Sew Off Kilter Podcast
Sew Off Kilter is the quilting and crafting podcast that stitches together creativity, chaos, and a little bit of snark! Hosted by Sew Becca and Off Kilter Crafter Ian, this dynamic duo brings you lively conversations about quilting, sewing, crafting, and all the off-kilter moments that come with it. Whether you’re a seasoned quilter, a newbie with a fabric stash bigger than your skills, or just love a good chat about crafty adventures, we’ve got you covered. Expect laughs, tips, and maybe even a seam ripper mishap or two. Grab your thread and join us—because creativity is never a straight line!
Sew Off Kilter Podcast
QuiltCon Chronicles
Celebrating amidst the creative whirlwind of QuiltCon Phoenix, we kick off with exciting news of Becca's third-place ribbon for "Excluded" at the Dallas Quilt Show. This sparks our deep dive into the transformative power of QuiltCon, where we've witnessed our own evolution from craft enthusiasts to finding our true quilting tribe.
Between the overwhelming inspiration of 400+ exhibition quilts and the electric energy of content creator meetups, QuiltCon has become less about the show itself and more about the connections formed there. We share candid stories from rooftop gatherings where barriers between "tiers" of creators dissolved, spontaneous conversations around remarkable quilts, and even an unexpectedly thrilling adventure in a rented electric Mustang that felt like riding a roller coaster.
The magic of QuiltCon lies in its ability to transform solo quilting journeys into a vibrant community experience. We discuss how Ian's identity has shifted from "Off-Kilter Crafter" to "Off-Kilter Quilter," attracting a dedicated quilting audience and creating unexpected friendships with creators he once admired from afar. For anyone planning to attend QuiltCon Raleigh 2025, we offer practical wisdom: join the Modern Quilt Guild for early registration perks, bring comfortable shoes (plus a backup pair!), pack essentials like water and portable chargers, and come prepared with tradable stickers – the unofficial currency of QuiltCon.
Want a piece of QuiltCon Phoenix to call your own? Send us a self-addressed stamped envelope, and we'll mail you our limited edition stickers from this unforgettable event. The quilting community awaits – will you join us in Raleigh next year?
Hey everybody, it's Ian the Off-Kilter Crafter and I'm Sobeka and spoiler alert. Well, this is more of a visual spoiler alert. I've got to pull it up here, okay, but I've got a spoiler alert because we're recording this on the night of the preview for the Dallas Quilt Show.
Speaker 2:That's right, and you have two quilts.
Speaker 1:I do, I do have two quilts you have Shooting Stars and Showering Stars. Showering Stars, showering Stars.
Speaker 2:And what's the other?
Speaker 1:one Margo also known as Change Happens.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a gorgeous one, so I have both of those in the show. And I went overkill and I did four. Yep, you sure did, you sure did. I was like I have four quilts, that's all I have.
Speaker 1:All of them are going Well and I have somebody there at the preview tonight who has sent? Me a photo and I'm so excited to show you this photo.
Speaker 2:I can't wait to see the blue ribbon.
Speaker 1:That Change Happens got Shut the front door. You won a third place ribbon on Excluded and I've been holding this secret for a little while.
Speaker 2:since I found out, I have no words.
Speaker 1:I wanted to hold it until we recorded the podcast, so I could show this to you.
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm so happy. Okay, so excluded. Well, I guess first of all we need to address the elephant in the room that we have new tech we do.
Speaker 2:We do have new tech which is hopefully crossing our fingers, allowing us to make this our inaugural audio episode for the podcast. So if you're listening on a podcast platform I don't even know if it made it that way, but if you are, yeah, we're hoping all of the quilts and images that we're talking about we're going to try to put a link to all this stuff in the show notes of the audio podcast. But for those of you that are watching the podcast on YouTube, you don't need to worry about the show notes, because you already see it.
Speaker 1:You see it, that's right. But if you're listening to the podcast, you can also come over to YouTube, where we do put the video up for getting caught up in my cords. I'm going to have to learn how to deal with this new technology, folks. That's right.
Speaker 2:So excluded is a quilt that I designed and I pieced and Beth from Goody Goods quilted for me, and this was one that I was really inspired to make after I went to my very first quilt con in Atlanta. Atlanta 2022 had exhibits of X's and O's and all of these quilts had a ton of negative space and it inspired me to want to make something like that, and so I left QuiltCon 2022 with a thought in my head that I would. I wanted to make a black quilt with a rainbow X. I wanted to do this for a variety of reasons, and I just kept mulling it over and I eventually pulled out EQA and figured out what the blocks need to look like. There's actually three blocks in there the solid black and then the one rainbow and then the inverse of the rainbow so that you can get the outline.
Speaker 2:And after I put it all together, I was really, really excited. But I didn't have Pro Stitcher yet and I felt like my quilting on that was going to scribble all over the thing, so I sent it to beth and she did some graffiti quilting on it. I was really excited about that. So it's um it, it's. It's been an adventure with that. I just finished the facing. A few months ago I submitted that to quilt con and it was a reject this year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it could be accepted in the future.
Speaker 2:You never knows but I am very proud because it was my design. Yeah, I had an image in my head and I wanted to figure out how to execute it and I did yep. And now?
Speaker 1:it has a ribbon, and now it has a third place. Oh, ribbon on it we're having sorry if you're watching on the actual video, the light, I think, above Becca is trying to go out. It keeps flashing Spooky. By the way, we're also here at my place this time, instead of being in your studio like normal.
Speaker 2:And I think this may end up being the setup for the podcast, instead of carrying all the equipment back and forth. It's a little bit more comfortable, it is. It's nice, because people keep asking about if Becca's going to Ian's. And now you see I have, she does.
Speaker 1:She does, absolutely, yeah. So this may be our new setup. This may be. Hopefully it sounds a lot better. I'm hoping so, because those audio issues were driving us insane. Yeah, it was terrible. So hopefully we're getting things good enough that you can hear clearly, you can see clearly if you're watching on YouTube, and hopefully we've gotten this podcasting thing down, and also this will allow us to bring guests in now. That's right and we'll be able to. We're set up in front of my television.
Speaker 2:So that we can see what we're recording. We have learned that the trick to this is monitoring the audio, monitoring the video. So we're watching ourselves on screen, which is actually, I got to say, a little bit easier for me, because to look at you like this it kind of hurts my neck and it makes the audio kick out. So I'm actually watching you on the screen like a video conference. Excellent.
Speaker 1:Love that, love that.
Speaker 2:So if it ever looks like I'm not looking at him, it's not that I'm looking at him here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, anyway, and I end up looking over in your direction anyways, but it's well, I end up doing this it's, it's just a.
Speaker 2:I know, it's just a habit, it's fine, anyway. So we talked about quilt con, which I think is a good segue for today's topic. Yeah, I mean it, it is today's topic Yep. So, before we get too far into that, one of the things that we like to do on the podcast is introduce a quilt. So, ian, why don't you talk about the quilt, my quilt on my lap?
Speaker 1:is one that I worked on. This was actually the last quilt top that I worked on when I was living in Texas, so it is very Texas themed. It has panels that I cut into squares and made kind of. I guess it's kind of a window ish. Look to it a little bit.
Speaker 1:I don't know, and it has a whole bunch of uh, it's blue and it has cow skulls and armadillos and the word texas, and there's a red truck with blue bonnets and there's a lot of different things in here. And, like I said, this was the last quilt top that I worked on and pieced before I left texas. And, uh, the panel pieces were actually given to me by my mom for a Christmas gift and I had no idea what I was going to do with it until I came across the Texas fabric and decided why not use that Texas fabric, since it's pretty perfect? And then I used Becca's long arm and did the simple it's called abacus quilting.
Speaker 2:It's your favorite quilting pattern.
Speaker 1:It's your go-to, it is. It is my go-to because it quilts out so quickly. It's simple but it gives it good texture and it's just a great panto to use electronic panto. Yeah, I like it.
Speaker 2:I like it a lot, and the reason why I had you start with yours is because yours is a regular quilt and mine is actually got a story of QuiltCon. So when I went to QuiltCon this year I was really excited because I took a few classes and we'll talk all about that in the episode. But one of the classes that I took was with Verushka can't pronounce her last name, but she's the lady that made Dignity, which was the best in show quilt. Yep, yeah, she does amazing FPP. She's done. What is it? The? The Jane quilt what is that? Oh, joan of Arc, joan of Arc. Sorry, apparently I don't know my history.
Speaker 2:So she's done all of these wonderful pieces and she was teaching an FPP class which released and unveiled the final as of the recording of this video, the final installment in her capturing memory series. Now, these are quilt patterns that are FPP and they are designed to look a little bit like Polaroids and they all capture a different scene that is inspired to kind of like invoke memories.
Speaker 1:Well, a lot of a lot of those are from her travels. Yes, because a lot of them, like, she went to scotland and so she created a specific polaroid, yep for teaching in scotland. She has gone to quilt con and and is teaching at quilt con and so there's arizona, so she has several polaroids. I didn't say that, uh, polaroids. I didn't say that.
Speaker 2:I was like uh, polaroids of memories of where she is taught exactly. She started it at quilt con, yep, and so that first block was quilt con and she ended the 12 block series with quilt con, and so this is the class that I took with verushka. I pieced this portion in the class and just a little bit of this one in the class, and then I brought it home and over the course of the weekend I finished piecing it and I was so excited to have this one completely done that I almost immediately walked right over to the longarm, loaded it up and and I did matchstick quilting, which you would think that the only trick to matchstick quilting is making sure that you get the quilt on there straight and you keep it basted. Uh-uh, no, no, no, no. These straight lines take a little bit of talent.
Speaker 2:I had to talk to you about all the times that I had to stop and rip a whole row to go back and do it. It was a whole thing, but I finally did. I did get it down and I am very happy that when the stitching wasn't exactly right in some of the places, I took the time to rip it out and redo it, because my vision for this is that it's a show quilt. I did a gray binding that matches the background, but I wanted just a little bit more pop of color, and so, surrounding the Polaroid layout, I did a white flange, which is the same fabric that you see on the.
Speaker 1:Polaroids. Yeah yeah, it's really pretty. I love the flange binding. I think that really sets it off, because you could have just gone with a gray, which would have let it kind of blend off into the background. But I like that pop of white around the edge as well.
Speaker 2:And I was a little nervous about the color of thread that I was going to use to quilt this and I found that Dove Gray. It's called something else, but it's Dove Gray-esque. It blended into everything and so even when it's against the dark bits of fabric in the moment, while you're quilting it, you see the contrast between the thread and the fabric and you start to panic a little bit. But when all the quilting is done and you take a step back and look at it, what you see is the texture, and those lines just tend to disappear. Yeah, yeah absolutely.
Speaker 2:It looks so good. Anyway, that was my quilt. It is a quilt con story which leads us into today's topic Quilt con the party horn, exactly, exactly so.
Speaker 1:So we're going to talk about our experience this year at QuiltCon and I'm going to say I feel like this was the best QuiltCon for me period, like so far.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's interesting because this is the QuiltCon where I feel like you're connecting with your, you're finding your people. Yeah Right, yeah, right, yeah. And it's also it was also a year where your channel has had a bit of growth in the terms of quilters, not just crafters, and so I feel like this year, when you went, you got to experience both of those things, which I think makes it exciting for you.
Speaker 1:It was very exciting and I went into it. I didn't do any classes, I didn't do any lectures. Um, there were wonderful topics available in both, but I, just I, I wanted to enjoy it.
Speaker 1:Enjoy it and have this experience and enjoy, quilt con for quilt con, uh. And I also knew that I was gonna not lose and I also knew that I was going to not lose a day per se, but I was going to be spending a day working in the Crimson Tate booth, right, and so I wanted to monopolize the rest of my time that I had to, of course, see the quilts. I knew that I was going to be seeing all of you out there and I really wanted to prioritize that time.
Speaker 1:Spending time with people, my friends and new friends yeah and uh and do that, and I'm so glad that I did. I think this was a really good decision for me and I really think that I monopolized the time that I had there. I I met so many wonderful people and new friends, like all of you out there who watch us on our channels and here on the podcast. It was so great meeting all of you.
Speaker 1:I don't know is I, I don't know, oh, there it goes we just did the heart emoji yep and the and the for those on the, on the recording it or on the audio only version. You saw the heart anyway um, yeah, so it was so much fun meeting all of you and putting faces with usernames and actual names, uh, getting to meet so many people out there. We, of course, saw shelby. We met her last year, that's right raleigh but it was great to see shelby again. Um, and then, uh like, I finally got to meet dr kathy smith. Uh, see her in person.
Speaker 2:Um, uh, uh, auntie l yep laurie was there and her sister robin yep and uh.
Speaker 1:and then, of course, I got to meet some other content creators that I hadn't gotten to meet in person before, such as Di from Sister Chicks, that's right. April from April's Craft Room, tracy from the Sewing.
Speaker 2:Channel.
Speaker 1:Tracy from the Sewing Channel, and I did get to see Leo again.
Speaker 2:I've known him. Leo's just amazing. Leo is amazing, but I got to meet Leo for the first time.
Speaker 1:You did.
Speaker 2:And it was like we were just. We were two lost souls that just connected. It was great. It felt like I already knew him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, he's just the type of person where you just feel like you know him already, yeah, so yeah, it was really, and you took a class with him.
Speaker 2:I did and I finished my project in his class and I brought it home and it's now quilted and just needs to be bound. Amazing, I know Like Bill took these classes with me and I keep sending him pictures. I'm like, get on my level.
Speaker 1:Bill.
Speaker 2:He's not finished.
Speaker 1:No no. But so you well, let's actually talk about that because you took two classes, three, three, three classes, no four, four, four, you took oh, that's right, I forgot to have that.
Speaker 2:So my journey with QuiltCon I mentioned earlier when we were talking oh, my ribbon. I mentioned earlier that in Atlanta that was my first QuiltCon. In Atlanta that was my first QuiltCon, and when I decided I was going to go I was a bit nervous. There were some folks that were going to be there, or I had heard were going to be there, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to really interact with them, and so I was trying to monopolize most of my time in areas where I wasn't going to run into people very much but still get to enjoy QuiltCon, and so I overloaded the classes.
Speaker 2:But I went with a friend, mary, and while we were there, one of my friends, donna, was going to meet us there. We call her Donna Shine. And while we were there, another friend showed up. We call her Dr Donna. She has a PhD in education. So the two Donnas, mary and I ended up being a group of four and I didn't feel like I was alone while I was there, because I had them. And while I was there I was meeting so many viewers. I was there, I was meeting so many viewers I literally lost count of how many people I hugged and took photos with and said hi to.
Speaker 2:It was just a really eye-opening experience for me, and so I had signed up for a class or two every single day that I was at QuiltCon. And I signed up for the unlimited lecture pass because I was like, well, if I'm not going to go to a class and maybe I'll go to a lecture and I won't, like, I'll look at some quilts and I'll shop a little bit, but that's where I'm going to be. And I ended up spending all of my time on the show floor and I didn't take the classes. So when we went to Raleigh last year, I did what you did this year I took no classes, I did sign up for two lectures and I spent every day on the show floor. I loved Raleigh, but this year I wanted something a little bit more, and so I went back to the classes.
Speaker 2:But I chose a good balance. I figured that for me I needed to make sure I had at least two days of no classes. Well, ish, ish. That's what I did. On wednesday. I took a class in the afternoon and then another one in the evening, and then that left me. I'm sorry, thursday yeah, thursday morning, it left me time to go and see and doodle around. Friday was an all-day class for me, and then that left saturday and sunday to do whatever I want, and I closed down quilt con with a one hour class at the Handy Quilter booth.
Speaker 1:Yes, that's right. I forgot about that one because that wasn't that wasn't.
Speaker 2:That wasn't a class.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was. It was from the Handy Quilter booth, that's right, but not an actual class through QuiltCon per se. But yeah, so that's why I forgot about that one. But yeah, it was really so OK. How were the classes overall?
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, they were great. So the trick that I learned when I took the classes in Atlanta I was just like, oh, that sounds like fun and I was just adding stuff to the cart and I wasn't taking things that I was really excited to do, that I was really excited to do. I was just taking things to take things. It ended up costing a lot of money probably not the best use of my dollar bills this time around. What I did is I looked through all of the classes and I thought, okay, what is being offered? That if I wasn't taking a class I would still want to do the thing, and that's what I took. So the first class I did was a class on my iPad with Geeky Bobbin. So Bobby was there and she was teaching you how to use Procreate to draw your quilting stitches on a quilt.
Speaker 2:I didn't stay for the whole class and it was no issue with Bobby. It was just an instance where, you know, the day before late at night we got in, thursday or morning I had I was already overwhelmed and overloaded and I needed an hour or so to decompress before I took the class in the evening with Leo. So I did about half of her class. I got enough information out of it that I felt like I could go home, practice that and start to expand on it and I actually have. So it was still money worth worthwhile. Good, I would take it again and sit through it the entire time. The second class I took was Leo's class and he does these amazing portraits with fabric.
Speaker 2:And the class that I took with him on Thursday night just worked with two different fabrics. You got to pick the silhouette that you wanted to make. You brought your two fabrics, you cut it out and put it together. I chose to do a zebra.
Speaker 2:I did not think I was going to finish that in that class, probably a little intimidated by this one the most because it was the one that was like I don't want to do a lot of teeny tiny cutting, applique any of that stuff. But I did it and I loved it. And the way Leo taught the class, I feel like it made everybody feel empowered. Lots of people finished their projects and he and his husband just handled everything. It was amazing. So it took my experience with Bobby up a level. It was a little bit better than what I took with Bobby, not that her class was bad, it was just I was like, oh wow, this is great. And then I took the class with Verushka and that topped the class with Leo. So it just kind of got a little more and a little more and a little more. It was building on itself. So all of those classes were things that I wanted to do, and that's why I signed up for them.
Speaker 2:They weren't necessarily new skills that I was learning, because I wasn't sure I wanted to learn something from scratch at QuiltCon, it was more. I already know a little bit about how this is done, and I'd like to do it a little bit more.
Speaker 1:Well, the basic, the one that you learned the most on, would be Leo's class oh, absolutely. Because you had not done portrait quilting or anything like that before, so this was a brand new skill for you to learn.
Speaker 2:It was but the other two were not, two were not well, the other three were not right, so I wanted to make sure that you know if I was going to take one that was from the ground up. It needed to just be the one, yeah, so that's like if I were to give you advice when it comes to quilt con 2026 in raleigh, if you're looking at classes, don't overwhelm yourself trying to learn a bunch of new things from scratch, which is what I did in atlanta, and it was a total fail yep, there is an art to quilt con, of attending quilt con, and we'll give some tips and tricks towards the end on what we have learned from quilt, going to quilt con and and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:I have to say that it's interesting to me because when I so in 2022, when QuiltCon was in Phoenix the first time this is right after kind of everything started opening back up from the pandemic, everybody was starting to come back out again and I had gone to. The very first QuiltCon that I had gone to was when I was president of the Fort Worth Modern Quilt Guild and it was in Austin. So I kind of felt like I had to go because, a I'm the president of my guild yeah, you got to be there Kind of need to be there and B it was in Texas. So I really had no excuse, I didn't have to fly, I could drive down, I really needed to attend. So I did go and I didn't take any classes or anything like that.
Speaker 1:By the time that I had gotten tickets, everything was sold out, class wise, and so I was like, all right, I'm just going to go, I'm just going to go and attend. And it was really fun, I had a great time. The funny thing was, you know, this is the very beginning February of 2020. Oh my gosh, and we're all. I remember it was Heather and a couple other people from my guild. Heather and a couple other people from my guild were all kind of standing around in a circle and we're like, hey, you know, we hear this COVID thing Like, oh man, I hope that doesn't become a thing.
Speaker 2:Oh, little did you know Little did we know?
Speaker 1:But we were like, oh, I know, right, it really was. It was like so foreshadowing of what was about to happen and none of us had any idea.
Speaker 2:Because, like a month later, running around, yeah, and everybody's social distance spaces, yeah. No masks touching everyone. You didn't know how many germs you were sharing. I little did we know what was going to happen, and just in under a month from that point but anywho, so it was fun.
Speaker 1:I will say 2022 was fun. It was my second quote con to attend first one, first huh.
Speaker 2:What was your first, austin?
Speaker 1:oh, that's right sorry um, so uh, but at that one I got to meet tiffany and eric.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because they were there yeah um, but it was, it was fun, but I was mostly. I mean, I saw some people that I knew, but it wasn't like I was more on my own, yeah, than anything else. Right, and I had one or two people come up to me that were like, oh, I know you, it was mostly like people that I had interacted with on during the pandemic. There was a virtual guild, and so I joined that virtual guild and I got to meet with them and see them in person and I'm like, oh, how lovely I get to see you in person instead of that little box on the screen. Well, you know all the things anyways. So, um, but it's but raleigh, and that's why I didn't go to Atlanta.
Speaker 1:Because I was like meh, it's fun, I enjoy it, but it's like an every other year type situation. Until, until we were at Raleigh and we had such a fun time at Raleigh. It was a blast.
Speaker 2:You started finding your people at Raleigh.
Speaker 1:I did, I did start finding my people in Raleigh.
Speaker 2:It was a blast you started finding your people. I did. I did start finding my people in raleigh, and what changed for you between 2020 and 2022?
Speaker 1:no, no three last year four 24. Yeah, yeah, raleigh 2022 was fetus.
Speaker 2:yeah, right that, that's right. What changed for you between 2022 and 2024 is Ian the Off-Kilter Crafter, dare I say, has become Ian the Off-Kilter Quilter.
Speaker 1:Yeah that's true.
Speaker 2:And so, while you still have the content out there from all of the other crafting that you did predominantly between 2022 and 2024, you have gone all in on the quilting content. I have Absolutely so you're starting, you're growing a following of quilters yeah, not just crafters, but I think your active audience is more quilters than they are crafters now. I think so. I think your active audience is more quilters than they are crafters.
Speaker 1:Now, I think so, I think so, so I think that's, and then 24, I keep getting confused Because it happens in February each year and I'm like what year was that? And I keep saying QuiltCon next year, which is technically true, but like sometimes when referring to it, or I'll say this year, because it's the next one, right, exactly. Exactly Like oh, QuiltCon this year, oh wait, no, no, it's technically next year. I'll say oh, last year at QuiltCon in Phoenix.
Speaker 2:It was like a month ago, that was. That was this month or that last month.
Speaker 1:So it's a weird timing, to be honest. It kind of plays with the brain a little bit, but um, but yeah, this year was amazing and we haven't even talked about the quilts?
Speaker 2:yet no. And you know what's funny? My first experience with quilt con was in atlanta, and so the show floor, the show, the exhibit hall, was on multiple floors, and so I looked at a map and I saw that the vendors were going to be on level one and level two and I was like, oh wow, there's going to be two levels of vendors and the classrooms were kind of spread all over the place between different buildings. Lots of walking. In Atlanta I spent four days on the show floor, the way they had the vendors set up. You walked in, there were racks of quilts on display. I looked at all of those on floor one and floor two, and then on sunday I learned there was a third floor, oops, with a ton of quilts. Yep, and I learned it like 10 o'clock in the morning, so I did not see every quilt. Yeah, yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1:I didn't go to Atlanta so I don't know for sure, but I feel like Atlanta's setup was not intuitive. No, and I've heard that from multiple people too, it wasn't. It was all over the place. It was all over the place.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it wasn't bad. Atlanta was good. I would go back, but I really I really enjoyed the layout and the way things were designed. I I feel like raleigh was probably my favorite, yeah, my favorite vendor, yeah, hall, like it was. I just it's close to home. I like the convention center, I like where we stay, like all of the things, all of the things. So, anyway, um the quilts.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the quilts were. It's always for me, looking at the quilts, it is very inspiring. All of these quilts are so inspirational so they really get my creative juices like flowing and I'm like, oh, I love these colors, or I love the shapes, or I love the. There's so many different things, the textures your brain really gets overloaded it really does, it does and.
Speaker 1:But by the same token, there's this intimidation that it comes with looking at all of these quilts and seeing how wonderfully they have been constructed and pieced and all the things. And you look at them and you're like, oh, my work will never be that good.
Speaker 1:And it's there's, there's this like juxtaposition with these two feelings that are fighting each other internally in my brain for, oh my gosh, these quilts look so amazing. I want to do super fun stuff like that. And also, oh my gosh, these quilts are so, the caliber of them is so high and I just don't know that I'll ever attain that. So it's, it's this like melding of these two worlds.
Speaker 2:I yes to all of that it's inspiring, you want to try it. Some of it's like I can't believe that 15 year old girl did that oh my gosh yeah, oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:All the things, all the things. But the thing that I find is amazing is with the way they're laid out. I seriously thought I went up and down every aisle. Yeah, I did. Yeah, because I spent two days breaking it up so I could go. In fact, I hate to admit this, but I'm going to do it again in Raleigh because it was great.
Speaker 2:So on Sunday, lots of people have left, you know, and they had already reserved scooters for Thursday through Sunday or Thursday through Friday or Saturday. Well, the people that supply the scooters aren't going to take them all back Saturday night, they keep them on Sunday, and so there's a lot that were brought down but only reserved for a few days. And so on Sunday, I rented a scooter for the day so that I could drive around all of the quilts and just not worry about anything. And it also worked out well because everybody was buying stuff and we were putting it on the scooter. So it was great. But I thought I went up and down every aisle. And then I've been on Instagram looking at people's posts. Josh, from Lifting and Stitching, you've been doing it, and a number of my other quilters that I follow on Instagram have been putting carousel posts up where you get to slide through and see the pictures, and there are quilts in those posts. I was like, wait a minute, I didn't see that.
Speaker 1:Yes, how did I miss it? The same for me. I definitely 100% saw every row of quilts. I know I did. But I still see posts on Instagram and I'm like wait, I don't remember that one. Wait a minute, where was that one? I know it was there, but where what? Like, yeah, you just your brain gets overwhelmed. It really does. There were 400 some.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wow, it was. It was either. It was between four and 500 quilts, is is the number that I heard somewhere between four and 500 quilts. And I went back and looked at this because somebody asked me I was telling somebody who doesn't know about quilt con and they were asking oh like, how many people attend this? And the official number, as per the recording of this video, has not officially come out yet. But I went back and looked at raleigh. Take a guess at how many people attended oh, there was a lot.
Speaker 2:I think it was a record, it was. I don't know why I want to say this number, but I want to say like 25,000.
Speaker 1:You are almost exactly. Yeah, it was 25,. Around 25,000 people attended in Raleigh. Now, granted, the further west you go, the attendance will drop off a little bit, the further west you go, the attendance will drop off a little bit.
Speaker 2:Phoenix to me did not feel as well attended as Raleigh was. Phoenix was. It was good. Yes, there was a lot of turnout, there were a lot of vendors, but Raleigh felt overrun by quilters.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes.
Speaker 2:It was hard. Thursday and Friday it was hard to kind of get around the show floor. The vendors were running out of things, and to no fault of their own absolutely. There was still things to be purchased, but people were doing a lot of shopping on Thursday and Friday A lot of shopping.
Speaker 2:There were lines for days for some of the booths. It was just there was a lot, and I remember even outside the exhibit hall in Raleigh there was no place to sit. You had to sit on the floor there was inside. They had tables kind of situated at the front of the exhibit hall. They were all taken the whole time. It wasn't until Sunday that things got a little bit lighter and you could actually move around. Phoenix to me felt like it was a good balance of well-attended with a lot of people there but not so crowded that you couldn't move?
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely, definitely. It felt very spacious.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I was a lot more comfortable because in Raleigh they felt they they kind of moved in the rows of quilts yeah and in phoenix I think they heard enough people complain about that and so they moved them further out, which was great. It was a lot easier to move around, it was a lot easier to see the quilts, it was a lot easier to move around the vendor booths. It was just. I think it was in phoenix. I think it was very well laid out it was, and and it felt really good.
Speaker 1:But speaking of layouts, I don't know, this was a horrible transition, but we're going to transition okay, because we had some fun parties that we got to attend as creators.
Speaker 2:So QuiltCon isn't just about the show. No, it's actually less about the show for me and more about the people. Yeah, so I was really excited about QuiltCon because we got to coordinate and meet up with folks that we had never met in person before, or people that we have, but we only see them once a year, so that was exciting for me. Thursday I got to take the class with Leo, so I got to meet him for the first time. Friday we did a content creator meetup dinner, yeah, which was great. It was amazing. It was Saturday. I feel like we did something on Saturday. I know we interacted with like we had a subscriber meetup Saturday afternoon. I also chatted with Karen from Just Get it Done Quilts a little bit, but what else? Was there something else we did on Saturday?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was when we went to Di's. Oh hi. Yeah, when we went to Di's hangout, she Di from Sister Chicks invited a whole bunch of content creators to hang out. She had an Airbnb and we all hung out at the Airbnb. Leo was there, let's see.
Speaker 2:Leo Karen Brown, carolina Moore, amy Dement, tracy Tracy from the Sewing Channel, amy.
Speaker 1:Or not, Amy April from April's Craft Room.
Speaker 2:That's sorry, April Ty from Sister Chicks Quilting Tiffany, of course Tiffany, of course, tiffany, of course you me. And then there were some others and I'm just like I can see their faces, but I'm blanking a little bit stacy leems stacy, stacy lee from stacy lee creative.
Speaker 1:Yes, dave's crafts room, dave, dave yes, dave, from dave's craft room he was there there was, there was and there were still more.
Speaker 2:And the the goal was I. I think it was just supposed to be a little bit of a meetup, but it kind of morphed a little bit into we talked shop a little bit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we talked a little bit of shop, which was it was.
Speaker 2:it was interesting to hear everybody's take and I will say one thing I learned from that conversation is when you get a bunch of people who are highly motivated, to create content and they're creative and they're used to working alone.
Speaker 1:We were having a blast, we were all talking, we were having so much fun and we were all telling each other how we were doing it wrong.
Speaker 2:Not really. Not really really it's just interesting because you can tell, like you can tell that some of the folks are like, oh, I don't have to, like, I just do this on my own. That's how I'm gonna do it. But it was. It was nice to hear what other people did and what works for them and what doesn't work for them. But it was also nice to put faces well, maybe bodies, because we know their faces right. Maybe it was.
Speaker 1:It was nice to meet the people it was nice to meet the personalities that's right behind the persona. If you will yep on on camera and stuff like that but, no, it was a fun meetup, had a great time and thank you, di, for inviting us, that was great and, putting it all together, she, she like, talked to the airbnb host and was like hey, we're gonna be a couple old, old ladies hanging out.
Speaker 2:They were like, okay, sure, well, we weren't old ladies hanging out, but we all did just sit in the family room.
Speaker 1:We did, we all hung out, they had a charcuterie board. That was mind-blowing they took the whole island, center island, in the kitchen and made a charcuterie board that's right out of out of the, out of the.
Speaker 2:I almost said it couldn't even see the island no they had fruit and meat and cheeses and cookies and like, and it was all laid out very aesthetically pleasing, because they're quilters. Duh Right, I just, and they were leaving the next morning on. Sunday. So they had all this food on the island and they kept saying, please, please, take some, please, take, take.
Speaker 1:We don't want to take it with us, we don't want to have to throw it away. But, no, thank you, Dahlia, that was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:I enjoyed yeah, but no, thank you die. That was a lot of fun, I enjoyed that a lot and that I have a core memory that developed that um was created from that. Okay, it's stuck in my head and I will never forget it. It's made it's like in the moment I knew this was be, this was being like.
Speaker 2:It was being recorded as a core memory I could tell yeah, when we were in the car driving to Di's house, we were going down the freeway and we took an exit and turned like 90 degrees, and when we did we went from drive or maybe we did more than 90 degrees but we went from driving into the light to complete darkness, the light to complete darkness, like, and it was just. It was really interesting for me, like I have this feeling and like this imagery in my head of how we were. It was light out and in a second it wasn't well, we also.
Speaker 1:We also got to see a spacex we did yeah because, uh, uh, karen was like what's that?
Speaker 2:and she points out the windshield.
Speaker 1:I thank goodness, and there was a spacex uh taking off and it was like oh, that's really yeah, and tiffany's like I see him all the time I was like I've never seen one, yeah, yeah, exactly so it was cool to see that, yeah, that was cool. That was cool, I'm afraid to ask what did I do so we get in wednesday night? Uh-huh at 9 pm, uh-huh late. Yeah, we go to.
Speaker 1:You had rented a car and you had rented a mystery car I did, and so the lines were very long to get the cars. I was so frustrated it took like an hour and maybe even an hour and a half to get the car. But he finally come, we finally get to the window and they're like, oh, we're giving you a mach e which is a ford vehicle, it's their all electric vehicle. And it was like, yes, okay, great. And so we get into the mock e and we exit out of the parking garage, and where we were in the parking garage we were below street level and there's, there was this u-turn to go up and there's a ramp and you slow down to a stop and I look at you and I'm like what are you doing?
Speaker 1:Like I'm looking behind me Is there going to be a car behind us? Like what is happening? And you're like ready, and I'm like ready for what? Bam? You slam the pedal down all the way I think I did and we go flying up that ramp.
Speaker 1:And if you've never been in an electric car. It's like riding a roller coaster. It was instant, instant, like I got pushed back into my seat. It was incredible and it felt like a roller coaster taking off and all I could see in my head because I see the end of the ramp coming up. You know the. You know when the ramp levels off. All I could see us doing was continuing up even though there was no more road, and to be like weee.
Speaker 2:SpaceX.
Speaker 1:SpaceX, or what's that car? What's that car? The orange car? Oh, dukes of Hazzard, dukes of Hazzard, I could totally like weee. I'm like oh my gosh, you slowed down.
Speaker 2:To be fair, I did, I didn't get up it did not get to triple digits, and we did not fly, I just liked making it go fast but it was interesting. So every time someone new got in the car I went are you ready? And I would find an open stretch of road, I would allow the car to come to a complete stop and I would hurry up and get to speed limit, maybe five more it was fun it was really fun oh, and we, we got your first dutch bros too.
Speaker 1:I did, you got your first. So good, so good. I miss it back uh, yes, I've.
Speaker 2:I've seen mocktail recipes for that eagle eye.
Speaker 1:No golden eagle. Whatever Golden eagle, it was delicious.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've seen mocktails for those. We've got to try that and see if it actually works.
Speaker 1:We should. Yeah, yeah, I miss my Dutch bros. I had Dutch bros in DFW and I don't have them anymore. Oh, soon. Soon. Hopefully they'll come out to the East Coast.
Speaker 2:You know, speaking of that car, it was so funny. So when the guy handed me the keys and said, well, we've got you in a Mach-E, my jaw dropped. I was like, oh, because I really like this car and I want one, but I don't have that. So I was like, oh, okay. And so he hands me the keys and I'm also thinking I got an electric vehicle, I. He hands me the keys and I'm also thinking I got an electric vehicle. I got a cool car and it was cheap because it was a mystery car. I would have been happy if they gave me a Ford Escort, but it was much happier in the Mustang. So it was funny because it was red and it was fast. So I called Jason the next day and I was like, hey, babe was fast. So I called Jason the next day and I was like, hey, babe, I rented a mystery car and they gave me a red Mustang. My souvenir from QuiltCon is going to be a speeding ticket. Thankfully she did not, I did not, I did not Although.
Speaker 2:Bill had a rental car too and we were leaving Thursday morning I think or Friday morning to go to QuiltCon which it was one of the mornings and he was right behind me. We pull out of the Airbnb that we were all staying at and I stopped, just like I normally do, and he was a little bit behind me, so he wasn't right there and I just floored it and took off and I get a phone call like three seconds later he's an attorney and he goes I'm not licensed in arizona. I can't get you off that ticket it was so funny, it was great.
Speaker 1:It was great.
Speaker 2:That's a that yeah, that's a good core memory that hyperventilating every time I did it. Yes, I was.
Speaker 1:So, to be fair, I've ridden the Velocicoaster in Florida, in Universal, and the Velocicoaster for those of you who have ridden the Velocicoaster, you understand the Gs man, the Gs, the G-forces and just the things that that coaster puts you through I would always come back into the station. I wrote it three times. I would always come back into the station, hyper ventilating, like even the guy sitting next to me, because I wrote the very last row which I hate doing, but I wasn't about to turn that down um, the very last row, the. We get back into the station and I'm like, and he's like are you, dude? You you okay? Like I didn't know this guy or anything. And he's like are you, are you okay, are you good? And I'm like, I'm fine, I just, I need a moment. Like it was a lot, it was a lot but it was still a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:When you did it the first time, I was afraid I was scaring you, and then, when you explained that you liked it yeah, that's just what your reaction was. Yeah, I was like, oh, you just gave me the green light to do this every time I'm at a stoplight it was fun it was fun, um, but the creator meet up on Saturday.
Speaker 1:Friday.
Speaker 2:Friday, friday night, I was thinking Friday, I said Saturday.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's okay, that was great because we got to interact with some other content creators that we don't normally get to interact with a lot. Got to get to know them better. And it was silly because, Okay, first of all, trying to get the reservation for this place, all the back and forth discussion that this poor person went through was a lot. It was. They weren't very what's the word I'm looking for. I don't think they were very happy with us, to be honest. No, well.
Speaker 2:So we had a very large group we do, and it was a rooftop bar, yeah and their safety protocols were you had to be in a seat.
Speaker 2:They didn't want people milling about right and for whatever reason, they took our group and divided it into three tables that were nowhere near each other, and so you couldn't get up and go stand at somebody's table because they literally would come out and be like we need you to sit down.
Speaker 2:So we eventually were able to get tables that were close-ish together, but what it meant is there was one big table with a lot of people at it, and then there was another table of four and then there was some bar seating for a couple of extras, and so, unfortunately, I was at the table of four right in front of a heater, which was great because it was cold outside, and I just kind of sat and chatted with the people that were at my table, which I was totally fine with. You ended up at the bar seating with Josh from lifting and stitching almost the entire evening and I didn't really get a chance to interact with the folks that were at the bigger table, and I wanted to, but it was just one of those things where I was having good conversation, I was enjoying myself, but also there was a constraint in that there was nowhere for me to sit at that table.
Speaker 1:Exactly, yeah, that was that was I couldn't be at the cook at stable Well, and Josh and I had a great conversation, like it was really great to get to know him more, get to learn about him and his life and all the things. But I wish we could have, like, see, that was the funny thing, was Josh and I were up talking to each other near the bigger table, right, because he had been sitting at the bigger table. And then they came over to us and were like we need you to sit down, please, and it was like where do we go? Because all the tables were full, and so Josh and I ended up off to the side by ourselves and I felt bad because I I wanted to mingle with a lot of the other people there and we kind of did towards the end a little bit yeah but it just it wasn't.
Speaker 1:It wasn't conducive for what we were hoping for but it was still fun.
Speaker 2:There's next year, there's next, we can do this. I think we repeat it next year and we just find another venue maybe something where we can get like a banquet room or something.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we'll figure it out. We got to figure it out. Yeah, some place where we can all sit and mingle, versus splitting us up. It was a fun. It was a fun. It was a floor 13. Yeah Was the name of the bar. It was.
Speaker 2:And you had to go through the red light district to get there.
Speaker 1:So when you go the floor 13.
Speaker 2:It was the rooftop bar for a hotel that was not too far from the convention center, and so when you, when you go into the building, you go into the lobby, there's a little room or a little hallway off on its own and it's got a red light in that little tiny hallway. It's just like a little elevator lobby with a red light, yeah. And so you walk in there. You're like oh, oh, okay, where, where am I going? They told me to get in this elevator and go up to the 13th floor, right. So but yeah, but at that creator meetup you formed some lasting friendships from that. Yeah, definitely that are going to lead into guests on the podcast in the future.
Speaker 1:I'm so excited about this.
Speaker 2:And at least one of them, maybe all of them. I know you have fangirled over. I have Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Do we want to talk about this? No, I really don't. I really really. I am already like. I just kept, I am, I am red because, like I ended up making friends, that I'm like how, how did this happen?
Speaker 2:Because you're a good person?
Speaker 1:I yes, but it was just just like. Never in a million years did I think these friendships would form. But here we are, yeah, in a group text, with each other and talking, and it's just like they, they, they wanted me, they wanted of course they wanted me of course they did what, anyways it's, but yes, I formed some friendships that it I never thought I would form and I'm so, not because you thought they were horrible people no, no, like, let's just be clear yeah, it was more like you envisioned them on a pedestal.
Speaker 2:Yes, and unattainable for who?
Speaker 1:yes, yes, absolutely, because here I am at like 16.5 subscriber count, which is nothing to sneeze at by any stretch of the imagination. But also some of these content creators are like they're doing the thing, they're doing all the things and I'm like, yeah, me, what huh? But it's turned into such a wonderful friendship so far and I have found a tribe that I didn't know I needed, I love that for you, and it's been an amazing journey and I'm so excited to see where it goes and have those friendships and continue to support them.
Speaker 1:And yeah, it's just it was. This was that's another core thing that I got out of quilt con was this is my tribe and I never knew that I needed them as badly as I did. Yep, and here I am with them and it's just like I love you guys so much they're listening or watching right now.
Speaker 2:They're like we love you too I hope so.
Speaker 1:I hope so, but yeah, no, it's been. I'm like blushing and I'm like anywho awkward, me awkward. But no, it was. It was a lot of fun and uh, I'm, and I'm very much excited for next year in Raleigh again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I cannot wait, let's go.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Now can we go.
Speaker 1:Well, we'd be waiting a long time for everyone else to show up Well, so let's talk about Raleigh.
Speaker 2:We've been blabbing on forever with an incoherent conversation that has not been outlined or structured at all, and this is what you get when you come here.
Speaker 1:So just deal with it, just chill.
Speaker 2:It's fine. It's fine, but we can end, or start to wrap up, by giving folks some tips and tricks for QuiltCon and Raleigh, because it's March 2025, as of the recording of this, and you've got time to plot and plan and make it a success. Whether you've gone to QuiltCon in the past or you've never been, you're going to get something out of these, so let's go through them. Maybe we can come up with a few.
Speaker 1:We'll just spit fire and see what comes. I definitely have some tips.
Speaker 2:I have a few too, but I also think some of ours are going to probably overlap Probably. I introduced it, why don't you?
Speaker 1:give a tip first. So my first tip is and I talked about this a little bit but you're going to get overwhelmed. You're going to get overwhelmed, you're gonna get overstimulated, you're gonna get overwhelmed. Your brain is literally going to hurt looking at all the quilts. So don't feel like you have to look at all the quilts at one time. Break it up over several days. If you have the availability and can go multiple days, spread it out over the Even. If you can't spread it out over several days, take five, take 10, take 15 minutes. Walk away from everything and just be for a moment. Let it absorb into your brain, let your brain comprehend everything and then go back to it fresh.
Speaker 2:Yep, I will say, one of the things that I was a little disappointed about was the sensory deprivation room. They were supposed to have one, and I did go to it and all it was was just an empty room. There was no comfortable seating, there was no dimmed light, there was nothing that I thought it was going to be, which leads me to think that perhaps it got moved to a different room and there just wasn't a sign posted. I don't know. But to that end I did need to remove myself to recharge and to kind of revamp a couple of times, and so when I needed to do that, I found areas where there was comfortable seating, where I could just go and be and just close my eyes, not take a nap, but just like zen out. And there were a couple of times where that place of zenning was in a stall in the bathroom because it was away from people and nobody was going to bother me. But yeah, that's super important to have an escape plan to recharge?
Speaker 2:Yep, absolutely. I think one of the tips that I would give you is to understand. I hear this from so many people and it doesn't equate in my brain. The math doesn't math. So if you buy a four-day show pass, it's like $40 or $45 for all four days. But if you pay the dues for the Modern Quilt Guild, it's like $40 or $45 for the year and you get a ticket to QuiltCon for free.
Speaker 2:Get a ticket to QuiltCon for free and you get all the benefits of being in the Modern Quilt Guild. So you get to do all the online stuff that they do and you get to register for the Quilt Guild, or you get to register for QuiltCon ahead of the general public, and I mean the benefits just keep adding up. You also get discounts on classes and lectures that you want to take and you get to sign up for those ahead of the general public. And as a Modern Quilt Guild member, you also get to participate in the mini swap. So there's lots of things that you get for that $40 that you are going to spend anyway if you're going to go for all four days. So my advice is right now go over to the Modern Quilt Guild website sign up for a membership or, if there's a chapter in your area, sign up for a membership with them and you'll get all of those benefits.
Speaker 1:Yep, yep. There's chapters across the nation. You can be in more than one. Yep'm actually in two.
Speaker 2:I'm in the individual like from online and I'm dc yep, I'm dc and fort worth.
Speaker 1:Still I can't I hi fort worth folks I miss y'all I miss y'all wait, we can do it again. Does it do it again? I don't know.
Speaker 2:Oh, there it goes um, apparently I don't love it well it only goes, one person, only one person, no earlier. I did it, did it Both of us. Yes, oh. I don't I don't, I don't know I promise you it was both of us.
Speaker 1:Sorry folks online or on the podcast.
Speaker 2:Audio.
Speaker 1:Audio only we're being silly and raising our on the screen. There's a whole bunch of stuff that pops up whenever you do certain hand signals, and we're doing that. Anyways, another thing that I would say is yeah, you're, you're going to make connections that you didn't think that you were going to make. Yeah, and like, be open to making those connections yeah, does that make sense?
Speaker 2:yeah, it does.
Speaker 1:It does because there are so many like-minded people that are attending and like I, would strike up conversations among the quilts that I never thought I would strike up and just getting the chance to talk to other people who are like minded and just like there were a couple. There was a quilt that was like a light bulb hanging and it had rays of light coming out from it and I I went up and I looked at the quilt and I could see where the person had drawn the filament in using their sewing machine.
Speaker 1:But she didn't like it, and so she ripped it out, and I could see the holes from the from where she ripped out the original and I pointed that out and I started this whole conversation with this other person who was looking at it and she's like, oh, I didn't even see that, I never would have seen that. And wow, so it was. It was a lot of fun. So you're gonna make some friendships and some connections that you don't think is gonna happen, and just be open to it yeah, I think that's a.
Speaker 2:That's actually a really good one. Um, I would tell you to participate in the mini swap.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's so much fun it is it's great because you get to make a quilt that measures less than 25 by 25 inches for somebody else. You are exchanged with a person who is making something for you and you're making something for them, and it is not a high pressure swap. There's no extras, it's just the mini, and they coordinate and facilitate getting to meet that other person and swapping the quilt. So that's. That was really fun. I enjoyed what I made the lady that made something for me. I enjoyed what she made for me. I actually have it hanging at my desk at work. But again, you can only do that if you're a member of the modern quilt guild. I think so.
Speaker 1:I'm pretty sure I think so pretty sure, yeah, it's pretty awesome. I really enjoyed that. I I never have done it in the past because I always thought, oh, I'll never like the person who receives my swap will never like what I make.
Speaker 2:And it's all about just the they're just. I would say in some regards it's more about just making something for somebody else than getting something. So nobody's going into that like, oh, I'm going to get a perfect quilt Like they're just. Like I'm making something for somebody, I'm excited to make this for somebody that's going to appreciate a quilt right, like that's what it was for me when I signed. When you sign up for the mini quilt, you get to give a bit of a profile about your likes and your dislikes and then, once you're paired with somebody, the line of communication is open so you can have further conversations about what you do and don't want. And I've done it now two years in a row and every time I do it I put in my profile just make something that you want to make. I don't want you to stress or feel overwhelmed or worried that I won't like it. I just want you to enjoy the process and I will be happy with whatever I get. Yep, Don't look. Thumbs up, there you go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, and I love mine, I love my mini swap yeah.
Speaker 2:Yours is nice.
Speaker 1:It's so good. I can't wait. I need to put that up, I need to.
Speaker 2:You need to.
Speaker 1:I have not posted a picture of mine on social media, should, yeah I, I, maybe I did, I don't know. So if you're listening to this, you can probably go over to instagram, because she probably posted one as soon as we finish the episode. Uh, and it should be up for you to see. More than likely, yep, and if not, she forgot and what's your?
Speaker 1:what's another tip you got um wear good shoes good shoes wear really good walking shoes, and if you can pack two pairs, it's probably better to pack two, so that way you alternate between two pairs of shoes. I did that for the first time this year and I'm wishing I had done that in years past. Really, it really makes quite the difference.
Speaker 2:I never thought to pack two pairs of shoes.
Speaker 1:It really helps, but make sure that they're tennis shoes or walking shoes or something like that, not heels and sneakers. No heels, no dress shoes, something comfortable to walk in.
Speaker 2:My tip for you is going to be what you're going to take into the vendor hall. So I have. I didn't take it this year, actually, I just brought a backpack. But I have a backpack that's a little bit bigger than your traditional backpack. You can wear it on your back or it has two wheels in it and it has a handle that pulls up, and so I usually take that when I go to QuiltCon, and there's no problem getting it into the show floor, because if they don't want me to pull it which I've never been told not to I can always wear it. I didn't bring that one this year because I was flying to Phoenix, atlanta and Raleigh. I both drove, so I just took a normal backpack. But in addition to that backpack, I made sure that I had a few things snuck away in there that were going to help me get through the day.
Speaker 2:The first thing I had was a backup battery, a charger for my phone, because you're going to take all the pictures, you're going to take all the video clips and your juice is going to run loose. That sounded horrible.
Speaker 1:You know what I meant.
Speaker 2:Your battery is going to die. The second thing that I kept in there is juice for me, and by juice I mean a water bottle, agua, yes. So I like my water cold. But if you like it room temperature, then it doesn't matter, I like my water cold. So I got one of those double wall, thermolated, whatever thingy thingy things, and so this is like my water bottle. It actually needs to be washed because it had a ton of stickers on. I peeled it off. I'm going to put some new ones on it, but it is spill proof and it's got a clip right here where I can clip it onto one of the straps of my backpack so I can go hands free without it being in the side pocket, and it holds like 32 ounces of water. Yeah, and they have most places nowadays have those places where you can put your water bottle in and fill it up for free Bottle fillers.
Speaker 1:Yep bottle fillers.
Speaker 2:So it lets you stay hydrated. But in addition to that, I would also pack on the down low maybe some little snacky snacks that are not messy, that if you needed to excuse yourself from where the quilts are and have a little bit of nourishment. Yeah, because you don't want to spend twenty dollars for a slice of pizza. Yeah, much, true. Um, you can do that, so that that's my like. Make sure that you're taking water, uh, energy bar or something, and have a bag that you can easily carry around with you with a backup battery in it.
Speaker 1:Just don't drink or eat anywhere the quilts not at all near the quilt. No, that's not allowed. No, it's not acceptable.
Speaker 2:I wouldn't even do it near the vendors. Nope, right like there. I remember I took a bag of grapes in and it was just sitting in the backpack and I was starting to feel a little hungry and I was like, well, I'm going to excuse myself and have a little snack break. So I just went out by where the restrooms were and I just sat outside the restrooms literally just eating my bag of grapes. So, yeah, I don't want to be even on the exhibit hall with the food. Yeah, Very true, Very very true.
Speaker 2:What do you got?
Speaker 1:Have fun.
Speaker 2:What about another thing to take the stickers?
Speaker 1:Oh, the stickers, yeah, and business cards or some sort of card with your contact information on it, and not just like your contact information, but like your social media presence.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what I meant. Like don't put your address on there, but maybe put like your name and your handle and maybe even a photo of yourself. Yeah, because folks are going to have the card and be like I don't remember who this was yeah but if they have a face or a photo on there, they're like oh, I remember now.
Speaker 1:So and stickers are the currency of quilt con it feels like everybody has their own stickers for quilt con and there are plenty of sticker companies that you can submit your own artwork to and they print them and make them and everything like that. So, um, I ended up having three different types of stickers at quilt con and I just ordered some more, actually, of those stickers. So I have some for next year too, and I'll probably make another design and do all the things. But, yeah, stickers are like a big, tradable item. At QuiltCon, you're going to come home with hundreds, it feels like, of stickers of some of your favorite people that you like to watch on social media, but also some new friends that you've made at QuiltCon, and so stickers for newbies who've never been made at QuiltCon, and so stickers for newbies who've never been. Stickers are a currency that tend to be everywhere.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you don't have to be a social media person to trade stickers. No, I traded stickers with people who weren't. They were just quilters. They're like oh, I heard about the sticker thing, right. So I personally went a little over the top this year. You did. I made three different designs and then I took my logo and I had all four of those images turned into vinyl stickers and I put them in little foil packs with a zipper bag on it and everybody that gave me a sticker. I gave them a sticker pack. And then anybody that came up and were like oh, I love you on YouTube, I love I watch your videos, all the time.
Speaker 2:Anybody who asked for one I gave one to, and I I did write down how many I gave away each day, so I could probably add them up, but I ordered. I went back and ordered a couple hundred more of all of them because they were such a hit and I felt like you know, there's a lot of folks that don't get to go to QuiltCon and what better way to make them feel a little included than to share the joy with them. So I have a limited amount of QuiltCon Phoenix25 stickers that I made for this event. It's just the three. I'm not sending out the logo one that I'm sharing with people that are just asking for them online. So if you want some of those stickers until I run out and that might be a little while from now, so you're still good.
Speaker 1:I feel like you have a good amount of stickers left.
Speaker 2:I have a good amount. You just send me a self-addressed, stamped envelope to my snail mail address and it'll be in the description box of the video. It's also at the bottom of every page on my website, sobekacom, and all you got to do is just put that envelope down in there with a stamp address to yourself, mail it off to me, and when I get it I will put three stickers for you and shove it off in the mail to you, and if you want my stickers, just write a little note saying Becca and Ian stickers.
Speaker 1:So that way we can both put them into the envelope for you.
Speaker 2:And if you want Ian's and not mine, send it to Ian.
Speaker 1:Same thing, same address.
Speaker 2:Just address it to Ian.
Speaker 1:Exactly, send it to Ian. Same thing, same address. Just address it to Ian. Yep, exactly, exactly. So yeah, we have stickers available if you'd like them. Send that self-addressed stamped envelope to us and we'll let us know and write a little note saying I would like Ian's, I would like Becca's, I would like both. Whatever you want, just let us know.
Speaker 2:Yep, I'm really excited about quilt con 2025 six, six. See, I just did it. I know just did it again. I cannot wait for it to be here I know I'm also really excited because I want to try my hand getting a quilt into quilt con.
Speaker 1:Yeah again I think you should really try exclude it again, because I think quilts and I know this for a fact, some quilts that have been rejected one, two, sometimes even three years prior, will suddenly make it. Yeah, so it's, I think you. I think that one has a chance well, maybe it does.
Speaker 2:But also I would like to submit a quilt that I design, I piece, I quilt and I bind, and so I've got plenty of time to do that. Because if you're looking to get a quill into quilt com, first of all it's very competitive, so don't feel bad if you're rejected, because there are some very wonderful things that are rejected, yep, but the entries close in October. I want to say they start in like August or something, yep, and you've got about two months to submit it. You don't have to have the quilt fully finished.
Speaker 1:Yes, you do.
Speaker 2:Oh, you do.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:At some quilt shows you only have to have the top Yep Okay, so I need to have it finished. Yep, top Okay, so I need to have it finished. But yeah, I don't mind putting excluded in again. And the reason why is because it's a unique design. I didn't follow a pattern, I figured it out on my own. But I want to figure something else on my own to get a design element that I'm looking for and I want to quilt it and I want to submit that. So I don't want to follow a pattern, I don't want it to be a kit and in fact I would tell you for QuiltCon if you're looking to get a quilt in the show, you probably don't want to just make a quilt from someone else's pattern and you probably don't want to make a kit unless you're in like the youth category.
Speaker 2:Those are, they really prioritize uniqueness and like your, original originality, yeah, originality so think of sketch something out, figure out what you would like and then figure out how to make it work yep so cool yeah well, well, I don't think this podcast was perfect but it's finished. It may have taken us a month, but here we are.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sorry about that, that was so, for those who didn't know, we, we, we, we extended our in-between time because I had COVID.
Speaker 2:Well, we did a couple of things, and it wasn't just COVID. We made a boo boo in February. We thought we were supposed to release the Wednesday we were leaving for QuiltCon. Turns out it was the Wednesday before, so we had to push that week. And then we went to QuiltCon Yep, and then you had COVID, yep. Turns out it was the Wednesday before, so we had to push that week. And then we went to QuiltCon and then you had COVID, and then it was the time change and it was me returning to work five days a week.
Speaker 1:It's all of the things, so it's not just on you.
Speaker 2:It's just the universe kind of piled everything on us when we got back. But we're back, but it was mostly. Covid and I don't think either one of us wanted to record until we knew we had the right equipment.
Speaker 1:That's true.
Speaker 2:That is true, I was so tired of editing videos and being like the audio sucks. Yep, Spoiler alert the audio might. What are we going to do if the audio sucked?
Speaker 1:I don't know, let's not even go there. We did a dry run, we did, we did.
Speaker 2:We've done the test.
Speaker 1:So I'm crossing my fingers. I'm crossing my fingers that this came out well, and I will find out as we edit. We'll see.
Speaker 2:But yep, all right. So what is it you say this podcast isn't perfect, but it's finished.
Speaker 1:But it's finished.
Speaker 2:We already did that part, yeah, and finished is better than perfect and normal is just a setting on the dryer. And all the things.
Speaker 1:What do you say on your channel? Bye.
Speaker 2:Bye, see you guys later.
Speaker 1:Bye everyone. Thanks for watching, see ya and listening because audio version, bye everyone See ya.
