The Quilt Gathering began in Autumn 2001 and was held at Aunt Jo's house in Omak, WA. Relatives from all over Washington, Orego,n and Idaho were in attendance!
Everyone was encouraged to bring projects to show & tell and also projects to work on. The project Bobbi brought along was a beautiful, dark green, full circle cloak for her husband Tom. Both Mary Jo and Melissa Becker had projects in process to share, including quilts and wall hangings and knitting. Jean also brought knitting projects along to work on and shared a completed project or two. Jennifer's contribution to the event (who is not as "fiberly-afflicted" as others in the family tree -- you know who you are!) changed out a radiator in the car Joan had arrived in. A special thank you for those of you that cued Jennifer when to respond with "ooOOOooo aaAAAhhhh Hoffman print" whenever appropriate so she could contribute to conversation from time to time. There were door prizes and trivia questions and food, food, food!
Faces showed curiousity and concern when the "Musical Fat Quarters" game began, however by the time the music stopped there was unbridled laughter and fabric covering the floor. The funniest part was at the end Aunt Judy and Aunt Mary both had ahold of the same fat quarter and were laughing hysterically as they both tried to take the only seat left! :-)
This first year, the group journeyed to downtown Omak to visit Needlelyn Time. The phrase "like kids in a candy shop" is very appropriate to describe Aunt Jo and Aunt Mary at the Penny Candy bin!
The project tackled for this gathering was a quilt for Uncle Lyle. Every other block was fabric with a blue sky background with airplanes in it and the other alternating blocks each had the signature of one of the women in our family that cared for, loved and adored our Uncle Lyle. This project was coordinated and completed by Aunt Jo. Thank you so much, Aunt Jo! What a wonderful first project.
A very special thank you to Aunt Jo for beginning The Quilt Gathering.
She began this new family tradition for us all to enjoy and in memory of Grandma Linn 1913-1999, opening her home and her heart to help bring us back together. A great way to continue Grandma Linn's quilting legacy.
