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.

Recent adventures: Quilt Con Part 3

So we made it to Austin....the city of live music, barbecue, margaritas, food trucks and tex-mex. 

Out and about posing with a guitar statue on Congress Ave

We explored a little of Congress Ave, the main thoroughfare in Austin.  What was obvious fairly quickly is that music is a big part of life here.  Loads of icons and statues relating to music, hundreds of music bars, restaurants, and eateries.  

Interesting bar activities!! What do they get up to in Austin?

We had arranged to meet Ginny, Karen and Anne for lunch on our first day there, so we headed to a great Mexican restaurant.  Awesome to see Anne again and it was a first time meeting for Ginny and Karen.  We had so much fun and it was like we had known one another for ages.  This was one of my fav memories of Quilt Con...casual, relaxed, good fun, and lots of laughs.

me, Ginny, Karen, Anne and Rachel

After Quilt Con registration where we mingled and met online friends and made new friends,  the 4 Kiwis joined the Australian contingent for dinner. It was a fusion restaurant with sushi and Tex-Mex! Strange combo but it totally worked!

Fish tacos....amazingly divine.

And then Thursday was here and it was time for Quilt Con.  I had enrolled in one workshop and a few lectures, and had Thursday mainly free. Rachel and I decided to start with the Quilt Show. It was hard to know where to start, so I just wandered.  There were so many beautiful amazing quilts. The winners are all posted on the MQG website, but also among my favs were some that I was drawn to for the colours in them, the design or the description of how they came to be.

Gypsy Wife by Catherine Mosely

Gaggle of Geese by Janice Ryan

Geometric Rainbow by Nicole Daksiewicz

Building Bridges by Jacquie Gering

Iceberg by Crystal McGann

Starry Eyed  by Caroline Fairbanks-Critchfield

Phased Circles by Michelle Wilkie

Peace by Leanne Chahley

Christine's World by Luke Haynes

Fade into Gray by Stephanie Ruyle

Face #1 by Melissa Averinos

Rocket 8D by Latifah Saafir

Icicles by Do.Good.Stitches Portland, Orgeon

Sunset Stripes by Do.Good.Stitches, Seattle, Washington

One Third Street Neighbourhood, by Amy Stevenson

Best in Show: Kathy York's i Quilt

And the final instalment tomorrow....

Recent adventures: En route to Quilt Con Part 2

The next day we had an early flight at 6am to Salt Lake City. Our plan was to spend the day there with Anna, a friend I have known online for some years and whom I was lucky enough to meet up with at Sewing Summit.  She is a beautiful, amazing woman and I was so excited to be able to meet up with her again.  She met us at the airport and had taken the day off work to spend with us.

A beautiful day in SLC...look at that dusting of snow on the mountains.

First stop was  Pine Needles. This was the first shop we went to at Sewing Summit so I had to take Rachel here as we just have nothing like this in NZ.  I think she experienced the same  "OMG" feeling that I did when she walked in as well!!

Wonderland!

Rachel hoarding fabrics again!

Loved this little Carolyn Friedlander quilt.

Holly, the owner of the shop

Excuse the bags...but I was up at 3am! (me, Anna and Rachel)

We then had a wander around Gardner Village...such a quaint wee village with lots of interesting shops. We looked and we all bought something.

Fab little candy store...Bought some taffy here

And some gorgeous Alpaca yarn here

Look at this yumminess

And then we headed back to SLC to grab some lunch and to wander around a bit. First stop of course was the beautiful temple.  I learnt such a lot at the information centre here and Anna was a fantastic guide!

Next stop was Tiffany's where we all tried on the most expensive ring in the shop at USD$102,000. Unfortunately, or fortunately for him, I didn't know my husband's credit card details off by heart :)

One beautiful ring!!

Goodbye SLC

It was an amazing day and we had a fabulous time with Anna.  Hopefully, one day she will make it to NZ and I can return the favor. 

We arrived in Austin, TX at around midnight and Amanda (our tour guide from San Francisco haha) was waiting for us there, so we all headed into our hotel together to dream about Quilt Con the next day!!!