HOUSTON HERE WE COME!!!!

As a quilter, I feel, that everyone should attend at least one quilt show and if you can make it to one of the larger Quilt Festivals then take advantage of it. The quilts are no longer just quilts, with new techniques, styles and fabric designs it is amazing what these quilters create. There are also some great classes that you can attend to give a boost to what you already know or teach you something new. If you would like to share the experience of Quilt Festival in the comfort of your own home click on this link and see some of the excitement going on in Houston this weekend. http://www.quilts.com/fqf09/enVivo/

Our reservations for accomodations and classes to be taken were made months ago and work schedules have been adjusted so that nothing interferes with our yearly ritual. Cell phones, cameras and good shoes are at the top of our prep list because we know that we will be on our feet from the time the show opens till it closes. We have our shopping strategy planned and our class schedules worked out so that we can make the best of our time there.

We arrived in Houston just shortly after the doors at the George R. Brown Convention center opened up on Friday morning. Even though this is the 4th time I have attended I am still overwhelmed when I first enter the vendor's section. The aisles are numbered and start with 100 and run in increments of one hundred up to 1900 making it 9 aisles of booth after booth of fabulous displays. Our shopping started out with the purchase of a few fat quarters, and no this has nothing to do with body shapes. For non-quilters, a fat quarter is a half yard of fabric that is cut in half along the center lengthwise giving you a piece that measures approximately 18 inches by 22 inches. We walked along the aisles taking notes of booths we might want to return to for purchases and also picked up some good bargains on sample packs of batting at the Hobbs booth. A quick stop at the Handiquilter booth gave us some extra free shopping totes to fill up with goodies.

After a semi good nights sleep we will head out for the convention center today to finih up our shopping experience and then tonight head out to dinner with some friends from the Houston area. Tomorrow we will have cameras in hand with extra memory cards and batteries to take pictures of the quilts on display. This is an experience that is sure to take our breath away and we are definitely looking forward to it.