The Quilting Journey

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end. -Ursula K. LeGuin

We’re often told the journey is more important than the destination.

When it comes to quilt shows, classes, and shop hops, while the destination is definitely important to us, getting there can be a great deal of fun.

Where else could a group have uninterrupted time together to:

Sing favorite songs from the past, while discussing topics like: “Are hot flashes precursors to spontaneous human combustion?”, and consuming all of the snacks we carefully avoid the rest of the year?

What other venue is available for women of “a certain age” to participate in a general frolic of silliness without the “permission” gained by wearing a specific color?

I think this best sums up our travels to various quilting venues:

A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles. -Tim Cahill

Thank you, friends, for sharing the journey.

Road trip!

The annual Jacksonville Quiltfest road trip went off without a hitch - once we retreived the seat belts and returned them to a usable position. That brief pause gave us the opportunity to say good morning to a trio of sandhill cranes. Then we were "On the Road Again" thanks to personalized cds for our musical trip created by our very own DJ.

We arrived safely, trooped in behind a busload or two of fellow quilters and proceeded to shop!

Some favorite vendors:
Bolines who had tables full of five yard kits (their specialty). Several of us now have those kits in our posession.

Cotton in the Cabin always has an incredible collection of indigo fabrics. Yummy!

Critter Pattern Works had fabulous patterns. Their display was a treat.

Diane Smith, also known as FiberSmith was there with all of the goodies and info needed to learn about making your fabric unique by adding dyes and paints. She has wonderful retreats on Cocoa Beach.

And then, of course, there's Olde Green Cupboard.

After checking out everything the vendors had in store, we moved on to the quilt displays. The variety and quality of work was a delight. It is so inspiring to see the range of techniques that have been produced by quilters of all ages. Several quilters from our area won ribbons. Woo Hoo! It's nice to know such talented people.

When we finished circling the displays and vendors a few more times, we went by Olde Green Cupboard, and then headed for home. But first, we had supper at The Loop Pizza Grill. We like to try places that are new to us when we're traveling and we were very pleased with our meals.

The rest of the trip was uneventful until we arrived at the Mims rest area. (Some of us could go no further.) After numerous cars quickly departed at the sound of our giddy laughter, we piled into the "quiltmobile" and completed our journey.

A good time was had by all, and our families were grateful once again that they did not travel with us.

Out on the town

The "Clan of the Inner Child" met this weekend for another round of festivity and fun. This time we stayed local.

The first stop was the Festival of Trees to see the tree decorated by members of our local quilt guild, Seaside Piecemakers. Three members of the "Clan" were heavily involved in this project, so the rest of us wanted to see what they'd been doing.

They had chosen a Victorian theme and had created a luscious looking confection of ribbon embroidery, lace, feathers and all of the other dainty goodies synonymous with the Victorian era. It is lovely.

Evidently the judges thought so too -- it was awarded the "Best of Show" ribbon!

Needless to say, those involved in the project were ever so slightly pleased with the outcome of their efforts. When pictures of the tree are available, they will be posted.

After lunch, we started on a project of our own -- a blue and white Trip Around the World quilt to be raffled to help a local family.

Fueled by sweet tea, chocolate, brownies, chips and dip, we finished the top in a few hours (some of us finishing more than others -- there are those of us who would so not make it in a sewing factory!). Many hands do make light work.

In the beginning . . .

How did the "inner child quilters" find each other?

I think it was the natural draw of discovering others who were equally "mature", "serious" and dedicated to "calm" and "order".

What began as a couple of us carpooling to the quilt show in Orlando has evolved into a "burb" full of women having a rolling party on the way to the QuiltFest of Jacksonville.

When the "quiltmobile" starts rolling, the fun begins. I won't say that we get more than a little rowdy, but one teen daughter wanted to know if her mother could move to less noisy spot so she could hear her on the cell phone. "Mom" explained that sitting on the roof at 75 mph would be difficult, and the wind and road noise would be louder than we were. (Perhaps a slight exaggeration on her part.)

In addition to quilt shows, we have also participated in various shop hops, visiting numerous quilt shops throughout the state. We've even had a couple of shop hops of our own.

We also enjoy an on-line shop hop. While it doesn't present the fun of all of us being together, it does have the advantage of visiting quilt shops in your pjs! And, we can compare all of the interesting new stuff we find online. (Like this -- Wrights SideWinder™bobbin winder.)

Our next "event" will be a charity quilt -- our first project together. While "Inner Child" is not a guild or a circle (more of an amoeba, actually), we thought it would be a wonderful idea to do something to contribute positively to our community. It also gives us another reason to have and all day party!