Weekend Project: Expo Inspiration!

It's a good thing to turn your mind upside down now and then,

like an hour-glass, to let the particles run the other way.

--Christopher Morley

I don't know if attending the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo really counts as turning my mind upside down, but it certainly is a refreshing and re-invigorating time! :)

Ana, Juana, Susan and I spent yesterday browsing the exhibit floor of the Expo in Tampa, Florida. Susan and I have attended together for several years, but this was the first time for Ana and Juana.

This year, I didn't have the time to attend any classes. But it was still a wonderful day! I did try something new - I attended one of the model shows. Women modeled clothes made with patterns from "alternative" pattern companies (i.e., not the Big 4) - patterns that we could buy there at the Expo. It turned out to be a really great idea - I bought two patterns - a skirt and a dress - that I otherwise would not have. (I'll save the actual patterns for my Wednesday posts.)

I think that Ana and Juana also really enjoyed it. They saw lots of new things - embroidery machines and quilting machines, for example. One booth was selling zippers for 5 cents each (one length only), fabric remnants for 10 cents each (fat quarter size or smaller) and lace for 20 cents per yard - they stocked up! Ana got a pattern for a patch quilt purse (seams on the outside) and picked out the fabric remnants to make it up for only $1 ! :)

I wanted to get a picture of the 3 of them at the Expo. Ana wanted me to be in the picture too, but I'm not a big fan of having my picture taken, so I tried to get out of it by saying that I had to take the picture. Ana promptly turned and, in English, asked a bystander if she would take a picture of all 4 of us. "Oh," I exclaimed in Spanish, "so NOW you can speak English!". She smiled smugly at me and replied in Spanish, "I can speak English when it is necessary." ;)