My bundle of treasures from Houston...

Here is what I brought home from Houston over a month ago - see all the fun treasures!!!! :) Magazines, fabric bundles, threads, shirts, papers, papers and more papers!

I still have lots of digging and sorting to go through, but at least it's all in one place and just waiting for me!

My stabilizer stash I bought in Houston. I was doing ok as far as enough luggage space for the trip home until I made this purchase. But I want to give these new stabilizers a try!

My notebook full of ideas and notes I just can't forget - valuable information!!

I did take one sewing class and created this lovely flower! Now that it is all fused together, I just need to stitch it!!

Thread goodies

Among many other things from my quilt market trip, I brought home a handful of embroidery thread from Wonderfil and I'm anxious to give it a try! My friend, Elsie, with whom I was traveling had been invited to a Wonderfil thread party Saturday evening and I tagged along.

And I was glad I did! I was able to meet a few more people, plus obtain some Wonderfil spools of thread to take home and try out!

Wonderfil is a Canadian based company offering lots of different threads for machine embroidery. They have metallic, rayon, polyester, hologram, variegated, decorative bobbin thread and invisafil thread.

Something I found interesting was that they have a 100 weight polyester thread called Invisafil which with its matte finish disappears into the fabric. I could see this as an alternative to invisible thread, which is harder to work with. I'll have to give it a try and see how it works!

My new ironing board

While I was at quilt market, I bought a new ironing board. It's something I've needed for while, but have just kept putting off because I hadn't found exactly what I wanted.

I had done some research on some different brands a couple months ago and then looked up the vendors that were selling what I was interested in when I was in Houston. I wanted something that would be sturdy, hold up for years to come and would be large enough to press large pieces of fabric such as long, wide borders and quilt backings.

And I found it - the Longboard from Reliable Corporation. One of my requirments was to have metal mesh under the board padding. Not only is this better for steam ironing, as it allows the steam to seep through the padding and through the holes in the mesh, but I also have a Iron Pals extentions arm.

The extention arm and sleeve can only be attached to a mesh backing ironing board. This extenstion arm and sleeve holds your fabric if you are pressing large pieces instead of letting it crumple in a heap on the floor.

I've had extention arm for months, but have been unable to put it on because my very ancient ironing board does not have the mesh backing. But I can't complain. That very ancient ironing board had pressed all my quilts and projects ever since I started sewing. Although I have gone through multiple irons! :)

I'm really excited about this new Longboard because I can switch the ends of the board so I have a normal, narrow end or I can have a longer, wider end as pictured above. The longer, wider end is easy to attach and will make pressing large pieces so much easier!

Plus there is a heat and fire resistant insert on the end - it's the black you see above. And it also has a metal support on the end to hold my iron, which should give me room on the board. As an added feature, there is even a shelf below the board!

Adventures in Houston

September and October have been extremely busy and difficult months and I kept telling myself that my schedule would slow down a little once my trip to Houston was over and I was into the month of November. What was I thinking???!!! I should know better!! :)

I usually come home from quilt shows with so many ideas that I want to get starting cutting and stitching right away. I have most of my thoughts and ideas stored in a notebook I wrote in all weekend and will over the next few months, read through and decide which things to implement start doing. I can only do so much and need to learn to limit myself to just a few things and not try to do everything! I haven't quite mastered that yet! :)

I love flying and traveling, but never do I look forward to the hustle and bustle of getting through security lines and boarding the plane. Especially when I have lots of luggage to tote around. I think my luggage just about doubled on the way home. I only checked one suitcase and then took my computer and purse with me on the plane.

I bought more than I planned and as I was packing up Sunday morning, discovered that there was no way I would be able to fit everything in my one checked bag and carry-on computer bag. Thank goodness I had packed an extra large zippered tote bag as a "just in case needed bag". I ended up with my checked luggage being my overwhelmingly heavy suitcase (thank goodness for rolling wheels!) and a box packed with fliers, brochures, books and magazines.

I stuffed and I mean stuffed the stabilizers and threads I bought into my extra tote to take on the place. And then stuffed anything I couldn't fit in my other bags and boxes in my computer bag. Then as we are in line at the airport picking up our boarding passes, I realize I have three carry-on pieces - stuffed full tote bag, bulging computer bag and my purse. My only option is to take my purse apart and stuff everything that was inside between my two other bags.

How in the world am I going to do that? I'm not quite sure how, but I did. Just when I didn't think I could fit in one more thing, I did. I was more than ready to get out of the airport and on the drive home with my overwhelming load of baggage! And just for your info, no, I don't have every single thing unpacked yet, but I'm getting there! :)

Sitting in a line at the airport, waiting to board.
After being on my feet all weekend, my feet just
couldn't tolerate any more standing!

A view of Texas from up high!
I really love flying, but could do without
the lines and security at the airport!

IQA Quilt Winners!

It has been announced! All the beautiful quilts I saw in Houston have been judged and the final winners have been decided! You can see the award winning quilts here. I saw the best of show winning quilt by Hollis Chatelain and it is so much more amazing to see it in person than what you are seeing on your computer screen! Enjoy browsing through these unbelievable quilts!

I have some things I want to share on some of the quilts I saw and some that won prizes, so stay tuned in the next few days!

Just a little from my trip to Houston

I had a wonderful time in Houston last weekend! I learned so many things and had such fun browsing through all the booths with vendors for machine embroidery, fabrics, patterns, notions and so much more! Plus I enjoyed meeting and visiting with fellow quilt shop owners and quilters!

It all started early Thursday morning when my friend Elsie and I drove to Oklahoma City to catch a plane to Houston. With just a few minutes to spare after arriving at the airport (actually more like 20 minutes - more than we anticipated!), we were on our way. Just a reminder: no matter how much extra time you plan at the airport, always figure in more time! You never know when road construction may block the road on the way to the airport! Let's just say I was more than relieved to be on the plane and up in the air! :)

Friday was a long, but information filled day! I attended as many schoolhouse lectures as I could, running from room to room every 15 - 30 minutes to get in on the next class. It was so neat to see all the latest notions and fabrics and take in all the valuable information given. I have notes upon notes along with fliers to sort through and recall all of the info I received.

Not only did I gain lots of useful information, but I also found some fun fabric goodies to take home before the day was over! I couldn't resist some of the beautifully arranged fat quarter packs from Moda and Benartex, batik charm squares and fun notions! When I returned to our hotel room for the night, my tote bag was much, much heavier than at the beginning of the day!

Friday night was a short night since it was after 10pm when we arrived back at our hotel room and were out of our room by 7am the next morning. Saturday was another exciting day! *Just imagine* being in a room filled with hundreds of quilts just waiting for you to walk up and down the aisles and admire each and everyone!

The Quilt of Belonging was fantastic to see. You cannot imagine how large and unique this quilt is until you see it in person! The Quilt of Belonging is a 120 foot long x 10.5 foot high tapestry displaying 263 blocks from every nation of the world. It was absolutely astonishing to see so many countries displayed with their unique perspective. You can see more photos and information here.

That was the first thing that greeted my eyes in the quilt gallery and just beyond the Quilt of Belonging was row after row of quilts and more quilts! It would take two days just to go through each and every exhibit and study every quilt detailed inside. Unfortunately I only had a couple of hours to browse through the award winning and exhibit quilts! But what I saw was absolutely fantastic and stunning!

The rest of the day I spent walking from booth to booth, admiring the gorgeous displays and what I needed to purchase and what I did not need. Did you notice I typed "need" in there instead of "want"? Difficult decisions awaited, but can you imagine the fun of being surrounded by anything and everything related to quilting, plus hundreds of other quilters??!! That in itself is just plain exciting!

I did have a list to follow and some booths I needed to visit. Walking down the aisles, I tried to keep my eyes looking for what was on my list and not let myself wander too far away, but was it oh-so-hard! My mind was running (and still is!) with fun possibilities, but my feet were begging for a break! After hustling from lecture to lecture on Friday, Saturday was even more exhausting, standing and walking, looking at the quilts and booths!

Sunday morning was filled with the last minute booth stops I missed the day before and then we headed back to the airport for the flight home. I was never so glad to board the plane for our flight home and to see the lights of Dodge City greet us Sunday night! And you know what was even better? Being able to drive on familiar streets without traffic weaving in and out on my way home! Let's just say Houston traffic is something I am not used to!

I have lots more things and photos to share with you and I will over the next few days! But right now I am back to catching up on things in my sewing room...