Been There, Done That, Got the T-Shirt

I’m back from Lancaster…

It was a wonderful trip, filled with too much eating, spending too much money, and so much laughing.  I think if you told any non-quilting person that 52 women could be on one bus for hours on end and all get along just fine, they’d never believe you.

The vendor show was wonderful – lots of new gadgets and sewing machine feet and rulers and machines, as well as batting and thread.  As a general rule, I don’t buy fabric at vendor shows, since no guild or bus discounts are given.  I came away with some awesome long arm rulers that I’m learning to use on my domestic machine, lots of thread, and other notions.  The Lancaster quilt shops are worth the trip alone.  I came away with a suitcase worth of fabric – mainly staples.  Greens for stems and leaves, neutrals for applique backgrounds, and a couple I just had to have because they go with some of my stash.

Now for the quilts – and a little camera history.  For several years I have carried a 35-mm digital camera for photography.  I love it, it takes wonderful pictures, but when you’re hauling around shopping bags at a quilt show, the camera gets a little bulky.  So several months before the show, I purchased a Sony digital that takes terrific picture and is the size of a credit card.  I got it home, downloaded the pictures and now I can’t find where the computer put them.

But trust me the quilts were awesome.

I did manage to get a picture of my favorite quilt.  It’s called “Breaking Wind” by Peggy Kragnes.

It’s a sweet Sunbonnet Sue quilt.  And I just love Sunbonnet Sue! Sue has washed her quilts and is hanging them out to dry on a very windy day.  If you look closely at the mini-quilts, you see not only perfection….

But a mini-copy of the very quilt you’re looking at.

And even smaller versions of the mini-quilts in the mini-copy.  Truly it’s a quilt within a quilt.  Bonus prize is we finally see Sue without her bonnet, only to have her hair covering her face.

I love whimsical quilts!  They always stand out in my mind!

It was a wonderful show and probably the best news of all was that the rumor that AQS wasn’t coming back to Lancaster was just that – a rumor.  They will be back in Lancaster next year, so there is a show on the East Coast.

Meanwhile, I’m still getting things straightened out from my trip.  I came back to find I had a book case for my new sewing room and that most of the housework had been done – including laundry.  The bad news is my Crockpot (the kind with the timer) passed away in my absence. 

Have a blessed Easter season!

Love and Stitches…

Sherri