Maybe it looked better in person. Grey does tend to wash out in pictures.
Regarding the quilt show, I heard the same thing about the quiltshow from one of the members of my guild that there was a somewhat sad turnout and not a large number of quilt. In addition, some of the vendors had cancelled because they were worried about low turnout. She also said that the first year for a new location can be like that.
Apparently, the Phoenix AQS quilt show will actually be held in Taos, NM next year, since the SuperBowl will be in Phoenix next year and will return to Phoenix the following year