February | 2017 | threadonthread

Hello from 32,000 feet over Nebraska! I’m heading to Seattle on the next to last leg of my adventure to the southeastern USA. This morning began in Savannah, GA at 4AM, which would have been OK if I hadn’t stayed up until 12:30 AM watching the Oscars! But, oh, it was worth it!

Eight days ago I flew to Little Rock, AR to spend three nights visiting Brooke and Kevin. My luck with weather in Arkansas is terrible and this was no exception, with cool days and lots of rain. Still, always great to see Brooke. While I was there it was Presidents’ Day and we took advantage of free admission to the Clinton Library. We also visited the Esse Purse Museum!! No kidding, it was fabulous. It’s one of three purse museums, the others are in Seoul and Amsterdam. Informative, bright displays and a well-stocked shop made for a fun hour.

From there it was off to Savannah for QuiltCon 2017, which was held in the building pictured at the top of this page. QuiltCon is like Mecca for Modern Quilters. This year there were 3500+ registrants from all around the world. I met people from Australia, India and Scotland. Canada had a strong showing and we rocked the conference with a group photo and singing of “O Canada”

All of the top instructors and modern quilters attend this conference and there were four days of courses and lectures. It’s a terrific opportunity to learn from the best. There were 450 quilts on display, all in the modern style. Those quilts were chosen from over 1500 entries! They were judged and prizes were awarded in several different categories. I’m attaching a few photos of quilts that caught my eye. You’ll see that they vary widely. Funny that I’m equally attracted to both the complex and the simple ones.

: Best in Show. It’s called Bling

: Close up of Bling

: Complex, lots of tiny pieces.

: Simple, yet so effective.

When not at the conference I explored Savannah. The weather was lovely – cool in the morning and evening, but sunny and warm during the day. The Savannah River runs in front of the hotel where I stayed and it was a constant source of fascination. Apparently, Savannah is the 3^rd busiest port in USA, and I can believe it. Massive container ships move through a space hardly big enough to hold them. I was transfixed!

Savannah is a good walking city. There are lovely, shady squares throughout the old part of the city. Chippewa Square was on my list as it’s the square where Forrest Gump sat! I spent all day yesterday walking, stopping for coffee, sitting in squares, waiting in line for 20 minutes at Leopold’s Ice Cream Parlour and enjoying the southern vibe. Lots more to see and I’d heartily recommend a visit there – perhaps combined with Charleston, SC or Hilton Head for golf.

It’s been a fun trip with familiar and new places. QuiltCon was all that I thought it would be. I’ve made new quilting buddies and learned valuable tips. I also brought home a small stack of new fabrics – things that we just can’t find in Vancouver. I’d go again and in 2019 it will be in Nashville, TN, another new city for me.

Here are a few photos from Savannah.

: Huge ships, narrow river!

: The Atlantic Ocean is just out there.

: Taken from one of the many squares.

: Sweet little find.

: Lots of wrought iron in Savannah.

: Good restaurants everywhere you look.

It’s good to be back and looking for the next adventure. Thanks for reading!

Well, it’s been an interesting couple of months on the west coast. We had some big snowfalls in early December. Thankfully it didn’t really affect us as it was during the time that Blake and I escaped to London. It made for great skiing on the local mountains over the Christmas break and into January.

January was cold, but mostly sunny and bright. You must understand that cold in Vancouver is relative. Having lived on the prairies and in Ontario for 20 years I’ve experienced frigid temperatures. How about minus 45C with blowing snow? Brrr… Still, when it drops to zero on the coast, it somehow feels bitter. Ah yes, it’s a ‘damp cold’! Have a look at these two photos. They were taken at the same time of day, just two days apart.

: Dundarave Beach

: Lawson Park Beach

For almost a week, over late January and early February, there was so much snow in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island. Schools were cancelled, buses got stuck, garbage didn’t get collected. We had planned to spend Family Day weekend at our friends’ cottage on Shawnigan Lake, but had to cancel as it was impossible to get in to the cottage.

Thankfully, my plans were flexible and I wasn’t bothered about spending time at home. The chore list came out and a few things got done. I brought out my old sewing machine, (newer one was in for service), and made a second Sew Together Bag. These little bags are such fun to make and they hold a ton of supplies.

I kept the black/green one for myself and did a random gifting of the blue one. It went to my friend Jean, who has filled it with knitting notions.

In advance of my trip to QuiltCon next week, I finished a mini quilt. This is for a mystery swap. Everyone who registers for the swap completes a questionnaire that asks about most/least favourite colours, hobbies and skills etc. Every registrant is matched with a partner and the idea is to make something that you think your partner will like. It’s all top-secret until we meet on February 25 and exchange our mini-quilts. Here’s the mini quilt that I made for ??????? who lives in ?????.

The black is not part of the quilt. The blocks are from Patchwork City by Elizabeth Hartman. The grey is Essex Blend by Robert Kaufman. It’s a blend of 55% linen and 45% cotton. I quilted it with Superior King Tut thread. Overall I’m happy with how this turned out and I hope that ????? from ????? likes it too.

Finally, I’ve been continuing my five online games of Scrabble and am either having really bad luck, or my brain needs more exercise. Who knew that there were so many single-point letters available? They all find their way into my rack. Several times I’ve felt like Old MacDonald because I can play “E I E I O”!

Today it’s pouring rain and very windy. It’s almost impossible to think that we were in the midst of a blizzard less than a week ago. And, a week from now, I’ll be in Savannah, Georgia. The forecast is for sun and 25C!

Wherever you are, I hope you’re warm and cozy and I thank you for reading.