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.

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.

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