I was at QuiltCon 2023 earlier today. Several folks from my Friday sewing group wanted to go on a field trip to QuiltCon. Some of us went today and a larger group is going tomorrow.
I spent about a 1/2 day looking at quilts and walking the vendor floors. Yes, floors as in more than one. This was the biggest vendor hall I think I’ve ever seen during my 3 trips to QuiltCon. I counted just under 100 vendors on the vendor listing.
The quilts and special displays were interesting. Some of the quilts were out there – as they usually are at QuiltCon. I liked the Best in Show quilt. It’s quite striking from a distance. There were so many people in front of it that I couldn’t get a good picture. Be sure to check out the quilts from the Brown Sugar Stitchers Quilt Guild, too, if you go.
Fabric, thread, notions, sewing machines, long-arm machines, books, guilds, furniture, sewing machine repair/restoration – it was all represented. There were plenty of in-booth make & take opportunities. I thoroughly enjoyed embroidering my own nametag at the Spoonflower booth and adding a few stitches to various projects set up around the vendor hall. Ruby Star Society was jam packed with people (not surprising as Melody Miller is ATL based), as were several of the booths of companies that cater to the MQG crowd. I had nice conversations with Cindy Cloward of Riley Blake Designs, Christa Watson and Andi Barney of Sewing Doc Academy. I shared a picture of the Metamorphosis memory quilt I made from Hawaiian shirts with the designer at Lo & Behold Stitchery. Of course, I had to find the booth for my ladies at the SQTM (pictured above). I also ran across the booth of The Cotton Farm (Sadie’s former quilty home) and Charlene stated they were selling out of everything – as in not finding a new retail location. 😦
I indulged in a little retail therapy – a sample pack of SewTites Lite (designed for people like me who have a hard time prying the darn things apart) and a Quilters Rule sticker for my Elnita EC30. Now, all three of my travel/teaching machines have the same sticker on them (and it matters to the kids for some crazy reason!). Vendors were happy to load me up with freebie stickers for my sewing kiddos.
Happy I came today for a quick visit, but also glad I listened to my gut and declined to volunteer or sign-up for classes. (As expected, a big family event did get scheduled for this weekend!) Yes, crime is still bad city-wide, but I felt very safe in the parking garage and all along the route to the AmericasMart where the event’s being held. Police presence was visible. There were volunteers and security guards stationed everywhere at the show. Would I do an evening event? No way as a commuter, but yes if I was staying at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel.
Here’s looking ahead to QuiltCon 2024 in Raleigh, NC!
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