Travels with Quilter's Rule

Machine Quilter’s Showcase is Over

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Sun, 20 May 2012 11:07:00 +0000

The last MQS in Overland Park, KS is over. It was a smaller show then in previous years. It is a little sad to see this change and I worry about next year. My records show sales for our company dropped considerably after the move from Springfield, IL and it took several years to return to a new normal lower than it had been in Springfield. On the other hand they had out grown the facility in Springfield and so the move resulted. Thus I have serious reservations about next year. But regardless of what I think the show will be in Witicha next year. Oh, Well!

Today we are going to Spring Market which is also in town this weekend at Bartle Hall. It has been a long time since we went to Market, and a first as a buyer only. As many of you know we were a distributor of other peoples products for many years, but have not pursued that avenue for some time. Many of our current customers have asked us to carry other items and we have resisted.

Now we think it may be time to carry a select set of products that are not our own. So off to Market we go.

At Machine Quilting Showcase

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:39:00 +0000

Preview and the first day at Showcase was a bit short of some previous shows. It is not often I attend a show where I don’t feel comfortable leaving Patricia in the booth by herself and I get to go around and smooze with the other vendors and show staff. But for the last two shows W have actually been busy most of the day. Yesterday Patricia did have time to go get us an sandwich late in the afternoon and I watched the booth. We were not going to have time to eat because of the auction for education.

Last night at the Auction they were able to raise over $11,000 for education, so I expect we will see lots of people who benefit next year. And the money was raised on half the quilts auctioned last year. The big winner was Baby Turtle Bay by Claudia Pheil, at $2400. My thanks to Claudia for her donation to education. The auction is such a great effort to help people and new quilters learn how to contribute to the industry.

This year the IMQA can fill more of the many requests they receive and give complete scholarships to deserving people. To all the bidders thank you for your generosity. Come by the Quilter’s Rule booth and see the quilt I purchased for Patricia’s office door. I think it fits. Maybe I should post at picture you tell me.

Kansas City (Overland Park)

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:36:00 +0000

I am beginning to understand how much I dislike driving across WY, NE and KS. There are long distances with nothing to see except wide open spaces. I know many of you live there and love it. I just need my trees and rain. But I do thank the farmers and ranchers that live there and feed our great nation.

Yesterday was set up day at MQS. We are in the first row just across from Nolting. We are trying something new a 25 foot in line booth. It took forever for us to decide how to set up. Normally we would set up the booth at the office to determine where everything should go. But this time we did not do that very smart thing. Instead we had to make all the decisions after we arrived. Almost three wasted hours. But by 7pm we were almost ready. Just a little straighten up to do and we are ready.

We were short a little on quilts to hang with 45 feet of wall space. Thanks to Dusty and Stephanie for loaning us Garden Orbs, the Viewer Choice Award winner in Milwaukee two years ago.

Anyway, preview starts at 2:30 this afternoon. Come by and say hello. Shop a bit and let’s all have a good time.

Patricia and I are sorry we were unable to get more pictures at the show last week. But we were so busy and had no time. That is a good thing. Thanks so much to all who shopped with us in Sandy, UT.

Salt Lake City (Sandy)

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Sat, 12 May 2012 11:25:00 +0000

This has been a particularly difficult trip for me. Have not been able to get the Road Warrior Suit on or maybe it just does not fit. To bring everyone up to date (I stopped writing here on Tuesday) what a difference a few days make.

We have been at the Home Machine Quilting Show in Sandy, UT. What a great success this year. We have not been able to get out of our booth to view the quilts or be able to put pictures on line. I took one photo of the crowd coming in and then I put my head down and have been working. After the show was over on Thursday there were a lot of people left in the hall so I quickly when over to check out the QOV bus. It is being built – not finished - to transport disabled vets to appointments. A good cause, please support it. I did see a couple of the QOV quilts on the way back. It breaks your heart and makes you so proud of the warriors that will eventually have these quilts. I find it hard to understand why everyone who quilts does not help in this effort.

If you live in the Mountain States and have not been the HMQS, you should make plans to go next year. Sorry but the show ends today. If things slow down today, I will try and get out and post a few pictures. After 4PM it will all be over and we can look forward to next year.

After Six Weeks Off

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Tue, 01 May 2012 11:59:00 +0000

Omaha, NE

After 6 weeks at home I find myself on the road again. This time we are on our way to Denver, Salt Lake City and Kansas City. We left home at 2 pm yesterday afternoon with 1006 miles to cover to get to the first show. We spent the night in Omaha, NE, near the zoo. Just past that locomotive setting on the bluff over the Missouri River. In 1976 I lived not far from where I spent the night. I had left the Army and had my first job with PIE (Pacific Intermountain Express) as a Trainee. This area has changed so much, but everywhere and everything has changed.

Today we will drive the rest of the way to Denver. I must be getting old. I can’t remember the last time I forgot to pack my razor, but I did yesterday. Well I will treat myself to a new one.

I have to tell you I am not looking forward to this trip. March was very warm and I got the itch to plant my garden. April was cold and I had to cover the plants. My cows had their calves and now I want finish planting. My first cutting hay crop can be cut next week if the weatherman is correct about the temperature. And I will be in on the road. I am just a frustrated farmer and sometimes it just gets the best of me.

Oh well, if it were easy everyone would do it. So just come by our booth to visit and pick up that new tool you need for your next project. I have a special gift for qualifying purchases. A Quilter’s Rule Tote Bag could be yours. These are brand new and are off white cotton with burgundy print. Who will be the first?

Nested Mini Equilateral Triangle

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:22:00 +0000

We have introduced the Mini Equilateral Triangle. Instructions and examples can be found at http://www.quiltersrule.com/downloads/NestedMiniEquilateralTriangleInstructions.pdf

My Friends Won't Let Me Forget

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 09:39:00 +0000

The show in Lancaster is over! What a great success. The exhibits were so beautiful and unique. The weather was perfect, the vendors were great and the crowds were huge. Just over 3300 unique visitors to the show so much larger than last year. All the vendors were happy. And the results were the same for Sue Ash and her show in the Continental Inn.

So here I sit at 5 in the morning. Can’t sleep and waiting for Patricia and Devlin to wake up so we can head for home. I am thinking I am the only one up and all my friends are wishing me a happy birthday. Don’t any of you sleep or are we just a bunch of insomniacs? So to all of you Thank You.

Day Three at the Show

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:29:00 +0000

Well day two came and went and I have no idea how it passed so swiftly. In two days we surpassed the attendance we had in four days last year. And today we were over 1000 people for the day. We are so happy. Our shoppers were happy and spending money. Our vendors are happy. What more could you ask?

Tonight we are having Gallery Tours of the Quilts. We have allowed people to come back. The vendors are closed and the curators are here giving tours and talking one on one with folks interested in the history of the Quilts. It is quiet, there are no crowds, and everyone is happy.

We will do this again next year. Plan to attend.

First Day of the Show

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:12:00 +0000

We were so happy with the first day. Mary Kerr, Sue Riech and Cindy Souder did such a great job of hanging their exhibits. The comments on the quilts was delivered all day long. Devlin had reset the vendors and they looked so wonderful.. I am so proud of all of them for making the show look so well.

Yesterday channel 11 came to do an interview. Now many of you know that I can not talk about Quilts of Valor without getting all watery eyed. Now I know I simply feel that way about anything connect with a veteran. And I had to learn that while doing an interview for TV.

Lancaster, PA

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 09:31:00 +0000

Let me catch everybody up. We are in Lancaster, PA, at the Lancaster Spring Quilt show at the Host Hotel. It is Wednesday morning at 5 AM. We left Dallas at about 8 PM on Sunday. The Dallas show was a great show as I have reported earlier, despite the fact it rained all day on Saturday and most of Sunday. The clouds did part and the sun did come out late in the day and we were able to load out without getting everything all wet. That made all the vendors in a better mood.

We drove to Texarkana, TX and spent 4 hours in a hotel room. Got up and drove 918 miles to Salem, VA. Got to sleep for 6 hours because I did not hear my alarm and had forgotten to tell the hotel to give me a wakeup call. Got back in the car and drove for 5 more hour to arrive at the Host Hotel to set up the show. We finished setting up last night at 9 PM. Checked into the hotel went down to the bar to meet a couple of people and were surprised to also find Mike and Virginia Walton who had come to see us. They are doing the show downtown.

Exhaustion set in after the second drink and we went back to the room to balance the till from the last day of Dallas and get some sleep. Finally laid down about quarter to midnight. I feel remarkable good this morning.

I hope all of you who are in and near Lancaster this morning will come to our show. Please tell me if you are reading this.

Daylight Savings Time

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:01:00 +0000

Last night we set our clocks forward one hour. So what, we have been on Standard Time since November? So why does Day Light Saving time last longer than Standard Time? This is one of those quirks that the government thinks up to do something and then never gives up.

I really don’t care which time they use, just use one and leave it alone.

Enough Said.

A Day at the Dallas Show

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 12:50:00 +0000

Yesterday was a good day at the show. The crowd was great. We were busy from about 45 minutes after the show opened until 3:30 in the afternoon when the buses started to leave and the things ground down to vendors looking at other vendors by 4:30. The show closed at 6PM. If you live in the Dallas area and want to see the show without crowds, come after 4 and you will have a couple of hours of pleasant shopping without crowds. The vendors would appreciate something to do the last two hours.

If you have never been to the Dallas show you should come to this show. It is a great North Texas regional show. Quilts are beautiful and there is a good selection of vendors. With all the quilt stores that come plus the national vendors you should be able to find almost anything you want.

We had Barbeque for dinner last night and then went to the movies. The new Disney movie John Carter is to be expected Y chromosome movie. If you like action Science Fiction with a love story thrown in you will probably like the move. Besides the previews of the new movies mean I will get to go to the movies after set up all summer. Love to watch movies.

Dallas, TX

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 01:38:00 +0000

Set up today went very well a little over 7 and a half hours. When we started the temperature was nearly 70 and the humidity was close to 100% since it was raining. By the time we finished the temperature had dropped almost 30 degrees. Anyway we finished and went and got cleaned up, had dinner at the Big Horn Brewing Company otherwise known as Humperdinks. Building looks a lot like the Ram Brewing Company building in Portland, OR. Food was good the beer was better after the first one went down. Normally the first is best.

We also found the local AMC movie theatre as we want to go see John Carter tomorrow when it opens. We have choice of 3-D, D-Box and regular. I must be getting old, we are getting the regular tickets. I don’t even know what D-box is, but the told us the seats move. What is wrong with just watching a good Y chromosome movie. Oh I know watching it with a good beer.

Then we found a Walgreens and tried to go back to the hotel. Did you know it takes a long time when they close off and on ramps and build new roads? I should have know there is almost as much road construction here as there is in Houston. We know where all that stimulus money went.

Tomorrow will be a great day. Rain is forecast, I know they need it here, but next week would have worked for me. We will try to get in early to take and up load a few pictures of quilts. We will not be able to transfer them to the Quilter’s Rule Facebook page until tomorrow evening. So if you want to see them during the day check out my personal page and Patricia personal page. We can upload to those pages from our phones.

I think a good night’s sleep is in order for me.

Facebook Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:47:00 +0000

Timeline is coming and for some of us, it has already come to our Facebook page. On the 22^nd of February my personal Facebook page was forced over to the new timeline format. Do I like the change? Not really, but it is time to suck it up and deal with the changes. I signed up for a webinar on the Edge Ranking that controls how long posts stay in on my friends pages. I worked right through the webinar on Friday afternoon and missed it. Now I will have to read the report next week. So what does it all mean? I really don’t know, but if I figure it out I will tell you.

But as long as the change is here I would like to do something positive with it rather than just complain. On everyone’s timeline, is a cover photo that can be changed as often as you desire. And you have the ability to pin a story at the top of your Timeline. While I was trying to decide what I wanted to put up for Quilter’s Rule page, I had a couple of thoughts. Some mediocre thoughts and maybe one good thought. What do you do if are not supposed to be commercial? Well the Quilter’s Rule page is commercial.

So what to do? What could we do that would be of interest to all our friends? One thing Quilters have in common is they love to look at quilts. We know there are a lot of great quilts out there that never get seen by anyone except the quilter and their family. We would like to show our friends some of these quilts using our Facebook page.

So here is how it is going to work. Subject to revisions as we figure this out!

Send me an email at jim@quiltersrule.com attach a photograph of your quilt.

Tell me a little about the quilt. You know, how big, why you did the quilt. How long it took to complete. Fabrics, thread and batting used. And any other information you think is important.

Once a week we will choose one quilt from the photos we receive to be the Quilter’s Rule Pin Story. For each quilt photo we post we will send out a complimentary Quilter’s Rule ruler (Your choice of any of our Fabric Gripping rulers). Just a little incentive to do it today not next week. Don’t forget to like the Quilter’s Rule page if you have not done so previously.

Currently, I have posted a quilt that was created for the Quilter’s Rule Tool Challenge. The quilt was pieced by Virginia Walton owner of Creative Curves, using her Multi-Angle Tool. This photo was taken before it was quilted by Gayle Bong of Gaylee Quilting. I forgot to get another picture before we presented the quilt. The quilt was presented to Juanita Canfield, a longarm quilter and a great supporter of QOV, for her service to this great country during the Quilts of Valor auction at the Milwaukee Machine Quilting Show in 2011.

Weather

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:43:00 +0000

Monday we pack the trailer and we leave on Tuesday for our next show run. First stop is the Dallas Quilt show. While the company has done the show several times, Patricia and I have never done the show. It will take us a day and a half to get to Dallas. We will be making a stop in Joplin to visit with Richard and Sandy King. We will update everyone on the progress they are making on their new home.

Dallas is a three day show starting on Friday. We will be setting up on Thursday. After Dallas we will leave Sunday evening on our way to the show in Lancaster. We have to set up on Tuesday. That means we have 1400 miles more or less to drive. A couple of hundred miles to drive on Sunday night, 900-1000 miles on Monday, and couple of hundred more on Tuesday. Early mornings and late nights will be the rule for a couple of days. Remember it takes us about 6 hours to set up.

Devlin will be leaving on Monday a week from tomorrow to fly to Erie, PA and ride with Dusty and Stephanie to Lancaster. His job is to work with the decorator and curators of the exhibits to get the quilts hung. He will also be checking in the vendors. So if you would like to help out come to the Host Hotel and Resort on Tuesday morning and volunteer. We could use the help.

So what does all this have to do with the weather? Almost everything! If the weather does not cooperate we could be late for either or both of the shows. On the way to Dallas we will be skirting the western edge of all the tornados that have been forming. And the weather forecast is not exactly great for next week. Then when we leave Dallas we will go right through the middle of the strike zone. Looking forward to that trip is so thrilling. We could go around the worst of the weather, maybe, but it would add about 300 miles. Really not an option.

On the lighter side, Patricia and I would love to meet you at the show in Dallas and the show in Lancaster. Please stop by and tell us how we can help you and if you like the way we are communicating this year.

Leap Year is for People Who Need More Time

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:10:00 +0000

Under normal circumstances today would be the end of February. But we have one more day. And do I need it. There is so much to do. As most of you know we just finished the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. The show was very well attended and we posted pictures of many of the quilts that won and a few that we thought were great but did not win. There are so many great quilts and not all can win but all can be enjoyed.

We had plenty to do. Saw customers we have not seen for several years. Several of our store customers were anxious to be resupplied with products of upcoming shows. With so many people out maybe due to the weather but hopefully because the economy is starting to turn around…..I hope.

In any case yesterday we started home. Drove over 700 miles and slept in Lima, OH last night. Today we get home unload and start packing to leave on Tuesday. We are off to the Dallas Quilt Show. We will finish the show on Sunday and have to set up on Tuesday in Lancaster, PA.

Hope everyone will come out and visit us at the two shows. Patricia and I have never done the Dallas show before. Sonja has always done it, but she and Chug have decided they have other things on their bucket list that need doing and we wish them well. And the Lancaster show is our show. Devlin is going by plane to set up the show before we get there. We have great exhibits so come out to see them.

Anyway the week went so fast. We stayed at the Best Western Hotel in Hampton. I am not telling you about it because I endorse it but because I want you to stay away from it. While we were there a biker club had booked part of the hotel to party. They were up until all hours of the night screaming and yelling in the hall and they had a dance two nights in the ballroom with music so loud you could feel it in your room. Management of the hotel simply said they were allowed to party until 2 AM. One vendor called the police they quieted down for a while then went out and revved up their bikes for a couple of hours.

Hampton Roads

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:52:00 +0000

I have not spoken to you for a couple of days. I would say I was in a funk and my daughter would say I was just in a rotten mood. Well this morning I am feeling much better. There is always a reason for everything. Tuesday we took our truck in because the left front brake was dragging.

The first estimate was for over $800.00, and I was calculating how much we had to sell to make up that bill. They wanted to put on life time parts. Now I almost never do that but I decided that if they were going to warranty the parts for a lifetime I could deal with it. Maybe the parts would be of a higher quality than the last ones. When I told Patricia she remembered she had put lifetime brakes on the truck in California about 5 years ago. Well okay where is the paperwork and how do we prove it?

Those of you who know Patricia know she never throws anything away and she carries way more than we need. So out comes a file on repairs we have done to the truck and she hands me the bill from California.

Last night we picked up the truck and the final bill was a little over $400. Not everything was covered; we still had to pay for the rotors. But the bill was a lot less. I owe her a huge thanks for keeping track of things of me.

Today we are going in a little early and take some pictures of the quilts. We will post them on our personal Facebook pages during the day and later share them on the Quilter’s Rule page. So watch our pages or the company page later tonight. Remember we are on Eastern Time and we will most likely eat before we settle down on the computers tonight.

I am in a better mood and the weather here is wonderful

Dodging Snow and Tolls

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:21:00 +0000

We loaded the trailer on Sunday and Monday morning we left the house at 5:30 am. We started with 951 miles to drive. I hate to pay tolls, so we normally try to avoid them. So instead of going east on 80 we went south on 65 to 70 and then east. We could hve gone down through the middle of WV but that would have put us in the middle of the snow. Combined, that added about 100 miles but saved about $80 in tolls. We still have about 350 miles to drive today.

The drive yesterday was great, no clouds, no rain and more important no snow. I will let you know how things turn out tonight.

But this morning we have to find somewhere to have the brakes fixed. Our front left brake sounds terrible. And it was just in the shop last week. I am sure some of you are thinking why don’t you just get a new truck? For me it is relatively simple. Repairs are much cheaper than payments. I could have payments and repairs. Oh well that is life on the road.

Home in Waterford

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:30:00 +0000

After two days at home (the office) I still can’t find the top of my desk. Everything and everyone wanted a little including my dog. Some of you may know my wife’s dog Scamp. She comes to work every day and is treated as a company health benefit. Did you know that if you pet a dog each day your heart rate is lower?

Next weekend February 17 & 18, Devlin and Roger do a show in West Bend, WI. Patricia teaches at the show on Saturday, then on Sunday we pack the trailer and Monday morning we leave for Hampton Roads, VA. That is near Fort Eustis, where I went on active duty after college. Right in the middle of the Viet Nam War or as our political leaders called it a police action. I guess what you called it had to depend on whether you were telling someone to go get shot at or you were being shot at. That was a very long time ago. 1970 I remember it just like it was yesterday. Right, I am having a senior moment. How did I get lost in the 70’s?

So let’s get back to the task at hand. As long as I am home I thought you might like to meet our employees. If I can learn to download my phone’s camera to my laptop I will write a bit about one of our employees each day and give you a picture of that person.

If you think this is a good idea let me know.

Iowa City, IA

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:52:00 +0000

Iowa City, IA

I have a few minutes to bring you up to date before we hit the road again today. The second day of the show was terrible. No one’s fault. No one can control the weather. The snow fall was reported as the most in history for a February storm. All but a few vendors were able to make it to the show. Some of the students came for class and a few brave souls came to make purchases. A long day.

The last day of the show was nice, attendance was up and sales returned, but did not make up for a lost day. We will give the show another shot next year. Our normal run of shows will not work next year because Road to California is moving its date.

Sunday morning we got up at 5AM and pulled out. Drove 750 miles more or less and ended the day in Iowa City. Today we have a short 250 miles to drive and we will be home for a couiple of weeks.

Snow versus Show

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:45:00 +0000

The first day of the show was nice. Many people told us they came yesterday rather than today because of the prediction of snow for today. I have no idea what traffic will be like today. I am sure most of the people who have classes will try to come. But you never know.

Any way school was closed by 9PM last night. High temperature for today is going to be 27 degrees. Burr! I think it could be a very long day. They are saying we will get 16 inches of snow. Watching the weather forecast while doing this blog is discouraging. Oh well, I can’t change anything and maybe we can take turns doing some other work at the show.

We saw the draft of instructions for the Nested Mini Equilateral Triangle last night, so they should be up on the web site soon.

Instuctions for Square Chain

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:00:00 +0000

Instructions for the Square Chain

The instructions for the Square Chain are ready. You can download them from our website at http://www.quiltersrule.com/downloads/squareChain.pdf .

This tool is very useful for creating geometric borders, filling squares and rectangular spaces. We have only worked with it for a couple of weeks and have created many useful designs. Have fun and play with the tool.

Send in your new designs.

Snow is in the Forecast

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:44:00 +0000

Denver, CO

Set up in Denver was interesting. Patricia and I have never done this show. The company has done it with a Independent Contractor, with modest success. We are looking at this show for 2013, because Road to California is moving a week later in the year and we need to have several shows to attend in order to make the run to the west coast a reasonably profitable trip.

Does that make sense? Let me explain. Quilter’s Rule is 2200 miles from Ontario, CA. It takes us 3 days to drive out. 1 day to set up 4 days of show and 3 days to get home. 11 days on the road with all the associated costs of gasoline, hotels and food eat up a lot of money. Then add in booth costs and costs of goods, make the show hard to justify. But add in a couple of extra shows and spread the costs of travel to them and increase your sales a bit and you make the trip very reasonable.

In addition there is a show in Denver in May when we travel to Salt Lake City for HMQS. We can add in a show here then go to Salt Lake City, then back to Kansas City. We can then make that a 3 show run instead of 2 and help both shows be more profitable.

Snow is in the forecast for late this evening. I would suspect that today will be a good day at the show and tomorrow will have much less attendance. Perhaps they will come on Saturday after the snow is cleared from the streets. But people in Denver know how to drive in the snow, so maybe it will make no difference. We will know what has happened on Saturday when the show ends and in the meantime, it is what it is.

Here I Sit in Albuquerque

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:06:00 +0000

You have not heard from me for several days. Just didn’t feel like writing. The Phoenix show turned out to be a disappointment. Enough said about that. The last night we drove to Flagstaff and the next morning (Sunday) to Albuquerque. We picked up our products from Sonja as she has decided not to do any more shows for us.

Virginia fixed us a great home cooked meal of pot roast, potatoes, and salad; it does not get any better than that. We get so tired of eating in restaurants when we are traveling. Today we will spend the day exploring Santa Fe, with Mike and Virginia. I will be posting pictures so watch my personal Facebook page. Later this evening I will share them on Quilter’s Rule’s page.

We have one more show to do this week and then it is off to home. I have determined I do not do well with four shows in a row. I don’t think I will let that happen again. So today is a play day for us. The first since we started this trip on the 9^th of January. So far we have put almost 2000 miles on the truck. Loaded in and out three times. I am absolutely convinced we need a day off.

Phoenix

noreply@blogger.com (Jim C. Simons) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:08:00 +0000

Yesterday was set up day in Phoenix for the Rusty Barn show at the Arizona State Fair grounds. Before we started we had to get some banking done. Fortunately our local bank has branches in Arizona to serve all the Wisconsin snow birds. At the start of set up motivation was difficult to come by. On the other hand we completed in six and half hours. Best time on this trip. Maybe we are getting back in the groove after being off for almost two months.

Last night we had dinner at our favorite Mexican Dive in Phoenix. We found it by accident a few years ago. We were tired, and it is just around the corner from our hotel. Up until this year we have had to deal with a menu that was in Spanish. High school Spanish was many decades ago. But this year there were English subtitles. If you are in Phoenix it is called Sinola’s and is on McDowell near 27^th Avenue.

The show opens today at 1 AM and closes at 5PM. The weather here is absolutely wonderful. Temperatures expected to be in the mid 70’s. I don’t even tell my wife how nice the weather is during this set of shows. No excuses for folks not to come to the show.