This past weekend I traveled to Raleigh, NC for the North Carolina Quilt Symposium being held by the Capital Quilters Guild.
The symposium itself was terrific. It was well organized on Peace College Campus very close to downtown Raleigh.
As a non-degree alumni of UNCA, not I appreciate any campus that has cohesive architecture. Just in case you’ve never seen the post-modern building monstrosities of UNCA, rest assured that you’re not missing anything. Imagine unfinished concrete and you’ve pretty much got the jist of the new buildings on campus.
Unlike UNCA, Peace is a gorgeous campus with lots of red brickwork, lush gardens, and curving pathways. You can easily get lost in the variety of courtyards and hidden nooks and crannies the campus offers. Think “The Secret Garden” and you’ve got the right idea.
The show itself was beautiful as well. This is the first show I’ve attended where The Duchess has been ribboned and on display. She won 1st place large wall quilt in Mixed/other techniques. It was fabulous seeing the quilt among all the others and hearing some of the comments. Kind of made my head swell up a bit too!
I really liked that there were many hand quilted quilts competing as well. While I don’t hand quilt myself, it’s always nice to see that some quilters are still finishing their quilts with a simple needle and thread.
Unfortunately I only had 20 minutes to enjoy the show. I realized while going through it that I really need to set rules for myself when first going through a show.
I like to walk through completely alone with no one jabbering at me. I want the freedom to look and (if I have a glove on) touch and appreciate the work without passing any judgement. I find too often that spectators can be short sighted and too quick to judge with their comments. It’s better to go through alone and look with an unbiased eye and a closed mouth.
While my win at Symposium was wonderful, it was kind of dampened by the speeding ticket I received on the way there. Nothing can ruin a good mood faster than flashing lights, believe me!
The Duchess is heading to Ohio for the National Quilting Association show next week. I have hopes that it will do well and help me forget the mishaps in Raleigh. It’s such a true statement that you can’t have everything in life!
Leah
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