Buckhorn Quilt Show Day Two

Squirrel!!! 

I am so easily distracted, it's not funny. I started out the morning by taking a video of all the quilts. That will go on YouTube later today or in the next day or so. I also started taking pictures of all the quilts individually, as it's not often that I get to see them displayed in a lovely venue. And I got about 1/3 of the way around, and then I stopped! What the heck is wrong with my brain? Talking -- that's what!!! 

I will contact one of the volunteers from my building, and I'm sure some of them took pictures. Good grief!!! Or if any of you took photos of the quilts, that would be awesome. I'll show you in the images below which ones I would like. 

But here are some pictures after the display was set up. 

Looking towards the front of the building from the left

It's the ones along this wall below and the brown heart at the end that I would like pictures of. So, if anyone has them, please send them to elainetheriault@gmail.com. Thank you!

Towards the front from the right

Towards the back from the left

Towards the back from the right

I had such a great time, and I am genuinely thankful that I was invited to share my quilts with this guild and the people who came through the show. Oh my goodness — the number of people I met was incredible. People who had moved away from this area many years ago. Some names I remembered, some I did not. It's funny how some names stick in your head, while others are gone! 

I want to thank everyone for coming to the show, and especially if you came to visit me! It was so lovely to catch up and see what everyone is doing. 

But I want to thank the Buckhorn Quilters Guild. I want to thank them for inviting me to share my quilts with their guests. I don't think I've ever seen such a fantastic quilt show. The venue is impressive, and if you have never been to an event at the Buckhorn Community Center, then you should put it on your calendar. There is a classic car show this coming weekend. 

The "out" houses! 

It's somewhat challenging to describe the setup, but there is a series of outbuildings located behind the main community center. Someone called them "outhouses." Technically, they are, but not in the way we think of outhouses!! 

There is a central path, and then each building has large front and back doors. The buildings, I think there are ten, are laid out in a whimsical path, and you can stroll from building to building in a loop, ending up back at the beginning. Because there is so much space, they can display many items in a way that is not crowded, and honestly, it's the BEST show layout I've ever seen. 

If you have never been to the show, I'll be bugging you when it comes around in two years. While there were loads of people there on both days, it never felt crowded because of the layout! 

And how could I talk about the show without mentioning the volunteers? I'm not sure where all the volunteers came from, but they were terrific. So attentive and accommodating. And when it came time to pack up at the end of the day, a few extra helping hands appeared to help take down my quilts. It was FAST - I couldn't keep up with them. And then, when it was time to load the car, two men magically appeared to help with that. 

Kathy, you were such a gracious host, and all the ladies who helped out. If I name them, I'm sure to mess up or forget someone's name. So please thank them once again for me --- they were fabulous and invaluable. 

The quilts were down, and I was packed before I even knew what happened! THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped me -- I may not know all your names, but you were fabulous!!! And I appreciated all your help and support!

But I got a chuckle in the afternoon, when I was in the kitchen "stealing" goodies for the trip home. I was offered the goodies, so it wasn't technically stealing. One of the vendors was there, discussing her experience. As usual, I had no issues, but then I'm very flexible - I'm a guest after all! But this lady wasn't happy (or made the suggestion) that the buns for the chili need to have butter on them. Hmmm --- I said that if I had ordered the chili, I would NOT want butter on my bun. OH -- I think that made her think twice about what she just said, but probably not! Just because she wished to have butter on her buns does NOT mean that everyone does. I made that very clear! But in a polite way. You can always add butter, you cannot take it off!

That's the "beauty" of being a volunteer or an organizer. You get some of the craziest suggestions that just don't make sense! It reminds me of the comments that emerged from Quilt Canada this past year. These shows are not put on to accommodate one person! We all need to work together. 

I know that all feedback is valuable, but that seemed like such a silly thing to request. 

The committee members, the president, -- everyone was so super accommodating! 

WAIT -- I forgot to mention the quilts. So many interesting quilts to look at --- I did at least manage to see all the quilts in the show, and the President's Challenge, as well as the winners from the last show. So I did get to see stuff. But you would think I would have remembered to take pictures of my quilts! DUH!!! 

I'll figure out something and then post the pictures somewhere; I'll let you know where to find them. 

I made it home in good time, as there was no traffic to deal with, so that was great, and then I had to unload the car. Now, where are those volunteers when you need them? The girls, of course, were beyond excited, although they won't be happy when I load the car tomorrow morning. Murphy is going to go mad with all the back and forth! 

This is the inn where I stayed, Burleigh Falls Inn. It's a beautiful old building. It was built in 1857!!!!

Burleigh Falls Inn

I laughed, though, because when I first arrived in the afternoon, which is AFTER office hours of 9 - 12, hey, it's off-season now. I got handed an envelope. That's all I saw of any staff members. I dropped the key on the desk as I left, and I'm guessing my credit card will be or has been charged!!!

And I spotted this - actually lots of this along the way. YES -- the leaves are changing color. And I almost had a heart attack when I made a folder for pictures this morning. How is it the 7th already? I did STOP to take that photo in case you are wondering. 

The leaves are changing color

I have taken a few bags downstairs - of course, I packed way too much stuff because I had grand visions of doing so much. I know better and will not make that mistake again! 

And it's time to get back into the swing of things. I have two presentations this morning, and one is completely ready, the other is about half done. It's going to be weird going forward since there are so few of them to prep, but I'm looking forward to that! These ones are mostly show-and-tell, so all I had to do was save the pictures and load them. There were NO samples to make. Yeah!!!

I put shorts on this morning, but I think I'll be switching to pants. It's cold!! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

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!!!!

Hanging the quilt show

Good grief --- I was attempting to delete all those spam comments, but there are so many of them, and my Wi-Fi this morning is a bit slow. I'll have to try getting rid of more of them later tonight, GRRRR!!! Those darn bots can be a total pain!

I received an email this morning from a broker stating that my package is awaiting payment for the broker or shipping charges. The courier is in South Africa. I think not - delete. Still, it does make you wonder how many people would click on that link to fill out the "payment" form. I had to go into my SPAM folder and found many more from the same company. 

We have to be so careful with everything we touch these days. Computers are great, until they aren't. 

Well, it's another day and another hotel. This month will be hectic, as I've mentioned numerous times, and then it should quiet down. Let's pray - I like quiet. 

Anyway, it was pouring rain when I needed to pack the car. Well, it had slowed down a bit, so I grabbed my raincoat and packed up the car. It didn't take that long, as I have loads of experience with that job. 

As I was writing the labels, I remembered a couple of other quilts that would fit the show, and then I threw in a few extras, just in case I needed some fillers. 

Throughout the entire packing process, Miss Murphy was NOT happy. She knew something was going on and was determined to get outside so she could jump in the car  I had hoped to be away by 8 AM, but that didn't happen. I took them for a short walk as the rain had stopped more or less by then. The first thing Murphy did was go for the car — she was that determined that she wouldn't be left behind. 

They had a good walk, and thankfully, dogs do not know time. They were happy, and I left them eating their breakfast. 

I had to stop at Tim's for tea and to set up an audiobook. Can you tell me why a book I had on hold was in the "available" section? I took that one, as I had a two-hour drive, and it was good to have something to listen to. It rained the whole way. It seemed to be raining even harder when I got here. 

I'm in Buckhorn for their quilt show, and I haven't been up this way in a long time. There is a lot of water - locks, rivers, lakes, etc. The roads are very twisty and turny in some places to navigate through the maze. However, Google Maps led me right to the spot, and I found my volunteer friends. 

I was able to drive right up to the door of the building, and I quickly unloaded everything. 

The central part of the quilt show is in the Buckhorn Community Center, but there are 10 smaller buildings right behind the center. I'm in one of those buildings, The Raccoon Gallery, to be exact. It's a large, beautiful building, and I have one all to myself. Can you believe that my quilts filled the walls exactly! That was a pretty good guess, and I didn't need any of the extra quilts!

Featured Quilter!

Raccoon Gallery

This is the back wall of the community center, which is so bright and cheerful. 

The back of the community center

I had a quick peek at some of the quilts in the main show, and there are so many beautiful ones and patterns I've never seen before. There are also some quilts from some of my online students, which is exciting to see. I'll go back and take a few more pictures this morning before the show opens. 

Once I had everything set up, I made some phone calls and then had to locate the email with my reservation details  Yes -- I made a reservation a while back for a place to stay, but I couldn't remember the name  Nor could I find the email on my phone  Once an email is in a folder, I find it next to impossible to locate on my phone  I had to dig out my laptop to find it  And there it was - a fifteen-minute drive away. 

This is the view from my balcony. I'm now in Burleigh Falls. 

The view from my balcony

And yes -- there is a geocache just around the corner based on the waterways, so I might get a chance to do that this morning. 

As you can see from that picture, the rain did stop and the sun came out. The weather is supposed to be nice for the next couple of days - not hot, but warm, so that will be great for the show and hopefully no rain. 

I had dinner downstairs in the restaurant, but I will have to forage out for breakfast, as the restaurant doesn't open until 9 AM. I'm sure that's a different story in the summer, but this is now after Labor Day. 

I did something wrong while at dinner. I was on my phone, listening to a news video, which I don't usually do in public. I thought the volume was down enough, but the lady at the next table (which wasn't close) asked me politely to turn it down a notch, which I did. And I thanked her for reminding me of that. It's rude, and I should know better. I didn't watch any other videos after that. 

But I absolutely hate when people have LOUD video conversations with someone in a public place. It's bad enough we have to listen to your conversation, but we don't need to hear the entire thing! 

Then I went to my room and had a great sleep. I even slept in, as I have nothing technically to do, so that was great after the last couple of nights I had spent prepping stuff. 

By the way, in case you are wondering about those embellishments for my quilts, I pinned them on after the quilts were hung, and I LOVE them. It was worth every minute it took to make them. I want to make more, but I need to reflect on what to make before I make more!! All is good!!!

So if you are in the Buckhorn area, be sure to stop by and say hello. There are loads of vendors here. There is an excellent section hosted by the guild. It's a building filled with items donated by guild members. Everything is for sale. The proceeds benefit the local school breakfast program. I might have to find an ATM (there's one in the community center) because I have some supplies that I could use. 

Everything is super well organized in that "treasure" room and easy to find. No -- I am not looking for more fabric, although I did peek just in case there was something that I "needed", but it was easy to look at everything. These ladies are organized!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Tick tock

Oh great --- the blog got scammed with many comments, and I don't have time to deal with it this morning. As a matter of fact, this blog post will be kind of short as I'm running short on time! 

However, there is good news, but I didn't seem to have taken many pictures yesterday. 

The binding was finished on that last quilt! Yeah!! I also remembered several other quilts that would be appropriate for this show, so they were pulled and packed into the suitcases. 

One more machine embroidery design was completed, and I've packed supplies to work on some projects while at the show. That is, if I get time. It's a lot of stuff to take "just in case," but that's part of doing these kinds of shows. I'm all good with it. 

OH -- and the labels are done! I'm sure there are a few things I might have changed, but it's good enough for the show. How many people read those labels anyway? But I learned a valuable lesson. For those quilts that you want to keep and those that have a story, you need to write that story and have it handy. Don't try to make up a story when you need one in a hurry!

Here's a question I contemplated. Could AI have generated those labels? I think NOT! It would have no clue what information is in my head, and you would have gotten very generic labels. AI? It's not for writing - proofreading, yes. Writing? No! 

Many of my projects are linked to a magazine or a blog tutorial, and I tried to find all the references, so it took a lot longer than it would usually take to write up some labels. When I'm back home and have some time - OK - so in October, I need to fact-check that information a bit closer and try to track down the missing magazine, and a few missing links. No worries --- it'll be a good process. 

ALL of the quilts at this show will have some element of machine embroidery attached to them! That's hard to believe, but it's true. I threw a few extra quilts in in case I didn't fill the room. My fast math tells me that I will fill the room, so let's see how it goes later today. 

I was also madly throwing some extra supplies into my bags as I worked yesterday, and all I need to do this morning is pack up the sewing machine, the digital cutter, and WAIT -- I need some fabric and scissors. All is good, and I hope to arrive around 10:30 - 11 AM. It can't be sooner - it's a two-hour drive, and I have to walk the girls; otherwise, they will be upset. The walks will be short! 

Even if you are not into machine embroidery, my show will be interesting because it shows the direction that quilting and sewing are taking. It's like every other industry in the world, and I think we need to embrace it because some of the quilts I made could NOT have been done traditionally, and that adds a whole other element to our level of creativity. Be open!!! OK -- they could be done traditionally, but I doubt anyone would go to that much trouble. 

If you are coming to the Bukchorn Quilt Show on either Friday or Saturday, be sure to stop by and see me. I'm in the Raccoon Building. It's going to be loads of fun!!! And I'll answer any questions I can, whether it's related to technology and quilting, or just quilting. 

For those who cannot make the show, I'll be taking videos and pictures of my show. The rest of the show is not my responsibility or place to intervene in that matter. 

This was how my day started. A nice, quiet walk through he forest with the girls. - one at a time, of course! It's so calm and peaceful in there. I miss it when I'm unable to walk. But it made me think of the rainforest we walked through on Mount Kilimanjaro. So different, and yet the same. Although the path is very flat here, it was not as flat as on the mountain. 

Forest bathing

I had to laugh when I dug out some black fabric for an appliqué on my embroidery. This piece was purchased at Quilter's Fancy. I remember how they would fold the fabric and then staple that tag to the edge. It cost $7.49 for a half meter. When their shop closed and they moved it to their home, I used to visit way more than I should have. And then one day, they just disappeared. I don't imagine either Carol or Bab is still around. Does anyone know what happened to them? 

Black fabric from Quilter's Fancy

I had to walk to the mall to get some stuff. WAIT ---I forgot to mention that my Calcium comes with Magnesium in the same pill! I'm covered! 

I spotted this puzzle at Indigo. I love all the things Canadian on it and will have to break down and buy it, but yesterday was not the day. 

Canada-themed puzzle

Speaking of technology, have you seen these new AI glasses? I didn't stop long to check them out, but there's a camera in the frame, and it does other things. All operations are controlled through a button on the arm. I HATE that - I need to see the buttons, not just feel them. Can't I just say "smile" and have the glasses take a picture? How does it line up photos? It seems very silly, but these glasses, or ones like them, are supposed to be the killer of smart handheld devices. Let's see how true that is! I don't doubt anything these days. 

AI glasses

OK --- here's a link if you wish to check them out further. It's kind of creepy because you can virtually try the glasses on. It uses the camera on your computer!!! ACK!!!

I also picked up a pair of headphones as the ones I have seem to be completely dead. I've tried recharging them, but nothing seems to work. It's pretty quiet in Studio B without an audiobook to listen to, and I didn't bother to connect the radio to my speaker!

Well, on that note, I'd better get moving. There is still a lot to do before I leave, and wait — I'd better remember to take some clothes along! That is always the last thing to pack. One day,. I'll be in such a hurry that I'm going to forget!

I see it's raining today. Oh well -- we live in Canada --- it's supposed to rain here! I just heard thunder - perhaps the girls will decide they don't want to go out! As if!!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!