October 23, 2008

Every year I look forward to the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara. It’s less than an hour’s drive, and I’ve been so many times now that it’s like coming to see an old friend when I catch sight of the convention center.

There’s also a chess tournament in Reno that my husband likes to go to, and I love going with him. While he’s duking it out with worthy opponents over the chess board, I’m on vacation in a grown-up playground. Penny slots and the bingo parlor, so much fun! And, Reno has a fabulous quilt shop, Windy Moon.

Each year I hold my breath to find out the dates of these two events. They’re always close to one another, and sometimes they’re the same weekend. Dang! Just like the previous two years, they were at the same time this year too. I decided to split the difference and try to catch some of each.

So, on Thursday I dropped DH Dana at the San Jose airport, where he caught a quick flight to Reno. I continued on the short distance to the Santa Clara Convention Center and took in PIQF for the day. As always, it’s a wonderful show, very inspiring and full of energy. I took some pictures of a couple of appliqué quilts that I just loved, and hopefully I’ll be able to share them here on the blog if I’m able to get permission from the quilters. And, of course, I thoroughly tromped the vendor aisles. This year my mission was to find fresh fabrics for appliqué. I’ve been working on tons of new designs and was getting a little tired of rummaging through the same old same old fabrics in my stash.

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Here’s my haul from PIQF.

The next day, Friday, I dropped all the animals at Bed & Biscuits and set off for Reno. Somehow I got there in less than five hours (I’m pretty sure that’s a record) and hooked up with the DH. We always stay at the Sands Regency ’cause that’s where the tournament is and they give us cheap rates don’tcha know.

The next day, Saturday, I set off for Windy Moon.

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It’s not far away from the Sands… I just head for the Holiday Inn that sticks up and it’s on that same little street.

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Here’s what you see when you walk in the door. A quilter’s delight!

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Just one of the many nooks and crannies stuffed with gorgeous fabric.

I asked if they had any appliqué patterns from local designers, and the ladies directed me to a darling Snowman Advent Calendar from Cutie Patootie Designs.

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Here’s my pile, under the famous speckled rock.

After my visit to Windy Moon, I set out south to hunt for another quilt shop that I had seen on-line: Going Batty. I found it with some good directions from their website.

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A very pleasant, spacious shop with yummy fabrics.

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My fabric finds from Going Batty.

So, it was a great, long, whirlwind weekend. I got to do everything I wanted and had a great time. Dana tied for second in his division and won some $$. If you’re interested in chess, you can read the whole story at Dana Blogs Chess.

And I was very happy with my fabric trove. It’s great to have some new pretty pieces to pull from.

Until next time,
Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs

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