My favorite show is back. It was a much smaller turnout than previous years and I’m not sure the vendors are too pleased. But as a quilter and long time attendee I was thrilled to get back. 

I took 3 classes Thursday – Friday and spent Saturday romping through with a couple of friends. 

Thursday – I couldn’t take the full day off so I left late around 2’ish. Checked in to my hotel and then headed to the show. I was able to walk the vendor section with a friend and make mental note of things I liked and things I would potentially buy.  I had an evening class with Catherine Redford on “Intro to Folk Art Embroidery”. We learned did 5 basic stitches. I knew most of them but it was nice for a refresher. The new to me stitches were the wrapped stitches. They were fun. 

On Friday, I took Annie Smith’s Aurifil Thread Matters Class. It sounds like it would be a sales pitch for Aurifil. As a tried and true Aurifan, I didn’t see it as such. This was a chance to try all the types of thread that Aurifil has to offer.  We were provided a Bernina 570 to use and basically stitched sample stitches onto fabric using the different weights, needles, and decorative stitches on the machine. We put all of our samples into a binder to keep for reference. I think everyone should do this whether you like Aurifil, Superior Threads, Wonderfil, etc. First, different weights use different needles and different weights in the bobbin. And each combination produce different results. Everyone has their own preference and doing this allows me to choose which combination I want to use to produce the result I want to produce on any given project.  I’ve always used 50w on top, 50w on the bottom and mostly use a 70/10 needle, sometimes 80/12 and sometimes 90/14.  For me, this is fine for piecing. The needles I used was whatever was in my machine. I generally changed it to 90/14 because I have a TON of them. A lifetimes worth really. But those are bigger needles meant for thicker thread like a 12w or 28w. I really loved playing with the 12w lana (wool) and I may have to invest in all the colors Aurifil offers in this weight. 

Friday evening, I ended it with Catherine Redford’s more intermediate class, “Dimensions of Folk Art Embroidery.” We learned about 6 more stitches that were a bit more complicated. You had to have known how to do a chain stitch and it surprised me that there were a few people who signed up who didn’t know how to do a chain stitch and were beginners.  I can only guess they didn’t read the class description. 

I enjoyed myself immensely at all three classes. I’m getting really hooked on hand embroidery and am getting an itch to finally start a crazy quilt. A couple of ladies in the friday night class told me to start now. It’s a long term project. That doesn’t surprise me. It seems all of my projects end up being long term. The hand work more so than any other. 

If you’ve ever been to Road, it generally took up 3 main areas. The main room, with some quilts for show and mostly vendors. The second ballroom, with most of the quilts for show and no vendors (all though I believe this just started in 2020 or 2019, I can’t remember).  And the third place – the tent, with food, some tables and more vendors.  This year, we didn’t have the tent with the extra options for food. Instead, all the vendors were in the main room. And it was not cramped. There were still open booths where chairs were placed allowing attendees to sit and rest.  So there weren’t as many vendors. There was only one booth selling a large selection of Aurifil and no one was selling cones. Where before, there would be 3+ vendors selling the same stuff and there was only one booth with items. For example, I was looking for a stripology for a friend. Only one booth (Quilt in a Day) had it. Really, they were the only booth with Creative Grid rulers. There were 2+ other booths with rulers but different kinds (ie. Quilter’s Select, etc.). So not as many options. I hope next year, our world is in a place where more vendors and attendees can come out. 

 

 

 

This quilt is exceptional. It’s hard to see al the mini details but it’s hand done and quilted. Outstanding!

This crazy quilt is my favorite. I want to make one also with embroidery stitches all over it.

Happy quilting my friends.

Melanie