Today I pointed my wheels north on I-15 out of Great Falls and drove about 85 miles to Valier. Valier sits about 14 miles west of the interstate amid some amazing cropland. My reason for going was the Triangle Squares Quilt Guild party for quilters from many miles away.
The Quilt Party was at the Valier High School and when I turned toward the school I knew right away that it was a huge turnout. Cars lined the streets for several blocks. I parked and did a little research while I walked to the school. It’s always interesting to check license plates to see where everyone is from. Of course there were lots of Montanans from pretty much all over the state. But, there were many of our good neighbors from across the border in Canada.
I sat with three ladies from Lethbridge during lunch. I didn’t hear a final attendance count, just that it had topped 200. Now, let’s put this in perspective. Valier has a population of about 475 people and they were hosting over 200 visitors. Very amazing!
I need to fess up – I am not a quilter! A friend had invited me saying I’d enjoy the speakers, the vendor show, the many quilts displayed and a good lunch. All was true! Perhaps most interesting was seeing the passion these gals (some guys too) had for quilting. Passion, perhaps obsession, whatever they had was definitely apparent as I walked around the rooms.
They all seemed to have a little quilt-speak in them. Words and phrases I had never heard before like “sashing strips”, “flying geese” and “scramble settings” were flowing off tongues and I decided it was best to just listen in.
Vendors had many quilts displayed, fabric to purchase, patterns for sale, etc. Quilting clubs told about their community service projects and there were other speakers, plus entertainment. These folks know how to throw a party!
The Quilt Party gathering is an annual event and several communities take turns hosting it. It was a fun day and I think, maybe, I could get in to this stuff! I always say I don’t have time to do quilting but the people I talked with all sounded pretty busy with other things too. Maybe, just maybe, there’s a simple pattern out there for me to use for quilt number one!