MQX Recap - Part I

The week since I got back from MQX has been a little crazy, but I wanted to do a little recap of the experience.  After a very long train ride, I was so excited to see this....

My first view of the show floor (this is when your tummy gets all tingly - what treasures are lurking for me to find..)

I didn't think there were as many vendors as the last time I went to MQX, but there were enough that I found plenty to buy!

The view from my hotel room - downtown Providence...

The Edith Ann chair in my hotel room (I know, I'm dating myself here - does anyone get the reference???)  I should have put something on it for scale.  The chair was enormous (but very comfortable!)  Two people could have sat side-by-side on it with room to spare!

I took four classes while I was there.  One was a pantograph class from Judy Lyon from MeadowLyon Designs, who is so sweet and I could have listened to her talk all day.  I also took two classes from rock star quilter  Karen McTavish.  The first was "How Do I Quilt That?"  It was fun - kind of a show and tell class.  Students brought in a quilt top and Karen gave her thoughts on how she would quilt it.  Lots of good ideas!

I also took Karen's 4 hour "Mastering the Art of McTavishing" certification class.  Yes, folks, I am now certified to teach "McTavishing" and I have a paper that says so - LOL!  I think I'll practice a bit first o:)  This class was hands-on.  Karen is very funny, very kind and very generous with her knowledge. 

At the last minute, on a whim, I decided to see if I could get into one of Angela Walters' classes.  Score!!!  There was room in her "Quilting Efficient" class.  Angela is even sweeter than she looks and getting to see her amazing quilting up close (I helped her fold her quilts after class - no brown-nosing going on there!!)   I can't wait until her book comes out - I have it on my Amazon "wish-list"  We also ran into each other at the bar before the banquet that night - girl after my own heart.  I really needed a cocktail after that long day of classes!

Things I learned from this trip...

1.  Take the wheelie luggage. Don't try to be cool and take the overnight bag that's way too heavy, especially where you are walking from the train station to the hotel and back - a half-mile walk.

2.  Stay at the hotel that's connected to the convention center and not the one you have to walk 3 blocks to the convention center from (no matter how nice it is).

3.  Don't think you're going to watch all of the Netflix movies you've saved up to watch on the train ride.  Amtrak doesn't allow you to hog bandwidth so you can't stream anything.  In fact it's so slow, you can barely read your email.

4.  Don't put your key card in your purse next to your cell phone.  You won't be able to get into your room.

5.  Something that was further confirmed for me this trip - you will never be alone when you are surrounded by quilters!  I go to a lot of things like this by myself and I am never lonely.  At my morning class, I sat next to a woman who happened to live about 10 minutes from me, she introduced me to another friend who lives close by who invited me to sit with her and her friends (well, maybe I invited myself) at the banquet that night.  New friends!

Next post - the spoils (or how much thread can I haul home!!)