09/13/18 - 09/21/18
Riverside Park
Springfield, IL
Site 61
$25/night
Hm, the neighbors are nice. Lots of full-timers.
The sites are filthy, the bathrooms are never cleaned (I’ve been staring at the same dead beetle on the shower floor for 3 days now, and I saw a guy slip into the women's restroom ONCE with a broom ... he did NOT stay long), all the smokers in IL live here, people do not clean up after their dogs, and the showers are: too low headwise (expect to bonk yours), 5-15 second push button activated, and smell of mildew.
The campground has a long list of rules, two of which were broken by our neighbor within minutes of our arrival. By the time we pulled out, we’d seen half the rules broken by various neighbors. Mr SMT asked if we had broken any. No. Most of them we could not break. (Well, I probably broke the profanity rule, but not where neighbors could hear.) So, in short, the rules don't apply, and are probably just there to have a reason to kick you out if you are highly dislikable.
Now, on the positive side, the shower frogs are a LOT of fun to watch. I’m sure they come for the insects flying, crawling, and jumping around.
There is a park nearby, an equestrian center, and lovely paths between the two. The paths are well maintained.
Springfield is oddly laid out, I assume this results from its age (former horse and carriage trails) and how the city grew (former farm land?) The end result is that: there are no highways, avoiding residential areas is not possible, and traffic speeds are fairly low.
The lights are not timed, so expect to meditate in front of (more than) your share of red lights.
Mr SMT feels that Springfield, the capital, is far more livable than Chicago, the major metroplex of the state, but it is also much smaller. (I see some similarities between these two cities and Austin, Texas small capital, and Houston, largest city in TX). Considering Illinois’ serious money issues, I was surprised by the amount of new building and road construction. I was NOT surprised by the number of shuttered businesses.
For the most part, the city is highly generic, except, perhaps, for the Lincoln history.
We’ve hit Food Fantasies, StarCrest Laundromat, Three Twigs Bakery, and Meijer. We recommend them all. I found unusual flavors of hummus at Meijer, new brands to try at Food Fantasies, and delicious vegan fare at Three Twigs Bakery (Oatmeal Cookies, Bacun Donut, Granola Bite, and Chickpea Salad Sandwich ... yum). As much as we like to experience new, we do have old standbys.
Illinois is in the midst of a heatwave during our visit, it makes me miss Michigan! We hide out for the hours around noon as the temperatures are hitting the mid-90s. Shopping occurs early morning and exercise occurs either early or late. Mosquito feeding occurs 24/7.
Riverside Park is in the running for filthiest restroom ever I a campground. And running neck and neck with McKinney Falls State Park in Austin, TX for the filthiest sites we’ve seen.
09/19 to 09/20
MQX - Machine Quilting Expo
Attendee, Wednesday preview
Buy Thursday ticket
I had called into the ONLY phone number I could find for MQX, asking how I could obtain a ticket and attend Preview night. One of the show owners returned my call within 5 minutes, Mary told me all I needed to know to attend on the days and times I wanted. (I had also emailed twice, but never received a response.
But first, I went shopping to the various quilt shops in Springfield. At Sew Unique I chatted with owner Bonnie and her guy, they are charmers. And I met Sarah Evans.
Sarah and I both turned up at Peace & Appliqué shortly thereafter. Sarah is attending MQX with her friend Robbi Eklow. I looked at Sarah and said, “Guitar quilt?” That’s Robbi! 😄
I enjoyed, immensely, chatting with Sarah.
At Peace & Appliqué, I found Sulky 12 wt petites. I am hoping, fingers crossed, that I like this much better than the floss.
For preview, I chatted with Bill S, one of the expo owner’s (or spouse of) and we discussed the trials and tribulations of running an exposition in such diverse areas: Springfield, IL and Manchester, NH. They did a show in Portland, OR to test the market, but got very little buy in from the public.
Once inside the venue, I stopped first at Jane and Dave Mullen’s “Quilt Central” booth for the A-1 Long Arm quilting machine. I liked it, in all ways, except the tablet interface. I am old enough to prefer simpler electronics in a machine I wish to keep for the rest of my life. Janie gave me some awesome food for thought. She and Dave graciously allowed my monopolization for the evening, and Robbi came by a short time later.
A-1 “Quilt Gallery” computerized system is the EZ Quilt “Butler.” There's not a great deal of information on the Quilt Gallery System, but Butler does have a semi-useful site. I think the IntelliQuilter might be a better computerized system.
Thursday found me back at the venue, and testing all the machines: APQS, Bernina, Gammill, and INNOVA. What rather surprised me was the serious elbow ache I developed after running the APQS, Gammill, and Innova around. AND, I wasn’t using their largest machines! This definitely brought home the message Janie had suggested: FMQ with 26” or smaller, Computerized quilt with a larger than 26” machine. Larger machines are heavier and could have some lag in the hind end.
For myself, I find an 18” machine far too short a harp space.
So, Kira wants a 24-26” LA machine. Good to know.
Obviously, not everyone who runs the APQS, Gammill, or INNOVA around has body aches after 30 or so minutes of play. But, it was very obvious to me.
The Bernina Q24 also made it to my short list of likes. Perhaps unsurprising, the Bernina and the A-1 have adjustable handles, and are much more ergonomically friendly than the fixed handle machines.
I also found the Bernina smooth and easy to maneuver, much like the A-1 machine.
Severals months back, I attended a quilt show where a vendor had APQS machines. These are THE most talked about, and likely the highest selling machine. So I was excited to try them out. And after running a Millie around for a bit, I left feeling a bit disappointed. It did not feel wonderful, like I expected it to feel (and how the hype around the “Bliss” system drove my expectations). It was hard to maneuver.
Now, granted, your body will adapt in some ways. I’ve borrowed a friend’s machine previously, and where I was jagged in lines, she had smooth curves because she had adapted to her machine eccentricities. After several hours of play, my curves were smoothing out. Kinda like having a car that pulls to one side or another.
I wanted to have Mr SMT take a look at the A-1 machine, but he was not interested. I cannot decide if he hates the idea of a long arm, or just thinks the only long arm to buy is a Bernina?
The Bernina gives me pause because, 1) you cannot be your own tech, 2) it has a lot of circuit boards inside, and 3) I have been told it simply is not built to industrial quality and longevity (and yes, this is from people who sell them and love them, but this is NOT a lifetime machine).
On the other hand, Bernina information, manuals, and specifications are VERY easy to find online. I do not want to call in to the manufacturer for every little problem I experience. Having great resource material is half the battle.
No comments:
Post a Comment