I love driving in the Northeast this time of year. The views are amazing. I was invited to lecture and teach a workshop in Somers, New York for the Northern Star Quilters Guild, www.northernstarquilters.com/ . The name of the guild sounded familiar to me. As soon as I arrived at the location of the lecture I knew I had been to this guild before. One of the members reminded me that I had been there in 1997! Thirteen years ago! Holy cow! For many, many years I have been telling a story when I begin my border lecture. The story goes something like this….The reason I started doing a lecture on borders is because one time when I was lecturing to a guild in New York a lady, at the end of my lecture which included some of my antique quilts and some of my quilts, said she had a comment to make. I’m telling you when she said that I was a little worried. It’s normal for someone to ask a question but for someone to say they had a comment was a little disconcerting. Then this lady said, “I think after seeing several of your quilts you need to consider doing a lecture on designing borders. The borders on your quilts are really interesting.” I had a sigh of relief at her comment and told her I would think about it. On my drive home from New York in 1997 all I could think about was her suggestion because over the years I have used a lot of different borders on my quilts. This lady’s suggestion brought about a border lecture, a book of my quilts showing all of my border ideas and how I design them and a 3 hour workshop on this same subject. Who would have ever thought that one little suggestion could lead to so many good things. Well, when I walked into the auditorium it was like deja vu. I remembered the room. I remembered that this had been the place where the comment was made. When I mentioned this at the start of the meeting I said I wanted to thank whoever made the suggestion. Some people said they would like to take credit but apparently that person was not at the meeting or does not remember making that comment. But, being in that room really took me back.
On Wednesday the guild held their workshop at the Mahapac Library. Here are some views from room where the workshop was held.
On my drive up to New York I finished listening to Nicholas Sparks newest book called ‘Safe Harbor”. I told my girlfriend I was half afraid to listen to a Nicholas Sparks book when I was on my way to a guild. My reason…..I often cry when reading a Nicholas Sparks book. I was afraid my make-up would be running down my face when I arrived at the guild for my evening lecture! I think I’ve mentioned this before when it comes to Nicholas Sparks. I love that he takes just a few characters and really develops them. This book was no exception. Katie/Erin is in a very bad marriage. Her husband is abusive. When I was listening to this book on my drive I was talking out loud in my car saying things like…I’d like to smack her husband…I have some big friends who could do to him what he did to her. Nicholas Sparks always has a way of allowing me to really relate to the characters and the grief they are going through. I fell like I know them and want to help them. Without giving the end away…..I liked the ending.
My next adventure will take me to Illinois. I’ll fill you in when I return.