Monday, November 22, 2010

women of wonder: my 5th mission - rediscover your community.

Of all my missions for the Rediscover Your Wonder project, this one is my favourite.  My mission was to "rediscover my community".  The question is, which community needed rediscovering? 

mothers
women
parents of children with Autism
the town where I live
bloggers
quilters
...and many more (tongue in cheek)

No offence to mothers, women, parents of kids with ASD, neighbours or bloggers, but I get a lot of you on a regular basis.  Quilting tends to be a solitary art form though, so it isn't often that I get to spend time with other people who love quilting as much, if not more, than I do.  My 2 favourite quilting stores are Regalitos Quilting Arts and Quiltology.  The last time I got to visit them was in May, so I took this opportunity to hit the road for a few days to rediscover my community of quilters.

I loaded my sewing machine and my quilting supplies into my car and hit the road.  First stop was Regalitos in Jackson, Michigan, where I got to hang out with Cindie for the afternoon while she put together 5 Christmas tree skirt kits for me (I'll blog about them, not to worry).  The next stop was Quiltology in Chicago (I also hit my favourite pizza joint Eduardo's which is just up the street).  Please excuse the choppy video I shot - I was clearly overwhelmed with excitement about being around "my people".


In addition to rediscovering my quilting community, I also rediscovered my "mid-west America" community.  I love the people who live in this part of the US.  They are friendly and welcoming and the salt of the earth.  Even though I was traveling alone, I didn't feel lonely for one single minute. 

I should add that I had planned to visit another quilting store in the Chicago area (QuiltFabric.com), but I spent all my money at Regalitos and Quiltology, so that will have to wait for my next trip!
Check out WonderBra.ca to see what the other Women of Wonder are up to!

8 comments:

  1. I won't think I'm not one of your favourite people when I don't get a skirt because I don't have a Christmas tree and hence will not have a skirt for it. I'm still secure in my position as one your favourite people! :)

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  2. Vanessa6:17 p.m.

    I can't sew in a straight line ... !! I'm not joking. Ask my family, they'll back me up! (mention the upside-down balloon shorts I made in grade 9 - no it wasn't on purpose)

    But as I said, even though I'm not into sewing at ALL, I absolutely love your quilting posts - the passion and joy you have is infectious! And your quilts are beautiful.

    Keep 'em coming!

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  3. @Jennifer...uh...do you want a table topper?

    @Vanessa - glad you enjoy them - I love writing them.

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  4. Can you make a skirt for a mini (3 foot) tree? That's what we have to have to keep it high enough to be out of reach for the pets.

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  5. hmmm...how about I just make you a regular skirt and you can turn it under to make it small enough. Then when you get a real tree you'll have a tree skirt ;-)

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  6. Yes, "LaLa Fabric Land..." I too could spend days and nights in many a quilting shop! There is one particular shop in Grayling, MI that just took my breathe away. In Sitka, Alaska, all us nurses became such "Quiltoholics" that we spent most of our lunch breaks at the quilt store Just hoping new fabric would be shipped in from the "South." I know you like your kits, but there is also another thrill with choosing your own colors and patterns and cutting the strips just so. I saw everything as a potential 3-D overall quilt. Whatever stage it is (except for the actual quilting -ooh... but then Machine Quilting can be fun to music - give it another try Kat...) You inspire me...

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  7. I can only dream of the day! (except not to wistfully because I like all these animals a whole lot :)

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  8. I bet I can modify the pattern and make a smaller one. Let me figure something out ;-)

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