Bead Fest Wire - New Friends and Old

I'm recovering from my weekend in King of Prussia at Bead Fest Wire.  It was a fantastic weekend...well worth the flight up there even though airports aren't my favorite places.  This post is all about the people...there'll be another one for beads later.  :)

First, I spent Saturday in class with Kerry Bogert and fellow fan Bev.  We worked out a bunch of different chains focusing on Kerry's glass beads.  I felt like a random stalker chick when I showed up with my book in hand knowing all the details of her life from her blog.  But, luckily, I'm not her only fan...Bev and I were lucky enough to have Kerry all to ourselves for a great class.  Kerry's really down-to-earth, so we ended up gabbing like old beading buds all day long.  The class--and the project--exceeded my expectations.  :)  Here's a pic of us from midway through the day...

One of the best parts of any Bead Fest is the shopping.  :)  Curt called in the middle of my browsing and we got to have a nice long chat.  I actually happened to be right next to the table of goods from Afghanistan.  He was a little stressed out about his job, so I offered to distract him by telling him how much I was spending and what I was getting.  He declined with a laugh because he'd rather leave those numbers a mystery...what a great husband!  haaaaaaaaaa

Because this post isn't really about the beads, but about the people, I'm just showing this little bit of goodness from Na Bo Row...

I had the most fun shopping experience at their booth...must've been there for an hour!  And, when I needed help, Ms. Lynne was there for my...we laughed and laughed because I made fun of her hand-written nametag.  I promised her that she'd get a great mention because that was one of the highlights of my weekend.  She even wrote me a note on my reciept to "make it good."  haaaaaaaaaaaaa  So, for Lynne I'm sending out a huge laugh, a hug and a recommendation for amazing clasps and silver at Na Bo Row.

Last but not least, it was a great meetup weekend.  My old Air Force bud, Elisabeth, came up from DC to share some beady goodness.  She just opened up her own Etsy shop.  :)  Plus, we had dinner with Jeanette Ryan and Cindy Wimmer...lots of great bead and family chatting as I look forward to moving back to Virginia in a couple of months.  Whoo hoo!!!