Blue Valley Quilters - Kansas

BJ's Blooming Dogwood

I had a great time with the Blue Valley Quilters Guild in Kansas.

I opted to drive so I could take more quilts.

It was a lovely drive, the further south I went, the more green I saw. There were red buds blooming amongst the lime green on spring tree buds.

I listened to an audio book and before you know it, I was there!

On arrival I was greeted with a warm welcome.
I met the guild board and we enjoyed delicious grilled steak dinner and all the trimmings.

Before I headed off to my hotel, I toured the colorful gardens of my hostess.

The flowers, trees and shrubs have the look of a master gardener at work.

I riot of color in the sea of green grass.

The hotel was newly opened and surrounded by wonderful restaurants and shopping.

After unloading all the bags (insurance doesn't allow them to be left in the car at night), I turned in for a peaceful nights rest.

The guild meets in the morning, so I was up bright and early.

Wagon Loads of Quit Guild Supplies

When I parked, I was greeted by several ladies unpacking their cars into these wonderful (and large) wagons.  I think there was a line of at least 15 wagons entering the building.

The wagons contain all the materials for numerous programs the guild supports; Quilts of Valor, Library, Charm & Block Exchanges, Sit & Sew, Programs, Charity Quilts, Quilt Show, New Member Support, Safe Home, UFO, Challenge (Plus + this year) and more!

Quilts waiting to be shown

The quilts for my program were lined up in chronological order, spanning 200 years of hexagon quilts. A few were hanging around the room on stands.

After the program, attendees could come up and look at the folded quilts on the table.

Speaking to the Guild

As I spoke about the quilts, volunteers held them up. Thank you volunteers!!



The Blue Valley Quilters Guild is a large active guild.  Some of my readers are not from the US, so I will explain the church and how the meetings are held.
In the USA, quilt guilds often rent space from schools, churches, libraries and other large facilities to hold their meetings, lectures and workshops. It this case, the meeting was held in the church common area, where there was  a small stage.

Waving hello to the guild

The meeting starts with all of the orders of business... announcements, committees reports, news etc.
Next is show and tell, where attendees bring their recent finishes to share with the group. They line up along the side of the room and take turns standing at the front, with the microphone, and tell about their quilt.
Next is break time - coffee, baked goods, lots of visiting all the committee tables, shopping and networking.

After my lecture and trunk show we packed up the quilts, re-arranged the tables, had lunch and unpacked the workshop supplies.

I forgot to get pictures until class was over!

This is Millie, who does very beautiful work.
She was one of several guests at the meeting.
The class was great and I'm looking forward to seeing their finished projects.

Now I'm home - to the tiniest tips of tulips, just starting. Quite a contrast to the lush Kansas gardens.
Looks like there will be no tulip blooms in my yard for Mother's Day this year.

Thank you again Blue Valley Quilters Guild, BJ's attention to detail and all of the enthusiastic guild attendees.

Have a great week!

Dawn
PS
Send me a note if your guild or shop is interested in booking a program with me.