that time i chased the mailman
Want to hear a wild story? I almost left for H+H with only one baby quilt in my bag!
I had been sewing nonstop since my sample fabric arrived, and I even sent fabric off to some incredibly talented friends to help me get things made for my booth. The plan was to have four throw-sized quilts—three sewn by me and one by a friend—plus lots of other smaller sewn projects. I shipped off the quilts to be quilted with a tight (but doable!) turnaround. Everything was scheduled to return in time for me to bind and finish them before my Monday flight.
And then… USPS betrayed me. 😩
The tracking said they’d arrive Saturday. Saturday came and went—no quilts. One package said it would be delivered Monday (cutting it way too close), and the other wasn't even showing updates. Why is it that packages show up in one day when you don’t need them, but vanish into the ether when you do?
On Monday morning, one quilt finally showed as "out for delivery." My husband and I were flying out (to different places for work), and we waited as long as we could before calling a Lyft to the airport. Just as we were leaving the neighborhood, we spotted the mail truck! Our driver (bless him) pulled over, and my husband hopped out to talk to the mailman.
Turns out, the mailman did have my package—but he couldn’t deliver it until he was closer to our house. So, in an act of true kindness, he hopped in his truck and followed us home to deliver it. I was able to grab one quilt and the cutest Violet backpack just before heading to the airport!!
The only catch? The quilt wasn’t bound yet. 😬
Knowing this might happen, I had prepped the binding and (in a bit of a gamble) ordered a tiny travel sewing machine to take with me to the hotel in Chicago. It was light and compact… and a pain to sew on. Thankfully, my dear friend Kait jumped in to help. She was a true star and attached the binding on that finicky little machine, and later we were both hand-stitching from opposite ends of the quilt at the same time to get it finished in time for Product Academy.
But it got done. The Summer Pop quilt (Lo and Behold Stitchery’s popsicle quilt pattern, made in my fabric!) got to hang proudly in my booth and was shown at Product Academy—and it was worth it.
Bonus plot twist:
You know you have truly good friends when they hear about your quilt crisis and immediately sew baby quilts with the extra fabric they had leftover. I went from one almost-quilt to two extra quilts in my booth thanks to two sweet, generous friends who dropped everything to help me out. These are the kind of people who talk you up when you're pitching your portfolio at Quilt Market, show up early, haul things across cities, and sew at lightning speed just to make your booth look amazing. They are absolute gems, and I am so lucky to have them in my corner. 💛
