Sewnoma

I didn't realize until now but this is already in progress; runs 9/25 - 9/27. I'll be going on Saturday; never been to this one but going with a coworker who's a garment sewer. Looks like there's going to be lots of quilting vendors. Should be fun!

If you go onto their site, there's a flyer you can print out for free admission.

http://quiltcraftsew.com/pleasanton.html

quiltingcandy

Let us know how it is. I went to the one in Pomona a couple years ago and it was a complete waste of time. It was small, and nothing to really look at. Since my friend and I drove up from San Diego to attend we were really disappointed so had to stop at a few shops on our way home. But we were happy we didn't have to pay to get it. The sad thing was, I went to it about 8 years ago with my sister and it was huge - we had a great time. So not sure what the problem was 2 years ago. Needless to say, when it came to the Del Mar Fairgrounds I didn't go this year.

Will be looking forward to what you find.

dellareya

Friends and I went to this yesterday. This is the third year it has been in Pleasanton. This show is by the same people who have been doing a show in San Mateo for over 30 years. Pleasanton show is smaller then the San Mateo show. The San Mateo show is always in Feb/March. The show was Ok this year. I managed to spend some money. I love talking to the vendors and many of them offer "show prices". The show is free but you still have to pay $8.00 to park.
We also go to the Pacific Quilt International Festival each year in Oct. It is only 1 hour away from where we live. It is the Best of Shows around here. If we don't find what we are looking for at the smaller shows we will certainly find it at PQIF. If you only get to go to one show I would highly recommend PQIF.

Sewnoma

It was pretty good, I thought - not huge, but not tiny. It seemed pretty typical - some vendors asking really high prices for the same fabric you can buy anywhere; other vendors with some pretty good deals on unusual fabrics. Plenty of quilting vendors for me to look through, but I'm going to be going to PIQF so I didn't go too crazy. I imagine many of these same vendors will be at PIQF.

I did pick up some very cute Japanese prints from a booth that had all sorts of neat Japanese imported fabric; my friend also bought some yardage from them that she was super excited about. I found some good deals here and there on fabric but I restrained myself on the stuff that wasn't a killer deal. I picked up a few batiks, some cute Halloween stuff, a Winnie the Pooh panel for a soft book for babies, and that was about it.

I was pleasantly surprised at the concession stand - usually as a vegetarian I'm stuck eating fries or cheese pizza and I am trying to improve my diet, so I was happy to see that they had pretty nice fruit salads for $4! That's a really reasonable price for a pretty good sized container of fruit, and it totally hit the spot.

On our way home we hit a couple shops she knew of in Berkeley and I found some good deals there, too. I found some flat-fold flannel in one shop that was nice and thick for only $4.60/yd. Unfortunately they didn't have a lot of big pieces in colors that I like but I found one six-yard length that I can use for a quilt back so that makes me happy.

All in all a pretty fun day, although I definitely prefer going to events that include a quilt SHOW along with all the vendors. Shopping is fun, but I felt a little "starved" for looking at quilts. Vendor samples are nice but I want to see MORE!

It was a fun day. I sure was bushed by the time I got home, though!