After being home for a couple of days I was ready to head back to Maryland and also to Virginia. My first stop took me to the Mount Vernon Quilters Unlimited in Virginia http://www.quiltersunlimited.org/mtv.htm Ellen was my helper at this guild and as program chairperson she was great! This guild is smaller than most of the guilds I have visited recently. Everyone knew each other and included me in their conversations. It was a very warm and relaxed atmosphere. They made me feel like part of the guild. After doing a lecture at lunch I was free for the rest of the day. That does not happen often. I thought….should I just veg in the hotel or…..just my luck the hotel had a free shuttle service to Old Town in Alexandria. I had not been to Old Town in about 15 years. I took advantage of the free service. I have very fond memories of spending a weekend with our friends Pat and Joe many years ago. Pat is no longer with us and as I walked the streets in Old Town I remembered her laugh and what a fun time we had. Old Town felt pretty much the same, which I liked. Yes, there are new stores but the feel of the area remains the same. After getting my chai tea latte fix at Starbucks I was off to wonder through the shops and eating establishments. Old Town would be a great way to spend a day or weekend in the spring or summer when you are looking for something to do.
The next day I taught back to back drafting classes for a combined group of the Mount Vernon Quilters Unlimited and Burke Quilters Unlimited http://www.quiltersunlimited.org/burke.htm Each guild offered half of the seats to their members. As I have been traveling to different guilds sometimes the guilds are having trouble filling their workshops. The way these guilds worked together allowed them to split the costs and to fill their workshop. This might be something other guilds want to consider. It worked very well. I wish I had taken a before and after picture of this class. They worked so hard drafting pieced blocks in the morning and then designing applique blocks in the afternoon that they were glassy eyed by the end of the day. I almost felt sorry for them. I think they felt like their brains might explode! It was a lot of information in a fairly short amount of time.
After doing a lecture for the Burke Quilter’s Unlimited I was off to Ellicott City, Maryland. I decided to drive in the evening after the lecture instead of driving on the DC beltway with all the morning traffic. Even at 10pm there were lots of people driving on the beltway. Don’t these people ever sleep?
My next stop…..Faithful Circle Quilters in Columbia, Maryland. http://www.faithfulcirclequilters.com I love this group of ladies. This is….I think…my 4th trip to this guild over the past many years. If I lived closer I would join this guild. Lots of members offer to help me when I am pulling in my tons of stuff. When I drive I have the option of bringing a lot more stuff. Some of these ladies I know from visiting this guild before and several of them I know because they have been students in classes at Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, PA over the years. www.quiltodyssey.com
Sheva was my helper for this guild. Sheva has been a student before and is a very kind and generous person. She is an asset to her guild. They should vote her in to do this job forever. Don’t tell her I said that! She might want to retire from her position sometime.
The guild shared their raffle quilt with me. It’s it beautiful? If you are interested in purchasing a ticket for the quilt don’t wait too long. I think the raffle is the end of April. The link to their site again is http://www.faithfulcirclequilters.com
This fabulous quilt was designed by guild member Sheila Reiss.
