As anxious as I am to see all those quilts, I have learned to discipline myself and visit all the vendors first, so an item I may want doesn't sell out before I get there. I buy things at major quilt shows that aren't available to me close to home. Take advantage of the free to ride quilt show buses. They are free for anyone to ride, but if your hotel is on one of the loops they each follow, that's even better because it will stop right at your hotel to pick you up and drop you off. When you get there get a map showing where each of the buses go to---there are about 5 of them (?it's been a few years since I was there), each travels an endless loop, and between them you can get just about anywhere.