QuiltCon 2024 Recap Part 4: The Best Bits

The QuiltCon experience is so amazing that it is impossible (for me anyway) to capture it all in one blog post. This is my 4th post - the others are: My Quilts, The Quilts, and The Workshops - and I intend there to be one final post about overall reflections of the show. I truly appreciate your taking the time to read through these posts but, frankly, they are as much for me as they are to share with you!

So here we go, here are the best bits.....(in no particular order) ......

Volunteering!

Volunteering has been one of my favorite things to do at every QuiltCon I've attended and this year was no different. Having QuiltCon essentially in my backyard - specifically 30 minutes away - meant I had the opportunity to volunteer a lot and, in doing so, spent time with the wonderful MQG staff. I worked the very first volunteer shift on Tuesday to hang quilts, registration on Wednesday, and the very last shift on Monday to mail off all the quilts.

Wednesday registration is the place to be to see people. I was able to capture shots with MQG staff members Elizabeth and Jennifer. In the 2nd row are my registration fellow volunteers - we were in charge of handing out bags. I also got a few quality minutes with Jacquie Gering, the keynote. I did my very best not to fan girl her too much. I have met her before and she has always been super supportive of volunteers. Since she was waiting for her husband, she had a few minutes to chat. (A highlight for me for sure!)

Jacquie's Keynote 

Jacquie's keynote was very inspiring. She spoke about her quilting journey, surrounded by her grandmothers and mom (all sewists) and her making a decision to quit her job to make quilts as a business. Jacquie's first career was in education, both as a teacher and as an administrator. I've been fortunate to take a class from Jacquie in the past and she is an amazing educator.

Truly inspiring was learning how she found her voice as an artist. "Voice comes from who you are, were you come from, what you believe, and what you love."  It was the best kind of keynote - inspiring and emotional with an important takeaway - "You can't copy others and be yourself. You can learn from others and be yourself."

Friendship Bracelets 

A last minute decision to make friendship bracelets turned out to be such a fun thing to do. I traded a few for other bracelets or stickers plus I also just offered them to people I connected with. They were all receive so well. I had a bunch that said "QuiltCon" but others with phrases like "Quilt Worthy", "I press seams open", "I 💗 Applique", and "I play with Blocks" that were well received. 

I hope this is a "thing" next year because I hope to do it again and start making these weeks ahead of time instead of just a few days before!

Location, location, location

It was just fabulous having QuiltCon 30 minutes from my home. I got to volunteer more (!!!) and didn't have to worry about dealing with airports! 

It also meant that my family could stop by to see the show and get a bit of understanding why I am so excited and clearly obsessed with all things QuiltCon. My youngest spent the day with me on Thursday seeing all the quilts and sporting their handmade crocheted sweater. 

My husband and middle daughter were able to stop by late Sunday to see my quilts in the show  - it was so very nice to give them all a taste of the experience. (Thanks to Christa Watson for the photo.)

The conference center itself was really nice. The quilts and vendors were all on the same big floor. Classrooms were easy to find and the lecture hall wasn't too far away. There are lots of restaurants nearby plus vending inside the convention center plus food trucks!

Fingers crossed that the MQG brings QuiltCon back to Raleigh in the future.

My Guild

Given the location, it was an opportunity for all 200 some odd members of our guild - Triangle MQG - to attend the show and experience what for many of them was their first QuiltCon. We gave everyone ribbons for their show passes so they could say hello to a fellow guild member. We picked a time Sunday for a group photo. Not everyone could attend but we were happy to get as many as we did! My guild had 13 quilts in the show - see my IG post to enjoy them all!

Friend Time

Spending just a few minutes catching up with friends, even just enough time for a hug, is truly on of the best bits! Of course, not every meet-up was caught in a photo but here are just a few.

Jen @aquiltingjewel, Charles @feltlikesweets, Kitty @nightquilter, Heather @fire4hairlady, Yvonne @quiltingjetgirl, Christa @christaquilts, Elizabeth @elizabethray, and Ginny @minnowpeck .Three of these amazing friends and artists were award winners at this show. Charles' quilt Density 01 won a 3rd place ribbon, Yvonne's Cloudy Night Sky won Best Quilting and Ginny's What We Will Use as Weapons: A List of School Supplies won Best in Show

Much fun happened after hours too. I shared a house with friends Frances @offkitlerquilt, Kristin @kristin_esser and Jen @quiltinjenny for two nights. Much wine and chocolate was consumed! It was fun walking the show floor with these ladies too. Thanks to Deborah @fishmuseum for these awesome prompts which made our group photo even more fun!

One final post to come with overall reflections. In case you missed them, here are my other recap posts:

• Part1: My Quilts
• Part 2: The Quilts
• Part 3: The Workshops - 

Have a wonderful day! Patty