Not Everyone Is Nice

I'm not very happy with my post last week. I feel like I rushed through the quilt show in an attempt to keep my Friday post schedule. I don't feel like I did the show justice, nor did I talk about the one negative thing that happened. I want to fix that this week. 

This particular show was a quilt and craft show so it wasn't completed dedicated to quilting. There were also booths with jewelry, sweet treats, lotions, painting with diamonds (it's a thing), and clothes. I tried not to get pulled into the non-quilt related booths, but I will admit I spent some time looking at jewelry. I felt like it was on the small side too, but that worked in my favor. I was able to see all but a handful of booths in the two hours I had to look around. 

I saw a few quilting tools that seemed interesting, but my favorite thing was looking at the different quilts on display. They were inspiring and really helped me see what works and what doesn't as far as color choices go.

One booth in particular pulled my mom and I in instantly. There were three different quilts on display that were Christmas themed. We stopped to get a closer look at them and I had a not so great experience. 

My mom and I were admiring the blanket stitch that had been used on one of the quilts and the lady who designed the quilt walked up and started to talk to us about it. I've really struggled with the blanket stitch in particular. The lady then asked me what machine I have. I replied with a Juki and her response shocked me. She just blurted out, "Horrible machine." 

I couldn't believe she had just said that to me. It was incredibly rude and made me want to get out of there as soon as possible.  

I don't want to drag this out, but I do want to point out that there are better ways to voice your opinion than putting someone down. I didn't pick out my machine. It was purchased for me. If I had though, I would have been even more offended than I was. I hope I never make anyone feel the way I felt that day and I hope everyone who's reading this will decide to show more tact when interacting with people, especially people that share in your passion for something. 

In quilting there is no correct way to do something. There are so many ways to do one thing. You learn them and then figure out what works for you. My Juki works for me. It doesn't work for her. That's fine. But don't make me feel bad for using it. Has anyone else had someone say something rude like that to you at a quilt show? 

I'm hoping with my next quilt show I can avoid feeling bad and just pick up helpful information and skills. I did walk away with the goal to eventually design quilts like the one I saw. I have a long way to go, but I know I can get there.

On a brighter note, this week I've been able to continue to quilt my table runner. I'm loving how it is turning out. The Ideal Seam Guide has really helped with the straight lines. It would look really sloppy if I didn't have it to guide me. 

It's slow going, but worth the time I'm putting into it. 

Also, I received my fabrics for this months blocks. Aren't they gorgeous?

I've loved all the fabrics, but these area definitely my favorite. I can't wait to get started on the blocks next week. I'll three to do total. I'm so excited. A little intimidated, but mostly excited. 

I feel like I have a ton of projects going on right now, but I like being able to shift from one to another. How many projects do you usually have going at one time? Am I unusual for having three active projects with a fourth I'll be starting soon too or is that normal for quilters? I'm curious.