Some highlights of the wonderful folks we met/visited with:
*Denise, the show's coordinator, was our personal guide through the show, answering any questions we had, making sure we were hydrated and fed.
*Judy, with the guild, who was in charge of the Bob Ross traveling exhibit, (of which we were so lucky to have been directly across from), who had us in stitches laughing as she walked through the show with her Bob Ross paintbrush in hand.
*Bob's Sewing and Vacuum, who's booth was right next to ours, and we loved having them as neighbors: Heidi, Diane, Monica, Bruce and the rest of the gang were so fun to be with.
*2 Busy Beez - Mike and Cheri - who are 2 of the classiest folks I've ever known. They've sold their shop in Edgewood and now just do traveling shows. It's such a treat and joy to see them.
*Ann and Michael of Thread Bear - who are moving their shop to Las Cruces from Las Vegas, NM, and the quilter's of Las Cruces could not be more excited to have them!
*Anastasia and Glenn, great friends who sew/quilt, who traveled from Albuquerque down for the show, wearing their matching sewing-themed shoes:
*meeting not only members of the Las Colcheras Guild, but learning about and meeting those from the El Paso quilt guilds, of which there are THREE (East side, West side, and Northeast side)
*chatting with the many folks who chose to retire in Las Cruces, and about where they're from, and why they came, and what they love about southern New Mexico.
*eating at 2 great restaurants: Salud de Mesilla and Andele in Old Mesilla. Just go eat there. Enough said.
*seeing Missy, a customer from way back when Hip Stitch was in it's infancy, who became, well, family, as many of you do. She's now living with her husband in Radium Springs.
*the elementary school kids from Las Cruces - their quilts were in the show in the junior exhibit. A highlight of the weekend was having them take me through the exhibit, proudly pointing out the quilts they made, and me telling them how amazing it is to meet them and do they realize what an honor it is to have quilts hanging in a show?! Meeting their teachers and the volunteers who help teach them learn sewing and quilting in the after-school program - what great things folks are doing....and how sweet to see Monica from Bob's show them the Gammill long arm quilting machine and let them try it out.
*The Bob Ross exhibit, of which here are just a few quilts, but the pictures don't do them justice:
And last but not least, this guy:
Mel and I were packed up, tired and hungry, ready to make the 3 hr. drive back to Albuquerque. We made a stop at Subway at the Pic Quick, intending to get our food and hit the road quickly. But then we saw this guy wearing a fabulous shirt made from the Day of the Dead kitties, which is one of Hip Stitch's most popular fabrics! We had to stop him and get his story! His wife, who was with him, made his shirt. What fun folks! They're artists, writers and all-around sweet folks. A great end to our trip, which filled us with wonderful memories.
Thanks, Las Cruces!
