Quilt Con Day 3

Since I've gone to a number of quilt conferences over the years, I was very curious what this inaugural Quilt Con would be like. Here are a few of my impressions:

A large group gathered for a demo about fabric design by  Heather Ross

The crowds are definitely here. I've bumped into many familiar faces from the Kansas City area. Crowds on Friday were easily twice the size of the Thursday crowds. Today - Saturday - it's sunny and warm in Austin, I expect it will be even more crowded in the exhibit/vendor hall. There is great enthusiasm, marveling at the spectacular work - as there so often is at regular quilt shows.

There is a large exhibit of modern quilts from all over the world. Along with the modern quilts shown below, one aisle is flanked on both sides with quilts by Denyse Schmidt (tonight's keynote speaker). We've all admired them online - to see them in person is spectacular! (Keep watching, those pics will be posted soon ...)

The rock stars of the modern world are here - lecturing, demoing techniques, signing books - just like regular quilt shows. The lectures have been interesting and well attended, helping us all gain insights about what modern is. And the success of modern is obvious by the number of vendors in attendance. The men in suits are here, a signal there is a healthy financial side to all this. That said, many of the businesses present are run by women, another healthy sign.

The crowd demographics fascinate me. There are fewer gray heads here than there are at most quilting events ( although statistics show modern quilters are spread pretty evenly from age 21-60+). You can see occasional wild colored hair (but we are in Austin). Many of us are celebrating this new turn for the quilting world, and the enthusiasm for our passion that signals a healthy future.

So! I'm off to the show today. My daughter Betsy will be a quilt angel/white glove rover in the hall this afternoon (Kate was there with me Thursday). More pics and stories to come ...

Gotta post one more quilt - there are SO MANY I am fired up about.

Another quilt from the Kiracofe collection. Historical Modern!