NW Quilting Expo, pt. 2

The few days it's taken me to get around to this follow-up entry on the awesome 2012 NW Quilting Expo is kind of a scale sample of the break I needed after taking in all of those amazing quilts before attacking the vendors. But at the time I didn't have 3-4 days of recovery time to work with, so Maria and I just went for it!

One of the great pleasures I had while walking around the Expo Center was seeing faces that I had not seen in a long time and getting to reconnect with old friends and former coworkers in the field. One of those reunions occurred on our first of about 3 passes by the Pioneer Quilts booth. While Jolyn was surrounded by fans I spotted my former coworker Michelle, of whom I had grown very fond during the few months we worked together nearly 2 years ago. I had lost track of where she might be, but have now learned that she joined the great staff at Pioneer Quilts in Happy Valley, OR.

So, next on the list is... ??? My first purchase of the day, and I didn't even get a receipt nor did I mark the name of the shop (visiting from somewhere in California, I think). But they had a huge selection of novelty fabrics with them - something that never ceases to get my attention.

And though by these days I have learned an immense amount of self-restraint, I'm still a sucker for things I think people I care about will love. This made me think immediately of my 7 yr. old nephew (or was it my (nearly) 37 yr. old boyfriend?) Not sure what this will eventually become, but it was most definitely a find!!

Next we found a retailer of Aurifil, my all-time favorite brand of thread, who had traveled all the way from Massachusetts! After spending about 5 minutes or so in her booth going on and on to Maria about how much I love this thread, I felt obligated to make a purchase even though I have plenty of thread already. Love to support the independents!!

And who in the area isn't familiar with the "Hip to be Square" pattern from Busy Bee Designs?

It was such a great, completely unexpected bonus to see Michelle's booth set up there and to get a chance to catch up a little with this lovely, creative woman. And of course to see some of her exciting, new patterns that I had not previously seen. Please take a look at her website and you'll no doubt be inspired.

Our next stop was at the Shibori Dragon booth. This is where I made my final purchase of the day, though we were certainly not finished shopping!

In our first walkthrough we spotted a beautiful booth that both Maria and I wanted to revisit at length.

A Quilter's Dream patterns.

And last, but not least, as the day was drawing to a close (at least for us) we made our way to Metropolitan Quilt, a labor of love created by a former coworker of mine, Debbie Kemp and her partner Jeff Pellissier. It was great to see the both of them and the beautiful patterns and works they've created over the last couple of years.

All in all it was a wonderful experience I won't soon forget. I was honored to be a part of it all, and hope to make my way to another great show before too long!