Last week I attended my first large quilting event. I’ve been to several smaller regional quilt shows and always enjoyed them. QuiltCon is a little different since it’s a convention for modern quilters, while I am more of a traditional quilter with a modern twist.
My adventure began when I drove to Raleigh on Wednesday. It was an easy drive with little traffic and I was eager to be in warmer weather. Sometime even 10 degrees make a difference after weeks of freezing cold! Thursday was a sunny spring day and there was definitely creative energy in the air! I met up with Kathleen from my quilt club and a friend who lives nearby, for an early start. There were quilters everywhere and long lines to get in, but finally, we were there!
First glance at the convention – it didn’t seem busy, but once you got to the main floor, there was lots to see and do. Quilts on display were spectacular, so many beautiful designs!
We decided to alternate looking at quilts with checking out the vendors. Some vendors like Ruby Star were so busy, they had a line to enter their booth! Cotton and Steele had an amazing display of their fabric collections with a little booklet listing booths where you could buy the fabrics. A stop at Aurifil was a must, but they only brought 88 of their color threads.
Naturally, I stopped at the Benina booth, and got to play on Q20 with panto handles. I met Christa Watson and picked a cute rainbow bundle of her latest fabric.
I also tried out several other long-arm machines and talked to lots of people
New scissors are always handy – Kai is definitely my brand of choice now!
On Friday, I got to meet one of my favorite YouTubers – Karen Brown!
I also met Gudrun from GE designs, but their booth was very busy, so no photo…
I recently learned that Misty & Natalie of MSQCo were at the conventions, but somehow I missed them…
and finally my QuiltCon haul! – Can’t show everything I bought, as some items will be gifts for friends.
There were too many quilts to see them all during the time I had, but some that really impressed me are below.
Upon reflection, I would have enjoyed staying the full 4 days. It seems that during the weekend there was more opportunity to connect with other quilters, attend a couple of lectures and after-hours activities. Next time! For now, I returned home full of inspiration and wonderful memories.
Happy quilting!
BrightPatchQuilts 