QuiltCon 2018: The People

I attended QuiltCon 2018, held in Pasadena the end of February. This is the third time I have attended QuiltCon, two years ago in Pasadena, and the year before that in Austin, Texas.

The convention is put on by the Modern Quilt Guild. This year I drove down with my friend, Janice. We stopped on the way and had lunch at the T Room, a charming little tea shop in Montrose.

We might have done a tiny bit of shopping at the quilt shop next door. Oops.

We actually arrived a day before registration began, which was Wednesday afternoon at 5 p.m. My friends from Colorado were vendors and were setting up the booth on Wednesday, so I offered our help. I don't think we really knew what we were getting into. The first thing Chelsea (owner of Pink Door Fabrics) needed us to do was put together an IKEA bookcase. Glossy finish. Yikes.

We helped them for about five hours, and there was still so much left to do. Unless you have done set up before, we as consumers don't even think about what it takes to get ready. So.many.things.to.organize.for.sale.

It was a beautiful booth. The location was great and I think Chelsea did very well. Also, another good friend, Stephanie, had her quilt on display in the booth.

Wendy, Chelsea, me

I might have also made some purchases at Pink Door. 

I took no pictures of the charming French bakery where Janice and I had breakfast four days in a row! The quiche was delicious and they had the BEST coffee. It was quite chilly in Pasadena, but the blue skies were beautiful.

We stopped at the post office one morning so I could mail a postcard. Such classically beautiful architecture. This ceiling was stunning.

The best part of QuiltCon, to me at least, is not the beautiful quilts. It is reuniting with old friends and meeting new friends.

Two years ago, I met Kristi of @71stitches in person. She has such an incredible eye for choosing fabric and often I just want to copy whatever it is she does. She also works for Ruby Street Quiltworks, and as such she is also my personal shopper at times. She was traveling with her friend, Roberta, and we had a chance to grab a quick coffee one morning. 

Roberta and Kristi

My friend, Terri, is a Sarah Watts fan, and Sarah has ventured into paper products. I found her booth, Crafted Moon, and made a couple of fun purchases. Hi, Terri. :)

I've taken a class from Cristy of Purple Daisies. She is such a good teacher. This year she was vending so we only had a few minutes to chat.

I ran into Krista Hennebury of Poppyprint several times, which was great as well. When Krista wrote her first book, Make It, Take It, which was collaborative, I was fortunate enough to be included. It's a great book and you should check it out if you are not familiar with it.

Lunch with a group.

L to R: Joan, Mary, Leisa, Lisa, me, Elizabeth, Stephanie, Janice, Simone

Dinner with a different group. 

L to R: Leisa, Elizabeth, Mary, Joan, me,  Jen, and Heidi

The last night I had dinner with Janice, Angie and Karen at a place called Great Maple. I ordered fried chicken with maple/bacon donuts. This seemed like an excellent idea at the time, but maybe not such a great idea in retrospect. 

Janice, Angie and Karen

Aurifil Thread had a booth with a photo op of angel wings. Who could resist that? Not me... Although Gabe said I wasn't a legit angel as I had no halo. Silly 6-year-old old. :)

One of the lectures on Sunday morning was about making quilts to mark milestones. It was given by Kitty Wilkin (nightquilter.com). She had contacted me a few weeks prior to QuiltCon to see if she could include my temperature quilt, Tale of Two Cities, in her lecture. Of course! Here it is on the stage inbetween two quilts she had made. The one on the left was a block a month she made as a monthly marker for her son's first year of life. The one on the right was an improv quilt made to document a summer of adventures--hikes, waterfalls, etc. Such a great idea. I was honored to have my quilt included in her lecture.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to attend again. 2019 is in Nashville and 2020 is in Austin. All in all, it was an interesting few days and I'm glad I was able to attend this year.

Friday Finish: Alice's Swedish Ex (Part 2) and a Little Real Love

Alice's Swedish Ex likes the water. First she had a photo shoot at Huntington Lake, and this past weekend she went to the coast. Her "siblings" have already been there, so it was only fitting.

It was a little too sunny. So we came back later.

 My Swedish Ex was the first to be photographed here.

Next was My Bohemian Ex.

And finally, Alice's Swedish Ex.

Like any quilt mother, I can't choose a favorite.

And then sometimes it's really more about catching that perfect breaking wave in the background. Which always breaks immediately after you have given up...

 Look how clear the water is!

 You remember this sweet little note?

It had to be preserved, so I enlarged it, embroidered it and turned it into this pillow. I think Gabe's clever design needs to be copyrighted.

I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict and TGIFF.TGIFF Happy weekend, everyone.

Friday Finish: Svenimento

I made an interesting discovery. I was going through my blog posts from 2017 in anticipation of printing them into a hardcover book as I do each year.

One of the first posts from January 2017 was about Supernova Starburst, a quilt I took along to the coast when we were there with the family so Aaron could photograph it. He also photographed Svenimento, and in my blog post I stated that I would show that quilt the next week.

Turns out, all of 2017 has come and gone. And there has been no mention or Svenimento, along with several other quilts that have not been documented here. Hmmm...

photobombed by Jason and Charlotte

Your may be curious about the name, since it is obviously the Swoon pattern by Thimbleblossoms. Using an English-Italian translator, Svenimento was what popped up. I'm not sure if there is a literal translation of the word "swoon" in Italian, but I like the sound of svenimento. 

In 2006, Mark and I went on a Mediterranean quilting cruise. I came back from that cruise with two pieces of fabric, both purchased in a tiny shop in Sicily, just a meter of each because at that time the cost was $25/meter.

Oh, how I loved the fabric with the blues and greens, accented with black. Maybe it reminded me of the water. It sat in a drawer for years while I tried to come up with a worthy project. When the Swoon blocks began popping up on the internet, I knew I had found the project.

I decided that the center of each block would consistently be that beautiful Sicilian fabric, and I started pulling other fabrics from my stash. 

I don't remember when I actually started making these blocks, but then they sat in a pile until finally I decided it was time to turn them into a quilt. 

I know there are some other pictures of this quilt somewhere in the disaster that is my digital photos, another project for 2018. If and when I find them, I will update this post. 

This fabric still makes me swoon, and brings back such happy memories. 

Quilt: Svenimento

Size: 80" x 80"

Pattern by: Thimbleblossoms

Made by: Me:

Quilted by: Darby Myers

I'm linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts, TGIFF and Confessions of a Fabric Addict Addict. Have a lovely weekend.