This time of year in the Portland area, it's raining. For the most part anyway. This is my favorite time of year because I'm ready to get my hands dirty in my flower pots and yard. Like every year, we have a small landscaping project planned for somewhere around our house, and will be starting the hard part soon.
I also love April, because that's when the Mesa, AZ show is. I know I'm going to get a break from the Northwest weather for a couple of days, if not longer, and recharge in the Arizona sunshine.
This year, we flew down early Monday morning. Our flight left PDX at 6am (that's the last time I let Vicki choose the flight time), and landed in Phoenix at 8:30am. Took an hour to get our rental car, and then off to Tucson we went. My Uncle John lives there, and we went to stay with him for a couple of days. We had a wonderful nap on Monday afternoon, hit a couple of quilt shops on Tuesday morning, and then a wonderful lunch down by the U of A. Uncle John lives with his step-daughter Corrina, her Fiancee Paul and her twin sons Connor and Dylan. They are such a wonderful family, and the boys really love John. I'm not surprised--John is one of the most lovable men in the world. John is my dad's closest brother, and mom and I always love spending time with him. Today (Wednesday) he helped us create some piping for a display project for the booth, and then it was time to pack up, and head towards Mesa. We said our goodbyes, with lots of hugs and laughter.
On our way to Mesa, Gertie the Garmin helped us find a quilt shop near the freeway. It was Quilters Koop, but when we pulled up, there was a big "Now Open" sign, with the name "3 Dudes Quilting" on it. It was a GREAT shop! Lots of Moda fabrics, which I love, and I found a few great panels I can chop up and make into something! Just as we were about to go in, I asked a couple of other quilters of any other suggestions of quilt shops to hit. They suggested Mulqueens on Main in Mesa, as they were having a HUGE sale on fabric, that ended today. Like--HALF PRICE! We decided to find it as it is just a couple miles down the street from our hotel. Off we went, and I went nuts! I bought 18 yards of fabric, and probably could have done more damage! I'm desperately looking for time to quilt in my schedule, but it's one of those things I need to MAKE time for. I have a specific project lined up right now, so I'm hoping to get cracking on it soon. One of my favorite projects--a baby quilt for a friend who's expecting! I was going to buy a kit on-line that I found, but at this sale, I found something much, much cuter, and in her perfect colors!
Tonight was just time to relax after doing some last minute running around and getting dinner.
Would share photos, but alas, I left the digital camera in the car at home. I did pick up a couple disposables, so I won't have photos from this trip until we get home. Weird for me, but we'll see how we do with traditional film. Should be interesting...it's been so long.
Booth setup all day tomorrow, and hoping to hit Famous Dave's BBQ, Carabbas and all our other Mesa favorites in the next few days! Why are these trips always about the food? LOL!
Hope you have a great week, and if you'll be at the show, make sure you stop by our booth early and do the FREE Make & Takes!
~~Angie
18 yards!!!!!????!!!!!!!!! Dang!!!!! :) :) :) you should post your scrap/quilt room sometime! :)
Posted by: Chrys | April 20, 2009 at 09:05 PM
Hi,
I attended the Mesa Scrapbook Convention and did the 7 Minute Cards Class at 8:30 in the morning. Yes, I am a morning person! I loved the idea behind Card #4, Lucky Puppy. I am also a scrap saver, I even have my paper scraps organized in binders by color. Yeah, probably a litte crazy with that, but I use them all the time. So, I just wanted to say I appreciated the ideas and tips and throughly enjoyed your class. It was my first class with Boxer but I had so much fun, I will definitely be back for another class at the next convention I go to.
Posted by: KayLyn | April 26, 2009 at 08:44 AM