Circleville Quilt Show - Vendors and Shopping

Gosh, there were some great vendors at the show. I enjoyed talking to many; they were so engaging and genuinely interested in visiting with customers. Maybe it was the excitement of just starting the show, as opposed to nearing closing time on the last day - everyone was upbeat and cheerful. It made for an awesome quilt show experience, for sure. (It would be an interesting experiment to go back towards the end of a show to see if everyone is still as upbeat as they were at the beginning.)

While I visited several vendors, I only remembered to take pictures of a few. That makes me a poor correspondent, right? Several vendors were quite busy with shoppers, and I obviously did not make it into every booth. (Please don't feel slighted if a shop at the show isn't mentioned here!)

One that I visited early on and later returned to was Sew Happy Quilting Traditions located in Belpre, OH. What a cute little shop with a vivacious young owner, Rachelle Yost. I would really love to take a trip across the state to visit her shop and I know some ladies who, too, would be up for such a trip. *wink* Most of the spending I did while at the quilt show was done in this shop; I will just show you a couple of fabric stacks.

This pack of baby-themed fabric will go into a quilt for a special little one due near the end of the year. I don't know if they know the gender, but this should work for either.

This second pack is just a random group of reproduction prints that I thought I might use as filler or neutrals for many of those hexagon blocks I'm making.

Many quilts displayed in the quilt show featured 30s prints, so perhaps this put me in the mood to stock up. A handful of these prints came from Rachelle above, but I bought most of them at The Laughing Ewe booth from Canal Winchester, OH. I talked to the a woman who I think was the owner quite extensively, but there was lots going on and I failed to get a picture. I do have a few ideas brewing in my mind for using this stack of happiness. I will report on that as things take shape.

One vendor came all the way from North Carolina - Karen Comstock of Quiltricks. Her booth's feature quilt is called Anna's Rose. (I have a niece named Anna Rose.) I learned that the Anna for whom the pattern is named was Karen's grandmother, who had passed before Karen was born. In her grandmother's things, Karen discovered an appliqued rose, so she adapted it into this quilt. What a sweet, sweet story - and an equally sweet shop owner!

I met Annette Williams of Sewing the Good Life at the Hillsboro show a few weeks ago, so I was sure to look her up while in Circleville. She was quite busy demonstrating techniques and answering questions, so I talked mostly with her husband. He knows his stuff in the quilting business! I picked out just one fabric (exercising restraint!) and he commented "that'll be great for fussy-cutting." I just had to giggle. So cute. Here is that fabric and the pic I took of Annette in Hillsboro.

Other shops I visited - in some I made purchases, in some I did not - are worth mentioning, for sure. Lavender Street of Cincinnati. She is selling out her store inventory and going totally on-line, so I got a great deal here. Quiltmakers Workshop (the website is under construction, but she's on Facebook) run by Mary Beth Simms had tons of Kaffe Fassett fabrics, and I got 2 fat quarters - how to decide on just two??? I know; it was tough.

A shop local to me, Creations Sew Clever, had a booth which I visited, but did not linger; I can go to the store anytime, so I visited booths of those who came from greater distances. I know Rita Fishel takes her shop to lots of shows across the country; she has more energy than I can fathom! I hope you'll look for her if you are out at shows. Or better yet, come to Chillicothe!

I stopped by The City Stitcher of Centerville, OH, and I recall visiting with her last year. The thing that strikes me as interesting in her shop is her many premade blocks that busy quilters can buy for finishing up. The picture below shows a few of the options available. Blocks are packaged by color, or by design, or by size. Lots of variety. I didn't get to talk to her because she was with another customer, but her business fascinates me, and based on the crowdedness of her booth, lots of others were fascinated, too.

Finally, I will tell you about The Soap Shepherd out of Brookville, IN. She had so many soaps and lotions - all made with goat milk. I loved talking to the owner, Rebecca Meyer, and I had intended to go back to her booth before I left, but I forgot. I have looked at her website and I see that she offers on-line sales, so certain folks on my Christmas list might well see some fragrant-filled goodness wrapped up come holiday time.

That pretty well wraps up the 2017 Good Time Quilters quilt show. I hope you've looked at the quilts in the previous two posts, and possibly gained a little bit of inspiration.

Happy Quilting, Friends!