Wow - information overload! It's totally crazy here. Not only am I trying to meet as many of the Canadian dealers as I can, but I'm in two classes a day. Well so is everyone else so it's fine. The classes are about 3 1/2 hours long each and in some we're making a project and in others we're not.
Yesterday I didn't make any projects, but I got to learn some cool stuff. We started off with the new quilt frame which can be used for sit down or stand up. It's only five feet wide, but can be used for any sized quilt. At first, I wasn't sure that I was going to like it, but after spending a couple of hours on it, it's not bad. I think it would be very cool to use for small projects or when I need to downsize from my big machine at home.
Shoot - I can't find the link on the internet, but I will once I find it. And there's an impressive light stand that goes with it. Totally portable, totally separate from the table - I want one for the upcoming retreat! We would be rocking with those lights in the dining room - hey Ronda? What do you think? Here's the picture from our class.
It's pretty amazing to walk into a room that's filled with MANY of the same setup. One room I walked into had 30+ Designer Epics in it!!!
The other thing that's nice about the quilt frame - it comes with a stitch regulator. That's pretty handy and you get all the functionality of the machine that you put on the frame. So it works with the EPICs which are a very large machine or the frame works with a smaller machine as well. Then you can use all the quilting feet, all the stitches and whatever else you want.
We did use the ruler foot and some rulers which I had never used before. Pretty cool - it would take some getting used to, but there's a place for that kind of thing. Not for everything, but for some things. I see where this set up would be kind of handy for those that are afraid of free motion. A small frame, a machine that moves and the loading and unloading system is pretty well thought out.
The second class was on the sewing network that is available on the DESIGNER EPIC and the EPIC 980Q which are the higher end machines, but here's the great thing. On the new machines - the DESIGNER Brilliance 80 and the Brilliance 75Q, they have now incorporated the internet capabilities. It's totally crazy, but with all the online features, these machines are totally awesome and can communicate with each other. Well so to speak. I have to do a blog post about it in the future - it's pretty amazing and we got to see a little bit of what's coming down the pipeline and well - it's pretty cool.
Oh yes - we got to see some of the other cool products that are launching now and a few that are coming. I'll take one of everything please! With yards and yards of stabilizer - and can someone please clear my schedule - I've got a date with a couple of sewing machines.
I've been popping around to the various classrooms and taking pictures of the other projects and there are some adorable ones. We do have access to the instructions for all of those so that's awesome. Lots and lots of eye candy to say the least.
So let me tell you about the meals here. Again the food is pretty good and I don't think I'm overeating, but I'm so NOT hungry. And I'm not drinking enough water so I have a water bottle and my goal today is to fill it three times today and drink it. We were on our own for dinner last night so Margaret and I decided to head out for a walk. We both agreed that we need to get out to walk.
As we were leaving the hotel, we ran into two other couples (both couples owned dealerships in Canada) so that was good - more people I got to meet. We walked down to the water front. Hard to believe that the area was decimated a couple of years ago by Katrina. The flood wall is there, but wouldn't have scratched the surface of the onslaught of water from that storm.
We happened upon Cafe du Monde - apparently the most famous restaurant to get beignets so we had to stop. You got THREE very decent sized beignets for $2.73 so we each had a plate full. I had a chocolate milk to balance it out. I wasn't even hungry and yet it was 6:30. Then we walked down to the French Market which closed at 5 PM.
Decatur Street is a much "nicer" street to walk down. There are all kinds of tourists shops selling voodoo dolls (I almost bought one with wild orange hair), beads, T-shirts, masks and whatever else. It's totally crazy, but then it's also the same as any other tourist attraction area - they're just selling different stuff.
Our ultimate goal was the outlet mall down by the water. We did end up there and Margaret and I hit Chico's. OK - confession time - never even heard of the store - that's the extent of my clothes shopping - total denial, although I did buy four pair of pants before I left home, but I went to Mark's. In and out of that store in about 20 minutes with four pair of pants.
I did end up buying a T-shirt at Chico's which was on sale so that cost me $10. I don't want to carry a ton of stuff back home and I don't need anything either.
While we were in the mall, it had rained so the street was wet. We're walking along quite briskly and I stepped on a solid metal plate and next thing I knew, I was flat on my butt on the ground. It was darn slippery and I didn't even had time to save myself. What a sight! I'm OK! and I popped up and continued back to the hotel.
Our Fitbits were quite happy for that excursion and we were well over 12,000 steps for the day.
There's a HUGE snack shop tucked into the back of the lobby and I bought a granola bar in the event I was going to wake up hungry. Well, I'm awake and I'm not really hungry although I did just hear my stomach growl. What are they feeding us that is making us not hungry? Totally crazy. Guess I need to eat even less today. Must be the soup!
Another good night's sleep -yeah and all revved up for two more classes today. I can't even remember what they are - but I think I'm making something in one and learning about a new machine in the other.
On that note, I'm out of here.
Have a super day!!!
Ciao!!
Note to self - don't get 4 days behind reading Elaine's blog posts. Done now but it took a while. Well worth it. I have machine envy.
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