Road to California Day 5—Star Struck!

First off, a Shout Out! Word Play Quilts has been dropped off on my door step and will be ready to ship when I reach home!

I also got word that Scraps & Shirttails II is riding around somewhere between the warehouse and my house, on a big brown truck and they will be waiting for me when I arrive home also!

Guess what I'll be doing that first week of February?! It's so exciting!

So on to Day Five….believe me….we were teetering on the fence between giddy over vendor-mall overload, and zombie!

It really was the best birthday I remember in a long time….wouldn’t YOU love to spend your birthday at a huge national quilt show surrounded by people who share the same obsessions and addictions hobbies that you have?!

By the time day 5 had rolled around, I had done little more than walked a bit of the show and checked out the teacher’s exhibit --- there just wasn’t time because class went from 8:30 to 4:30! There was 2 hours for lunch, but I spent that the last day getting all the extra bits ready to fedex home because it all couldn’t come to Louisiana with me.

The girls were sewing away on their quilts, and I was told to take the last 20 minutes of lunch for myself and SHOP!! These black and white fabrics are what I couldn’t resist….I’ve got some plans, and these have just been calling my name.

I also bought a set of Kai scissors that were the show special thanks to Randy telling me to pick her up a set….it was so funny. She gave me the business card, told me where they were and would I pick her up a set, because she had an early flight home…I said sure! So…busy, busy lunch and Sherry bless her heart says….do you need anything from the show? And I handed her the card and said “pick up two sets!” How is that! I could get used to having my own personal shopper!

This was also the day of the beautiful cake! And by afternoon I was going into other classes and inviting students from other workshops to come in and share the cake too….we couldn’t take it with us, and it seemed a shame that any of it go to waist waste! Toward the end of the day I was inviting walkers-by to come in and see what we were doing, and have a piece of cake….it was ALMOST gone by the time we were packing up!

I love this pic of Wanda with the chain piecing thrown over her shoulder….Weeeee!!!!!

There were chains of units stock piling everywhere!

Gotta love the pedal-to-the-metal power piecing!

Here is the album with the pictures from class. It was fun to see the units turn to blocks, and blocks be laid out to see how the quilts would be.

		Star Struck Jan 23, 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

It was a terrific day!

I’m now tucked into my hotel in Lafayette, Louisiana! The girls took me to a fabulous place called Don’s and I stuffed myself silly enjoyed a bowl of seafood gumbo and fried catfish done just right!

It’s raining out….it was raining in Houston, and raining heavier here in Lafayette! The black plastic bags I put in the bottom of the quilt duffels did their job mostly…I just had a couple quilts that were a bit damp and they are hanging here in the room, one over the shower curtain rod, and one over the recliner. The bags themselves are hanging and drying out too. It was my SUITCASE with my clothes that got the wettest! I had a 3 hour layover in Houston, and you know how it is….the bags come off the plane, on to the luggage trucks, and then they SIT wherever they sit. If the luggage truck is wet from the rain, the baggage is going to sit there and get wet too. Mary and I are on the look out while I am down here for some gortex “off shore” bags that she thinks might be better to transport the quilts in, or at least to line the duffels with to keep them more weather proof. Quilters to the rescue!

We’ve got 2 lectures with the Quilters Acadienne, one morning and one evening, and TWO Texas Braid workshops--one on Wednesday, and one on Saturday! You need to click to their website, and listen to the background music! If that won’t get you in a mood for a bit of Louisiana, nothing will!