This is the HandiQuilter $10,000 winner of Best in Show. I walked past it this morning and took a photo for you. Tomorrow is my quilt day, though my sister said I should have gone this afternoon as the exhibition hall was quite empty. Everyone was in with the vendors.

Here's some more eye candy for you.

This artist really loved puzzles...look at the lid of the box.

Tomorrow is my show day. When i was buying Ghana indigo, the vendor told me to be sure to see the exhibit of Asian indigo quilts, so now I'm on a mission.

Today's shopping was fabuloso. French fabric, Ghanan indigo, Asian indigo, Japanese fabric, German buttons. They don't call this the International Quilt Festival for nothing.

I am so glad I didn't go to Vegas this year and feed my money into the slot machines. Quilt Festival shopping has been the most fun.

I was also hoping to meet some of the Pickle Road Posse (Mark Lipinski's online group). That was lame...one pos showed up at the designated meeting time....Sylvia from Texas. We talked embroidery. She was very helpful pointing me in the direction of arming myself with the necessary tools to use my new machine next week.  Thanks Sylvia.

Oh, and today I was told that I am a "Used to Sew Girl" or something to that effect by the people in the Schmetz needle booth. They did a little interview and took photos of me. I just hope they didn't turn out as bad as the one I took with Ricky Tims this morning. (I so need a haircut!)

Speaking of Ricky, I bought an instructional DVD and his new Christmas CD (my husband would kill me, I didn't even listen to it first, just bought it, blindly (or would that be 'deafly'), and we won't tell him that it cost $14.95, marked down from $16.95. But, I will say this, Ricky whips those things open and signs each of them, without even asking.\

Now, I'm walking past this other booth that seemed to have dozens of different CDs displayed..the kind of display you find in the drugstore with the falling rain/ocean waves/white noise CDs. As I walked past, some of sounded like trance music with a little classical thrown in. I guess it was supposed to be relaxing music to quilt by. Whatever. Anyway, I had to smile because someone was buying one and I heard the guy ask...."do you want an autograph?" Pretty sad when you have to ask someone if they want your autograph. I mean, if they did, they'd have asked you for it. Duh!

Well, it's 11 p.m. here in Houston. I woulld so like to go through my day's purchases, but my sister is asleep in the bedroom area, and her friend is asleep on the pull out couch here in the living room area, so I don't think I can make any noise rattling bags. Wait, my sister said I could make noise (yay for big sisters!)

Gotta run before she changes her mind.