Today I drove down to Hampton for the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival. I met 5 of the rock stars of the podcasting quilt world: Tanesha (Crafty Garden Mom), AJ (The Quilting Pot), Frances (The Off Kilter Quilt), Pam (Hip To Be a Square) and Sandy (Quilting For the Rest of Us). They are all as nice in person as they sound of their podcasts. It was fun to put a face with a voice.
Several other podcast groupies also met up with the podcasters. I met 2 women from Virginia Beach and two from Northern VA. We all ate lunch together and then went downstairs and sat in a circle while Sandy recorded a podcast. We talked about maybe having a get together again next year or some sort of retreat.
The quilt show itself was great! I enjoyed seeing all vendor's booths, but I didn't buy a thing. I was tempted by the little purse frames that I've used in the past to make small beaded bags. I also liked the quilting chests with glass sides. They were a way to display folded up quilts; you could see the quilts, but they were protected from dirt by the glass case. There were several booths with wool felt kits and patterns. I liked many of them but I used restraint because I have oodles of fabric and other needlework supplies. I don't need another hobby right now!
I did my best to see all the quilts on display. There was a good mix of art quilts and traditional bed quilts. Most were well above my skill level, but there some that were pretty simple. Lots of applique, some embroidery and thread-painting. I don't remember seeing anything very modern (as in the white or gray backgrounds with simple piecing).
I'm fighting a sinus infection right now, and the quilt show wore me out today!
The podcasters passed around pictures of their families, kids, and pets. I didn't have any pictures of my kids with me, even on my phone, but here are my boys:
The one in the black shirt is my oldest, the one with the long hair is the middle child, and the youngest has spiked hair.
