Quilt Show Saturday!

Today was a wonderful day. Started off with breakfast out...which is always a nice treat. Browsed the Bead Stampede. It's exactly what it sounds like.....a bead show. There were beads of every color, shape, and almost every size. I say almost every size because the one size I was looking for wasn't to be found. The vendor was either sold out or simply didn't carry it. Oh well. I know my local bead shop will have what I'm looking for. It's a nice excuse for spending the day in town shopping.  :)

After the Bead Stampede we went to the quilt show. This is the largest show in the local area. It's hosted by what is probably the largest guild in the area (something like 500 members strong). There are about 500 quilts in the show itself with many, many, many more to be seen....vendor displays, special exhibits ( like the Hoffman Challenge quilts), and quilts for sale. There is a large selection of vendors to visit. The show is held at the fairgrounds and fills 3 bays of the main building. It's big! For our local area anyway. My hubby and I like to break up the viewing of the entered quilts by browsing a few of the vendors. Makes for a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon.  :)

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the entered quilts. I opted to leave my camera behind this year. I did manage to take one or two before my iPhone died.  :) You have to be careful of what you photograph. Some of the vendors get really upset if you photograph a display. In fact it got so bad that now you aren't allowed to take any photos by the vendors and have to be careful of exactly where and what you photograph. It's kinda silly but it is what it is. 

The show itself was am-a-zing!!! Lots and lots of beautiful quilts to see. Lots of inspiration. Lots of "Oh my gosh! That's stunning!" Made me want to come and spend the rest of the day in my sewing room....which I will be doing. :)

We did make the rounds of the vendors...twice. Didn't find any fabric for the quilt I'm currently working on ( pictured below). I guess I will have to break down and spend a day in town visiting quilt shops. Sounds awful!  :)

I did bring home two new wool applique patterns....and pre-ordered two more. They will be mailed to me when they are released. I'm a sucker for anything with sheep, sunflowers, or snowmen. The patterns I pre-ordered are sheep and snowmen.

My hubby spoiled me with a new toy. It's a little soldering iron used to affix Swarovski crystals to quilts and various other things. He got me the beginners kit which came with the iron, various tips, container to hold the crystals and a package of crystals. Then he got a little wire brush for cleaning the iron and a few more packages of crystals. That was from one vendor. He bought a few more packages of crystals from another vendor. I can't wait to try it out. Looked really easy to do and will definitely add another dimension to my quilts and embroidery.

A sheepy note:  My ewe, Gracie, lambed late Thursday night. She is the proud momma of a beautiful little ewe lamb which I named Hope.