A lovely day with the Girlfriends (and a show!)
I was reminded by one of the Girlfriends that Saturday was the quilt show hosted by the Hot Springs Area Quilt Guild. Hot Springs is 60 miles from where I live and it's a fun town to visit. AND it's been way too long since I've been to a quilt show--the last one I attended was the Houston show in 2010.
Cindy and LeiLani and I were at the show shortly after it opened and LeiLani won a great door prize--a basket with some quilting goodies. There were several nice quilts, but nothing that knocked me to my knees. Don't get me wrong; I appreciate ALL quilts, but I do like to see new, original ideas in shows. One of the best things about attending the show was seeing several old friends and customers from the shop and the quilt guild of which I used to be a member.
I had made the decision I would not buy fabric (unless I needed it for a specific project), but notions and thread were fair game. I was really interested in looking at this:
This is the Big Look -- (the website is not very informative) you set your machine on the base (which is supposed to fit in any cabinet), and you can move the magnifying glass to any position on the bar for use as you sew:
The photo above doesn't truly depict the enlargement from the magnifier--it was fabulous. I was really tempted. Cindy and LeiLani each bought one. But I want to trick out my longarm with extra lighting and a magnifier and I have to wait a bit. They are $90, plus another $10 for the extra-large arm that goes over the newer, bigger sewing and embroidery machines. Cindy has a Bernina 820 so she needs the extra large arm--LeiLani bought it so she could move the magnifier to the left of her machine to do any hand work necessary while looking through it. I asked the rep if they made these for longarms--she said to send the dimensions and they'd give me a quote. The hubs thinks he can put one together, but I want him concentrating on the lighting for the moment.
As far as notions go, I didn't see anything new--other than some rulers. I don't have a ruler fetish so I didn't bite. Not much was available in the way of thread; one shop had her King Tut available in the 500-yard spools, but I buy the 2,000 yard cones. I didn't peruse any books or patterns; I have enough and I'm in the middle of my destash!
But fabric...I think I mentioned the other day that I haven't bought an inch of fabric so far this year. There were some beautiful selections from one of my favorite vendors, Piece Keepers, but I walked on by. In fact, most of the booths had great repros, and I walked by those, too. This is what I ended up with:
Nothing prim here!!! And yes, it's all for a specific project I've had in my head for several months. I'm ready to tackle it, but you won't see it for quite a while -- I want it to be a surprise for someone and have to keep a lid on it, but as soon as I'm able, I'll show it. It also means that The Bin I emptied last week gets a new project in it...
After the show we had lunch at The Grindhouse - a yummy burger without the bun (for this gluten free girl) and fries fried in truffle oil - double yum! Came home and later went to dinner with our son Ross and his buddy Damon at the new Mellow Mushroom to try out their gluten free pizza. Another yummy meal!
A lovely day with a show, food and Girlfriends -- life is good.
Have a great week!
Cindy and LeiLani and I were at the show shortly after it opened and LeiLani won a great door prize--a basket with some quilting goodies. There were several nice quilts, but nothing that knocked me to my knees. Don't get me wrong; I appreciate ALL quilts, but I do like to see new, original ideas in shows. One of the best things about attending the show was seeing several old friends and customers from the shop and the quilt guild of which I used to be a member.
I had made the decision I would not buy fabric (unless I needed it for a specific project), but notions and thread were fair game. I was really interested in looking at this:
The photo above doesn't truly depict the enlargement from the magnifier--it was fabulous. I was really tempted. Cindy and LeiLani each bought one. But I want to trick out my longarm with extra lighting and a magnifier and I have to wait a bit. They are $90, plus another $10 for the extra-large arm that goes over the newer, bigger sewing and embroidery machines. Cindy has a Bernina 820 so she needs the extra large arm--LeiLani bought it so she could move the magnifier to the left of her machine to do any hand work necessary while looking through it. I asked the rep if they made these for longarms--she said to send the dimensions and they'd give me a quote. The hubs thinks he can put one together, but I want him concentrating on the lighting for the moment.
As far as notions go, I didn't see anything new--other than some rulers. I don't have a ruler fetish so I didn't bite. Not much was available in the way of thread; one shop had her King Tut available in the 500-yard spools, but I buy the 2,000 yard cones. I didn't peruse any books or patterns; I have enough and I'm in the middle of my destash!
But fabric...I think I mentioned the other day that I haven't bought an inch of fabric so far this year. There were some beautiful selections from one of my favorite vendors, Piece Keepers, but I walked on by. In fact, most of the booths had great repros, and I walked by those, too. This is what I ended up with:
Nothing prim here!!! And yes, it's all for a specific project I've had in my head for several months. I'm ready to tackle it, but you won't see it for quite a while -- I want it to be a surprise for someone and have to keep a lid on it, but as soon as I'm able, I'll show it. It also means that The Bin I emptied last week gets a new project in it...
After the show we had lunch at The Grindhouse - a yummy burger without the bun (for this gluten free girl) and fries fried in truffle oil - double yum! Came home and later went to dinner with our son Ross and his buddy Damon at the new Mellow Mushroom to try out their gluten free pizza. Another yummy meal!
A lovely day with a show, food and Girlfriends -- life is good.
Have a great week!
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