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!!