Third time to the International Quilt Market. It hasn't lost its charm yet. I'm still amazed at the sheer vastness of the whole thing. There were 1000 vendors, each booth cuter and more creative than the last. Setting up the booth is definitely the hardest part. We stayed in a 2* hotel right across the street so that we could carry our boxes back and forth. The hotel was a bit scary, but worth the close proximity. There was a heat wave in Portland and several trips of carrying boxes and pushing baggage carts took its toll. The first thing I wanted to do was put up the incredible curtains that Diane Beagley had made for the booth. I was so excited to see them up and my anticipation paid off. They were a hit. Everyone commented on them and told us they had never seen anything like them.
The crowd of women waiting in the picture below is the beginning of the line for Sample Spree which takes place the night before market. Women start lining up around noon and the sale begins at 8pm that night and lasts for 2 hours. It's a wonderful kind of quilting fabric/gadget frenzy. I've included a few pictures from Sample Spree and market. My sister Jan, the Apron Lady, has a wonderful talent for design and fabric choices. Her aprons are different than any others we saw there and are now in the top ten for pattern sales for one of the major distributors. Her aprons are feminine, a little flirty and so easy to make. My daughter Kristina who's 12 made her Flirty Skirty apron and couldn't believe how easy it was.
All in all, it was a great market. I'll post a few more pictures later and tell a few more stories.
