Quiltcon Day Two

I'm up before 6 AM to get the blog out of the way as we're leaving this morning. Big storms coming this way but then the weather hasn't been great the entire time we've been here and not sure what to expect on the way home. It was our plan to leave this morning so the weather isn't the cause for the early departure.

ACK -- I could use one more day here! I know that we changed things around because the accommodations were very expensive tonight. I know that my travel companions have had their fill of Quiltcon, but I really could use an extra day.

This is my first time to a big show in a while where I'm not working in a booth. When you're in a booth, you can escape for a few minutes here and there and take the show in little bits. But when you're only here for the show - well, it can be overwhelming. I took lots of breaks and did small things in between and hence, I didn't get to see the entire show.

I saw most of it so I'm not going to complain and I did get around to all of the vendors. I shall not be having any issues getting across the border with my limit of goods and there might be an item or two from someone else that slips in my bag. Just to balance the stuff out so to speak.

There are some amazing quilts in the show. And there are some powerful quilts in the show from the messages that they portray. I took a lot of pictures on my phone and at one point, I realized that I was taking only pictures of things I liked. What I need to be doing is to take pictures of stuff that I don't like. It's pretty clear what I like. Clean lines, bold graphics, bright colors. Over and over again, I caught myself taking pictures of those quilts. Don't get me wrong, I like others as well, but these were my favorite. Why would I take pictures of stuff I don't like? Well, just as a confirmation and to try and break out of the mold every once in a while.

I didn't take any classes at all and I didn't take any lectures yesterday. I did sit in on a couple of free demos and I did get a wee bit from one of them. I hate to say that I'm at the level of those that are teaching the demos and while there are always new things to learn, I didn't pick the ones where I'd learn something totally new. I'm OK with that. To say that in a different way - they are teaching to a different level than I am.

I wanted this to be a learning experience for myself. No - an opportunity to re-evaluate what I want to do when I grow up. I made some decisions - nothing drastic so don't worry. But I mainly want MORE time to explore the things that I really want to do. Make the kind of quilts that I've had in the back of my mind for quite some time. Things that will allow me to experiment and get messy and just see where it goes. I see so many people doing that and I don't have time. I want to make time for that.

There were a couple of cool things that happened yesterday. One, I got a hug from Victoria Findlay Wolfe. She's my all time favorite designer. Why? I don't even have any of her fabric. What I love about her is the freedom to play and have fun with her quilting. That's very important to me. Her discipline is amazing. And I got a ruler to make her curved braid quilt. I want to have some fun with that when I get home. And I want to live in her loft in New York!

Second cool thing - the Canadians once again met on a staircase and belted out Oh Canada as loud as we could. I haven't seen the video yet, but it was loads of fun and gosh - you can't help but feel proud when you're standing there with your fellow countrymen (quilters) and singing your National Anthem in a foreign country.

The third cool thing that happened was meeting up with my swap partner. I'm not good with swaps as I struggle to meet the deadline. However, I decided to do the mini swap for Quiltcon. I was paired up with Katherine from North Carolina. I'm so excited about the quilt that I made for her - I didn't really get a good picture of it. But I'll post when I'm home. And I got the cutest quilt from her with orange and bicycles on it. I'm so happy that I decided to do the mini swap. It was loads of fun.

Katherine is very young and owns a quilt shop in the mountains of North Carolina. Very cool swap. The official swap is tonight, but we're both leaving today so we swapped in the hallway.

I got to meet up with some of my friends from SVP. Remember, I was here just a month ago at the HQs. They have machines in some of the classrooms so that was nice to have another visit with them.

Also got to meet up with Carol who drove up from Florida. She has a quilt in Quiltcon so that was very exciting for her to see the quilt in person. Not only that, but she has a quilt in the Cherrywood challenge show. I want to know what her hat trick is going to be?????

After the show closed, Carol came back to the house where she and I had dinner and basically caught up as we haven't had a chance to really chat for quite a while. The others went out to dinner. I've no idea why when the fridge is still crammed with food. I guess people overestimated how much they needed for four days! I was very good and didn't eat out once while I was here.

I think everyone will be up early this morning. Some have to get off to the airport for their noon flight. Actually, I think all four of them are on the same flight! We won't get home until noonish tomorrow hoping that the roads are clear all the way home.

I should tell you the story of the Ruby rotary cutter. Olfa put that out in honor of the 40th anniversary. I think only two of us are going home without one. I contemplated buying one and decided that I did NOT need to spend $20 on something that I do not need. And Olfa has a LIFETIME guarantee on their rotary cutters. So technically, you buy one and they will keep replacing it if it fails. And yes - they replaced two of their items for me!!!

All in all, it's been a load of fun. I have to say that the road trip is a great idea. Yes, the plane is faster, but the road trip has been great. I really wish I could have ONE MORE day. In the future, I'll plan for three days. That way, I have a wee bit more time to check out the quilts, vendors, lectures, demos, etc. But I'm not complaining.

On that note, I'm out of here. Got to finish packing up and then we're gone.

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!!!