Last weekend I was lucky to participate in a special quilting weekend, on a lovely lake in the foothills here in Virginia. The sponsor/organizer was tithe Virginia Consortium of Quilters, a collection of quilters and guilds. This was my first time at this bi-annual activity, which is called VCQ Celebration, but it will surely not be my last time! I had such fun!
The event started Thursday afternoon. We had dinner, vendors, settling in, prizes, and other fun that evening. I got one of the really nice door prizes: a collection of 19 FQ. On Friday I took a Feathered Star Class from Marsha McCloskey. That night, she presented a lecture about blocks to the entire assembly .... about 170 participants. More prizes, more fun. We each chipped in one dollar and then a bunch of people won $10 certificates to use at any of the three vendors. (I won one!) On Saturday I took an easier class, Scrappy Days with Norma Campbell. I think my quilt will be really cool ..... jewel tone scraps with black background fabric. On Saturday evening we enjoyed a talk about fiber art to wear, by Lyric Kinard of NC. We each chipped in one FQ for another drawing, and I won ten assorted FQ! Drawing for door-prizes continued, so eventually everyone won one. There were a few 'big' prizes .... such as a floor stand Ott light, etc. On Sunday morning we did a show and tell of our class projects, and drawing for several 'basket raffles' .... for which we'd purchased tickets if we choose. Guess who won a basket of about 6 coordinated FQ and a pattern!! Woo Hoo!
During all this, we had some pretty good meals, lots of laughs, chocolate, and good fellowship. Since it was held at a 4-H Center, the cost was not too high. It was sort of like a college campus .... the rooms were plain but clean and comfortable. It was fun to get together with quilters from all over Virginia, and some from a few other states. I even got a supply of CHOCOLATE from an RCTQ friend!! Yep .... Alice came back to Virginia from Pennsylvania for the event. She and I have some mutual friends in my guild, so our paths cross now and then. On Thursday, several of us met up on the way to the Lake at an LQS to shop and enjoy lunch. Alice handed me a bag of EXCELLENT chocolate 'On Behalf of RCTQ!'
IF you get a chance to gather with quilters, don't pass it up! You will have more fun than you could imagine.