Two Quilts Shows and More!

Last weekend was the Amador Valley Quilt Show in Pleasanton. It is always a great show. Before the show, my hubby and I met with a sister blogger (Julie) and her husband for breakfast at our favorite cafe, The Railroad Cafe, in Pleasanton. After a great breakfast, we drove over to the fairgrounds for the quilt show. It was delightful to meet Julie and her husband in person. She gifted me with a book, People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks, and also a wonderful Ohio Star style quilt block (one from Quilt Pixie's Friday Block Party). I really like this block. If you look closely, you can see two smaller Ohio Star blocks within the larger Ohio Star block. I am sure there are other things in there that I have not found yet! It is like a puzzle, the longer I look at it, the more I see!

The quilt show was super. There were lots of beautiful quilts, all different styles and sizes. There were lots of vendors, also. Some of these vendors I have not seen before at a quilt show. What is also good is the space. The room is large, and the quilts were far enough apart that you could walk up and down the aisles and actually see the quilts, even if a group had stopped to talk or view the quilts.

I must tell you about this one vendor. They were selling shoes, purses, wallets, and other little things. But the shoes! These shoes were made from hand stitched molas. I have seen molas in quilts, and garments, but never shoes. There were boots, sandals, tie shoes, slip ons, flats, and other styles. I was blown away when I saw this booth. A pair of shoes did not match in the pattern of each shoe, but they were made with the same color fabrics and the patterns were similar, but were not mirror images. For me, this was the most interesting booth at the show.

Yesterday my hubby and I went to another quilt show. It is held at the historical Clocktower in Benicia. This is an old building on what was once military property. The admiral's house (a large, beautiful house) is just across the lawn area from the clocktower. My hubby helped paint the admiral's house years ago. He was on the paint crew that was working at the site.

This is a small quilt show. It is held in the upstairs area in the clocktower building. There is always a featured quilter whose quilts are outstanding, and this year was no exception. There were 10 or 12 vendors, and a Country Store sponsored by the guild. I purchased a quart jar filled with 80 five inch squares in varied shades of purple!

Speaking of fabric purchases, I also have bought yards of fabric from the quilt store that is closing. The picture above is a stack of cut pieces from my visit yesterday, and also from my visit the previous weekend. The owner keeps cutting the prices, and I have not even tried to resist purchasing some fabric or books every time I am there! I purchased two books yesterday. One is a book on design. I am so intrigued with this book. I cannot wait to read it. But it is back to work tomorrow.

Have a great week. Stay warm, healthy and happy. Until next time.....

Happy Quilting