My mom and I hadn't attended the Sewing and Stitchery Expo in a few years so it was fun to get down there and see what was new. We did have a really good time. It was a really nice and relaxing day.There was some lame aspects of the day but I bumped them to the end of the post. :)
On to the great stuff, because overall it was great.
The photo above and below is taken in my favorite booth for this year: A Quilter's Dream. The photos hardly capture the patterns and most importantly the feeling of the colors they tend towards.
A Quilter's Dream will be back up in WA at the Pacific Northwest Quilt Show in Tacoma, August 24th. I have never been to that show so I don't know anything about it, but I am actually considering it to spend more time in this shop's booth.
We weren't actually supposed to take photos in the seminars (or eat - oops). This photo was taken in the first seminar before I knew about that.Above is Pam Damour and lets just say the description of the class didn't really explain it well. Entertaining gal, but the talk was basically about converting unfinished quilts to home decor projects. (This was a good lesson to me that perhaps I should look speakers up online too.) There are few things in the sewing world I care less about than home decor. :) This was also the oversold session and my mom and I ended up on the floor. We also couldn't sneak out because we were too far from the exit.
The second session (in which I was scolded for eating - sigh) was Kaye Wood. Great fun and we truly enjoyed her. Her quilting style is not my style, however I did learn a lot in how she streamlines shapes and patterns. She no longer has a show on TV but she is all over YouTube with a lot of short demos of her techniques.
Our last session was with Pam Clarke and it was all about free motion quilting. Although she was working on a long-arm machine she was constantly referencing home machines and I learned a lot from her that I will already start applying.
What I really took away from her session was how to break down free motion patterns which might actually encourage me to branch out and try other options. I tend to do the same thing on all my quilts. Part of the problem is that I am lazy and quilting is not actually my favorite part of the quilt making process, but a lot of it is being intimated to try something new. If I ever had a chance to take a hands-on class with her I absolutely would.
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If you wish to read my complaints :)
- Oversold session (we had no seating)
- Terrible food (honestly, there is no excuse for how terrible fair food is - bring your own)
- The usual tight crowds (but some great people watching and a lot of very considerate people struggling with the same lack of personal space)
- The Sewing and Stitchery Expo web site
I went to the Sew Expo for the first time, also on Friday. I don't know if it was my frame of mind or what, but people were constantly bumping into me and more than once I was afraid I was going to fall over. I lasted only about 2 hours before I just had to escape!
ReplyDeleteI bought a package of those huge grommets for purses, and some fabric that I needed more of, but that's all.
I didn't look into the seminars, and after seeing the upstairs I'm kind of glad I didn't. I was overwhelmed with the size of the venues. Wow, that's way too many people in one room, particularly if there was a fire or earthquake!
I want to go to Tacoma this year too, as I want to see the Sew Batik booth, the one with the wide batiks that have linear and edge patterns.
Hello Misha! I should have warned you about the crowds. It is pretty bad. It helps that I know how tight the booth spaces are but some years I can handle it better than others. It would help if the walking paths were wider so there was sort of center movement and people could stop at the sides.
ReplyDeleteDespite not allowing the carts there were still people that brought them. It was worse in the first years when people starting bringing those darn things and there was no policy. You can imagine!
I am still glad you checked it out, but yes, the crowds are probably the worst part!