Quilter's Day Out

By chance I ended up with a ticket to the annual Quilters' Day Out at the last minute. I had not planned on going even with the free ticket, due to the circumstances detailed in earlier posts this week, but things calmed down and C decided to go to the office this afternoon, so I snuck away for a few hours. Well, I didn't really sneak, though it did cross my mind. Instead I invited him along, we made some jokes of it, and in the end the timing was just right for us to both do what we wanted.

I was really blown away by this event. (Thanks J.E.!!) A huge banquet hall full of quilters, walls lined with vendors. The guest speaker was Bethany Reynolds who I was unfamiliar with (how is that possible, you're asking) but whose presentation I truly enjoyed.

I learned a lot-- like what Stack and Whack quilts are. wow. I also saw how Bethany arranged some fairly simple blocks into really stunning quilts. I have a feeling I'll need to explore her website in great detail.

Also heard all about the QuiltSmart interfacing system, which was used to make the quilt above. I didn't see the demo so I still don't quite get it, but it is really amazing what they have out there these days.

Feeling good today after being rather weepy on and off again yesterday. Sewing helps, thanks to Corry's post, I finally decided to give mile-a-minute pieceing a try (using this tutorial). It's very nice just to sew and not think. I started without a project in mind, but the more I make, I'm starting to feel I want to put them to good, utilitarian use. It's fun to use scraps, as always.