This weekend is the Wisconsin Quilt Expo in Madison – actually, it started Thursday, but we’re spending the day there tomorrow. If anyone is within a reasonable drive of Madison, I highly recommend this show. This is only its fourth year, but they’re done a wonderful job organizing it. The vendor mall is 75,000 square feet – large enough that you can spend a full day, but not so large that you miss half of the vendors because you’re racing through the aisles to finish before they shut off the lights. They have very good food available – much better than the big show in Chicago. There’s the usual pretzels and hotdogs, but they also have several small carts with pastries, coffee, ice cream. Best of all, they have an affordable, nicely catered buffet with a variety of hot dishes, salads, and sandwiches.

Don’t forget about the classes! They have 3 hour sit and sew workshops for $30 (plus the pattern or book) where you can play with various machines and make cute, fast projects. For only $10 you can attend a one hour lecture on just about any subject imaginable. Their instructors include names you will recognize: Sharlene Jorgenson, Kaye Wood, Jennifer Chiaverini, Billie Lauter, Nancy Zieman and Eleanor Burns, to name just a few. The Expo runs through Sunday and they are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can find more info here:
http://www.wpt.org/quiltexpo/

For more details on the lectures and stage presentations, scroll down and click the 2008 Advance Registration Guide (PDF Format) link (or just click this link!).

And, if you’re going to be there be sure to check out my Neapolitan quilt at the Loose Threads booth!

In other news, is it weird that I’m competitive at my temporary assembly job? (Notice that I always preface it with “temporary”?!) I don’t want to continue any longer than I absolutely have to, although when I’m there and working on a larger job I can zone out and I don’t mind the work. My hands hurt, my back and feet hurt, and I still can’t get the grease off of my fingers, but I’m pleased when I get a job that I can do well. I check the baseline rate and try to beat it, and I’m all “woohoo!” when I do.