Escape to Portland

Friday, I managed to escape briefly down to Portland to see the Twelve by Twelve exhibit at the Northwest Quilting Expo.  I kicked the kids out of the car at school and hit the freeway for the three hour trip south. I was able to share the exhibit with my parents and mother-in-law and visit with fellow Twelves, Gerrie and Terry. My parents had been camping in the area and made it to the show before I arrived.  My mom immediately introduced herself to Gerrie.  She then started pointing out "her daughter's quilt" to everyone looking at the exhibit. By the time I arrived she had it down!  I have to admit that it felt good to see her bragging about me to everyone she met.  Once again, the exhibit was very well received by everyone and the highlight of the show.  My mother-in-law, who isn't a quilter,  got into the spirit too and was explaining the project and layout to all the viewers.  My dad looked at the quilts for a bit, but then spent about 4 hours hanging out in the car reading while the rest of us toured the show. 

Happy fans viewing  the exhibit

Gerrie, Terry and I in front of our Lorikeet and Rusty challenges

I'm a little sad to think this was the last time all 288 quilts from both our Theme series and Colorplay series will be exhibited together. The theme series is being broken up and our individual quilts are being sent back to their creators.  The Colorplay series is headed down under to tour Australia and New Zealand.  I think we all secretly wish that they could remain together on display at a museum.  For now, we will each keep our quilts safe until the invitation comes.

My Purple and Yellow challenge quilt in the show program

On the way home Saturday morning, we stopped at Shipwreck Beads.  Two hours later, I came out with quite the stash.  I was looking for some mixes of glass beads to use in both my art and the kits I've been making.  I was hoping to find more mixes of orange glass beads (never thought I would be saying that) but I had to settle for amber.  I am excited to put them together with the beads I already have just to enjoy the bounty of color and texture.

Finds from Shipwreck Beads