Here and there, and everywhere?

Classes at Houston are fun, but there are so many other opportunities to teach and share outside of the classroom. I was signed up for five classes, two lectures, a forum, a sampler and Open Studios plus four exhibition tours in seven days…

Machine Quilting Forum was set for Thursday morning. It would have been a good idea to check exactly where it was being held this year before I collected my sewing machine from the BERNINA room… At least I had a cart, and Sheila who eventually tracked the right location down…

It was my third time doing the Forum. There were six teachers this year. We started with a ten minute slot each to introduce ourselves from the front.

Sheila was having fun with the camera… so this is as good as I’ve got of me doing my little chat!

And then we went to our stations while the audience rotated around the room every 20 minutes.

It’s a little weird giving the exact same presentation six time with the same jokes and the same stories…but I did it! I gave away my six stitching samples as I went. What else was I supposed to do with them?

Not a lot of time to clear up, and I was off to the show floor for a tour of my Trip Around The World exhibit. More talking… then lunch with my good friend Vivika (more talking) and back to the show floor to look at quilts! Yes, I was determined to look at the quilts this year. I will post some of my favorites in another post…

The International Quilt Association has its AGM on the Thursday evening of Festival so 5.30 found us on our way there for updates and news from the Board. We got a sneak preview of next year’s raffle quilt.

A benefit of attending the meeting is early entrance into Quiltapalooza… you get to pick up your meal box and select a seat ahead of the masses! We found a table near the front with two spots free. The other eight seats were being saved by two ladies for their friends. When they eventually appeared some of them greeted me by name… it turned out half of the group were from Quilt Company East near Pittsburgh who I visited in April 2015

This year the theme was Ugly Holiday Sweaters so we had a game and a parade… There was a lot of ugly! My pictures were not good so I’ll leave everything to your imagination 🙂

Quiltapalooza is a fundraiser for the IQA. There are lots of door prizes and contest prizes included in the cost of admission. There is also a raffle with some great prizes. The star prize is a sewing machine. Nobody at our table won anything amazing until… the very last ticket to be drawn and the winner of the $5000 Babylock sewing machine was sitting right next to me!!!

Marlene from Monroeville!Here’s Marlene with Steve Jeffery, President of Babylock.We were all so excited for her.

What a lovely ending to the day.

Friday was the Friday Sampler. It didn’t start until 10 o’clock so it felt like a late start! We made sure to check the exact room location before we left the hotel room this time.

There were a lot of teachers to choose from. Participants are allowed to wander at will. It’s a lot less formal than the Forum. I did manage to say hi to a few friends before we started.

Deborah Boschert with Kristin la FlammeKelly Ashton, ready for fun?Susan Edmonson  with her pretty stitchings,The ever perfect, Karen Kay Buckley,Jenny Lyon and her beautiful free motion quilting,and Martha Deleonardis ready to make quilts from t-shirts.I was there with my embellished folk art stitches. Lots more talking!

Another exhibit tour at one, and then time to actually visit the vendors! Just one picture – with French fabric designer, Odile Bailloeul in her colorful booth.
After all my shopping at Market I really did not need anything but it was fun to go round and see what was going on. I took note of a few things I might need in the future…

Not shopping was exhausting so we had a quiet evening. There were still two days to go…

One more class and three events. I’ll leave them for another post. Thanks for sticking with me while I relive my 2017 Houston memories!