Serendipity

Two things:

First, I live in the city where one of the biggest quilt shows in the world happens every year. Because of this, I have become very lazy about seeing quilts elsewhere. Plane tickets? Booking a room? Eating in restaurants? Nah. If it involves more than a 45 minute drive, spending the day then coming home, eating at my table, sleeping in my bed, then I can't be bothered.

Secondly, I have known since Autumn of last year that, early in 2016 I would be traveling to California for work. I had been discussing with my hosts about when would be the best time, for them, for me. We finally settled on a time agreeable to both of us & I began to make plans to go -- a PO for plane tickets, gathering materials I would need while there, etc.

About a week before I was to leave, lines started connecting dots:
I was going to Pasadena, California. I would be there during the third week of February.
The third QuiltCon was to be out west somewhere, California, wasn't it?
Sometime in the second half of February?

Yes, I was going to be in Pasadena, CA the same week as QuiltCon!

I was busy with work most of the week, but Friday was carved out for a quick visit to QuiltCon & a quick tour of Pasadena. I don't think I've been through a quilt show faster! But I had time for a once-over of the juried quilts & the special exhibits. They had a display of Gwen Marston's quilts. It was nice to see quilts from her books up close & personal.

The other display was of Molly Upton's work from back to the early 1970s.
They were moving, stirring & inspiring. I will let them speak for themselves to you.

Fabric teaches a Lesson

Recently, my friend's friend passed away. I did not know her, but I understand that she was very creative. In her life, she had experimented with many different artistic media & had excelled at quite a few of them. Her studio was filled with the materials of her creative life. After her death, my friend volunteered to her friend's newly widowed husband, to help with the big task of clearing out the studio.

My friend's dining room was *filled* with her friend's fabric. She put out a call to her fellow quilters & to several church groups who sew for those in need. In spite of my over-full stash, the words "free fabric" had me in my car & headed to her house. I was amazed by what I saw! So much fabric! Fat quarters, small cuts, huge cuts. Cat fabric, Asian fabric (I came away with an Asian cat fabric), batiks, etc, etc, etc. There were zip bags filled with blocks & block parts. There was even tub filled with bandannas?

After several, round-eyed "oh my words!" on my part, I started thinking about how many plastic tubs would it take to contain *my* stash.
As many?
More?

But the good news is that though my friend's friend will no longer enjoy her studio filled with color & inspiration, her fabric has found new homes & will be put to good use. I brought home a couple of bags of WIPs to make up for charity quilts. One was a bag of bright batik blocks which made two quick quilts -- one to give, one to keep.

I am still absorbing the lessons.
The first lesson I was: people with too much fabric should not throw rocks at others who have too much fabric. I know a very few people who only buy fabric when they need it. Me? I. Buy. Fabric. I buy fabric because I LOVE fabric. I have too much fabric & now I have a little more fabric.

The second lesson was this -- don't worry about having too much fabric. Yes, it will present a problem to who ever has the chore of cleaning out my sewing room, but the very good news is that quilters will love the fabric I loved & will do good things with it. This dear woman's beloved stash is now scattered over Houston being loved & doing good.

Happy mail days!

And a happy FedEx day!

My Pinterest Pal & I had been "chatting" about little quilts, when I realized that I never had a baby quilt. Turns out my Pinterest Pal hadn't one either. So we decided to make one for each other. For her, I put together the strips left over from my scrappy trip around. My gift recently arrived, & while not a baby quilt, it is even better! A charming pillow! And a bonus hot mitt & pincushion!

Then came a birthday remembrance from my dear Mrs. O'Quilts. They look like hot pads but what I see is love & creativity & strength.

And then the FedEx driver came! Red Bowties! Home again after more than a year! It was so beautifully wrapped -- tissue wrapped, tissue in the folds, I could not immediately un-do it. Pippa, always on the lookout for the new & comfy is enjoying it, as is.