Friday, March 20, 2015

Recent Adventures: Quilt Con - Part 4

For me though, Quilt Con wasn't about the quilts or the amazing shops; it was about meeting the people I have known online for years, along with meeting the designers and quilters that I admire and respect.  It was almost surreal meeting and talking with everybody.

A girl has to eat so we popped out to one of the many food trucks just outside the convention centre. Denyse Schmidt had just enjoyed a burger here too.







We then wandered back to the quilt hall and who should we bump into but Victoria Findlay Wolfe.





So excited to meet Yvonne Campbell too, a fellow swapper


Rashida Coleman-Hale


Yoshiko Jinzenji

I was lucky enough to get into Elizabeth Hartman's workshop Patchwork City Sampler. Elizabeth was one of the first modern quilters I discovered and I love her work. Her first book was the first quilting book I bought.  She is so delightful and easy to talk to.  








We were also fortunate in that we got to hang out with Lizzy House for a while as we planned her upcoming trip to New Zealand to teach the Meadow quilt.


me, Rachel Lizzy and Adrianne 

I went to 2 of Angela Walter's lectures which were both just incredible. I am so inspired after hearing her talk. Of course I had to buy her book as well.


me and Angela

Adrianne (@onthewindyside), Becca (@cleaverr), Liz (@scrappyquilts) and Rachel


Monica (@buttoncounter), Rachel, Becca (@cleaverr), Kelsey (@everydayfray) and me


Anne (@playcrafts), Gillian, Katrina (@khcalgary), me, Kelsey and Amanda (@everydayfray), Rachel


Me, Debbie (@aquilterstable) and Rachel

Krista (schnitzelandboo), Sandi (craftyplanner), me and Rachel


The other amazing and emotional part of Quilt Con was hearing the Gee's Bend Quilters talk and sing their amazing songs. They were the key note speakers and I think nearly everyone there had a tear at one stage or another.  So humbling to hear them talk.  They talked about their lives while growing up; that they made quilts to keep warm out of whatever they had in the house.  They used them to keep the draughts out and to keep warm at night. "It was common to have 13 or 14 quilts on the bed at night to keep warm."  And interspersed with their tales were their voices united in song singing about their faith, about their lives and their values.




I took the time to wander through the Gees Bend exhibition there and watch the video that was playing.














So that was Quilt Con in a flash!! I met so many more people, saw so much more, made deeper friendships and ate incredible food.  Oh, and I bought a lot of fabric!!  I had the most amazing time that cannot be captured in a blog post.   Quilt Con is now an annual event...next year it is in Pasadena and the following year it is in Savannah. I am definitely going to Savannah.

4 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your experience - lovely to hear it from a personal note rather than a companies sale pitch.

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  2. Looks like you had a fantastic time. Oh to meet all the quilting idols. I have long admired the Gees Bends quilters and have seen some of their quilts so to meet them and have your photo taken with them-Wow! Never thought about going to Quiltcon so better put it on the list. Is Lizzy House definitely coming to NZ?

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  3. thanks for sharing your incredible time! Oh, how I wish I could meet all you lovely ladies!

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  4. Wow,have had a great time reading about all your quiltcon adventures! What a wonderful experience for you and I can imagine meeting all those amazing people would have been a particularly special highlight. May the memories last a lifetime!

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