Buckhorn Quilt show - Day ONe

Well, that was interesting to get connected this morning. It took a very long time to connect the laptop to the Wi-Fi, and I ended up having to use my phone as a hotspot! Even then, it took a considerable amount of time to make things happen. Interesting because I don't ever remember having difficulty when I was away! But I am in a remote (OK -- remote to me) part of Ontario!

Let me start by saying that over the years, I've heard many good things about the Buckhorn Quilt Show. The venue, the organization, the quilts, and many other reasons. I had never been as I was usually busy on that weekend with something. 

Well, after experiencing the setup day and the first day of the show, I cannot say enough about how amazing this guild is. The level of detail, organization, quilts, and volunteers blows my mind!! I am not wanting for anything, and I'm sure that all the other people here feel the same way. 

I'm very impressed, and the quilts are amazing - with a wide variety of techniques, styles, colors, etc. Just mind-blowing. If you didn't get a chance to come yesterday, then there is still today. It's well worth the $8 entry fee. 

It was hectic yesterday, but it never seemed crowded because of the venue. Those outbuildings are amazing and are set up on a path so you walk in one door and out the other on the way to the next building. It's well set up for community activities, and if it's raining, you're just a hop away from the next building, so you don't get wet. 

As mentioned, it was hectic, and I saw many people yesterday. People I know, including those I met through in-person or online classes, those who used to belong to the same guilds I did in the past, and those I currently hang out with. There were so many people!!!!! It was like a school reunion! Amazing, and thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello!

And I heard great comments about my quilts, which is always fun!! I'll be taking a video this morning so I can post on Facebook for those who can't be here. One thing I know about myself and shows is that I cannot work during a show. I mean, it's next to impossible for me to run the embroidery machine. I did start a design yesterday, and before the first color was done, I ran out of thread! Good grief --- how silly is that? If I were at home, I would have found a reasonable substitute, but I didn't have that luxury. So I stopped stitching. We checked around the vendors, but no one had this thread. 

Then we came up with a plan B, and well, I continued to stitch the next color. It's going to look weird, but that's OK. We'll just make it happen. I might actually change it slightly this morning when I go back. And then I had issues with the bobbin thread. I know this always happens to me, so I never plan on doing something at a show, like Quilt Canada. It's just not in the cards for me to work and talk at the same time!!!!

It's usually quieter on the second day, so I'm going to try to work something out to finish this design. So much for all the prep work on bringing things to stitch. I know better!!!!

You're only getting two pictures this morning. The connection is so slow that I dare not do anything more; otherwise, things are going to explode.

This was my view from breakfast yesterday. I can only imagine that on a nice summer day, all these docks, locks, patios, and waterways are filled with boats and people. It's a world that is so foreign to me!!! 

One of the fantastic displays was the President's Challenge. The chosen theme was to finish a UFO. Oh my -- there were some incredible UFOs in that building. The oldest one from 1972! So you can imagine what the colors were! There were crochet projects, cross-stitch, and lots of quilts. I think it's a super fun challenge, and what a great feeling to complete some ancient UFOs. 

What was hilarious was reading the stories to find out why the project got set aside and then to read how many moves it went through before being resurrected because of a renovation or some other event. Baby quilts finished for 40th birthdays!!!! I loved it -- what a great idea. 

As I was getting ready to leave, it started to rain just as the show ended! I received a call from someone who had attended the show. Did I want to go for dinner? Sure -- so we went to dinner at a local restaurant and had a great conversation. Thanks, Diana, for the invitation!! 

We got a chuckle as we finished up and looked at our fortune cookies. There were two of them on the tale, and Diana took one and I took the other. What are the chances that we both got an appropriate fortune for us? 

My fortune cookie

It was a great way to end the day. My Samsung watch had died sometime during the day. I need to figure out how to stop ALL notifications from my phone. I hate the notifications, and I do NOT want to know that my phone is ringing or whatever. I want it for the battery's longevity and to track steps, not to notify me about what's happening on my phone. I may need to get rid of it and go back to something like the FitBit, even though that will likely be going away now that Google owns it. Sigh --- can they not make stuff simple? 

We were supposed to experience very high winds yesterday, and while we had a few gusts that blew through the building, everything was fine. Once everything was secured a bit more, we were all good. 

The Pony Express is alive and well, even this far from home. I had stuff to give to someone. I received items to pass along, and then the person who was to receive them arrived, so I passed them along immediately. You have to love the Pony Express. 

Oh --- I shouldn't tell you this, but in the morning, I got ready and went down to the car to drive to breakfast as the restaurant at the hotel didn't open unilt 9 AM. No big deal. I got to the car and went to open the door -- all I had to do was touch the handle, and the door unlocked. NOTHING - dead silence. Then I realized that I had left my small pouch upstairs. And I left my hotel key in the room as well. DUH!!!!! I grabbed the important stuff like my water bottle and my backpack!! 

Well, now what? Through a phone call and some ingenuity, I managed to get into my room. All was legal, and that's all I'm going to say about that. OH -- I should mention that the desk doesn't open until 9 AM as well. Thank goodness I had my cell phone with me!!!! If I had left my phone in the room, could I have used that darn watch to make a call? 

On that note, I'm out of here. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!