And that's a wrap for Quilt Canada 2026. It's amazing how surreal the show always seems. One minute everything is fine, and all the quilts are hung, and the booths are busy, and then the show ends, and it's a crazy place as people start packing! As usual, I didn't get much time to walk the show or look at the vendors, but I did get some pictures to share with my Monday Sewing group and checked out a few vendors. The big issue now will be fitting everything into my suitcases to get home.
Unusual for me, but I brought way too many clothes, and I typically use that suitcase for extra room! I'm sure I will manage, as I can take my backpack on the plane and a tote bag to carry a few things. The three suitcases can be checked. I'm not worried - I will get everything home.
The day wasn't going to start well as I walked to Tim's by the convention center, only to find it wasn't open. It may have opened later in the day, but I had to get to the classroom when the class started, and I had no time to walk to the next Tim's. Two ladies from the Madeira thread booth, whom I had met the previous day while buying thread, arrived at the same time and were also dismayed to find the location closed.
They had time to leisurely stroll to the next location and offered to get me a tea. Bless their hearts, and they brought the tea to me in the classroom. Thank you so much, Madeira thread ladies!!! I had bought a lot of thread from them, and we had a grand time choosing it. So it pays to make friends at the show. And now I need to pay that favor forward. Who will be the recipient?
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| My tea was personally delivered to me. |
Quiltsource was at the show, introducing a new batting called Mathilda's Own. Some very interesting new batting choices, and I can't wait to try them. These battings will be available in stores in mid-July.
They had a super cute quilt to display the various battings.
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| A super way to display different types of batting |
Isn't that adorable? At first, I didn't get it, but each sheep is made from a different batting, and because the edge is free, you get to touch and feel the batting. A very clever concept for sure. Each sheep wore a differently colored ribbon. The legend of the colored ribbons was available on a separate card and identified the batting types.
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| The sheep |
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| One more batting type |
And this was the sign near the sheep. YES, a quilt that you could actually touch!
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| A quilt you can touch! |
Well, I am super excited because I'm going to get the battings and make up some new samples to see how this batting reacts to prewashing (or not), test stitch density, and then wash the pieces after the quilting is done. I can see this as a class! STOP IT RIGHT THERE. Do not think I am unnecessarily adding a class to my workload; this kind of class is extremely beneficial to YOU!!! And also to me! Imagine having gone through this exercise and now having a very good idea of what type of batting you want for any particular project.
What does wool batting feel like? How does it react differently from a 100% cotton batting? This is the kind of stuff that makes me giddy, and I may just make it a lecture/demo series, an online Zoom class, or an in-person class. I think there is a lot of potential in this. Years ago, I did something similar with 10 different types of batting, each with 5 samples. I still have those samples, and it was a very interesting exercise.
So if you think I just know this stuff, I don't. I love to experiment and test, and that's how I gain my knowledge.
Now I have to sit down and figure out how I will use the batting in my sample making and make it a teachable class at the same time. I can't wait!!!
I have two classes this coming weekend, and I have been working on one of the presentations. I have also been collecting data for the classes in the fall, and I hope to get a lot more work done today since I have a free day. I have two places I would like to get to, and I have a friend and a nephew who live here. So it's going to be a busy day!
And I wasn't able to rent a car today. I had thought about it all week but just never got around to it, so there are no cars, at least at the airport. I can rent from another location, but I checked Uber's price, and it's actually the same as renting a car to get where I need to go, so I'm not going to bother renting. It all works out.
So yes—here is me ironing my shirt yesterday—just in case you think I don't ever do that!
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| Ironing my shirt |
I am staying at this same hotel for the duration of my stay, which includes those lectures/demos at Carellen, so I don't have to move hotels. The rest of my group is leaving today at various times. While I would be excited to go home today, I am happy to stay and visit, and it's always exciting to demo my samples and talk about techniques.
I am a pretty neat traveler, and I am notorious for having everything tidied away whenever I leave the room. I am not sure what happened this trip, but it's like my suitcases exploded and I never got anything put away. My sample suitcases aren't even open right now, which means it's going to get worse!!!! And I do NOT require the staff to come in and tidy my room. That's just weird.
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| An explosion in my room |
Later today, I will have to start sorting the samples into what I need tomorrow for the Singer Momento sessions. That's the 24" digital cutter, and then what I will end on Tuesday, which is the quilting with your embroidery machine.
Wait --- those batting samples? They will be very useful for quilting with your embroidery machine. I don't have any of the batting with me, as it's being delivered later this month or early next month, but I'm super excited to use it when quilting with the embroidery machine!
My job at this show ended up being to look after the classrooms, and it worked for me. I packed up a lot of sewing machines yesterday, and I got really fast at it, but there were so many details to think about. Factory reset, bobbins, accessories, power cords, etc. It all takes time. I was wearing a scarf and my name badge, and I soon took both of those off to make it cooler and easier to work.
When I finally left the room, I put them back on and went to help my colleagues pack up the booth.
There was stuff everywhere, and my samples were in a neat pile, and eventually, I got them into my suitcase. It was only when we were close to the hotel that I realized my scarf was missing, as was my name badge, which held my room key. CRAP!!!!! Where the heck did I put it? I was certain I had shoved them in one of my bags, but I checked, and there was no scarf and no room key. I LOVE that hand-dyed green scarf. I couldn't have cared less about the key - that was easy to replace.
I went back to the convention center to see if I could find it, but I did not, so I left a note with the security desk.
WAIT -- let's go back to the show. Remebmer I mentioned the Trendtex Challenge? Well, I was bidding on two pieces. The online auction is great, although I still like the action of an in-person auction where you can see your opponent! There were 53 pieces up for auction, and some of them got only one or two bids, with no bidding war. But I got a notification that one of the pieces I wanted was also desired by someone else.
Hmmm --- who was going to bail on the price first? I was determined to get it. So I outbid the other person. The bidding ended at 2:00 PM, and I was helping a customer at our booth. Just before 2 PM, I felt my phone go off, and I thought the other person had outbid me. But I could NOT check what had happened, and I thought, well, she waited until the last possible moment and then outbid me. However, when the customer left the booth, and I checked, I won that piece as well as one more. I did not take pictures, but I will take them today and share them with you.
Someone bad home also won two pieces and asked me to pick them up for her. Yes, I could, but she needed to pay for them. That seemed to be taking forever, and I left the convention center without her pieces. It was only when I had to go back to look for my scarf that I was able to finally pick up her pieces.
So then we sat at dinner, and while we were chatting, my brain was working and BAM -- I knew exactly where my scarf was. I had shoved in a bag, but then I tucked those bags (of thread from Wonderfil - I couldn't help myself) into my suitcase.
And sure enough, when I was finally ready to go to my room, I opened the suitcase in the lobby where I had left it with the front desk.
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| Checking the contents of my bag in the hotel lobby |
And voilà—there was my scarf and my name tag with the room key in it!!!
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| There's the missing key. |
See how our brains kick in when we need them to? As mentioned, the room key was replaceable, the scarf was not.
And I don't know why I keep forgetting to bring any business cards when I travel. I'm a dolt - I have a ton of them at home, and I just never bring them. I must put that on a list somewhere. Or perhaps I just keep a small supply in my office backpack - that would be the best place. Then I always have them, and they are not that heavy to carry around.
When I got back to my room, I unpacked my pants pockets of things I had accumulated during the day. Spools of thread, scissors, and business cards from others.
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| My finds of the day |
I set a goal for myself this summer to learn how to use a specific feature on my computerized long arm. A dealer was at the show, and I wandered over yesterday and asked a few questions. Well, Jenny was a wealth of information. I can't wait to get home and get those new leaders on my machine - she showed me the simplest, ingenious way to make that happen and to get to work on some quilts that require this new feature I want to use. I am so excited. And then I have preparations for the new classes, and so much more. WAIT --- including trying out my new thread purchases. I can hardly wait!!!!
BUT -- I am only home for a couple of days when I am back on the road again! But it's only by car and only for three days, so that's good. Then I think I am home for a couple of weeks before I take off again. Yes -- it's a crazy world.
Both places I want to visit today are well within walking distance, so I think I'll head out if I don't hear from my friend. I also have some work to do, so it'll be a full day.
On that note, I'm super excited about my day off and to explore the city or visit or - well, you never know what will happen!!
Have a super day!!!!
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