H&H Quilt Market in Pictures

At the tail end of September, we went to Houston to the Quilt Market sponsored by H&H. We decided to go since it was the first one in Houston. It was fabulous!

It was NOT well attended, so we did NOT have to push our way through the aisles. We did not have to fight for appointments, and we certainly were welcomed by all the vendors who were trying to sell their wares. We were also looking to buy, so it worked out well.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.. let’s back it up to Tuesday… Ken had not been feeling well, so when we left the store, Sarah and I weren’t sure that he was going to be well enough to go with us, but when we got home, he was raring and ready to go. By the time we got to the airport, we definitely had to get our pictures with our infamous Flamingo, Phoebe. If you’ve never followed the Tampa International Airport FB page, you really should It’s hilarious, with Phoebe writing some of the more entertaining posts. in pHOeBe sTYle.

We left here around 2:30 on Tuesday, and left Tampa around 5:15 p.m. We, being Sarah, Ken and me, got there on time, where our son, Steven, was waiting for us at the airport.

We opted to get an UBER (my first time ever calling one), who took us 40 minutes across town and dropped us off at our airbnb. We had opted NOT to get a rental car, so as not to have to worry about the parking and rental fees, and the return.

We found an open restaurant around 9 p.m. and ate one of the latest suppers I’ve eaten in a long time.

The next morning, we were up and at the H&H Office by 7;30, so we could check in. I fully expected to have to stand in a long line, but there was no line at all.

We checked in, got our goody bag, and headed off to our first of many classes.

This blog post will feature some of our classes. In Houston in the past, under the other system, it was called Schoolhouse. This year it was called Product Academy.

I headed first to the Mystery Five-0. Although I did not end up signing up for it, I signed up for a less intensive program, which I think you’ll love, and I’ll be telling you about in a bit. I think Mystery Five-O is coming down the pike for us! But not quite yet.

Then, I hit up Kimberbell. Since we have just added in all the Kimberbell basics, I figured I should see what else they are up to, but I found out that mostly they were advertising adorable embroidery designs. Since we don’t sell machines, it’s not something that I wanted to get into, though I was overwhelmed with how adorable the designs were.

Then I went to a session where a guy showed us how to use panels in all sorts of crazy ways. Unfortunately, I already knew about those ways, but it was still quite entertaining. This guy was introducing his first line of fabrics. He is from Quilting Treasures.

Basically, what the manufacturers do is provide a teacher and samples of what they are selling. We go and listen to them promote their wares. If we are impressed and want to buy it, it makes it easier for them to sell it to us, as they are selling it in bulk, and don’t have to spend so much individual time to explain it to us.

It was great. Almost every one gave us some kind of fun item, or had a drawing for some freebie that they had brought with them.

This was Fran Morgan’s Fabric Cafe product academy. It was fabulous and packed full of activity. The bottom right hand picture is using Fran’s newest fabric line called Aurora Flurries which we have in stock HERE.

Then, I went to Heather Bailey’s sessions (of Northcott), where she showed her fabulous new line and the patterns! We should see the new patterns that I had ordered at the show should be in soon! Right now I don’t much of her goodies.

Then, I finished out my day with Sew Tites, which is a new kind of fastener, featuring strong magnets. However, the products are very expensive, so I decided these would not work in our store. The best use for these is for those with mobility issues.

The classes ran from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at which time we were hungry.

We decided to go and find some food. Since the Food Court wasn’t open yet, we opted to talk off the NRC Site, and we found a Greek Buffet. I must say it was the very first Greek Buffet I’ve ever eaten at. It was definitely interesting, featuring lots of olives and other such foods.

We went back to the showroom floor after that, but I’ll save that for another post!

Yes, it was a very, very busy first 2/3 of the day! I’ll write more when I have a chance!

Rachael Woodard1 Comment