Where Quilters Gather

The 20th Thornton Thimblers Quilt Bee blew me away!  I have so many things to write about that wonderful weekend that I don't know where to start...but I DO know that it is the material for many blog entries, not just one.

I thought I'd start with a quick overview of the weekend.  We:

• ate very well
• quilted a lot--decorating our dresses may have been the most fun we've spent on a quilt block
• shopped a teeny tiny bit (seriously, it surprised us too)
• paid tribute to my mother who started this whole thing
• hosted a quilt show with many in attendance, all in awe of our prolific creations
• loved each other
• laughed a lot
• cried some
• remembered Emma Lucille Thornton (I broke down after the drawing because we couldn't call her, I knew I would but the intensity of it surprised me nonetheless)
• played games...can't forget the games
• had our fortune told
• listened to some of the loudest cicadas, crickets, or other insects I've ever heard
• read stories
• received the latest Betty Thornton Tand book hot off the presses (FUN!)

Today's picture is the grand prize in my "yellow elephant": Save the Best for Last.  It is a cross stitch design by Victoria Sampler that has a group of women quilting under a flowering arbor.  They sit atop a quilt of 25 squares with flower borders and a lace trimming at the bottom.  Carolyn won and said she was "in awe" which made me feel awesome.  

This design sums up the quilt bee to me: Where Quilters Gather Friendships Blossom.  I cannot think of a better way to spend a weekend each summer.  It's such a wonderful tradition we have.  Hearing everyone exclaim over it at the quilt show cemented what I already knew:  We have something very very special in our Thornton Thimblers Quilt Bee and I'm honored to be part of it!