Quiltcon Part ONE!

This is part one of my Quiltcon experience in Austin, Texas in February 2015. I had such an amazing time, which was only amplified by the presence of  so many of my fellow Calgary Modern Quilt Guild friends who made the journey with me.

Arriving at my gate for departure, look who I found on my flight! Cheryl and my quilt wife Kathryn...

We even had a little fun on our layover in Houston...

As many of you know there was a huge lanyard swap on instagram for those attending, Dianne wasn't able to join in so I decided to make a special Kaffe edition for her.

The first night of our arrival I had been out until 230am and had a massive hangover, the first of many. Dianne was my caretaker and met me with coffee, a spot in the registration line and a banana! We rushed over to the hall where the Awards were going to be announced. As you can see, it was a huge hall and all along the walls were the MQG Charity quilts on display.

The first category announced was Applique and I was absolutely shocked to find out my Anniversary Quilt won first place!

Here's "Vanna" with my quilt in the main hall...

After the ceremony we decided to go see what was in the market before all of the good stuff disappeared. My favourite booth was Bunny's Designs, an Austin-based etsy/part-time retail quilt shop. She really had a fabulous selection and I wasted no time gathering what I could.

And right by the checkout was none other than the godmother of modern quilt design, Yoshiko Yinjenzi. I was beyond excited to meet her and have my books, patterns and fabric autographed. She's such a delight!

Shopping...

Look who we ran into before lunch! Susan and Phillipa.

Some of the day's purchases as well as items from the official Quiltcon goodie bag.

Later that afternoon we attended Celina Mancurti's fabric printing workshop. If you ever have the chance to attend her workshop, I recommend it! She's a thoughtful teacher and we all really had a great time.

After orientation, we jumped right in and started printing! I loved how simple the process was but was surprised how physically demanding it was. I'm sure it was exaggerated by my hangover but anyway, it was a very fun class.

 
 A small sampling of the prints I made in class.

No rest for the weary, after class it was time for dinner

After a quick bite, I met up with the girls and we decided that a pedicab was the best way to get to the Moda Party. Our driver had a little too much fun driving us there.

I'm still not sure how all three of us fit in the back!

Arrived to the party and getting our first drinks. LOOK there's Cheryl!

I was soooo excited to meet up with Sandi (A Crafty Planner) of San Diego Modern Quilt Guild and a really good instagram friend! She also has a podcast, if you have the chance, PLEASE LISTEN. I adore her program, plus there's a clip of Beastie Boys' She's Crafty at the beginning. This is my girl!

And the sweetest time chatting with Jo Avery (My Bearpaw). I had won a pincushion she had made like 8 years previous, which I was able to thank her for personally.

Also at the party was quilty crush Luke Haynes. Becca was so excited to meet him and have a chat while we were at the party.

The Calgary Modern Quilt Guild literally closed the Moda Party and we headed a few doors over to another little bar. I literally thought it was a converted mobile home but later found out it was a converted train car. CLOSE! lol. Close to 2am we decided it might be time to head home.

Good night Austin!!!!