For the last two days, I have been helping in our Quilt Italia booth at Abilmente.  This is a huge four day crafts fair that happens once a year with different venues all over Italy.  Think of a craft, and there is a vendor here with classes provided.  Sort of like a giant Michael’s Craft store.  It is held in a place called Fiera di Roma.  I leave my house, walk to the hospital where I catch a bus.  Get off and walk several blocks to a train station where I catch a train going to the airport…two stops before the airport, I get off.  There is a huge long walk from the train station, flights of stairs and escalators and more stairs and moving sidewalks…after one finally gets in the building…or building complex, I should say.  There are at least 10 giant rooms to this complex and our Abilmente Venue has two.  Booths are set up in both rooms and Craftsy women are swarming to buy what they need for their latest hobby.  Knitting, crocheting, beading, felting, quilting, baking, cake decorating, candy making, doll making, purse making, miniatures and scrap booking, etc. There are also three small quilt exhibits.  Quilt Italia has about 20 small quilts displayed, each with the theme of food.  My favorite is of a giant sliced open Orange with all the sections looking so real and juicy.   There is an exhibit of quilts from the U.S.  They are also small and beautifully made.  Then there are full sized quilts from Patchwork France.  These are amazing quilts, some with thousands of tiny pieces quilted together.  Today, one of the ladies from my group and I went to see the French quilts.  Francesca was talking…in French….to one of the two ladies at their table and I was listening and paying attention to the lady she was speaking with, when the second lady said, ‘I know you.’  She remembered me from last year at the Houston Quilt Show when I visited with her at her booth!!!   I vaguely remember speaking to the French booth lady in Houston, but never would have recognized her here in Rome.  So, once again…another small world story!  I’m going back again tomorrow and Sunday.  It’s been fun just sitting and sewing with my quilt sisters and seeing all the stuff people are doing.