At least 20 of our members went to QuiltCon. Here are three reports back from the convention.
From Ann LaVigna
My second Quiltcon! Now having gone twice, I can see how it will never get old. There are too many quilts to see, and seeing them all in one place gives a person perspective of what is being created right now, up close and in person. A favorite is “Shirt off His Back” by Lorraine Woodruff-Long (@quiltinginthefog) – I went back to look at that one again and again. On the vendor side, the Ruby Star Society had some sewing machines set up in their booth and allowed us to create a Make and Take project with their new (unreleased!) fabric line. Shelby and I broke the rules and made a mini together instead of one of the three or four patterns – very fun
I left Quiltcon armed with new inspiration, and am itching to try out some of the things I learned. Heads up – if you have an opportunity to take a workshop from Timna Tarr (and you will DCMQG) take it! Favorite thing about Nashville? The Murals.
When I first heard about QuiltCon I was interested, but then when I learned that it was in Nashville I knew I had to go. A couple of my oldest friends are in Nashville. I couldn't imagine anything better than a weekend of quilts and best friends!
From Emily Adaoag
This was my first time attending QuiltCon and I was definitely blown away by all of the talent on display. I signed up late and missed getting into workshops, so instead I did the 4-day all day lecture pass. Each day I went back and forth between the lectures and the exhibit hall. It was perfect to explore the quilt show and vendors in small bits of time, since it was easily overwhelming to try and do it all at once. They did have a board of class postings that people were trying to sell, however I really was enjoying the lectures and taking my time with the quilts. Maybe next year I'll try a workshop but even if I don't, I still would love to do the lecture pass again. I learned so much about the history of modern quilting, elements of design, piecing and technical skills, and even best ways to store and preserve quilts.
And from Dara
I attended my first QuiltCon in Savannah in 2017 and felt refreshed and inspired for months later, so knew immediately that I would be attending this year in Nashville. Due to only being there for 2-1/2 days instead of 4, I decided to stay in a hotel close to the show and take just one class plus purchase a lecture pass for Friday to maximize my floor time. Although I was looking forward to learning new techniques and getting inspiration from gorgeous quilts and speakers, I was pleasantly surprised to find how much time I spent reconnecting with friends and acquaintances and making new connections, all part of a rich, diverse, talented community of makers.
Due to the snowstorm on Wednesday, we ended up taking an earlier flight which allowed us to share a fun Craft South shopping trip and delicious lunch with 3 DCMQG pals. If you’re ever in Nashville, Craft South is not to be missed. It’s beautifully displayed and filled with so much good stuff! And definitely stop next door for a meal at BarTaco. After checking in at the hotel, we queued up in a serpentine line that wound around the hallway of the exhibition hall to wait for our turn at the registration desk. It was a great opportunity to meet and chat with new people, check out some of the charity quilts, and say hi to those we’d crossed paths with before. After getting our swag bags (fat quarters, charm packs, calendar, magazine, some other things I'm forgetting, all in a Ruby Star Society bag), some of us were tempted by the MQG wares for sale and decided to shop a bit, meeting the rest of the group later at dinner. Nashville is definitely known for its food and there were plenty of great places within walking distance of the convention center.
The show!
My strategy (stolen from Nancy) was to check out the vendor booths first (as they have finite quantities), then see the show. Plus, I had no plans to purchase anything (stop laughing). I’d made it out of Savannah with only a $10 enamel pin and thought I could do the same here – wrong.
Highlights of the vendor booths:
Fish Museum and Circus – I couldn’t even get close enough to admire the whimsical pincushions and other ceramics due to a line 25 people deep! They were mostly gone by afternoon.
Crimson Tate – pure sunshine, positivity, and fun – plus Heather gives the best hugs! I am a huge fan of Heather’s Paper Obsessed and Literary fabric lines, and also love her two new ones.
Victoria Findlay Wolfe – great colors, quilts, patterns, and tools.
Ruby Star Society – the founding members of Cotton+ Steel were showing their new designs which will be available later this year. Such a delight to talk to them. Although I enjoyed their make and take at Savannah, I never found a spot this time – it’s was super busy!
Web Fabrics – we love going there at retreat, and her booth is just as much fun as her shop.
Fabricworm – Nancy helped me track down those elusive cardinals by Charly Harper – a fat quarter bundle later….
Daylight Company – great lamps and magnifiers. Yes, I bought one – eek! But now I can do handwork without taking my glasses off, so yay.
Sawyer Creek Artistry – beautiful hand-carved seam rippers (I should have bought one – my most-used tool!)
Vera Bradley – this was definitely their demographic!
Craft South – yes, I had just bought a half yard of Friedlander fabric there the day before, but – scrap bags (insert heart eye emoji). I lucked out and got a bag with over 100 charms and 100 mini charms – all AMH and Kaffe. Stay tuned for the plan.
The exhibits – I cannot believe I didn’t see the whole show. I confirmed with a QC staffer that yes, it was bigger than Savannah - more quilts, more attendees. There were loads of special exhibits, plus one by the keynote speaker, Sherri Lynn Wood, that was kind of a retrospective. I spent a lot of time in front of some of the quilts, and missed whole sections of others. Still others I walked by during my final half hour there, stopping only to snap a pic of the quilt and artist statement, hoping the memory of how it affected me in person is still there when I go back to spend time with the photos. I still haven’t fully digested everything, but my takeaway was that there seems to be some moving away from the purely solids look that I’m used to seeing with modern quilts. I like that. And, that everything was not completely perfectly stitched or lined up – the human element was evident, which made the show more enjoyable for me.
Being able to drop things off at the hotel, freshen up, and have lunch was great. I came back over for my afternoon class with Timna Tarr on Designing With Flying Colors. Ann and her daughter took the class, too. The only prep was to bring 15-5” squares. We piled them all on the table, messed them up, then sorted them according to color and then value, then chose one we would have difficulty using plus 2 that would work with it. These were all auditioned on the design wall and rearranged as needed. So cool to see how an "ugly" fabric was transformed by the colors that surrounded it. This was interspersed with examples of Timna’s quilts, a peek inside her process (very liberating!) and the ability to use different tools to help us with value and finding complementary colors. She was a very engaging teacher and I can’t wait to take another class from her.
The rest of Thursday and most of Friday was unexpectedly social for me – between dinner with my friend Luana, meeting Sara Trail from the Social Justice Sewing Academy, meeting for a group photo at our charity quilt, visiting with members from the CCTMQG (my guild-away-from-home), running into my Beatles swap partner from several years ago, reconnecting with my former assistant principal/now professor at Vanderbilt, and seeing some more of the show, I only managed to attend one lecture and missed the one I’d had my heart set on. All in all, it was a good tradeoff.
On Saturday, I was pleased to find out I had had the foresight to sign up for the keynote address, but sad that we would have to leave before it was over. I got to exchange mini quilts with my partner since I wouldn't be there for the big swap that evening. Then I raced around the show, trying to see as much as humanly possible before the keynote. Fortunately, I received a text from Southwest - once again, the weather gods were on our side, delaying our flight by 40 minutes so we could enjoy the entire lecture! I got so much out of Sherri Lynn Wood’s workshop with us last year, so really loved hearing her stories and seeing her progression of quilts – especially when she was an artist in residence at SF Recology.
I hope everyone gets the chance to attend QuiltCon at some point. Whether it’s Austin next year or Atlanta in 2021, I would highly recommend a visit, even if you don’t get into a class.