Do quilt shows inspire you?
 

OR do they just empty your bank account and leave you buyer's remorse?
Do they get your creative juices flowing, or leave you thinking it is time to take up scrap booking instead?

One of my all time FAVORITE shows is coming up..the Dallas quilt guild show! I make the trek down there each (for the last 5) and visit with my vendor buds, friends from the guild/area, soak up all the talent, creativity I can for 3 days, and then trek back home feeling uninspired, drained, and wondering WHY I go every year!
SO, this year I have not been nearly as excited to spend all the money it is going to take to go to the show. The vendors are all the same ones I just saw in OKcity in Jan, I don't think they offer any classes! THe only thing I have to really look forward to is seeing my sister and my friends.

Will I go? Still not sure. WE are planning on leaving Wed so need to get my ducks in a row. I just hope I can find something to spark my QUILTING creativity this year!

Why don't you try the Ft Worth show instead? The lectures at Dallas don't look very good this year.

I do enjoy going but only if the show is local. I don't want to spend big bucks just getting there.

sadly there are NO local shows up here. The very least would be an hour drive, but most are 2-3 hours away!

I have had NO job in over a year, so I have no money to spend. Just getting there is going to break my savings!
BUT, my little sister has her heart set on my being there! As does my Auntie! I would rather stay home and work in the greenhouse!:thumbup:
As for buying..not me...I have more than 10 people could use! STill have a huge leftover inventory from when I closed my online shop 2 years ago! So, no, don't really buy anything...UNLESS my bud Brian from Sew Batiks has an interesting assortment of scrap bags again....sigh!

I enjoy the local shows because I meet my friends, and I've enjoyed every show I've travelled to because I had the chance to see different quilts and different vendors than I see locally. Granted, I don't go to a lot of shows, and only travel to shows every couple of years.

The shows do make me want to go home and quilt more, but that's pretty much what I want to do anyway. :)

Janet

Most quilts at quilt shows are far more complex than my abilities can handle. Do I like to see the quilts? You bet!

It sounds like this is the year , you should skip it. I do find inspiration from shows but I am typically very anxious to go. If you are running low on anticipation , I think that part of your brain may be telling you something.

Save your money now, car pool to the Houston show with some friends, share a hotel room. Much better bang for your buck.

I always get inspired seeing others beautiful work. Quilt shows are an overload,seeing so many at once. I like seeing all the beautiful work from all the talented members of the board, I never get tired looking at them.

I LOVE going to quilt shows. I set a budget for what I am allowed to spend and try like heck to stick to it but some of the bigger shows, like MQX have such great show only deals it is difficult to not buy. And I love seeing the quilts. they give me so much inspiration and loads of ideas that I want to try myself in LAing. Of course a lot of it is beyond my current ability but I won't ever get there if I don't at least try! I really want to go to MQX in Rhode Island next month but none of the classes really motivated me so I may just go as a spectator and see what gadgets I can't live without and what kind deals Superior and Filtec have on thread.

I like going to quilt shows. I do find them inspiring (even if they are miles out of my skill range at the moment). I enjoy seeing the result of people taking risks with techniques and what they accomplish. I always come away from quilt shows feeling energized and inspired to get into my sewing room and get sewing.

Jackie is it possible for sister and auntie to visit you instead of you going to them? Sounds like things are tight budget wise and you don't really sound that enthusiastic about the show. I understand being overwhelmed and exhausted at the end. My DH and I used to go to a 3 or 4 day jazz festival in Eureka CA. By the second or third day we were wiped out and sick of music - just exhausted. So we started planning breaks and giving ourselves some away time too - quiet hikes in the redwoods and picnics on the beach - just the ticket for renewing energy. Perhaps you can scale down your activity level (if you do decide to go) so that you can enjoy yourself more and not be as worn out when you are through.

Good luck making your decision - sounds like a fine pickle to me! :)

To be honest, they intimidate me! I love to go, I love to see what can be done, and I come away feeling totally inadequate, knowing that I will never get to the level of expertise that the makers of the show quilts are at!

I think that's why I love gathering and working on vintage/antique machines...THAT I can do! :)

I enjoy going to quilt shows, but not for any inspiration. Just to enjoy looking at what can be done.

i enjoy going but once I get there it wears me out just to walk from car to vendor and show building always have to sit awhile before I can shop Than I get going and shop till I drop and whoever I am with has to go mget vehicle and pick me up. After 2 or 3 days of this I always say never again. But the next year I go again I always buy more than I plan, but things that after I get home forget how to use them. I do enjoy looking at all the beautiful quilts. But than after spending about a solid week in bed from exaustion I go to my studio and have a hard time sewing because I know I can never produce something as beautiful as what I saw at show. And talking about high prices I bought a diet coke from a vendor thinking I would get some ice only to find out a glass of ice was the same price as my coke

I am off to Pigeon Forge in March and looking forward to going. I hope to see an old friend who goes every year. My son's mother-in-law and I are going together. I got her into quilting, and she is loving it and excited about the trip. I may over purchase, but it is also my birthday, so no guilt! I love to look at everything and do get inspired!

I love quilt shows. I try to go to the United Kingdom each year.We have very few fabric shops here so it is a great way to see whats new. I only buy what I can afford.

I love shows, but only go if they are local.

I love the shows, especially the larger ones. I definately go for and get inspiried. I collect the photo's and keep them sorted by the one (or two) interesting features of the quilt that I want to glean something from (ie "Quilted Feathers", "Linear Quilting", "Applique" etc) and I'll sort through them when working on other projects. I confess I do the same thing with photo's I see here on QB and elsewhere on the web.

I rarely spend much at the smaller shows (not that many vendors), but went wild in Paducah - of course most of the money I spent was spent at Hancock's of Paducah and mostly on the "batik bench". OH MY OH MY!!!

That said, Hubby offered to take me to AQS show in Lancaster PA this year. Actually ... he wants to visit folks in Lancaster County and I said "why not do it when the quilt show is happening?". In the end, I changed my mind. The show is in mid March and I'd really rather visit our friends in the summer when we can enjoy the nice weather on his farm (they're Amish).

I don't go to quilt shows often. I enjoy seeing other quilters' work, but it helps bring home the fact that I like what I like as far as what I make. Designs, colors and fads come and go but few quilts are timeless.

I went to my first quilt show last week. I was inspired. I was also pleased to see that the quilts on display didn't have any better skill that what I can do. Some even had problems I would not have shared outside my sewing room.

I had never heard of 'bed turning' so that was educational. Some of the quilt tops that had been rescued from the dumpster were awe inspiring.

So - I'm now looking forward to next year and maybe entering some of my work. I may even join the local quilt guild.

I didn't buy anything, although one of the fabric vendors had nice fabric at rates less than everywhere else I've looked.

I love to go to the AQS in Paducah, its about a 4 hour drive from where I live, but with gas prices the way they are I don't think I'll be going this year. I always come home very inspired and with lots of fresh new ideas. I always go to Eleanore Burns shop while there, also. I will miss going this year.

I am looking forward to the Dallas show. We are planning on going to it. For those in the NE Texas area, Tyler has a quilt show coming up later this month. It is a small show but very nice.

Do what your heart and pocket book tell you to do. Once you make the decision to go, or not to go, don't look back.

I'm going to the Dallas show next week. A bunch of us from Durant, Denison,TX and Sherman TX rent a bus and just go down for the day on Friday. Yeah, it wears me out, but I'm looking at embroidery machines this year, so that will make it fun. I understand the lectures are all free this year, so if I get tired I can always sit and listen to somebody talk. I enjoy looking at the quilts and telling myself, "Oh, I could do that!" or "WOW! How did they ever do that??". I don't usually buy much, but I enjoy looking at all the new gadgets.

I only go to one a year and really look forward to it. I was not impressed with the selection at the vendors this year for some reason. i only purchased from a few, and it was mostly for my class

I love going to the smaller local shows as they feature my kind of quilts, traditional patchwork, mostly. I have found the big shows like Road to California, Long Beach, etc., feature mostly "art" quilts. They are interesting but nothing I would ever try to do myself. Also, the small shows don't have a lot of vendors, sometimes none, so I'm not too tempted to spend my money.

NO i do not go to shows as we have a mennotite relief sale every year here and quilts are so overpriced

I like the local shows put on by quilt guilds. I alwasy enjoy meeting the members and seeing their quilts. Always inspire.

I am feeling the same way about shows unless there is something specific I am shopping for and haven't found it in a local quilt shop. I have so many patterns and fabrics and have done so many shows that I just don't feel the need to go.

I really don't enjoy quilt shows like I use to before the computer age I did not want to miss one it was so interesting to see how someone could design a pattern then to look at their hand quilting oh yes in those days some shows took nothing but hand quilted, then there were the shows that would except hand tied quilts even many techneques for that
so I missed very few shows but now so many are computer designed and long arm quilted that I have lost my desire to go maybe I am just getting older

wish you were here Jennifer Chiaverini is speaking at the Thousand Oaks Liberary (?sp) on Saturday.
Just read Sonoma Rose and it was great a continuation of Homecoming which was my favorite. The meaning of the quilts to the people who hold them, find them, make them, etc. in this writers books is an inspiration not only to keep on quilting but to try new designs and tecniques........ok, sorry Jacquie if i got off subject.

A fabric and supply show would inspire me... but not a quilt show. I enjoy looking at show quilts, but have no desire to try to make the elaborate stuff I see at shows. I really don't have any desire to own anything like that, either... I like simple and modern. The fabrics inspire me more than how they are used.

Ok, this is a silly question, but ..... can't you go to visit your sister and Auntie? Do you have to spend 3 days at the quilt show? Sure, you want to go with them and see things, but if your budget won't handle it and you'll be tempted to spend more, then just go for 1 day and suggest to your sister and Auntie that you all do something else together for the rest of the time. Would it have to quilt related? Are there other interests between you that you could explore?
Just thoughts to think about. But the time spent with your sister and Auntie are priceless and limited.

It sounds to me like you are going not as just a quilter, but still as a shop owner, but don't have your shop anymore. Could it be that that is what is zapping/draining you? the wish of what could have been. If you aren't taking the classes, then I see no reason to have to spend 3 days there. you can surely get around to the vendors you want to say Hi to in one day. then free yourself to spend time with your relatives.

I enjoy the shows, and sometimes I find quilts that do inspire me. But I much prefer my local shows because the quilts tend to be a little simpler and something I could potentially make. I love seeing all the fancy quilts, and I hope someday to make one, but it's honestly not my style so when I see them at a big quilt show it doesn't really inspire me. Or sometimes I'll see a quilt that I fall in love with, but it's way out of my "able to actually do it" range and that just makes me depressed. I saw this awesomely inspiring Halloween quilt at a show once and I would love to make one on my own, but I don't have the creativity to design it, so it just makes me sad that I can't make it. LOL

Rachel

I dont' get inspired but I sure spend money, I am skipping theshows this year, want to use all the gadgets and fabric I already have!!

The only big show I've been to is Paducah and I there to shop more than to see the quilts, which are way out of my league. For inspiration, I prefer our local guild shows. There are projects that I might actually do and the vendors are fun without breaking the bank. This year I am skipping Paducah for the reasons that you listed, and b/c we are going on a family vacation. The only downside is that I will miss the road trip with my quilty friends.

Quilt shows make me drool!