It was in Raleigh, NC, only 90 minutes from me, and I had friends to go with, so why not. I’d been twice previously, in different cities, and thought it was worth going again.
The most fun part was seeing the quilt-themed clothing worn by various people.
So here are some of the fun fashions I saw:
And I bought these pieces of Kente cloth.
I’ll show you what I do with them in future.
And yes, there were many interesting quilts at QuiltCon, though I’m not sure they were the primary focus of the event. It seemed to be a huge opportunity for people to buy-buy-buy. And of course it was an opportunity to see friends.
Did you go? What did you think?
Zippy Quilts 
I’ve never been to Quiltcon but we have similar things in Australia and some have a quilt display and some have classes but does seem to be geared towards spending money. You have to go with a very firm intention to just look. I look forward to seeing what you do with that kente cloth.
Indeed! I just went to another one (more on that later) and again it was focused on sales! What I don’t quite get is paying $22.50 US for admission in order to spend more money. But the quilt displays were good.
I’ve been to two QuiltCons. Yes, the vendor mall is quite enticing!
Hi Nann! The vendor mall was clearly focused on the younger set, as evidenced by people waiting in line 3 hours to buy “merch” from Ruby Star. I think I’m done.
I have never been to QuiltCon. I admit, I don’t think I can justify the admission fee to visit vendors galore. Of course, I like seeing quilts as much as the next person. I have entered quilt shows in the past, and visited quite a few, but that was in days past. As admission prices rise, I choose to spend the money elsewhere. The same goes for craft shows, garden shows, etc…. Pushing sales is the name of the game.
Having said that…I love the fashion show in this post! 🙂
Yes, the fashions were fun, though of course another way to make sales–where else will those clothes be worn? I am shocked at the price of the big shows. They have some great quilts, but those often are shown online in the weeks following the show. I went to Mid-Atlantic Quiltfest the following week and will post about it next. It was more bang for the buck in my opinion.
Yup…that is the other thing…I can easily view the quilts online. No crowds and I can zoom in for a closer look. I was going to mention that in my first comment, but thought I’d said enough. 🙂
I went to my first and only QuiltCon 2 years ago and enjoyed the eye candy, crowds of happy, intelligent, fun quilters immensely. Would I go back? Maybe. But I’d rather visit other quilty-show places like the Sisters Quilt Show in OR. Someday.
ps- or was it 3? It was in Raleigh that year, too.
It was 2, and I skipped that one. I won’t likely go back to QuiltCon. It was too crowded, among other things. And as you mention, there are many other quilt shows I’d like to try.
Yeah, while the quality of the quilts and variety of categories were myriad…I couldn’t help but feel like ‘all aisles lead to the vendors’. One and done, eh?
I went to the Sisters Quilt Show quite a few years ago. No idea what it is like now, but I enjoyed it quite a bit back then. 🙂
Honestly, I go to QuiltCon to see the quilts. Meeting up with people is secondary, and going to vendors is tertiary. I do very little shopping, especially because solid fabrics were not available for sale by the yard. I thought the quilts, overall, this year were better than in previous years, and I was delighted with the top winners who deserved their awards. As for clothing… I didn’t pay much attention. Living in a hot climate as I do, I cannot see myself wearing a quilted jacket or a quilted jumpsuit or a long quilted skirt. Even a quilted scarf would push my limits. I’ll leave the clothing to the youngsters who think such garments are fashionable.
I enjoy (and wear) art-to-wear, but NOT quilted, even in this climate! And it would be ridiculous most of the time in Florida–I get it!
Really enjoyed the fashion show. Thanks too for your interesting comments about Quiltcon.
Enjoy working with that African fabric
At MAQF there was one booth that actually had shweshwe cloth! Most have the more colorful Kente cloth. I mostly behaved myself. Mostly.