QuiltCon is a modern quilting conference that originated in 2013, and it came back again last month, both times in Austin. (Yes, modern quilting is a thing!) I didn't attend in 2013, as QuiltCon came on the heels of another annual conference I attend, and I just literally couldn't... attend another conference so soon. I was conferenced out. As soon as QuiltCon2013 was over, I regretted not going! So last year I paid dues to my local Modern Quilt Guild, which would give me and other members a week of pre-registration before the general public could register.

And it didn't matter. Because all the workshops I wanted to attend were full within minutes of pre-registration going live.

Disappointed but undaunted, I purchased an exhibit hall pass and admission to 3 lectures. They couldn't have been more diverse (one on copyright, one on teaching quilting, and the third featuring a specific artist), and I learned so much from each that I will probably write a different blog post for each.

That quilt cracks me up! As featured in Quilt Talk, by Sam Hunter. Does it seem counterintuitive that a stereotypically quiet quilter would be anything close to unpleasant, nay, subversive? Sometimes a creative medium helps us to find our voice, and provides a more comfortable forum for shouting loud the things we don't feel safe saying to someone's face.

Melissa Averinos and her award winning quilt

Years after admiring some of her unicorn illustrations, I got to meet Melissa Averinos, thanks to an intro from our mutual friend, Sarah Moon. Melissa and I are standing next to her crazy-inventive, Judge's Choice award-winning face quilt.

Let's challenge some stereotypes: in the exhibit hall, this tattoo station was among the busiest. The lady in the gray and white striped shirt showed me her ink from QuiltCon2013, and was excited to stand in line for her next life marker.

QuiltCon will become an annual conference now, with QuiltCon 2016 taking place in Pasadena, CA. I'm not sure I'll incur the expense of travel and lodging for a few lectures and the exhibit hall, assuming I get shut out of the workshops again, but it was great fun this year, and I'm glad I attended. I'm converting my notes into blog posts now, so stay tuned for more photos and updates.