing the rotary cuff won't work, so is he getting a shoulder replacement? I don't understand all the details. But I can only imagine what I must do to help him next week. I may wish I were back on the road! He will NOT be a good patient - I already know that. 

On that happy note, I'm out of here!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!