My ladies (and one guy - hi David!) rocked it in the two Perfect Circles classes at QuiltCon. Such committed participation, consumption of chocolate, choruses of 80s ballads, and a collection of circles. I had a great time teaching, a seriously great time. I hope all my students felt the same. And my volunteers were incredible.

QuiltCon was a fantastic event. The Modern Quilt Guild, especially Heather, did a wonderful job putting on a big show. A quilt show, merchant mall, classes, lectures, and more don't come together without a heck of a lot of work - hard work - and loads of dedication. It was a committed team that pulled it together and an amazing group of volunteers that delivered.

One of my favourite moments of the entire event was listening to a lady scream on the phone to a friend about this amazing show she was at. The lady had merely wandered in from the RV Show going on in the next exhibition hall, but she was staying and exclaiming her delight at the quilts. She said she wanted to go home and learn how to quilt RIGHT NOW after seeing that quilts could be so much more than what she thought they had to be.

Indeed.

It was a busy weekend between teaching, taking classes, and yes, drinking beer. I never got to a single lecture, missed an entire aisle of the merchant mall, and only saw the show in it's entirety the last half hour it was open. There was a book signing and quite a few gentle hugs. And a lot of neon one night. There was the chance for longer conversations with friends, old and new, yet some missed ones as well. For those of us working in this industry it was nice to be here, in a much more relaxed environment, compared to Market. Spending time at meetings talking about real life instead of contracts and pitching ideas. It's still work, but we had the chance to breathe a bit more.

Of course, that may have had something to do with being in Austin.