The Quilt Road I Have Travelled

I was looking back through old blog posts to see when and where I went to quilt shows.  I'm just including the big ones (all AQS) here.

August of 2007 was the first AQS show I attended.  Donna and I went to Nashville, TN.  The show was at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and it was amazing.  We stayed in a condo her sister had rented for her.  Donna's sister was in the travel industry at the time.  She has since passed away, so I'm sure that memory is very special to Donna also.  During the stay at the condo I worked on a quilt I named "Tennessee August".  It was very hot during that trip.

In April of 2008 I attended my first show in Paducah, KY.  We stayed in Marion, IL because we could not find a hotel any closer.

In April of 2009 I again went to Paducah.  This time we stayed at a Catholic Retreat Center in Golconda, IL, in a cabin.  Golconda is also an hour away from Paducah.  I worked on a wall hanging I named "Joseph's Tulips" during our stay.

I didn't go to the show in 2010 and believe me, around that time in April I was quite crabby!

In 2011 I was back in Paducah in April.  This time there was a flood and there was water everywhere!  We again stayed in Golconda, at the same cabins.

2012 was another year that I missed.  This time I didn't go because we were preparing the basement for the arrival of Gemma, my Nolting longarm machine.  It was an easy sacrifice to make.

2013 was the last year that Donna accompanied me to Paducah.  This was her 5th quilt show trip with me and we stayed in Marion, IL again.  This was the year we went to see Alex Anderson and Libby Lehman.  Libby had a massive stroke right after that performance.  Thankfully, she has made amazing strides in her recovery.  We saw them at the Carson Center.  I really like that venue.

2014 Mary, Marla and I headed to Paducah in April.  We stayed in Metropolis, IL, just 7 minutes away from Paducah.  This was the closest I had ever been able to stay when going to that show, and it was great.  This was Mary's first time in Paducah.  We each made blocks to exchange and put together a quilt top from them.  The blocks only had to be the same size, there were no set colors or patterns.  This was the first year I saw Ricky Tims perform (again at the Carson Center).

Last year, 2015, Mary and Marla again accompanied me to Paducah in April.  We stayed in Metropolis again, and we also did another block swap.  It was a simple 16 patch block, with no color restrictions, all to finish at 12".  That top is on Gemma right now, ready to be quilted.  We saw Ricky Tims again during that trip.

So that's my road trip to AQS diary so far.  In less than two weeks the next entry will be made!  I can hardly wait!