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Home from QuiltCon and a visit with my daughter

I had a great time at QuiltCon and a wonderful visit with my daughter and her husband in Austin, Texas.  I must have been busy while on “vacation” because I was so tired when I got home; it was the most wonderful feeling just to close my eyes.

I took lots of pictures of the convention and the amazing quilts.  QuiltCon is hosted by the Modern Quilt Guild and the show had a vibrant and energetic feel to it.  It was one of my favorite shows for that reason, but also because it wasn’t too big or too small.  It wasn’t too crowded or under-crowded.  It was just right!  Do I sound like Goldilocks?

event-poster-2738091

I want to show you all of the quilts that I got pictures of, but I still need to edit them and that’s going to take a while.  I DO have a few pictures of some of the booths and some new tools, etc. that came home with me (as if it was an accident).

First of all, I got to meet the lovely Vanessa Christenson of V and Co.  She was promoting her latest book, Simply Color: Red.

simply color red

This is the first book in a color series.  I bought my copy right there and had Vanessa autograph it.  Vanessa also designs fabric for Moda.  Her latest line, Color Theory, is a favorite of mine.

autographed book

I love the beautiful photography and the projects in this book!

simply colorcolor red love

 

I bought a few Bloc Loc rulers that seemed useful.  I already own a set of the flying geese rulers and hst rulers.  Now I own a drunkard’s path ruler and a strip set ruler.

bloc loc rulers copy

 

They had a busy booth with demos and lots of rulers!

bloc loc booth

 

I might have a serious weakness for these cute mini-charm packs.  I have stacks of them along with good intentions of using them all!

mini charm packis

 

I found the Steady Betty booth and had a nice talk with the owners.  Their biggest product is the Steady Betty pressing board.  They also make some other useful tools such as the Steady Stiletto (which I now own) and the Betty Bands (which I already had).  The Betty Bands are awesome for free motion quilting.

steady betty

 

I had so much fun shopping (with the blessing of Mr. Crafty Quilter) that I had to borrow an extra suitcase from my daughter just to get all the precious loot home!  The booths were full of eye candy.  Below you’ll see Michael Miller, Riley Blake, Superior Threads and Sizzix.Booth collage 1

 

And the MQG had a booth along with Shannon Fabrics, Windham Fabrics and even a tattoo booth for the adventurous quilters:

Booth collage 2

 

I had fun volunteering for several shifts and got to meet some very nice people.  I went to thee lectures and one workshop.  The workshop was with Cristy Fincher and it was about straight line quilting on a sit down longarm (HQ Sweet Sixteen) using rulers.  Cristy is an awesome quilter and teacher.

cristy sitting

 

The subject of this class wasn’t quite perfect for me, but the tips that I got were worth every penny.  Plus I have wanted to try out one of these machines and this was a great opportunity to give it a good test drive.  My final impression is that it’s a nice machine, but I’m not ready to invest yet.

The quilt samples that Cristy brought to the class were gorgeous.  The combination of color, fabric and quilting was amazing.

cristy standing

 

It was fun running into friends.  My Granary buddies were always there when I needed them:

granary girls at quiltcon
Sarah, Julie & Mary Kay via Instagram

 

Instagram was the name of the game.  It seemed everyone followed each other and strangers became friends instantly.  I was spotted by MQG staff because of my bag (that I created) and I made it to their feed.  Just wearing this bag was a conversation started for me (more so than Instagram).

mqg bag at quilcon

 

One of the highlights of my trip was spending time with my daughter, Kelly, and her husband, Steven.  I stayed at their house almost every night, and we got to spend some quality time together.  Kelly is 4 1/2 months pregnant and just starting to show.  Her baby bump is hidden in the picture below, but I swear that she grew from the time I got there to when I left!

kelly and mom 2015

The advantage of staying with locals from Austin is knowing where to eat.  They took us to the most amazing restaurants and food trucks (which are very popular in Austin).  It was foodie heaven!

I’ll be back to Texas soon (to see my first grandbaby at the very least)!  QuiltCon will be moving around the country from now on.  I’m a little sad that it will be leaving Austin, but next year it will be in my home state:  Pasadena, California.

If you ever have a chance to go to a quilt show/convention, you should definitely go. Do you have a favorite show that you attend?  I’m lucky to have the Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF) in my own backyard and it’s a big show.  It has gotten so big, that the crowds are a little overwhelming.  I need to venture out to some others, and I’m so glad I got the chance to go to QuilCon.  I’ll be back soon with pictures of the quilts from the show.

Julie

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17 Comments

  1. I certainly do enjoy your website. Thank you for taking the pictures at QuiltCon and “taking me with you” to the event. Thank you for all the new ideas you share with us. And thank you, thank you for the Christmas Once a Month pages. I’m having so much fun with those ideas. Thank you, Julie!

  2. Wonderful trip report, Julie! Looks like you had a wonderful time w/ friends and relatives as well as all that fabric! Here’s a suggestion for you: When I travel and gather fabric and supplies, I ship them home via the U.S. Post Office. It’s inexpensive to use the boxes that you can stuff for one price and you don’t have to worry about extra luggage on the plane/luggage pick-up. I’ve done this several times when visiting my cousins in Illinois. It’s always a treat to receive the package a few days after returning home – after you have settled in, unpacked, rested up, etc. and then you have time to go through your new purchases. Fun!

  3. Hi Julie
    Welcome home from the Quilt Con! I am so envious, it looked like you had a fabulous time nosing round all the booths. Must have been fun opening that extra suitcase

  4. I love reading your posts. Thanks for the article on the HQ Sweet16….that looks like a machine I could fit in my small space. Thumbs up of the picture of you and your daughter. I know there is excitement of the little one on the way

  5. Glad you had a wonderful time and it is nice to see a photo of you and your daughter, now I can visualise who you when I read your blog.

  6. This show looks amazing. I am less than two hours from Austin. Not sure why a group of us from my guild didn’t pack up and go. Maybe next year in Pasadena. I’m a California girl, too. Glendora, just east of Pasadena but in Texas now. Your daughter is beautiful and definitely has the “glow.” So glad you had a great time.

  7. Thank you so much for sharing your Quilt Con time with us! Loved seeing your pictures and hearing your stories. Congrats to your daughter for the upcoming baby!

  8. Thanks for sharing your pictures. That bag is amazing! As one mom to another, I spotted that baby bump! Looks so cute. The first time I was pregnant was in late 1964, and it was almost like we were ashamed of showing our bellies. I remember the skirts I had. No stretchy panels, but a BIG half-circle cut out of the front with a string from each side and one on the bottom that you tied together. Then when the wind blew your top up, your slip or underwear shined like the sun. Subtle……lol

    xo Linda

  9. I truly enjoyed reading about your experience! So nice to have actual descriptions of what went on there, and not just photos of the booths, etc. How wonderful that you could visit your daughter at the same time. No wonder it was good to close your eyes – I would have been afraid to blink, for fear of missing something awesome! Oh, and your BAG is so fabulous!!! So “Julie”!

  10. Delightful recap of spending time at QuiltCom. It’s fun to hear different prospectives of the same adventure. I certainly enjoyed our brief, surprise meeting!

  11. Hi Julie – it looks like you had soooo much fun, I’m jealous! I’m happy its going to be in Pasadena next year that’s much closer for me. Looking forward to your other photos – thanks! Bev

  12. It was so nice to meet you! I don’t know why we didn’t take a picture together 🙂 it certainly was a fabulous show! I’m so glad I made the trip.

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