Quilt Market and the Kindness of Strangers

Tons of fun, so many beautiful fabrics and quilts my head spun, a new friend.  What an adventure! 

First off, I managed to navigate the airport, both to and fro!  I know this doesn’t sound like much, but I haven’t been on an airplane in a lo-o-o-o-ng time, way before 9/11, so I was really nervous.  Worst case, would I get lost?  Not so worst case, make a complete fool of myself?  But, hey, I did okay.  Honestly, once I got past security, my nerves went poof! all gone, and I just felt like a little kid on a grand adventure. 

Loved take off, loved looking down on the fields surrounding Denver as we whisked away (made me think of quilt patterns, of course) and flew through the clouds.  I thought, hey, little old nobody me gets to do this amazing thing.  Just think what Leonardo de Vinci would have given to experience this.  (Though, speaking of old, I have clearly reached the age where just sitting in the same tight spot for hours is enough to make me really, really stiff.  Yup, it is SO time to get back to yoga).

I live in Colorado now but I grew up in New Jersey.  Driving from the airport to the hotel made me so nostalgic!   Avoiding highway backups, the shuttle driver took us through neighborhoods and so many memories came rushing back: the old houses, for one, but mostly, the trees.  Lots and lots and lots of deciduous trees and bushes.  I love the Rocky Mountains (really, who doesn’t) but I miss the trees from back East and it was just heaven to be so surrounded once again. 

Here is the view from my hotel room:

I shared a room with another C&T Publishing author, Elin Waterston.  Now you never know what to expect when you share a room with a stranger.  I hit the jackpot and found a  friend.

Someone who likes to talk as much as I do!  And, boy, did we talk.  The good news is that we (pretty efficiently, I’d say) solved the world’s problems during our late night gab fests.  The bad news is that no one is going to listen to us anyway.  (Umm, you might also find that good news, all depends . . . )   Meeting Elin was the surprise joy of this trip.  Thinking of our long and rambling talks just makes me smile.

Quilt Market itself is overwhelming.  Sensory overload.  All I can say is, save your pennies, because there is lots and lots of cool stuff headed to a quilt store near you!  I saw Kaffe Fasset’s new fabric line.  I actually stood in the same room as him.  Me, Kaffe, together.  (If you count him standing at the front of the room, me at the back, and a  hundred plus other people in between as together – me, I don’t have a problem with that).  It was a moment.

I gave my Schoolhouse presentation and I don’t  have much to say about that because it was pretty much an out of body experience.  But people came and even oohed a little (I do remember that).  Gailen Runge (C&T Publishing’s Creative Director) was happy with how I did, and if Gailen is happy, then I’m happy.  Here’s Gailen:  I love her hair and that great, great smile.

I’ve been so lucky working with C&T Publishing.  Everyone is incredibly generous and positive.  Such wonderful people.

About that kindness of strangers.  I was a little wound up before giving the Schoolhouse and had gone to the restroom to brush my hair and refresh my makeup.  As my mother, with understandable exasperation, used to say, “Terrie, you’d forget your head if it wasn’t attached!”   So, it wasn’t until after the presentation that I realized I had lost my purse.  A few minutes of panic there, phone, credit cards, iPod, ID (airport security?).  Yikes.  But some lovely woman found my purse in the restroom and passed it onto the security guard who passed it onto Gailen who passed it on to me.  To whoever the nice lady who picked up my purse is, my deepest thanks!

And then, because my sense of direction is every bit as bad as my memory, of course I got disoriented on the walk back from the conference center to the hotel.  I asked a young man sitting on a wall  just how well he knew Pittsburgh.  Bless him, he didn’t even blink.  He whipped out his phone and got the GPS thingamagimmy to give directions: turn right, go two blocks, then one block left.  Amazing!  So, between kind hearted people and the wonders of technology, I got by.

The next day I spend some time in C&T's booth and explained the Fold and Sew technique to passer bys (who looked gratifyingly impressed).  Isn’t this woman’s top just gorgeous?

Then, it was time to run again.  I grabbed a couple photos of the wonderful views from the conference center.

I hurried off to the hotel (made it without getting lost!), packed up, and once again conquered the airport challenge.  Yup, Terrie Sandelin, seasoned traveler. 

And finally, journey’s end: stepping into the Denver terminal to see the wonderfully familiar face of my husband smiling in welcome.  And isn’t that just best of all?