Almost 4,000 kilometres and 8 States (New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland) later, I am back home. It’s been a fantastic trip. I can’t wait for the next road trip. This was a lot of fun. Here’s my route:

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Just a reminder, the deadline for the Lazy Days of Summer Photo Contest is tomorrow (August 31st). Please email me your submissions by then. I have several more to post, which I’ll get to in the next couple of days. Voting will start next weekend, and will last several days.

Have a great long weekend (if it is one where you are!).

Hi everyone …

Sorry the posts have been sparse of late, but wow did I ever have an amazing time at the AQS Nashville show. I have so much to tell you, and so many pictures to share, that I’ll get to them soon.

I’ve now moved from the hotel where the show was at, and am staying in downtown Nashville for the next two nights. There’s just so many things I still want to do here, I might as well do them while I’m in the area. I’m going to head out to the Smoky Mountains on Tuesday, then make my way up through Virgina, into Pennsylvania, then New York, and back into Canada.

I’m heading out to dinner in a few minutes, and to explore some of the downtown area of this great city.

I apologize to those that have submitted photos for the Lazy Days of Summer contest, I’ll get them posted just as soon as I can. I really did not anticipate being so incredibly busy at the AQS show, so I’m behind. Keep checking back, as there are many fabulous submissions. Keep them coming… we’ll have our own on-line quilt show!!

Did you see??? The Quilting Bloggers directory surpassed 1,500 members today! Wow!! This represents 45 different countries, 50 US States, and 7 Canadian provinces. In my wildest dreams I never thought it would grow so much and so quickly. Thank you to everyone that has helped spread the word.

Also, did you see the new section I added? The Quilt Shop Locator which will be a Google maps-based locator of quilt shops. Imagine this, you’re going on a road trip, and being able to click on the state, or province or country you’ll be visiting and see the quilt shops where you’ll be travelling. That’s the basic idea behind the Quilt Shop Locator site I’ve built. Let your LQS know, please, as I’m sure they’ll want to be listed, and listings are 50% off, during this introductory period.

More soon, now, I must go get some dinner, and explore this wonderful city of Nashville!

Michele

… New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky.

I’ve stopped about 30 minutes outside of Louisville for the night, and will continue on into Nashville tomorrow. I think I’m about 3 hours out.

Now to jump in the pool and grab some dinner.

More later, I’m hoping to post later on tonight the first round of submissions for the Lazy Days of Summer Contest, they are amazing!

I’ve been busy working on a new web site for my sister that we launched last night. It’s for daycare providers and parents in Durham Region, Ontario. If you live in the area, or know people that do, please visit. It’s an exciting venture for her and I wish her all the success in the world.

I’ve also been planning the finer details of my trip to Nashville. I’m leaving on Sunday, driving through northeastern New York, into Ohio where I’ll stay one night and explore Dutch/Amish country the next day, then head into Kentucky for another night, then continue on into Nashville arriving on Tuesday. If you know of any must stop and see quilt shops on the way, please let me know. I’ll have my cell phone with me, and my laptop, so if you want to get together drop me an email.

I’ve received 14 lovely submissions for the Lazy Days of Summer Photo Contest which I hope to post on the weekend before I leave. Note, you don’t have to be a member of the Quilting Bloggers directory to submit a photo, I think there was some confusion on this. It’s open to anyone. Keep those submissions coming!

I also have a new guest blogger to feature later this week, or early next week. And, I’m busy working on something very special for this site … to be revealed in the next couple of days.. stay tuned.

Oh, I do have a request for help … I’ve been waiting two months to get some black perle cotton size 12 from the local shop here. Apparently, they are the only place that has it in town, and guess what, they still don’t have it. Does anyone know where I can buy it in the US, perhaps a chain store, that I can stop at on my way. I’m bringing some pieces to hand blanket stitch for my niece’s quilt, and I’d really like to get working on them once I hit the road. Does Joanne’s sell it (I’ve never looked), or Michaels in the US? Do quilt shops normally carry it, just the ones I know about up here don’t?

Happy Quilting,
Michele

The Nashville AQS show will be in full swing one month from now, and I’ve already made my first purchase.

I was reading Pat Sloan’s July Newsletter on the weekend and she had featured this adorable pattern, Chubby Chicks along with her green Nikki fabric, that I just had to have. So I sent her off an email asking her if she’d mind bringing it to Nashville for me, saving me the shipping cost. No problem, it’s packed in her suitcase already.

I’ve had a few emails from other Quilting Bloggers that are interested in having a get-together in Nashville, either for coffee or drinks. If you’re interested, please post a comment below and let me know when the best day/time is for you to meet.

I’ll be there the entire festival time, so I’m pretty flexible. I posted a few weeks ago my schedule and places I’m hoping to visit. Many thanks to all who have sent emails regarding my trip, I’m overwhelmed with all the options. Visting so many States in one trip means a lot of planning.

It’s official, my first visit to an AQS Quilt Show has been booked … Nashville, here I come. I didn’t register for any actual quilting classes, but picked a few lectures and some touristy events. Here’s my list:

• The Quilter’s Link
  Tuesday, August 19, 7:00-8:00pm
• An Evening with Billie Lauder
  Wednesday, August 20, 7:00-8:30pm
• General Jackson Luncheon
  Thursday, August 21, 11:00am-3:00pm
• 200 Years of Quilts with Chris Moline
  Friday, August 22, 10:00-11:00am
• Scrapple with Donna Slater
  Saturday, August 23, 9:00-10:00am
• Quilter’s Fanfare
  Saturday, August 23, 1:00-3:00pm
• Grand Ole Opry – Saturday – 2nd Show
  Saturday, August 23, 9:00-11:00pm

I received my Nashville vacation guide in the mail yesterday, full of wonderful information on places to visit. Here are a few things that have caught my attention:

• Belle Meade Plantation
• Belmont Mansion
• Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art
• The Hermitage, Home of President Andrew Jackson
• Travellers Rest Plantation & Museum

How I’m actually getting to Nashville is still up in the air. Right now, I’m looking at driving and extending my mini-vacation to almost two weeks. If I drive, the tentative route will take me from Ottawa, crossing the border in upper west New York, making a slight detour from Google Maps to visit the far northwest Pennsylvania, though I haven’t determined what’s there worth visiting there yet, cutting diagonally across the entire state of Ohio (that state is huge), into Kentucky, then Tennessee.

Coming home would be a much longer drive as I want to hit North Carolina (maybe South?), West Virginia, Virginia (Richmond!!), scoot around to avoid Washington and Baltimore (I don’t see how to do that yet), and into Pennsylvania on the east side, stopping in Harrisburg, Allentown, Lancaster and Reading, up through Syracuse, and back to Canada.

I obviously need a better US map, which I’ll try to pick up this weekend. I’m open to trip planning ideas. Any special must-see places would be appreciated. Aside from quilting (obvious!), I’m into history, civil war specifically, gardens, life in the South, historical architecture.

Anyone want to share a room? I’ve booked into the Gaylord Opryland Resort for the entire conference, August 19th to 23rd. It’s a standard room with two queen beds. If anyone is interested in sharing, send me an email. I figure if I can cut my accommodation costs in 1/2 I’ll be able to buy more fabric and goodies. One thing though, I hate the cold, so if you’re the type that loves to have the air conditioner blasting, then we would not make good roommates.

As it gets closer, I’ll start a list of Who’s Attending Nashville page. If there’s enough interest, perhaps a Quilting Bloggers meet-up is in order one evening for drinks or a morning for breakfast. Thoughts?