QuiltCon is such a highlight of my quilty year! This was my second year attending (last year in Raleigh, this year in Phoenix). If you aren’t familiar with the event, it’s hosted by the Modern Quilt Guild and has a phenomenal juried modern quilt show, vendor hall, classes, and lectures. Here's a recap of the highlight of the trip. Hopefully it helps you to get a sense of what the event is like if you're toying with the idea of going someday.
WEDNESDAY
I flew into Phoenix on Wednesday afternoon and met my roomie, Verna of The Vintage Spool, at the airport. We made our way to our hotel for night 1 and what an experience that establishment was–very cool artsy vibes plus some...unexpected features. If you ever run into Verna in your quilty travels, ask her about my face when I saw the larger than life painting of Burt Reynolds (sans clothing) behind the front desk. So funny and memorable!
After checking in and having a delicious late lunch at the hotel restaurant, we made our way over to the convention center to check in and get our QuiltCon badges. The show doesn’t open until Thursday morning, but it’s nice to get all checked in ahead of time to save yourself the hassle and lines on Thursday. If you have interest in purchasing official QuiltCon merch, Wednesday evening is also the best time to do that as it sells out quickly.
We ran into lots of friends and I dropped off my Marguerite quilt and patterns to the ladies at Cut Once Quilts for their booth, then met up with Jennie of Clover and Violet and Deanna, the Log Cabin Quilter for dinner. We went to a charming little pub and the food was delightful and the company was even better!
THURSDAY
The next morning, we woke up bright and early because we were moving hotels to one closer to the convention center. We deduced that we had overlapped with another convention, thus there weren’t available rooms in a hotel super convenient to the convention center for Wednesday night. We Ubered over and got our bags dropped off at the hotel and were over at the convention center right as the hall opened up. I wore my patchwork skirt that I completed in the 11th hour before flying out.
We started the day in the vendor hall. There is so much to take in (and buy!). Our first stop was Heather Ross’s booth where I spent way too much money on adorable things that I don’t regret one bit! Then, we headed to Cut Once Quilts to see my quilt hanging in their booth. It was such a special moment for me and I’m so grateful to Kristen and Eve!
There was a brief moment of panic when I lost my bag of stickers and swag that I was handing out, luckily the good people at Moda found them in their booth and got them back to me post-haste!
That afternoon, I did a quick demo of sewing curves for my Marguerite Block in the Cut Once Quilts Booth (and didn't take a single picture). It's just a tad stressful to sew on an unfamiliar machine in front of an audience..."sooo, how do I raise the presser foot on this bad boy??" It went reasonably well, however, and I was so grateful for the opportunity!
It was a glorious day running into friends and quilty idols around every corner, but my social battery was fading and I wanted to feel fresh for dinner that evening, so, in the late afternoon, we headed back to the hotel for a little recharge. Christine, my bestie from Modern Charm Stitchery, was flying in Thursday afternoon and after some airline delays, she finally arrived and the party could really start!
That evening we went to a dinner organized by the amazing Jaimie of Sews by Day at Blanco, a yummy but LOUD Mexican restaurant walking distance from the convention center.
Going around the table, we had Me, Ashley of Hen House Quilting, Jaimie of Sews by Day, Becky of Sew Forever, Delia of A Stitch is a Stitch, Dana of Colt and Lamb, Mary of Ember Craft Company, Lindlee of Plains and Pine, Ashlee of Crinkly Quilts, Hillary of Quiltberry Hill, Stephanie of Pretty Please MX, Emily of So Sunny Quilts, Christine of Modern Charm Stitchery, Abby of Abby Maed, and Verna of The Vintage Spool was our intrepid photographer. What a powerhouse group of women that I’m blessed to call friends!
FRIDAY
The next day was jumpsuit day! I had spent the week before QuiltCon embellishing a Target clearance find and it was so fun to get to wear it and take pictures with my fellow jumpsuit-ers! We met Sammy from Sonder Quilt Studio and Allison from In the Light Quilts for breakfast and then had a great morning doing more shopping in the vendor area until mid-morning.
Then, we headed outside for a swag swap hosted by Lindsey of Pear Tree Market. It was so great to meet so many new quilters! My Utah sewing friends got a picture together and it was great to see all of them in sunny Phoenix!
Top Row: Alex of My Sew Bliss, Laurel of Snowberry Street, Laura of The Gathering Quilt Bottom Row: Adrienne of ADK Quilts, Kaitlyn of Knot and Thread, Me!, Emily of She Seams Legit, and Lindsey of Pear Tree Market. We missed all of our other sewing friends who weren’t able to come this year or who were inside working in booths!
I spent some time in the afternoon looking at the quilts, then hustled over to catch Amy of A Diary of a Quilter’s Demo in the Riley Blake booth. I love and look up to Amy SO much! Friday felt a little less hectic in the vendor area and there was more time to connect with shop owners and reps in booths. I had some wonderful conversations and feel so inspired by this industry and the businesswomen who are doing some seriously cool stuff within it!
That evening for dinner, Verna had arranged for a group of us to go to an Italian place called Cibo. This was by FAR my favorite restaurant of the trip (and there was some delicious competition!). We were seated out on the most beautiful patio and the acoustics were much better for conversation than the night before.
Around the table we have Allison's sister, Kelsey of White Rose Designs, Verna of The Vintage Spool, Me, Mary Catherine of Due Pinoli, Jessica of Jessica Steele Design, Patty of Patty Basemi, Jaimie of Sews by Day, Meghan of A Piece of Quiet Quilts, Allison of In the Light Quilts, Becca of Becca Plymale Creative, Maelynn of Mae Just Sew, and Christine of Modern Charm Stitchery.
SATURDAY
Saturday, Verna and Christine both had classes in the morning, so I spent more time looking at the quilts in the show, then went back to my hotel to try to consolidate all of my purchases and pack up for my afternoon flight. I met Christine, Delia, Verna, and Verna's friend Colleen for a quick lunch at the hotel, then went back over to the convention center to say a final goodbye before I had to leave for the airport.
It was an absolute whirlwind few days and I still don't feel fully recovered. I love being able to see my quilty friends in real life and, for me, it was well worth the trip.