mouse

Take a small carrier with wheels on it....the vendors all have great stuff.
After awhile the bags get really heavy and a small case on wheels
you drag behind you can get much more in LOL

Steve

Check out the second page of my Amish nine-bar thread you'll totally understand.

Steve

I've now got all three days scheduled off from work, yippie!

Tiffany

You will want to watch out for signs that say No Photos Allowed! Usually those will be in the Vendor section but you will also find these signs attached to certain quilts in the show. Often the reason is that the maker of the quilt has not yet copyrighted his/her pattern or marketed it and they don't want others taking a picture and going home and copying the pattern.

I once took a photo at a quilt show, my first. This lady comes charging out of this booth and literally tried to snatch my camara out of my hands. She demanded that I take out my film (before digital) and destroy it. She was very angry when I refused. In all actuality, she scared the spit right out of me! The funny thing is, I never did get that roll of film processed. I know over the past 16 years I have never seen her quilt or pattern anywhere. :P It sure taught me a lesson about making sure to always get permission before taking photos at a quilt show!

My #1 suggestion would be to walk through the entire vendor area BEFORE buying anything. Trust me, the vendor area is like the gingerbread house in Hansel and Gretel. If you don't do a walk-through first, you may find your credit cards and empty wallet crying all the way home. This way, you weed out the things that you can buy at your local quilt shop and focus on those yummy and unusual things just coming out.

lisae - I can't imagine going to a quilt show and not taking pictures! :( I am one of those polite people. I don't block the way and I wait politely for others to view the quilt and move before snapping pictures. I have no problem including strange people into my photos. I have tons and tons and tons of quilt pictures. Whenever I'm feeling down or need some inspiration I start looking through them. I'm always amazed anew at the creativity and talent of people. I have never copied any of the photos and turned them into quilts, though I do have one I will be doing that to. I have permission from the maker of the quilt to copy it so I'm not stealing her pattern or anything like that.

Our local guild offers a CD of the quilts entered into their show, but I don't think it is something that is offered to the public. I am blessed enough to get to work security at the show, which means I spend the night with the quilts and make sure nothing happens. I use this time, when no one else but me and a handful of my girlfriends are around, to take pictures. It takes me about 4 hours to take pictures of every single thing. The pictures taken during those nights are what is later put onto CD and offered at the guild meeting after the quilt show. If we were to make one beforehand, we would have to find a way to display each quilt, take pictures...UGH, the process would be enormous and I can see why smaller shows may not do this. Though it might be worth it and something I will bring up to my guild once we're closer to our show date next year. Hm, something to think about.

I love quilt shows!!
~Tiffany

lisae

RE: pictures at quilt shows. I guess the thing that bugs me is that lately I feel like I am spending more time keeping out of the way of people taking pictures than looking at quilts. I think it is more of a problem at large, crowded shows than at smaller, local shows.

I bought my first camera, a small digital camera, in 2005 or 2006, when prices for digital cameras were beginning to get somewhat reasonable. As I did not have a camera for many years, I developed the habit of making sketches (from memory) of any quilt or quilt pattern I wanted to remember. I like doing this because it gives me a chance to study the pattern, see how to make it and really see what I like about it. This does require me to look at some quilts several times.

A lot of the patterns you see at quilt shows are traditional patterns and certainly the ones I am drawn to are, so I've never worried about copyright violations. I am interested in the makers interpretation, but if I make a version of the quilt, it will be different.

Tiffany, I've worked security at our local quilt show also. It is fun to spend the night with the quilts and have uninterrupted time to view the show! If you wanted to make a CD of the show, set up might be a good time. All quilts go to the photography station (stand with appropriate lighting) before being hung. If it is a juried show, pictures are required with the application. All you have to do is require the pictures be in a digital format.
Easy peasy to make a CD.

Steve

Ok,ok, so vague rule of thumb: take the camera, be extremely polite, and don't get your neck broke in doing it; got it! :lol:

Steve

I just know this is going to be like the vacation rule of taking twice the cash as you think you'll need.

lisae

You understand!

zyxquilts

Hey Steve - I'm going to the Glendale show too! I've actually booked a room at the hotel, even tho' I don't live that far away. Decided to make it a real vacation weekend! I haven't decided if I'm going to take a class or not, but I am planning to have fun :D I've also been to enough quilt shows, that I'm not so tempted to buy a lot of stuff at the vendors usually. :wink: You're more than welcome to hang out with my friends & I at the show if you want. PM me & we'll see what we can work out!

CRH

The quilt show I went to required "no flash" - your digital camera should have a setting for this. If looking for quilt kits, I've found that they disappear fast, so early is better for buying these. Have fun!! (and sometimes the food is quite good and only slightly pricey.)