Paducah Flowers

My last Paducah report is dedicated to all the pretty flowers in bloom while we were there.  The dogwoods were still in bloom but a lot of them had dropped their petals since they had been blooming for a while so I really had to hunt for some that still looked pretty good.  The flowers are so beautiful and so large.  Sure wish we could grow them in Nebraska but it just gets much too cold here in the winters.

 Our hostess BJ had azaleas in front of her house that were just beautiful.  The flowers are so dense the bushes look like balls of bright color.  Driving around Paducah we had a chance to see many colors of azaleas.  All are so pretty I am not sure I could pick a favorite.

We all look forward to this trip to Paducah each year and then the time goes by so fast.  I wish we could make time suspend for a while so we could savor the experience more.  Our drive home is long, dropping off people as we go - Columbia, Mo then Kansas City, Nebraska City then home for me.  It took 13 hours from when we left at 7:30 am in the morning until 8:30 pm when I got home.  I was so tired of sitting but very glad to get home before dark.

Lynn

Paducah Purchases

 It is time to show you what I bought this year at Paducah - I know you all are probably wondering so here goes.

I got these cute pendants made from porcelain from Hook & Ayres Design.  You can see how small they are compared to a bobbin.  They will be perfect to hang on a chain for a necklace don't you think?

The webpage is not too current but does explain about their products if you click on "About Us" and has an email address to contact them if you want.

Next - different colors of the leads for the Fons and Porter or Bohin marking pencil.  I have the white and just love it.  Actually they are not lead but a chalk product that brushes off.  Will have to test the colors as I use them to make sure they do come off the fabric but I do know the white is just wonderful.







 My sister talked me into getting this next product - a cute pair of snips.  She has a pair of these spring action snips and just loves them.  These are from Tooltron Insustries.  Barb told me a story about these snips and her 4 yr. old granddaughter J.  One day Barb couldn't find them and looked all over.  Finally she asked J if she had seen them.  She babysits J 2-3 times a week and she loves to "help" Barb sew.  J said she didn't know where they were and probably the ghost took them.  After a while Barb looked in one of the places J likes to play and found them.  J was still insisting the ghost took them but told Barb that she really liked them too.  Barb has her use them to snip off threads so J gets a chance to use them now and so far that ghost has not taken them again.  That pesky ghost has been to work on other missing things too so J is now lovingly called the ghost.

 Fabric - I didn't buy much as I have so much here at home but did pick up 5 batiks.  They were inexpensive at Eleanor Burns Quilt In A Day shop downtown and out at the fairgrounds where she had a large tent and building full of fabric and her other products.  A couple of pieces I got at another shop downtown  - also a discount fabric shop.  I got a couple of yards of each of the fabrics and figured I could use them as wallhanging backings or piecing in a larger quilt.

Eleanor Burns has a fun thing she does to get people back to her shops more than once.  Each day she has a color featured and any fabric that is predominately that color is reduced by $.50 a yard.  The fabric is already $5 a yard so that gets it down pretty cheap.  Of course her store downtown has a different color each day than out at the fairgrounds so we have to check out both every day.



The black fabric with the stars and the purple/pink fabric with it may be a purse/bag someday and the black and white might me a garment, possibly a skirt or jacket.  Of course all that might change when I think about it more and start on a project.

 I had been anxious to see the new titanium topstitch needles that Superior Threads are marketing and purchased size 70, 80 and 90.  Have done a little machine quilting after I have gotten home and have the size 90 in my machine.  It works great and is supposed to last much longer than the regular needles.

 While at the Superior Threads booth I also purchased a bunch of thread on the larger cones.  I love Master Piece thread for piecing my quilts.  It is strong but finer so is less bulky in the seams.  I got several neutral colors and the 3000 yd. cones should last me a long time.

I also bought two spools of King Tut on the cone.  I have a large quilt that I am going to machine quilt at some point so these are destined to be used on it.

Bernina sells bobbins in bulk at the show - it may not be the company but a vendor of Berninas.  Who ever they are it is great to buy them a little cheaper than the pre-packaged ones I can get at my dealer.





That is pretty much it as far as what I bought I think.  I have put everything away so had to go find it all to take photos of my treasures.  It is a lot of fun to search the booths for those things I just can't live without.

Lynn

Paducah Quilt Winners 2010

I enjoyed looking at all the quilts at the AQS show in Paducah and the ones picked as winners were outstanding.  You can see all the winners here on the AQS website.  The photos I took are not nearly as clear as the ones posted on the webpage.  Here are a few detail photos of the Best of Show - Tribute to Tolkien by Sue McCarty of Roy, Utah.  The thread work was just amazing and the more you looked at it the more you saw.

I purchased the catalog of show quilts and can look at each one in it and bought the show book that had the vendors listed plus a short writeup about each quilt.  I see on the AQS website you can purchase the book and a CD of all the quilts.  Might have to think about getting one of the CDs myself since I didn't take so many photos this year.  Photos are so much more clear viewed on the computer than in print I think.

Enjoy looking at the quilts and want you all to think about entering next year - I am.  I say that now but don't have anything done so it may be a few years before I have something I want to enter.  Of course you have to be selected too but someday I will enter and if I get selected that will be a thrill in itself.

Lynn

The Hostess With the Mostess

Our wonderful hostess each year in Paducah is the mother in law of our friend Diane.  Betty Jane is the sweetest woman to allow the five of us to crash at her house for a few days each year.  We try to make our stay less work for her by bringing food we have fixed at home and can re-heat for our meals, plus snacks too.  We try to do the dishes and clean up after each meal but this year she shooed us out a couple of times before we got it all done.

Betty Jane is not a quilter but still is interested in everything we do while at the show.  Each evening when we return for the day we kick off our shoes, fix some snacky food, open a bottle of wine and relax on her screened in porch while dinner is heating.  The outside temperatures were mid 70s I would guess the whole time we were there so it was really nice on the porch. 

After our "happy hour" we have show and tell.  We all bring the bags of goodies we have purchased that day and take turns showing Betty Jane and each other what we bought or about what we saw.  She asks us questions about the treasures we have purchased if she doesn't know what we use it for or how it works.  She just laughs at how excited we get about certain things.

Betty Jane is one of Paducah's Red Coat Ambassadors and worked one day during the convention.  This year she was assigned to work in the "bubble".  She was to answer questions and to guard one of the emergency exits so someone wouldn't accidentally open that door.  Guess the air pressure in the bubble would be awful if a door was opened that should not have been and could suck you outside. 

We all really appreciate everything Betty Jane does to make our stay wonderful and to be able to stay right in Paducah is the best when we know a lot of people have to travel to lodging miles away each day and evening.

More Paducah report later,
Lynn