October 8: Quilt Show and Friendship

Kevin and I drove over to the school and parted ways.  He went in to work on a project, and I hopped into Connie's car for a day trip to Shelburne for a quilt show and then on to Ferrisburg for lunch followed by New Haven for more fabric to finish the lil' Twister quilt. 

As Connie and I drove to the show we got to know each other better and laughed heartily.  She is easily distracted by "Bright Shiny Objects" but also everything else that crosses her path.  She noticed all the birds and pointed out all the best places to look at fall foliage.  She talks back to my GPS and loved driving my "lady"  a little crazy with her change of roads.  When I pointed out all the scarecrow people along the road I was certain there would be an accident because she so so enthusiastic about seeing ALL of them.  (Really not sure why but I was not really thinking we were in jeopardy as much as others might have felt watching us.)

I did not take photos of the quilt show, but I have to say it was very professional executed and had many quilts and works in fiber that could easily have been best of show.  As I said, Connie is easily drawn to all the different colors and sights so we had to work to see all of them.  I am guessing that her method would have worked for her but for me, I kind of took charge of our path because I did not want to miss a single quilt.  Connie is not an avid quilter, but she has made some and plans to try some others.  I, on the other hand, not only wanted to see the quilts but the quilting.  One of the quilts that really drew her in was very complex in design, execution and quilting.  She wants to make it.  I wanted to simply admire it and appreciate all the work that went into it.  The whole show was fabulous!

I love quilts, wall hangings, show quilts, fiber art, and everything in between, and I can appreciate all all the different techniques used to create in fiber, but I make the quilts that are to be used and loved for cuddling and snuggling under.  Heavy, dense, ornate quilting is not my style but I can appreciate the skills and effort that someone has put into creating each piece of the quilted design.  Fiber artists create some fabulous pieces that deserve to be seen and admired, but these are different than the quilts that I make and want used.  Therefore, I honor my fellow fabric lovers and all who work in this medium, but I am a traditional quiltmaker and proudly claim the title.

I made a purchase at the show, but it is not what I normally would buy.  I bought supplies to do some needle punch embroidery.  (Connie bought some supplies as well.)  I am envisioning ornaments, but time will tell.

After the show we headed further south and stopped along the way for lunch.  Both of us were able to meet our personal food wants.  I had a delightful roast beef sandwich and Connie had a veggie wrap.  We smelled and appreciated all the bakery items but neither of us were convinced to buy.  The smells were heavenly and plenty enough for me.

From there we continued to Knits and Bolts in New Haven to purchase all the fabrics required to finish my Stone Chip lil' Twister quilt.  Connie was as interested in all the yarns as the fabrics.  We laughed and jokes a great deal and hopefully made others laugh rather than wonder about when we would finally leave.  Of course I did purchase as large amount of fabric, so maybe we were forgiven if we did drive them a little crazy.  Connie had here very own mission to purchase thimbles.  There were lots of them, but she only wanted all metal ones.  I finally asked her why.  Are you ready for this?
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She needed them to play the washboard.  I am sure she was serious, but I never laughed so hard as when she shared that response.  It was so far from what I expected.

All in all, it was a delightful day trip  The weather, the company, the sights, and the laughter.  Who could ask for more?

When I got home, Kevin and I went for our two mile walk and talk, ate dinner, and went for groceries. Then I sat back and worked on binding while he fiddled around on the computer.  Perfect ending to this kind of day!
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