Ever since I heard it on the radio this morning, I've had "I'm going to Graceland... Graceland... Memphis, Tennessee..." running through my head.

Except I'm not going to Graceland, I'm headed to Pasadena, California today - Tuesday.  I tried changing the lyrics to suit my plans but alas, it doesn't have the same flow - which might be why Paul Simon went to Graceland instead of California.

QuiltCon - officially QuiltCon West.  Are you going to be there?

We'll be in town to do booth set-up on Wednesday and then we're there for the four days of the show at the Pasadena Convention Center.  This is the third time Moda has been at QuiltCon "representing" the company and the industry - and we've gone to learn, observe, meet up with friends and have some fun, take some classes and hear some lectures and see all the amazing quilts.

I loved the 2015 QuiltCon in Austin - everyone attending was so excited to be there.  The age-demographic was not nearly as young as most folks would have expected - I'd put the "average age" at fifty-ish.  I also loved seeing how many families were there - two and three generations of quilters there to see the show together.  I'll be curious to see if moving the show to Pasadena, and from moving it from a biennial event to an annual one, has any effect on the energy and atmosphere.

As I write this, I'm partly packed.  Which means that I have my suitcase out and I've done laundry.

But I know I'll be packing these - a couple of very cool rulers that came across my desk last week.  (We'll be doing a little bit of sewing in the booth for a demo so it's the perfect chance to play with test some new toys tools.

They're from Fiskars and they fold!  There is a 6" x 24" Folding Rectangle Ruler and an 8" x 8" Folding Square Ruler.  If you click the links to the rulers and the United Notions' website, the rulers look completely orange.  The rectangle is completely clear but half of the folding square is shaded orange.

I'm already a fan of the long Folding 6" x 24" Ruler - it feels very secure and even without having your hand placed on it for cutting, it's very flat and even.  I don't know that I would use this as my regular, every-day long ruler at home but this is absolutely something I'll have to take to classes and retreats.

I'm not as sure about the Folding Square Ruler.  I love that the ruler is reversible - there are markings on both sides of the ruler.  But the ruler sections are joined - kept together - by a clear plastic backing that is very securely adhered to the the ruler.  It's very tight - as a "professional tester", I tried to see how easily the corners could be pried up.  They couldn't be.  While the underside of the long rectangle is completely covered with the backing, the folding square is not.  It is held together by an approx. 2" x 9" strip of plastic on one side and it just doesn't feel as secure.  But if this square ruler had the same edge-to-edge backing as the rectangle ruler... I'll let you know what I think next week.

The other big news this week is that The Splendid Sampler is underway - it officially launched Sunday, February 14th.

Jane Davidson & Pat Sloan.  Pat & Jane.  Pat & Jane's Splendidly Excellent Adventure!

Jane and Pat - aren't they cute?

Here are some that have been on Instagram - #splendidsampler and #thesplendidsampler

If you're on Facebook, you can join the Public Group - The Splendid Sampler.  There are over 10,000 members already - and more joining every day.

That's it for now - more from Pasadena and QuiltCon later this week.