On the way to the NQA...quilt show, that is!

Last week it was into the QuiltMobile and heading north to Ohio for the National Quilting Association show!
Half the fun of going to a quilt show is the actual going. It was just Cherry-Cherry & me, but we managed to have a lot of laughs along the way.
The first stop was just to celebrate being out of Florida, our home state. Here's the QuiltMobile in Georgia:

  
June is a beautiful month to go almost anywhere. It's like the best of Spring and Summer. There were trees and flowers all along our route up I-95, I-26 and I-77 to Ohio Rt. 33.
But wait!
Doesn't that take a quilter close to MaryJo's in Gastonia, NC?
Why yes, it does...just a quick side trip, and well worth the time. Here's the QuiltMobile in the parking lot. You will know it's my van, as there is always a flag of Spanish moss hanging from the luggage rack somewhere.

I didn't recognize the place! The mall has been completely re-built around the original MaryJo's store, which has stayed open and unchanged inside. Let's take a look:

This is exactly like a fabric supermarket....if you want it, they have it. It's fun to see the swimsuit, decorator and bridal gown supplies.

This is an entire aisle of Food Fabrics. Besides the healthy & colorful fruit and veggies, there were plenty of ones like Potato Chips, too! And chocolates, of course.

In the quilting cottons there is a tremendous selection of theme fabrics, with signs suspended from the ceiling so you can find the animals, sports or any other item you want.

And notions...like spools of giant ric-rack!

The strange thing was that neither of us bought any fabric, even at the outstanding price of $6.49 for top quality batiks. What we really wanted was 505 for spray basting, and we found it in large cans for only a few dollars more than the small ones! So now we are all stocked up and ready to baste a pile of tops.

Our plan was to spend the night in Gastonia, but we decided to use these longer day-light hours and get some more miles done. We finally stopped in Jonesboro and Elkins, NC.

The next day we had to get to Columbus, OH in time for the Preveiw Party, so we hit the road and had a wonderful ride on the West Virginia Turnpike (aka I-77).

If you're going up that way, be sure to stop at Tamarack to see the crafts!

It's a beautiful big round building that is a showcase..and sales point...for West Virginian crafts people. It's good to see states promoting their artisans.

What lovely displays! The prices are set for people who cannot make any of these things themselves. I think that is absolutely correct. Good craftwork should not be cheap.

And though I may never be able to buy them, these shoes will always be a favorite fantasty:

You just have to love all that color!!!

We made it into Columbus in plenty of time to check into the Red Roof Inn (across the street from the Convention Center) and mosey over to the show. It was a short walk to the entrance, and then a longer distance inside the Convention Center! We had no idea where to go, so we adapted the Airport Mentatlity:

Keeping moving forward and look for signs!

Sure enough, it was almost a straight shot through. But we did have to go up some levels and back down...

This is a huge place, and there were several events going on at the same time as the quilt show, including a knitters' convention and one for CPAs!

Dinner was a nice plate of chicken, and the tables were formally set. After everyone ate, the doors to the exhibit hall were open and we strolled among the quilts for a few hours.

The vendors were open, too!

Ahhh....there is nothing like being in Quilt World for a couple of days.

Cherry-Cherry was free to roam, and I took the 2-Day Intro to Quilt Show Judging class.

Coming next: lots of quilts!