Off to Sewing Summit - Another Great Adventure!

This white stuff greeted me last Friday morning in Rexburg, Idaho as I got ready to head to Sewing Summit!

Last week I headed off to Sewing Summit and decided to do a little family visiting while I was in the neighborhood - that is if you consider that the neighborhood is within 250 miles!  I landed at SLC at about noon on Wednesday and it was partly sunny and 62*.  By the time I got the rental car and met BD#1 for lunch in Draper, about 25 miles south of the city, it was 46* and raining.  I did remember to take a jacket.  I did NOT take cold-weather clothing!

From there, I drove north to Rexburg, Idaho where BD#2 and new husband are living.  By the time I got to Rexburg, the temperature was in the 30's.  Brrrrr!  The next morning it was 36* and before 10 am the rain turned to snow.  At one point, there was about 2-1/2 inches on the ground.  I was certainly not prepared for that!  Every time I have been up there this time of year it has been gloriously sunny during the day and cool-ish at night.  To say I was surprised was putting it mildly.  We just don't get that kind of weather in Florida!

Allison of Cluck Cluck Sew taught free motion quilting at Sewing Summit

Nevertheless, BD#2, NH and I had a lovely visit, and I headed back to SLC for Sewing Summit.
I wish I'd been better prepared to participate in the fat quarter swap and some of the other after hours events, but that just wasn't happening this year.  The hotel was lovely.  If you ever get a chance to stay at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake, do so.  I highly recommend it.  I haven't enjoyed such large rooms in a hotel in many years.

Sadly, all of my photos of SS are about the same quality as this one. Unfortunately the lighting in the meeting rooms was not conducive to photography.  However, that didn't deter me from having a great time at SS.  Of all the meeting rooms SS used, the one in the above photo was my favorite.  What's not to like about a room with 50+ sewing machines in it???

There were some great classes, including a thought-provoking class on blogging and an interesting discussion about photography, but I have to say that I really enjoyed the hands-on classes the most.  (Tomorrow, when the light is better, perhaps I will take pictures of the samples I made in the classes and the tote bag I made from fabric I bought at one of the vendors at the event.)  I came away feeling like I had learned a lot, and met some amazingly creative ladies!  And, incidentally, I picked up some really cool stuff, some of which I have duplicates of, so look for a giveaway or two when I get back in the blogging groove (which I hope will be soon - I've missed you all!)  All-in-all, a weekend well-spent.

Meanwhile, while I was gone, I got an email from Carrie, the swap mama for the Scrappy BowTie Block Swap wanting to know if I was still playing.  Oops!  Totally missed that deadline.  When I signed up for the swap I was sure I would have plenty of time to get it finished.  But this one slipped under my radar for sure.  Luckily, I had some time mid-week and got these in the mail on Thursday.  Guess I'd better re-examine my schedule.

Bow-tie blocks are really fun to make, and they go pretty quickly.  If you want to try them, I used the tutorial here.  In fact, they were so much fun, I think we're going to do it again.  If you're a swapper, join us on Flickr at the Scrappy BowTie Block Swap!  If you'd like, email or FM me for an invite to the next round, which I think begins in January.  The more the merrier, I say!