Sept 3, 2023

Dear Friends,

St Louis was fantastic!  Only place we went was to Union Station, which is where the Baby Lock event was held.  We took Sandy (poodle), and my main job was to babysit Sandy.  It was fun because all sorts of people admired her, and many asked if they could pet her, which of course they could.  She started out nervous, but soon calmed an behaved very well in public.  One girl on the elevator even commented about how well she behaved as she stood still and comfortable amidst a sea of passengers legs during the elevator ride.

Donna, being actually registered for the event, attended the classes.  We didn’t know ahead of time if they would be helpful and worth going to, but yes, they were!  New products were shown and demonstrated.  In many cases, Donna actually got to try them out.  Most of the new products were either upgrades to current machines or new machines.  There were also a lot of new products and accessories related to sewing, quilting, serging and embroidery.  Another great features is they had produced and completed for display tons of new projects for the various machines, giving all the retailers great ideas for use in their shops and/or classes.

One of the new machines Baby Lock presented was a major upgrade to the Meridian, now called Meridian II.  It is a fantastic one-needle embroidery machine.  I got to unpack it and set it up.  Donna and Penny couldn’t wait to play on it and were quite impressed with it.  It may already be on the calender, but we’ll soon be offering another embroidery class, to be taught by Penny, and it’s sure to feature this new Meridian II.

Couple more notes: Carol in Atlanta TEXAS had her new Infinity longarm delivered, so James and I went over to her place yesterday to set it up.  Setting up these longarms is always a 5+ hour project.  Unlike some of the other Handi Quilter retailers in the region, we do not charge for set up for people who buy their machines from us.  I have to mention again the James is turning into a great tech person with these things.

As a point of interest, I looked of the history of St. Louis Union Station while we were there.  In the 1800s, St Louis was always considered the gateway to the west, so once trains started traveling west, Union Station became quite an important place.  First train pulled out in 1894.  Google tells us,  “ The station was the largest in the world that had tracks and passenger service areas all on one level. Traffic peaked at 100,000 people a day in the 1940s.  The last Amtrak passenger train left the station in 1978.”  Now the station has been converted into a historic site and convention center.  Included with the station is a huge Ferris wheel like the in in London, a carousel, a mini-golf course, maybe about 5 restaurants within the station, the St. Louis Aquarium, and lots of walking opportunities because the thing is so big.

I was our (i.e., Sandy’s) official walker.  Leaving the door to our room, the walk to the elevators was about two football-fields-worth away.  Once down the elevator, it was another two football-fields distance to get out the main door to the building.  And of course once we had done our duty, it was the same walk back.  Man, my ankles got so sore during our visit, they were quite thankful for their rest once we got home.  Extra bonus . . . . for breakfast, and for mid-morning and afternoon breaks, they fed us very well.  Ate my weight in bacon with each breakfast.  Then for supper, Donna and I didn’t eat with the group, but instead ate in one of the station’s restaurants.

Call to action for this e-mail: Depending on where you live, you need to go get on a train and take it to Greenville, Texas.  Once there, it will take you about 16 miles to come to Fox Country Quilts in Commerce, Texas.  It will be fun and well worth the trip.

Chip