MQX show--Going down memory lane

As I was in the Studio today-I came across something that I put away and haven't looked at since. Shameless I admit. But isn't that the way.......you start looking for one thing and you find another. While looking at this, it brought back some fond memories of my trip to MQX  a couple of years ago. I had been wanting to go in the worst way--as a Longarmer, it was a dream of mine. So when I met up with a friend of mine who also is a fellow Longarmer and expressed this burning desire of mine, she quickly jumped on board and said she wanted to go. Well.....I was in heaven thinking and planning for it over the next couple of months. We were going to go in April to the New Hampshire site. I looked at all the classes and talks that were being offered. Made my wish list up and narrowed it down to a couple. Quickly paid for them to assure my place in the class. When the date finally rolled around-my awesome husband drove me the 4 hours out to my friends house. From there, she drove the next 5 hours. She is such a trooper. We were so excited, we talked all the way there, never running out of topics to talk about. The first thing we did when we got there and were in our room was to sign up for the ice cream social. That was fun---I remember that I became instantly excited when my idols walked into the room. To know me is to know that I am a major shameless stalker. I had warned my friend about this glitch in my personality, so at least she was for warned. The days flew by fast. I went to class after class after class. Sat in on a few talks. Walked up and down the isles to see all of the show quilts on display. Stood  there in awe looking at them. Of course I also frequented all of the vendor booths. I bought as many supplies as my hands could carry. At night, my friend and I would meet back up over dinner and talk. We were so excited to share what each of us learned in our classes. Well, like everything else, time flies when you are having fun. The day came when we had to leave and start our long drive home. We were sad- we were not ready to go  yet. That is when she came up with a great idea-"Why don't we go to see Keepsake Quilting?'' I was like- Sure! Away we went. A new adventure for the day. What a really nice Quilt shop! It was fun to see first hand everything that I had seen in their magazine. Of course I had to purchase some of these items! As you can probably guess, we eventually made it back to our homes. My head was spinning for weeks afterwards. I kept looking at all of the pictures, playing with my new fabric and thread, trying out everything I learned in my classes. It was truly a wonderful and exciting time. I want to go again. HHHhhhmmmmm.....I will be seeing such friend in a few weeks at our quilt retreat. I think that we should put our heads together and come up with a plan. Time for another road trip! Here are a few of the memories:

Sue Patten and I

Jamie Wallen and I