AQS Chattanooga

Hey ya'll.  It's been a couple weeks since my trip to the AQS Quiltweek in Chattanooga, TN but I thought I'd share with you some of what went on.  My friend Lou Anne and I left bright and early that Saturday morning headed to Tennessee.  We decided to take the scenic route through Andrews and Murphy in NC and on to Parksville and Cleveland, Tennessee before hitting Chattanooga.  It is a gorgeous view through the mountains, except we hit fog for more than two-thirds of our trip down.  Hey, the view was a bonus, we were headed for quilts!

Quiltweek here we come!

We made it to the Convention Center and met up with our friends, Linda and her daughter Amy.  Linda and Amy had taken a Paper Piecing class at Quiltweek on Friday so they were there earlier than us.  Amy also had a quilt in the show called "Spring Glory", an original Bargello design.  

Here we are at the entrance to the Exhibit Hall.

The Chattanooga Convention Center is huge!  There are classrooms and ballrooms, exhibit halls and bathrooms everywhere, but wouldn't you know that I would be in the minority.  The first 3 sets of bathrooms I came to had a sign over the men's restroom designating it a "Women's" restroom.  There are men here to ya know!  But that's okay, I made it work.




We decided to visit the vendors first.  There were rows and rows of vendors from all over the states and Canada.  I saw several vendors from local areas that I knew and of course I had to speak.  We got some good ideas, and bought a few things.  I did manage to only buy just a few random things.  I bought a couple of sayings panels and a Christmas Countdown panel along with my commemorative ceramic thimble.  I've began to collect the ceramic thimbles from the shows, so I had to add to the collection.  Otherwise, I bought very little.  I did add something to my wish list.  I plan to invest in the Stripology ruler from Gudrun Erla and Creative Grids.  I have the Shape Cut ruler, but Stripology is BIGGER and had the Creative Grids non-slip feature on each slot.  It is also a bit thicker.  It does come in at a slightly higher price but I will be getting that soon.   I keep telling myself that I am not buying any more rulers unless I just have to have it, so I've justified it by saying I can't live without it.  I think that will work...maybe.  While visiting the vendors we heard the call several times from AQS that they were doing their "random giveaways" so Amy and I booked it each time to the lady doing the giveaways wherever she was.  First time around, Amy won a Batik Jelly Roll from Tennessee Quilts in Jonesborough.  I then proceeded to win 2 passes with a guided tour to the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY.  Anyone up for a road trip!  I'll definitely be using those at Quiltweek in 2016.  I also won some reverse applique patterns.

After we finished the vendors and had lunch we went onto the quilts.  There were a lot of gorgeous quilts at Quiltweek Chattanooga.  We were also able to meet Connie Griner from Burlington, NC who had two amazing quilts in the show and Sandi Suggs a national quilt instructor who had a special exhibit in the show that spanned most of her quilting career.  Both ladies were extremely sweet and great to talk to.  Overall the show was great.  I'll definitely be making the trip to Chattanooga next year.  Click the link below to view a slideshow of the quilts I was able to snap pics of.

Well it's work tomorrow and Friday, then Asheville Quilt Show on Saturday.  We leave for Myrtle Beach, SC on Sunday.  Yes, I know there's a "hurricane a-coming" but we're praying for decent weather.  I need a vacation.  We'll be back from the beach on Wednesday and it's the Maggie Valley Quilt Show next weekend.


Until next time, quilt on!