Blogs

Kitty was heard meowing under a neighbors deck.  My son heard her that afternoon and we went back later to see that Kitty has  not been re-united with her mother.  We caught and later vetted her.  She is about 4-5 weeks. So tiny, .9lbs, blue eyes, loves kitty milk!  She's been with us for a week and is thriving and playing with Samantha.  She has no name. The family can't seem to agree, so for now we call her "Kitten" or "Kitty".

A viewer asks, "Is there a book or pamphlet that would be good for a beginner to applique showing needle turning points and freezer paper method?"  She was also looking for details on needleturn.

I haven't come along any really good books that give great pictures or details on needle turn.  Much of what I learned came from workshops and classes at Qulit Shows.  I always needle-turn without the use of freezer paper.  I like to keep my work simple, the less steps the more enjoyable for me.

Third and final Hint: Thread matters.  Be sure you are using a thin cotton, 50/3. 60/2(even better) or silk( best choice). These thin cotton or silk threads will blend into your applique fabric to near invisibility.  Be certain to match your thread to your applique fabric. My favorites are YLI silk 100wt( amazing!!), Aurifil 50/2( so thin and beautiful), YLI  Soft Touch.

I am expanding the YLI Silk Thread line with eight new colors coming to the quilt shop!  Use YLI silk thread to create nearly invisible needle turn stitches.  Find the color that most closely matches your applique fabric, not the background.  Using a straw, or applique  needle, and possibly a needle threader, and enjoy the smooth stitches.  I love that its a natural fiber, like the cotton I use for my fabrics and Hobbs Wool or Hobbs Heirloom for my batting. For more information on applique see my Video on Hand Applique .

Since I checked out of the Penn Square Marriott for the show last March, I have been trying to contact the Marriott  to make a new  reservation for the 2011 AQS Show.  For several months they had no agreement set with the show management so I called back periodically.

Now I have been in contact with the organization responsible for the show reservations www.PADutchCountry.com  and they told me a list was being collected at the show for anyone  interested in a reservation at the show rate for 2011.  

Unfortunately for me, I didn't know such a list existed and was being compiled.  I was also never offered an opportunity to leave my name as I checked out, nor was I sent a letter of any kind to let me know that a list for reservations for the next show was being collected. So what to do.  I left my name at the end of the list they have collected.  I am trying to get in touch with the Pa Dutch senior management to express my disappointment. I have already spoken with middle management and nothing was gained.  I asked whose idea was this to collect a list at  the corner of the hotel. And I asked why wasn't I afforded an opportunity to leave my name as I was already a guest at the hotel for the 2010 show?

For now, I made a reservation with the hotel at the standard rate which is only about $15.00 over the show rate. So I pay $149 per day instead of the show rate of  about $135.00. 

My biggest issue now is that the hotel can only guarentee me a king bed with a possible roll-away.  This probably wont work for me and my friend.  So maybe I'll take my husband next year.

In all the years I have attended the former Lancaster show, Quilters Heritage, I have  never experienced such inadequate management as I have so far with the AQS.  Lets just hope they continue to learn from these errors, both at the show and the months leading up to it.

 The quilts at the show were inspiring.  It was wonderful to see such  high quality workmanship.  The inset photo  is a new quilt from Suzanne Marshall, my quilting "hero".  Her work is impecable and she took home "Best Hand Workmanship" .

Most of the quilt display areas had inadequate lighting.  We couldn't get close enough  to fully appreciate the details as we were cordoned off by ropes.  I also felt there weren't enough large quilts, so we went back to see the show quilts twice. 

There were vendors on several floors of the Marriott convention center and it was easy miss some.  But the most stunning find was that some AQS vendors were relocated to a far off building in another part of the city which required a car drive or shuttle to get there.  I would hate to be those vendors. I hope they got a discount.  I would have bypassed the entire off site vendor location if not for the keen eye of my traveling partner as she scutinized the show brochure one evening,  which we had to pay for.  Also no free tote bags and  they ran out of ones to purchase.

I attended a sample class of 8 teachers showing their techniques simultaneously in one room.  I love this idea and i attended a similiar class in IQA Chicago and loved it.  Unfortunately the room was extremely small and overcrowded.  All the teachers were crammed into a small space with a table. We stood around each table.  About 15 people left and requested a refund.

The downtown Lancaster location had some advantages, as we enjoyed the Farmers Market across the street.  I got some great horseradish and candy and sampled some great cheese!  The local restaurants were well utilized by the quilters.  We enjoyed the Irish Pub and the Lancaster Brewing Co.  We found a great little restaurant for breakfast on our second morning there. I just can't remember the name.  The Marriott was an inadequate place for breakfast unless you're okay with an English Muffin for $3.50., pre-buttered and cold. Don't get me started!!!LOL

The Lancaster Quilting Museum was a block away from the show location so we saw that for the first time. I was prepared to be wow-ed,  I was under-whelmed.

I thoroughly enjoyed fabric shopping at Dutchland Quilt Patch late into the evening, there were some great closeouts and great prices! Like most quilters, I can spend many happy hours pulling bolts to combine fabric patterns and colors to make new collections to bring home.

I can just about guarentee that I will be back next year, unless it falls directly on Passover.  I feel confident the AQS will improve the show as they get comfortable with this new location.  I am looking forward to it already!!