Madison Quilt Expo

On September 8th, I attended the Quilt Expo at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin. This is the fourth time I've gone to this event. There are hundreds of vendors with quilt related items, as well as over 400 quilts people have submitted for judging. There are also numerous workshops and mini sessions to attend over the three day event.

I didn't attend any sessions, and I spent less than $40. That's very good.  Instead, I volunteered three hours in the display area to make sure people don't touch the quilts or eat or drink. I've done this before. I get free parking and admission and get to walk up and down the aisles and admire the amazing quilts. Here are a few that I really liked.

This one is such an optical illusion just in the way the squares are laid out and the use of color.

It's hard to really appreciate the next one from a picture. The horses are filled in with sewing and different thread colors. It's a technique called thread painting. I can't imagine the amount of hours and spools of thread used. And, what an amazing job! Very deserving of a blue ribbon.

This one was just so much fun! I love all the monsters and the border.  Click on the picture to enlarge.

The next three pictures are all the same quilt. The panels are attached like little tents. The first view is straight on which doesn't really look like anything.  The second view is from the left and the third view is from the right. I've seen this technique before, but find it very fascinating.

I walked over 13,000 steps that day, so not only did I really enjoy seeing all the quilts and vendors booths, but I got a lot of exercise.  Of course, there were so many outstanding pieces, I can't even begin to share them all. The ones above are just a few that caught my eye.

Things here at the park are winding down. We leave three weeks from tomorrow. We were nearly full this past weekend with very nice weather.

Our Norcold refrigerator has been acting up the last few weeks. A couple of times it has stopped working. If we shut it down and restart it a little while later, it comes back to life. There is a RV repair place in Beaver Dam, so Kevin stopped in to ask the guy if he did any mobile service. He doesn't, but it turns out Kevin knows the guy from his days in the automotive business, so he will do mobile service for us. Small world!

Because it is an intermittent problem, it's hard to diagnose. He talked to Norcold, and they feel it is the thermistor and/or heating elements. So, the parts have been ordered, and he will install them this week. Hopefully, this will solve the problem. Of course, we are four months out of warranty, so too bad for us!

Our weather has been above average and quite wet so far this month. Fall is definitely around the corner as some trees are starting to turn. I love this time of year.

We were going to go golfing today, but Kevin stepped wrong yesterday and sprained his ankle a bit. It's not super bad, but he needs to ice, rest and elevate it so it doesn't get worse. He has plans to golf with a friend on Tuesday, so hopefully, it will be better by then.  Bummer!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!