Sew Many Places

by Jim West

Traveling with a quilter's eye

Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought five years ago, that I would be sitting here at my computer writing for a professional quilting magazine, attending quilt markets and conventions in Houston, Paducah and Nashville, looking at quilts to see if the points are evenly lined up, and planning cruises and tours for quilters to travel all over the world. But I am, and I do, and it's happened, and what a journey it's been so far.

For this avid fisherman and former cruise director, who has finally learned the difference between a "bobber" and a "bobbin," the quilt industry has created an opportunity to explore destinations I never imagined. And to put all the spools of thread on the table, I've only sat in front of a sewing machine on one occasion, in a class taught by Libby Lehman. Funny, but my Threadplay looked nothing like her Threadplay. Nonetheless, it was Libby and we played, and I had a blast. So why, you ask, is someone with little or no quilting experience writing this column?

As quilting professionals, you have undoubtedly have either read about or experienced first-hand, the excitement of traveling to unique destinations with fellow quilters. These kind of trips provide both an opportunity to travel to fascinating places around the world, and at the same time, teach quilters more about their craft, either by the classes they take or by visiting special places that would educate them and enhance their quilting skills. And that's just what I do. I organize these kinds of cruises and tours for the quilt industry.

From what I have discovered, quilting trips started over 30 years ago, when the original travel guru, Doreen Speckman, took a group of quilters on one of the first quilting trips ever. Since then, dozens of others, including myself, have found a niche for ourselves in this market. And so with this column, it is my intention to take you on a travel adventure, incorporating quilting events around the world, tips and suggestions for enhancing your travel experience, and at the same time, introducing you to fabric shops and attractions in unique places that quilters might find interesting, educational and informative.

Case in point, my most recent quilting cruise to Europe, sponsored by McCall's Quilting Magazine. Traveling with dozens of quilters from all over the United States and Canada, was magazine editor, Beth Hayes, and special guest educator, author, designer and humorist, Ami Simms

One of the many goals we had for this cruise was to show quilters how to "travel with a quilter's eye," as we cruised and explored our way through regions of Italy, France and Spain. We started in Barcelona, which provided some of our group with an opportunity to see extraordinary architecture, stroll the famous Ramblas and dine in extraordinary restaurants to sample everything from paella to homemade desserts.

Our itinerary included stops in Naples, Rome and Florence in Italy, and Marseilles and Nice in France.

Both Marseilles and Nice provided our quilters with opportunities to not only enjoy the French countryside of Provence and participate on some enchanting shore excursions, but there were some charming fabric shops for exquisite colorful French fabrics. And shop we did! Needless to say, there will be a few more French provincial quilts on display in homes and in quilt shows this coming year.

In Rome we visited three of the four major basilicas, where we viewed the nearly 2000 year old Cosmati tile floors. These extraordinary mosaic designs showed quilt patterns that many in our group captured in photographs for future quilt ideas.

One of the real highlights of the cruise was our visit to the Renaissance city of Florence. I had arranged for our group to go on a private tour to see one of the oldest quilts ever documented, the Guicciardini Coverlet, dating back to the 1300's. It is currently being restored and will be on display for the general public next year. Specifically, this quilt is actually a wedding quilt that was split in half, with half remaining in Florence and the other half on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. We were granted special permission to see this quilt up-close and personal. A curator from this restoration museum provided an informative narration of it's history and the specifics about how it was being restored.

Think about it, it's not too often a quilter can say they've actually seen the oldest quilt in the world, have their photograph taken with it, and learn extraordinary information of how it's being restored.

These kinds of tours and cruises we provide with our company, especially for McCall's Quilting Magazine. They are unique, once in a lifetime experiences for those who participate.

The quilting community has more options than ever to travel with quilters to so many different places around the world. Beginning next year, Sew Many Places will be organizing and planning all the quilt tours and cruises for the American Quilting Society, as we travel to Indonesia for a "Batiking in Bali" tour. We are also planning for AQS, a "Paris in Springtime" tour, a special mother/daughter cruise in Canada and New England, as well as Caribbean cruise this coming winter.

Also on our list of trips, we will be traveling to Ireland with Pat Sloan, Alaska with Ricky Tims, Australia/New Zealand with Eleanor Burns, Europe and the Greek Islands with Kaye Wood and to dozens of other fantastic places all over the planet with many others.

Our China trip with McCall's Quilting Magazine and Kaye England, sold out very quickly this year, so we've scheduled another one for 2007. Think of how exciting it is going to be to visit markets where our quilters can purchase silk fabric for just a fraction of what they would pay in the United States. We'll actually visit a silk factory and see how the silk cocoon is washed, dyed and spun into fabric. Some of the highlights of this tour will be to walk on the Great Wall, take a leisurely stroll through the Forbidden City, enjoy a rickshaw ride in the old part of Beijing, and even be pampered with a one hour foot massage, all the while, traveling with fellow quilters in first-class style. These kinds of trips are truly once in a lifetime events, not to be missed.

I am in a business, like other travel organizations, where we have to rely on other companies to take care of our clients. The cruise lines we choose, the airlines we use, the hotels, bus companies, and guides all play an important part of the success of our tours. So it is imperative, when signing up for one of these tours, that the travel company you choose does their homework and has the background to ensure they are providing a first-rate product, matched by great customer service.

I am continuously learning more about the needs of quilters and what inspires them to produce the unique quilts they do. Hopefully, in providing them with an opportunity to travel to different places around the world, they will take the color and shapes of the landscapes, the architecture of the buildings, the fabrics they purchase in these special areas, and the dozens of other things that might activate their senses during a trip, and create a quilt based on all they've experienced through their quilter's eye.