This week I’m traveling for both business and pleasure and attending my first QuiltCon in Raleigh, NC. Pretty much every fandom and hobby has some kind of convention you can attend. QuiltCon is the largest modern quilt show in the world, hosted by the Modern Quilt Guild. Just like with pen shows, there is a vendor market, a slew of classes one can take, lots of social events and meetups. The only real difference is that there is a also a juried quilt show, meaning you have to be accepted to display a quilt, and it’s a competition for prizes! Oh, and it’s HUGE.
So what does one take to a quilt show? In addition to the standard water bottle, snacks, comfy shoes and a tote bag for purchases, this is what I’m carrying:
- Quilting Clips – use these suckers to hold fabric together in place of pins (I packed those too, but I don’t want to drop them anywhere.)
- A handy ruler – this one happens to be 2.5″ x 8″!
- A rotary cutter – OLFA happens to be my favorite brand and you know I’m digging the purple. Technically this will need to go in my checked suitcase to get to QuiltCon, but then it will accompany me each day since I will be taking classes!
- An adorable draw string tote to hold it all. This one was a gift from Ana and came filled with tea. Now it holds all my EDC essentials!
- A notebook – how could I not? This is the Denik Notebook I purchased from our local stationery shop. It went with me on my last business trip, so it is now my quilty travel notebook.
- Pens – here I chose two. I’m still in love with my Pilot G2 purple gel pens, and there’s no inky hassle with those on planes so it made lots of sense. Also I couldn’t possibly leave my Retro 51 Patchwork + matching Rickshaw sleeve at home for the big con right?
I’ll be back next week with a full report and (I hope) a pretty journal spread to share!