Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Marina’s a blue ribbon winner and we were there

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON...Where were we? We were at the 2006 Pacific Northwest Quiltfest. And getting there was quite an adventure.

The adventure began when Gail and I found out that one of Marina’s quilts, Penny’s Bird Brooch, had been accepted into the Pacific Northwest Quiltfest in Seattle Washington. This is a juried and judged exhibition of the finest quilts from Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, The Northwest Territories, Oregon, Washington and The Yukon. Just having a quilt accepted for this show is quite an honor. Only 276 quilts out of over 500 entries were accepted.

So, now Gail and I wanted to go to Seattle with Marina to see her quilt hanging in the show. Plans were made for a quick trip up there for only one night, probably Friday.

Then Marina got an invitation to the awards ceremony .She had won a ribbon! But they wouldn’t tell her which award. So our plans changed to go there on Thursday so we could go to the ceremony and then on to a private showing of all the quilts.

We left for Seattle around 11am and after a stop in Olympia to pick up Marina’s friend from California we continued on our way. There was a lot of laughter as we got lost more than once finding our motel in Auburn. It was getting late and after a quick change of clothes we were on our way to the Seattle Center. It got later still because the traffic into Seattle was terrible! Gail got pretty vocal about all the crazy drivers.

So, we were on our way to get lost again! That Seattle Center is a big place and we had problems finding road signs. Then once we got there we couldn’t find any signs or people who knew were the awards ceremony was being held.

Of course, we finally found it and were really breathless when we got there. We had sent Marina and her friend Charlotte on ahead while Gail and I parked the car. Then Gail and I were really hoofing it. We were afraid we would miss the announcement of her award.

We did get there and had a front row seat. We were Marina’s cheering section when the award was announced. I even have a picture of a headless Marina doing a curtsey to us as we cheered for her. (She doesn’t remember doing the curtsey). She won $300 and a goody bag full of really nice gifts including fabric from In The Beginning and the Calico Cat and many notions. I wonder if her favorite notion will change now?

There were so many beautiful quilts at the show. The work in many of the quilts was unbelievable. We also saw Jean McDaniel’s colorful Heartstrings quilt in APNQ’s fifth invitational traveling exhibit. Seeing all these beautiful quilts made us all want to go home and work on out quilts.

After leaving the show we traveled quite a distance trying to find the Muckelshoot Casino located just 3 miles from our motel. Traffic was so bad and it was so late and we still needed some dinner. We knew that we could get food all night long at the casino. It was a really good choice. The food was plentiful and tasted really good.

The next morning we headed (the wrong way again) back to the casino for breakfast. Of course we had to stop at the Calico Cat a quilt shop in Auburn. It is a really nice shop and not too far off the freeway if you are up that way. I would make a special stop there again.

We finally got home about 10 pm, after making a quick stop at the Fabric Depot in Portland. Don’t ask Gail how to get there! She got really good a turning around during the two days!

We all had a wonderful time and were so proud of Marina. She is such a talented and creative quilter!

Congratulations again to Marina on her fantastic win and also to Jean for being invited to part of this great quilt show.