Back to school.........

First I would like to say - there is no place like home! I would have blogged last night if the internet worked faster than at a snails pace.....(at home it's like INSTANT!)


Thursday was School House at Quilt Market - this is when quilt store owners are bombarded with all the "NEW" products, ideas and marketing strategies of all the top Pattern, Notion, Book and Fabric companies. It is serious hard-sell time and it usually serves to excite and motivate store owners. Below Barb and I are sitting in on a session with Alex Anderson.

These sessions go on at 15 minute intervals all day. We managed to sit in on Debbie Caffrey and New Leaf Stitches and Martingale's Remembering Adelia Book session. By 2:00 P.M. we had been bombarded enough, Chester and George were getting restless and decided some much needed Q.S.V. (Quilt Store visiting) was needed.......so off to Allison Park, PA and The Quilt Company store......

Barb can't wait to get inside........

As is their M.O. - George and Chester jumped onto the cutting table to survey the terrain......George knowingly looks up at Chester - they know it's going to be awhile.

Barb's been caught red handed - there's stuff in the bag! What a great bag and there's fat quarters for Libby and a really neat cheater panel for Barb that Nancy's going to drool over!

My purchases will be mailed to the store......some really cool patterns by the owner - Karen Montgomery. I'll be seeing her either Friday or Saturday on the Quilt Market sales floor at her booth to check out her "new" patterns. Check them out at http://www.thequiltcompany.com/.

After a stop at Wal-Mart to get some munchies and a "throw-away" cell phone (Don't ever buy a TracPhone - they have no explanation as to why it takes 2 days - 48 hours - to be able to call Canada!!??!! Hmmmmm - could it be they can't get satellite access - never had this problem with any of the other pre-paid phone companies - I am not impressed!).....anyway - off we went to Olive Garden for dinner (the "boys" had to wait in the car because they were not behaving well!)

We rushed back to the Convention Centre to be in time for Sample Spree - we really should have taken a photo of the line up.....it was almost around the block.....we got in and it was a zoo! Suffice it to say that hundreds of women (quilters no less) are turned into viscious piranha! These women would eat their young - it is a feeding frenzy for fabric, patterns, notions, etc....We were lucky to escape with our lives and the wide pink ric- rac (there is a reason for this!)!

In the mayhem we found Eleanor Burns and Barb managed to get this photo of Eleanor and me......

Barb got the boa treatment and I took the picture..... Then I found Patsy Thompson, the woman who freed me from my fear of free motion! Her DVD's are my inspiration (we're bringing back a bunch of samples) DISCLAIMER - If Canada Customs is reading this blog - we are only kidding - there are no samples....... Patsy and I were both exhausted by this time but still managed to smile for the camera.......

The Sampler Spree experience was so exhausting for the "boys" they collapsed on the bed as soon as we got back to the room.....Chester opened up the Animal Crackers and they had their milk and cookies before bed.......

Friday morning 8:00 A.M. we have a date with Lesley Riley and Lutradur so we too are calling it an early night. Barb and I don't often see the 8:00 that occurs in the A.M. so we need to prepare for that early morning thing.....

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann & Barb