I have just had the best four days. There is a big Crafts Fair here called Abilmente and our Quilt Italia group had a booth for four days. I helped each day, and it has been so much fun. Wasn’t sure how much help I would be not really being able to explain or teach quilting in Italian. As it turned out, I was quite helpful. There were three tables set up for people to learn to quilt that had cutting mats, rulers, cutters and sewing machines. I sat at a table and handed out our magazines and information cards, and as I was sewing my bunnies and as I had started making Grandmother’s Flower Garden flowers, people were asking me about hand sewing. I could show a picture of what my finished bunny quilt would look like and what a Grandmothers Flower Garden quilt looks like. I also showed them how to cover the paper hexagons with fabric and how the 7 hexies make a ‘flower’. I gave everyone a Hexie as a starter and told them I wanted to see their finished quilt in a year! If they got too technical with their questions, I would get one of the Italian ladies to answer. They were pleased to be able to offer machine quilting and hand sewing as well. This once a year Crafts Fair is held all over Italy on different weeks. It features every type of craft you can imagine: knitting, quilting, crochet, papier-mâché, ornament making, doll making, cake decorating, marzipan, scrap booking, miniatures, weaving, felting, beading, candy making, toy making and on and on. Sort of like a giant Michael’s with classes. It is held in a huge complex near the airport and out of 12 huge rooms, the Abilmente took up only two. There were three quilt exhibits at this show. Quilt Italia had an exhibit of about 20 quilts that were all based on a food theme. Then there was an exhibit of quilts from the U.S. The most amazing, however, was from France. About 20 quilts, all large, and almost all completely hand done. And some with literally over one thousand little pieces. Absolutely amazing work. My friend, Francesca went over to talk to the two ladies who were there representing the French quilters. She was speaking to one lady and I glanced at the second lady and she said, ‘I know you!’ She remembered me stopping by their booth at the Houston Quilt Show last year. I remembered stopping by, but didn’t remember the lady…but will certainly see her in Houston next year. Her name is Aline Joulin and her specialty is making copies of antique quilts from the 1800’s. All with tiny pieces and all by hand.