I’m typing today’s post in a hotel room in Lincoln, Nebraska but not too many days ago I was in Long Beach, California! It brings to mind that song What a difference a week makes… or something like that 🙂
With all the well publicized problems there have been with air travel recently, I can be a little apprehensive on my way to the airport, but everything went according to schedule and it was still only mid-morning when my luggage and I all arrived safely on the west coast for Quilt Festival in Long Beach. I ubered to the hotel, left my luggage with the bell hop and headed over to the convention center to help Richard get the booth set up. Sheila arrived mid afternoon, we finished up with the threads, checked in to our room and met up with good friend Jenny Lyon for dinner.
I was asleep early, feeling the effects of my crack of dawn departure. I slept well and was ready for my full day Intro to Folk Art Embroidery class. No pictures! I forgot…
Jane Haworth joined us for dinner. Here we are next to the harbor with the sun setting off to the west!
That was my only proper class but I spent four hours on both Friday and Saturday in Open Studios.
My walking foot quilting samples came in for close inspection…
Sheila came by and caught me mid sentence during embellished folk art stitches.
This was during take the scenic route, adding hand stitches to my walking foot quilting.
I finished with beautiful buttons but no pictures of that one.
I did zero shopping! I have come to the conclusion that basically I have everything, and in most cases two or three of everything. My friend Sam at Wonderfil Threads had been promising me some pins for my collection and she delivered! All the pins. So cute!
So that just left tear down, which, I’m happy to report, was done efficiently and in record time. (Practice leads to improvement.) Sheila and I had a delicious dinner of the contents of our fridge. Andy got me to the airport in good time. I arrived back in Chicago ahead of schedule where Steve was waiting for me…
Good times indeed. Festival in Long Beach is so much more relaxed than the Houston show. We had time to socialize. The students were engaged. The weather was perfect!
I just had a couple of days to get somewhat unpacked before Julia and family came to visit. They are trying to get us sorted. As Julia said “we might as well do it now, we’ll end up doing it eventually.” We (they mostly) are working on the unfinished basement storage area and the garage.
Here’s one last picture. Ruby and Benjamin cheerfully breaking down boxes ready for disposal. Why don’t we do it one at a time as they come into the house? Why indeed?
Great to have family that does more than encourage, but we pitch in. Hope you’re making enough sunny memories to keep you warm this winter.