Quilting USA 4/7/07

I hope you are all well, happy and enjoying what ever you are doing on this 4th of July. I am going to an independance day parade this evening. I hope you all enjoy my quilt weekend ha! ha! for my girls "You see even all this way from home, I find a bunch of crazy women who enjoy cutting large pieces of fabric into tiny pieces only to join them up and make a big piece again" for any of you who do not quite understand me skip that bit!!!

QUILTING UNDER THE BLUES

Named as such because Blanding lies under the Blue Mountains.

On my arrival back at the visitors center in Blanding there was a different lady on duty, her name was Norma, she was one of the teachers doing a workshop at the Quilt show. It was, I think, going to be very different from any quilt show I have ever been to; I think it will be more like a series of workshops, from my conversation with Norma. Friday night there was to be a concert after the day’s events by “Cathy Miller the singing quilter” from Canada (sounded good) I hoped I would be able to get a ticket. On Saturday there was a “Show and Tell Luncheon” I had crossed fingers for a ticket for that but the cut of date was 18^th May!!! So did not hold out much hope. Norma showed me where the High School and the parking was for the show which was in the high school, (the show not the parking) that would be interesting as well - the inside of an American high school. We also discussed camping, one camp is out in the forest very cool and quiet but is 12 miles out side town. I had a run out there but decided that if it was going to be dark on my return this was not a good idea, so I chose the campsite behind the Shell petrol station not very salubrious, but turned out to be a good choice I ended up staying 5 nights! I found a spot that had good shade and set up camp. There were a few people who actually lived there in their RV’s, 5 wheelers or trailers. I ate my tea outside which was lovely, afterwards a neighbour who lives there and works as a volunteer on the “Ute Indian Reservation” came over and sat with me for a couple of hours talking about her work on the reservation, England and the US

Friday the show/workshops started at 12.30. It is very hard arriving on your own and not knowing what is happening or where to go; I am ok when I know the ropes but not so good when I have not got a clue of what is going on or where to go. So not wanting to look like a spare part for too long I arrived around 12.15, a lady arrived at the same time just a shade behind me so when I was at her car she had just got out, “can I follow you” I said “of course” was the reply, then “where do you come from” “Yorkshire, England” was my reply Well from that moment I was royalty - they could not have treated HRH any better. The lady’s name was Gail her husband was also a quilter.

Once inside Gail introduced me to every one I was given a ticket for the 2 day event, I asked about the lunch and concert tickets, lunch was sold out but concert I could pay at the door, Gail’s husband arrived, Worth, she asked him to give me his lunch ticket as he did not need it he was going somewhere else!!! And he did, can you believe that, he was at the lunch; we were told later that people could take packup whilst watching the show ‘n tell. He also gave me the free bag he got when he registered for the event as they both had one and did not need 2 he said! I was by this time becoming overwhelmed, Gail and Worth took me to the theatre where there was going to be a trunk show and some free workshops, also door prizes. I was introduced to everyone all of whom wanted to sit near or next and chat.

The event started, mass introductions and a discussion of the program made things much clearer for me, people had come from a variety of States, Cathy Miller from Canada then of course some one said there is the English Lady I had to stand up AND speak I said, of course, I came from Yorkshire England and was a very small quilter!

After all the introductions etc. The door prizes started. Here you get a prize for just about anything they can think of and at any time some one will just say we will have a couple of door prizes. Names are pulled out of a jar (you are told to put your name in the jar when signing in) the seat number you are sat on, I got one for traveling the farthest (I am not really sure how far I had come, there were a few folk from SLC who had done it in 6 hours, it took me 4 days!!) anyway it was very nice and a wonderful thing to do causing a lot of excitement and breaks the ice so to speak, relaxing everyone. Great idea.

Next the workshop starts I am staying in the theatre for the free workshops. A lady come over to me, very excited, saying she had just returned from the UK having been to the international quilting conference at …………. “The Spa in Scarborough” well, then I do not know who was more excited her or me; this was Cathy Miller the singing quilter, what a lovely lady. ( I felt home sick! just for a bit, to much going on)

I spent the rest of the day with Gail and Worth enjoying the workshops learning a lot and speaking to so many wonderful people. OH! I forgot to tell about the trunk show. This was a single bed at the front/middle of the theatre with 20+ quilts on top, each one held up to be viewed, admired and appreciated each and every one very beautiful each and every one with a story to tell.

There were also some vendors with the most wonderful fabric etc. I had to keep reminding myself I am paying for my stash to be stored!

Janet who had organized the whole show came to speak to me telling me that yesterday had been an awful day for her everything had gone wrong and this morning she was feeling really down when Norma told her that a lady from England was coming, she said I had made the day for her! I do not know about that BUT they have certainly made a wonderful day for me and tomorrow hasn’t started yet!! And I have the concert to go to - in the afternoon break another kind person gave me a free ticket for the concert. Also in the break a lady came and asked me if I knew anything about Harrogate as her daughter was going to live there, her husband is going to work on the US Airbase I told her how wonderful it is in the very best and most beautiful part of England. I told her to get Calendar Girls as it is filmed in the villages and countryside around Harrogate but I think I put her off by saying it was about the WI and a nude calendar of course she will not know about the WI, well anyway she says her daughter will get in touch with me!

So I had my tea in the car park of the school whilst waiting for the concert time. I had a visitor who had spent some time in England at college doing English Literature, had been to York and had spent some time in Harrogate so I introduced her to the other lady next day and they both lived in Blanding near each other, we all thought it amusing that I had introduced them!

The Concert WOW!

Cathy is a folk singer, song writer and quilter she is amazing. check out her web site www.singingquilter.com you can hear samples of her delightful singing. She traces the history of some quilts and quilting, the customs and habits of quilters (I now know these habits are world wide) to write her beautiful songs. I also now know that Elizabeth Fry (who is on the back of our 5 pound note) gave the women sent on convict ships to Australia in the 1800’s a bundle of sewing supplies from which they sewed quilts on that awful long voyage one of these quilts was presented by the ladies to Elizabeth Fry. One quilt was found in an attic in Scotland in 1989 and has been donated to the National Gallery of Australia this is believed to be the only quilt left from those transport voyages. Cathy has written a beautiful song about the ladies the voyage and the quilts. On this side of the pond (I do mean the US side not my side) Cathy has written a song about the information on quilts that help the slaves trying to escaping from the south to the safety in the north of America all the blocks had a meaning and most carried a map. The songs and the singing are truly wonderful. I have a couple of CD’s so you can listen when I get home. Cathy and her husband John, who is also a folk singer and accompanies her singing, live in Victoria BC Canada so I will get to see her againJ

The end of a most wonderful day for me. When I decided to stay longer than L&M a quilt show or workshop was one of the main reasons for staying; I have been longing to see and talk to American quilts/quilters, happy happy me.

Saturday. Well to day I got there very early I was not scared this time. A second day as wonderful as yesterday I also won a second door prize, we had been asked only to take one prize so that everyone could win one, I said I had already had one, they said I had come along way was English so here you are have 2! Again I spent the whole day speaking to people looking at the most beautiful quilts a couple of work shops and a wonderful lunch with a 'show and tell' which was amazing AND Cathy sang again.

Quilts here are such a very large part of their lives, quilts are handed down from generation to generation there were some very old quilts on show, this tradition goes back to the pioneers and the “Hole in the Rock” some of the people that live in Blanding are decendants of those pioneers. Most girls have a quilt when they are married, it seems everyone receives a quilt when they graduate, every baby receives one and I guess every granny has loads.

I was very sad when these 2 days finished. I had seen some of the most beautiful quilts and quilting I have ever seen and met a bunch of the most beautiful people whose warmth and generosity overwhelmed me I will never forget my 2 days here I take so much warmth and friendship with me. I kind of glow!

Back at my little campsite I met Sue and Maury from North Carolina, they missed the quilt show but come to Blanding and this campsite every year, have been doing so for the past 40 years, Maury was a park ranger at some time he had lots of interesting stuff to tell, he now teaches Environmental Science. I spent a lovely time with them and on Monday went off on a trip they sent me on to Muley Point this is an over look of the canyons truly awesome, Muki Dugout this was a road that came straight down the face of one of these cliffs that rise straight out of the ground, looking back it is hard to believe there is a road there. Then Valley of the Gods which is red sand stone rising up in the most amazing shapes and yes some of them look like statues of gods I have seen, it is very easy to see why the Indians gave this valley its name, then Goose Neck Park named for the same reason the rock looks goose like. It is hard to describe the beauty of this red rock rising out of the ground and made into such strange and wonderful shapes by the wind, water and ice. Tomorrow I will leave Blanding and the wonderful people I have met I will drive another fabulous road Montezuma to Hatch Trading Post which is in the middle of nowhere but seemed to have customers and then onto Hovenweep National Monument which is an ancient Pueblo settlement this was a 2.5mile walk around the top of the canyon given very good views of the building, how the people built these buildings using the rock face and ledges is astonishing, they are the ancestors of what is now known as the Native American.

From here I am going into Colorado, Cortez is the town and then Mase Verde I got very lost ended up at a gigantic casino which is in the Ute Indian Reservation. I did find Cortez eventually and the Culture Center, later this evening they are having a display of Native American dancers. So quick change of plan I put Mase Verde on hold and took a trip up to the Anasazi Heritage Center this is a very small Pueblo ruins but very interesting museum, then back to Cortez (I had spotted a Wal-Mart - my sleep for the night on the way out of town) I parked outside the culture center and had a walk around the town and on finding the quilt shop made a visit. Then looked for a nice restaurant, met a couple doing the same thing they recommended one they had been to last time they were here. I had a very good steak and salad. Then walked back to watch the dancing; The dancers were all dressed in the costume for the dance each person was doing, these dances were all different, there was a drum played by 3 people, also a guy giving a commentary of each dance, he had a mike - I could hear him but could not understand him, not a word. The dances each had a meaning but I failed on that one. but enjoyed it, they put an awful lot of effort in. when the dancing had finished there was a demonstration of pottery art inside the center, this was of the black and white pottery found at Mesa Verde very interesting. A good evening.

Tomorrow I go to Mesa Verde ………………………………………………………..