International Fall Quilt Market Houston 2009 More Photos

Here are some photos of more wonderful people I met, places I went and some other stuff too!!

Meet Devotte Sabiraguha. She was our maid at the Hilton. I peaked my head out the door on the first morning to tell her we only needed shampoo and towels so don't bother cleaning our room. Devotte had the most wonderful smile and accent. I asked where she was from. Tanzania is her home and she has been in the US for 9 months. Devotte has three daughters. I asked her how she liked it here and she said, "I love it. I have a job and I am now the head of my family." I asked if I could take her photo and she nearly danced around. I loved her spirit and the immediate joy she expressed. I want to be more like Devotte.

You can see the carpet I walked on each morning when I was walking to the Convention center. Isn't it absolutely beautiful? The kaleidoscope design is by Paula Nadelstern from what I hear. Apparently someone took her work without her permission and made carpeting. Yikes...not a good idea.

I just loved seeing these bright beautiful patterns every morning. That is one great way to start the day.

This may seem mundane to you, but I was impressed. There were hand sanitizers in the hallways at the Convention Center. I thought this was an excellent idea and a nice convenience.

This is a photo of the snacks my roommate brought. I brought power bars and she brought all of this and some stuff in a fridge. Enough for both of us....how wonderful is that? You know I loved it. A bit light on the chocolate however :)

Meet Caroline Weber Pyne. She is from New Zealand and I met her on Thursday evening. She owns "The Power Quilter" in Bay of Islands. Caroline was so refreshing and down to earth. I wanted to have coffee with her in her kitchen and maybe someday if I'm lucky enough, that will happen.

Caroline Weber Pyne from "The Power Quilter"

These are photo's of a lady's wallet. When Khris (SewPrimKhris) sees these owls....she is going to flip. I thought of her instantly. I thought of her several times because I saw many owls while at Market.

This is a note book cover a woman was carrying. She said a customer made it for her. I thought it was beautiful.

Bet you can't guess who these beautiful people are? Ok....Orion and Eleanor Burns. Orion was working so hard at Sample Spree he was sweating. They had so many great things for sale that he could not keep up. They were kind enough to pose for this beautiful photo. What lovely and beautiful people.

I actually got outside once or twice. These globes were fun to see. One grabbed my head.

Conference Center at night from the Hilton Hotel.

I got to bogey down at the MODA Customer Appreciation dinner. After being on my feet for two full days I still found some gumption to dance with some very fun ladies. Thanks to MODA I actually sat down for a meal!! They should change the D to an M since they fed us so well.

Look how truly happy Eleanor is to see me. I'm so glad I have this effect on people. (Robert Redford must have been standing behind me*** warning...clicking on the blue name could cause heart palpitations and possible heart failure)

Guess who else was bogeying down? You can really tell how old we all were compared to Orion. He had the moves down and the rest of us were just doing the same moves we've all done for the past 20-40 years.

Mark Lipinski begged me to have his picture taken with me. Can you believe it? I didn't think you would. I think I was the only person tall enough that he could actually hide behind and appear thinner. I think he needs to wear black if he wants to look thinner....that's what I do. Another good trick for looking thinner is putting dark blush on your jawline....Mark....just call me if you need more "appearing thinner tips" cuz it is easier to appear thinner than to become thinner...I know.

Pokey Bolton didn't want to be out done by Mark so she got in line for a photo with me too. I told her it might not be good for her career. The folks over at the TV station might just call me for an interview....we don't want this young lady to loose her job. Guess they would have to change the name of their show to the BS Hour....wear tall boots for this hour of entertainment/journey into insanity!! Quilted tall boots....and for all of you who don't know what BS stands for ..... it stands for Back Stitch. (Oprah's hair dresser was off the clock...hence my bad hair)

Where was I supposed to sleep? Look at all this stuff. Poor me...I had to sort through all this stuff and try to make sense of everything. I was so good not to take brochures from people I knew I would not contact later. I saved a few hundred trees....but I took several hundred too.

All of that had to go into this? It was a miracle...it all fit.

I actually took this photo for my husband. I left a box in the room. I'm the one always scouting a good box and here I am leaving one. He would never believe me without this photo.

I liked this sticker being sold at the concession stand. It needs to come with an eye roll and not a spool of thread.

This is a photo of a group of us that boarded the plane in Houston headed for Detroit. Everyone but me seemed to know Fred Mikesell. Fred has been in the business for 30 years. He used to be one of the owners of Checker Distributors and currently is with EE SCHENCK CO.

I had just met him during lunch at the airport. He has one really amazing story to tell. I understand why these ladies like Fred. He is very personable. Someone said we should gather for a picture and call it "Fred's Harem." I like my title better...."If Elvis is the King of Motion then Fred is the King of Notion." I think Fred liked that one too....and I'm pretty sure his wife will like it better too!!!

Call me strange....you won't be the first. But I loved this hand dryer at the DTW airport. It is a Dyson Airblade and it dried my hands toot sweet. No paper to throw away....just nice warm air.

This was an advertisement in the window at a store at DTW. I walked past and thought to myself....why is that OK? If I were to stand there nude I would be arrested. Somehow it is OK to post photos of nude people...but not be nude in public. What is the difference?

Perhaps it is time to stage a stand in....a group of us quilters should head down there and just stand there in front of that window in the same poses. Not only would we gather a crowd....mainly because of the neat purple lines on our legs...but I bet the police would arrest every single one of us. Am I the only person who thinks it might be considered strange to put nude folks on the front of a public store? I'm so glad my boys were not with me. I'm always telling them, cover your privates....privates are for being private." I may have gone in the store and faked a gran mal seizure and just happen to flip into the photos and rip them down. I couldn't be arrested for a seizure could I?

These are the two wonderful women who made my trip possible. My Mother, Olivia is on the left. My sister, Tracy is on the right. Tracy came to stay with the boys and my Mom went to stay with her teenage boys. Rick was traveling in NY and I would have had to cancel if it were not for these two. They don't read the blog so they'll never know I published this photo. But I have thanked them over and over and over again.

Last in the file of "interesting pix from Houston trip" is our wall calendar. How does one explain to a 5 and 6 year old that Mom and Dad will be traveling on different days and Aunt Tracy is coming to stay with them? They can't possible comprehend the dates and when.....so Rick and I made a photo calendar. We put pictures of the people who would be home on each of the days so they would know when we would return. Our trips overlapped so this helped. We also put our cell phone numbers in bold ink so they could call us anytime. (Are you wondering if they called us? They didn't. All they knew was Mommy and Daddy were not there to moniter the Wii)

Feel free to borrow/boldly steal my idea to communicate with small children, the elderly or anyone who might benefit from visual aids to communicate.

Ok...that is the end of my file. I still have a ton of stories and photos from Market so stay tuned.....my blog needs a blog I have so many stories!

Quilting Nude Smiles at DTW,

Kelly

(Most of the names were not changed to protect the innocent. I'm guilty and I know it....but not of public nudity....I know those photos in the window actually look like me....but I got a body double so I wouldn't feel so naked)