Houston? No Problem

Today was the second of two days of the Greater Houston Shop Hop and it couldn't have been better. 
Friday my sister-in-law Beth and I as well as her friends Kay and Sally went to the Quilt 'n Sew Studio in Katy, Texas. It is a great shop with about 6000 bolts of quilting fabric and lots of cute stuffed animals as well as patterns, tools and just about everything a quilter could want. They were doing a Hawaiian theme for the event and had me set up with a large table that had a grass-hut-like swag over it. Lots of quilters stopped in to get their passports stamped and shop and more than a few bought copies of my books. The owner Teri Burton and her staff treated me well, including feeding me banana pudding and presenting me with a cute present for my one year old granddaughter. 

Today we were in Friendswood, Texas at Quakertown Quilts original location (they have a second store in the Woodlands now). Again, after an early drive from College Station, we were greeted by a lovely shop and a friendly staff. 
Quakertown Quilts has beautiful fabric and are known nationally for their quilting patterns. What I didn't know is that they carry a line of metal sculpture and ornaments called the Round Top Collection. Let me tell you - Beth went a little nuts! I bought a few modest items, but I thought we were going to have to rent a u-haul to get our combined purchases home. 
Even though it was cold and rainy all day, the intrepid quilters came to Friendswood in droves. I sold lots of books and met a lot of nice people. 
Product of the day - some sort of material that you stitch  your fabric onto, then heat shrink - which puckers the fabric in interesting ways depending on how you stitch it! People were using the resulting material to make tote bags with very textured surfaces. 


So we are off and running. . . tomorrow and Monday are rest days then it is on to the LaGrange quilt guild followed by a signing at Gerline's Quilt Shoppe in Giddings. . .