QUILTCON 2017, A Newbie's Perspective

I am back, from Savannah GA and QUILTCON 2017, it was a new adventure filled with sights, experiences and learning. Oh, yeah, and then there was the food-- that too, but the food in Savannah is another story for another day, it will always be there even when QUILTCON isn't; if you haven't ever visited Savannah you need to do that!  So, QUILTCON: lots and lots of people. Here I am with two of my best buddies waiting for the big rolling doors (in the background) to open up on Friday morning, admitting the masses.     This was fun, standing and waiting, meeting new friends in line from all over the world, learning about them through their stories, thousands brought together in one place at the same time through the love of quilts; there was an excitement, an enthusiastic vibe all around. The quilts at the show were great, click on the link below for a quick slideshow of my favorites. These are all fresh, fun and modern; I learned something about myself while viewing the show: the modern quilts that appeal the most to me are those based in traditional piecing, that combined with over-the-top quilting stops me in my tracks every time!  I believe I view the quilts with a "transitional" eye, if that makes sense; the quilt category that I found myself drawn to was that entitled "modern traditionalism". Okay, I can own that!

 The venue for this event, the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center, was beautiful; spacious, light and bright inside. The quilts were all displayed in the space to the front with lots of room in between the aisles to comfortably stroll and take photos. The sponsor booths and the vendors were around the outer perimeter and to the rear of this room.

Just outside the venue were sprawling green spaces and the Savannah River.  

The weather was perfectly cooperative for stretching out for an impromptu nap on the grass. Yes, that is an amazingly large container ship working its way up the river!  

On Friday evening we met up with some friends at the Westin Hotel next door for a mini-reunion and a meal; this was the view just outside the door at that location. Those are snapdragons in bloom! 

Old friends on a new adventure; QUILTCON East 2017!

All in all, my impressions of Quiltcon were very good. The sponsor booths, while not selling goods, were showcasing lines and products as well as providing opportunities to give back through making quilt blocks for charity quilts or volunteering. These sponsor booths were generous with "swag" as well, getting to a booth when they were handing out freebies was a frequent occurrence. The Cotton and Steel bag pictured above was just such an item. I have to admit though, that my own feet weren't fleet enough to score that strawberry bag, it was just out of my grasp.  However, my good friend Nane was quick enough to capture it ahead of the thundering herd and presented it to me! I remain extremely grateful. A greater power smiled upon her generosity, only moments later she won a half-yard bundle of gorgeous fabrics in a different booth. Call it karma or divine intervention, no good turn goes unnoticed. The retail vendor booths that were selling had products new to me, I was eager to try out a few and some of those items followed me home! The one thing that I did notice was not many vendors had fabric yardage for sale, there were lots of booths with precuts of entire collections and the like, but my own personal hunt for yardage to complete a few projects was fruitless. On Friday afternoon my buddies and I took a lecture from Elizabeth Hartman on choosing color for quilts, that was one of the highlights of the entire weekend! 

I was hope-hope-hoping to come home with the copy of her newest pattern: "Dogs in Sweaters", but it wasn't quite available yet. I received an email that it was for sale today and ordered my copy immediately; you knew I just HAD TO have this one the minute it hit the market!

Just in case you thought I might have come home relatively empty handed, don't be fooled. This is the "loot" before organizing and stashing it in its rightful place. Not only all of this, but tons of inspiration too!

QUILTCON East 2017 is now history. Next year it will be on the west coast, in Pasadena. I will most likely consider driving north once again in February 2018 and returning to MidAtlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, VA. One thing I know for sure: there won't be snapdragons blooming up there at that time!

Life is Good!