After Hours!

So Jeanne and I just returned from Winnipeg where we worked at our booth during their amazing three day show! The hours are long after you factor in setting up and standing on those cement floors for so long, but we enjoy what we do! We also enjoy seeing good friends that we get to catch up with during show season! Friends like Pauline, from Hamels Fabric out in Chilliwack, BC.  We went out for dinner after the show closed on Saturday.....however because she didn't have a vehicle there and we had only a cargo van.....seats being limited, Jeanne offered to sit on an empty rubbermaid tub, and Pauline offered to drive!

As you can see, it was quite an adventure for Jeanne - and I was laughing so hard I could barely take the picture....which explains the blurriness!
After dinner we had another destination in mind......

Unh huh, that's right....

We went shopping!

Now as luck would have it - Pauline's hotel room was right next to ours! However....she got this ginormous African themed suite, with....

And......

In case you are wondering....it's carpet!! Not kidding - told you...African themed.
So after lots of great visiting, much wine, we all ended up:

So, I could have blogged about our booth. I could have blogged about the show. I could have blogged about lots of things....but I wanted to give you another 'behind the scenes' look at The Quilt Patch life!

Quilting Cruise??

Can you believe people are using those 2 words in the same sentence these days?!

Jeanne and I recently stumbled upon this topic while chatting with Pauline from Hamel's fabrics!
Pauline told us she'd offered an Alaskan Cruise in the past and it was very well received by her customers, so after many glasses of wine (in her trailer, AFTER she turned the heat back on!) we decided we'd have a little look into this. And why go somewhere cold when you could go somewhere warm? (unlike Pauline's trailer!)

See....in trailer....Jeanne, Pauline....wine....cold.....

We questioned a few customers and discovered, that amazingly enough, this is something people are itching to try!! So we delved a little deeper...and with the help of a travel agent, have been making some plans for February of 2013!! Now, I'm going to give you a sneak peek at the itinerary, but remember - we don't have everything hammered out just yet so therefore have no prices to quote you just yet!

Ummm....HELLO.....who doesn't want to travel to these
warm places the first week in February!?

So looking closely (while you check your calendar!) you will notice Feb 3 and 4th are fun days at sea - replace that with - "Taking an exclusive quilting class taught by Shelley and Jeanne"!!  We plan to design something that will be especially for this cruise!
Oh girls, think about it.....quilting, shopping, eating, drinking, dancing, eating, talking, beaches, shopping, all with a bunch of like minded woman!! How much fun could this be??! Honestly, I can hardly contain myself! This could be the best holiday EVER!!!

And not only that, but listen to this!!! This Carnival Cruise ship is still being built!!! Oh my goodness, a brand new ship!!! Woo hoo!

So give Jeanne, Pauline and myself a little time to work with our travel agent, crunch numbers, and get more info out to you, but in the meantime.....if this IS something you think you'd like to embark on with us, let us know!!! We'd love your feedback!!

Quilt Patch adventures!

Ya so....have you been wondering where I've been and why the blog has been so quiet?

Laying on a beach in Mexico!

That's right...I took an actual honest to goodness holiday!! Although I have to be completely honest...I only lasted 3 days without internet before I was sneaking off feeding my dirty little addiction, purchasing wi fi!
So as soon as I deplaned from Mexico, I had a little nap, one full day at work, unpacked, repacked and Jeanne and I were off to Chilliwack, BC to teach at Hamels fabrics!

Hamels Fabrics, Chilliwack, BC

What an adventure! We started setting up the display of our quilts in her warehouse area on Thursday, but first we had to pick up some pipe and drape from the Trade Centre hosting a Home show just up the street from Hamels. Now, I gotta tell you, I couldn't help myself, I knew this was way too funny to just chuckle about and walk away - I had to share this.......

Sign on the bathroom door at the Chilliwack Trade Centre!!

We had a leisurely set up day on Thursday, enjoyed the gorgeous scenery outside of Paulines shop, which by the way is right next door to her home! Her commute is a killer!

Paulines commute - house on the right - shop on the left!
Gorgeous scenery all the way to work!

Jeanne doing what she does best!

Our display in Hamels warehouse area!

We stayed in Pauline's super amazing 5th wheel in her driveway! It's absolutely gorgeous! It had all the perks and amenities one could ask for...except....HEAT AT 6AM! Well we actually figure the propane ran out much sooner than that, but that's about what time we were so cold we could no longer sleep! We waited until 7 to text Pauline and tell her the heat was gone! She ran over in her pjs and set us up with space heaters and turned on the fireplace (now why didn't we think of that?)

Jeanne shivering in fron of the space heater and fireplace!

So once we were feeling warm enough to go ahead and take showers, I volunteered to go first while Jeanne made another pot of coffee. At that point our heat was short lived - we blew the breaker! So not only did we have no more coffee, we showered and dressed in the cold, then ran into Pauline's house with wet hair for a blow dry! Ahhhh adventures! It could only get better as the day went on right? Not so much! So after the dreadfully cold and inconvenient start to our morning, we made our commute to Hamels (across the driveway, over the porch and through the gate!) only to discover that the Hydro Sub Station was on fire! Now for the first little while I have to admit....that meant nothing to me....until I realized the Hydro Sub Station is right next door to Hamels Fabrics and Pauline's home!!!

The back of Paulines' house with the view of the Substation on fire!

A close up view!

We scrambled like crazy women lighting candles and finding flashlights so the customers could still see the display we had set up the say before.....only to find out....there would be no customers! The fire department had shut down both roads leading in and out of the area! Sheesh! To make a long story short, no power until 4:30ish pm, no customers, and again....NO HEAT!

Not to worry, the next day was much better! We decided to continue with the display and hold the class in another area of the store. I taught the Market Fresh class and Jeanne manned our display! It was a great day! I had a wonderful group of ladies who all enjoyed the class very much!

Spending the weekend with us was Pauline's very very good friend Cindy Pierce! She's such a pleasure to be around, and it was very fun to see her again! Both her and Pauline helped us take down our display and pack it up!

Pauline and Cindy

I think we wore Pauline out!!

Then we retired to the trailer for a little wine and a lot of yakking! It was a fabulous weekend!

Thanks so much to Pauline for having us out to her shop, Hamels Fabrics!