Sunday Stash #184 – Swag Bag

Thanks for your patience with me this week! After the glitter explosion that was the Sydney Craft and Quilt Fair last weekend, I spent a lot of time on the couch this week to balance all that out. As promised though, I want to show you some of the swag I picked up from the show. It’s no secret that I love my Bloc_Loc rulers. As soon as I met husband and wife team, Paul and Janna, at my first quilt show, I knew they were my kind of people. Paul, an Aussie, used to be an aircraft maintenance engineer, and Janna, an American, is a quilter, designer, and author. Now, every time I see them we have a good chat, and I see similarities to my own internationally spawned relationship with Mr. Sparkles. Maybe one day we’ll both quit life and hit the international quilt show circuit!

So yes, I love my Bloc_Loc, so much so that I just stepped out for a minute to take inventory. It’s a bit absurd, but this is what I’ve got. I have the HST (6.5″ & 2.5″), the Flying Geese (1″x2″, 1.5″x3″ & 2.5″x5″), the Drunkard’s Path (6″ 1:1), the Triangle In a Square (2″x2″ & 4″x4″), the Diamond in Triangle (3″), and the HRT (2.5″x4.5″). That’s eleven Bloc_Loc rulers, but wait, there’s more! I’ve now added the 6″x24″ Non-Slip Ruler. And when they say “non-slip,” oh honey, it will stop you in your Manolo Blahnik tracks. Nothin’ is getting by this baby, and I love it! I did some width of fabric yardage cutting with it, and not a hair on Donald Trump’s head moved a whisper out of place. True story.

While at the show, I also had a lengthy chat with Paula Storm who should totally win a Miss Congeniality award. She is like the nicest person you ever will meet, even wrapping me in one of her quilts to keep me warm. (Except next time, I want hot cocoa with that, please!) Anyway, not only is she selling patterns and books, you can also grab some of her Paula Storm Designs goldeneye needles. They come packaged as ten in these clay-moulded glass jars, which also make a good recycling unit for your old needles to prevent others from getting a little prick. I’ve almost got a quilt ready for binding, and I’ll be trying these out!

Okay, last thing in my swag bag was this mini rollup of Liberty prints from Robyn at The Strawberry Thief. If you ever get a chance, make sure you have a beer with her and hubby (I’ll admit, I had a few, but I think dear husband was trying to make a move on me! Ow!) Robyn’s whole family is a riotous good time, and she brought one of these rollups for each person who came to the Friday-night Instagram meet up. What a mensch! (<–That’s a good thing!) These have been placed under lock and key with my other Liberty faves. Thank you once again to everyone at the show, and I might surprise you and see you in your city soon!

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