My mom called me from New York where she lived and out of the clear blue sky said, "What if we both meet in Nashville and go to the AQS quilt show? It looks really fun!"
We both went to the website while we were still talking on the phone and started surfing through the pages about the show. There were classes, it was a big show, lots of vendors and the hotel looked amazing.
I really wanted to say yes but thought I should see my husband's reaction after all I would be leaving our kids (then 6 and 9) with him for several days.
Confession time....I had never EVER left my kids. So running it by my husband I wasn't asking for permission, I was asking for confidence! They were fine leaving me and they had no problem with me leaving but I was nervous. Going somewhere without them even for an afternoon still felt wrong, like I had left my purse somewhere.
My husband, who somehow has understood my fundamental NEED for my children since they were babies, assured me that I should go, they would be fine- and so would I. And I believed him, because I know that he knows me, and I said YES!
I was going to Nashville.
Back on the phone with my mom... What classes would we take? Should we go to the Grand Ole Opry field trip? We were able to get into all our chosen classes and reserved our hotel room.
August arrived at the usual time and soon it was time for the show. It was challenging to pack all the supplies for the classes we had registered for in my bag, so much to remember and pack.
The hotel was the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville and boy was it amazing. It was so big and sprawling you could easily get lost. We had to leave 30 minutes early for our classes for walking time and a little cushion for getting lost at least for the first few days! Everywhere we went to eat had fantastic food. There was shopping, entertainment and we never left the hotel-- nor had we any desire to for our whole 5 day stay.
Most memorable about this trip-
1. Mom winning some nice scissors in a drawing from one of the vendors.
2. Learning my favorite binding method (which I still use on nearly every quilt) from Cathy Wierzbicki who taught her pattern seen at the left here and who was JUST out of the hospital from having her appendix removed!
3. Learning that not all BRILLIANT quilters are brilliant teachers.
4. DaVine the lady dressed up like a plant who "performed" in the atriums of the hotel and who totally freaked us out a few times because she looked so much like a plant you could be right beside her and not know it!
5. I liked long arming and it wasn't as hard as I had thought it was going to be.
We both went to the website while we were still talking on the phone and started surfing through the pages about the show. There were classes, it was a big show, lots of vendors and the hotel looked amazing.
I really wanted to say yes but thought I should see my husband's reaction after all I would be leaving our kids (then 6 and 9) with him for several days.
Confession time....I had never EVER left my kids. So running it by my husband I wasn't asking for permission, I was asking for confidence! They were fine leaving me and they had no problem with me leaving but I was nervous. Going somewhere without them even for an afternoon still felt wrong, like I had left my purse somewhere.
My husband, who somehow has understood my fundamental NEED for my children since they were babies, assured me that I should go, they would be fine- and so would I. And I believed him, because I know that he knows me, and I said YES!
I was going to Nashville.
Back on the phone with my mom... What classes would we take? Should we go to the Grand Ole Opry field trip? We were able to get into all our chosen classes and reserved our hotel room.
August arrived at the usual time and soon it was time for the show. It was challenging to pack all the supplies for the classes we had registered for in my bag, so much to remember and pack.
The hotel was the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville and boy was it amazing. It was so big and sprawling you could easily get lost. We had to leave 30 minutes early for our classes for walking time and a little cushion for getting lost at least for the first few days! Everywhere we went to eat had fantastic food. There was shopping, entertainment and we never left the hotel-- nor had we any desire to for our whole 5 day stay.
Most memorable about this trip-
1. Mom winning some nice scissors in a drawing from one of the vendors.
2. Learning my favorite binding method (which I still use on nearly every quilt) from Cathy Wierzbicki who taught her pattern seen at the left here and who was JUST out of the hospital from having her appendix removed! 3. Learning that not all BRILLIANT quilters are brilliant teachers.
4. DaVine the lady dressed up like a plant who "performed" in the atriums of the hotel and who totally freaked us out a few times because she looked so much like a plant you could be right beside her and not know it!5. I liked long arming and it wasn't as hard as I had thought it was going to be.
6. You should pack an extra bag when you go to a quilt show because you'll need it to bring home all your purchases.
7. Our favorite classes were technique classes and my favorite was this one for Trapunto by Machine with Paula Reid (who does Alex Anderson's machine quilting we learned)
Detail shot:
I had used my hand dyed fabric for this not knowing you can see the trapunto better on light fabric but I thought it looked more like "me" anyway this way!
8. Meeting Kate, another homeschooling mom, in our very first class and someone we've kept in touch with since! She's a hoot.
I was happy to see my kids again AND happy I had taken the trip. I could not wait to try all the things I had learned in the classes! I was really energized and fired up to quilt.
Great Times! My most favorite part was having mom/daughter time for a uninterrupted few days.
ReplyDeleteMe too mom!
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