Seattle, day 1

Traveling to the ALA Midwinter Meeting can be an adventure (bad weather at the point of departure, or en route, or at the conference site).   I've missed one MW since I became active in the Association in 1984 -- that was MW 1997 (San Antonio) when Fargo was socked by a blizzard and the next available flight out was the day before I was due to return, after all my meetings.  Cell phones were not ubiquitous and social media nonexistent so I just gave up and went to the Fargo AAUW luncheon that Saturday.

This year the travel from ORD to SEA was a breeze.  Literally -- strong headwinds extended the travel time by all of 10 minutes.  There were many friends and colleagues on the flight.  Six of us took the light rail from the airport downtown which provided views of neighborhoods--much more interesting that the airport shuttle, and at $2.75, a lot cheaper.

Shop staff with Carol and me

I deliberately chose an early flight to provide free time in the afternoon.  Carol, one of the ALA Biblioquilters,  and I took a cab ($; we should have taken the bus) to the Quilt Loft in the Ballard neighborhood.  What a nice shop -- light and bright, with lots of modern fabrics, lots of batiks and Asian prints. 




Lida Enche fabric -- my new favorite!!

 I discovered The Most Beautiful Fabric Ever.  I fell in love with it!  It's by Lida Enche whose paintings are "translated" into fabric. (It's made by In the Beginning.) I found two pieces in the remnant bin and I bought half-yard cuts of four others. I'll have to mail-order more!  

 I couldn't resist: two other remnants, and a quarter-yard of an alphabet-print. (I've got a plan for a quilt that requires alphabet prints so I need to add to my collection.)

The conference began later in the day with a reception for ALA Champions and Legacy Society members (of which I am one) and the Executive Board Survivors Dinner.  EB members going back to the early 1990's were among the 25 in our group.  What a lot of ALA history we represented!