Creative Stitches Calgary 2012

Well! Now that was interesting! I haven't been to one in a couple of years. Did it get smaller? Where were all the people? I found it really, really quiet! I was surprised to not see so many of the quilt stores that were there years ago. I know they are still in business, but perhaps the sheer cost of renting one of the tables vs. the income they would make from sales, wasn't worth it? I did manage to find some fabulous fat quarters to add again to my stash. No rhyme or reason, but I did pick out a few black and whites that I am building on.

I also did some thread shopping. I know that so many of us use cotton, but I thought a polyester/rayon would do me well with some of those Christmas crafts that were not "heirloom" quality. I really do love the colours and I got a great deal on these. I'm thinking I may take some of them out and send to my quilting daughter up in Fort McMurray. She always seems to have to pay an arm and a leg at the quilt shop up there. My fat quarters were $1.50. Can't beat that price! The thread was $15.00 a box plus you got the third box for free. You can never have enough fabric or thread!

Speaking of thread... I have a load of cones that I am having trouble using on my machine, so I bought one of those thread stands. I hate not being able to have the right tools to use things I have right now - so the thread stand was a good buy for me. It's not pretty by any means, but it is certainly functional! I have quite a lot of thread that won't fit on the machine spool holders -- so unless someone has a better solution for me, the thread stand it is! I also grabbed one of those cute little collapsible buckets for threads and snippets. I am always taping little plastic garbage bags to my table. Until I make a cute little fabric bucket -- this is the perfect fit for now

Of course I have to give you a sneak peak at the newest project! I am excited about this one as it's a new pattern from JayBird! The instructions were fabulous and easy to follow once I got it straight in my head. I'm pretty much an "inside the box" kinda girl and I'm working towards being more spontaneous and trying new things! I love the way it all fit together easily (even if I can see my mistakes, once it's together you can't see them! YIPEE!)