I have just returned from the Quilters Companion tour to the USA with Michelle Marvig. What an amazing time we had sightseeing, shopping and forming lasting friendships.
We had many highlights throughout the tour including the International Quilt Study Centre in Lincoln , Nebraska with a special behind the scenes tour including showings of many antique quilts from the 1800’s, the American Textile History Museum in Lowell seeing many aspects of the textile industry along with a special exhibit of Mrs Betsy Bloomingdale’s collection of designer couture including Oscar de la Rente, Dior, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and many more fine designers, The New England Quilt Museum in Lowell with a stunning collection of Blue and White quilts from 1820 through 1880’s, The Shelbourne Museum in Vermont to see the fantastic collection of Quilts and historic houses throughout the complex and The Fine Arts Institute of Chicago were we viewed many famous Impressionists paintings by Monet, Renior, Van Gogh along with a large collection of American Art and textiles.
We also enjoyed our very special visits to local quilt shops including 3 in the Chicago area -The Quilt Basket located in Downers Grove, Pieceful Heart Fabrics in Lisle and an unexpected visit to Quiltfabric.com with a special thankyou to owner Chris for opening her store specially for our group visit, along with 2 stores near Burlington Vermont being Sew Many Treasures and Strawberry and Rhubarb, Norton House in Wilmington, the famous Keepsake Quilting store located in Centre Harbour, New Hampshire, The Cambridge Quilt shop near Harvard University Boston and our last shop near Houston Airport Its a Stitch in Humble. With the Aussie dolllar being nearly on par with US dollar majority of the group took advantage of this and shopped until our suitcases were so full we could no longer fit another item in!!
I also must mention the beautiful countryside of the New England area we travelled through was just breathtaking and stunningly beautiful. The colours of the trees – reds, oranges, yellows and browns were amazing.
We were very excited to arrive into Houston for the International Quilt Festival held at the George R. Brown convention centre. We are lucky enough to stay within walking distance of the convention centre.Our hotel also offered a shuttle service for those of us who were weary after long days shopping and attending workshops throughout Festival. Congratulations to Adelaide’s Rachelle Denneny for her winning Quilt entry. Good to see so many Australians attending and having Quilts on display at Houston. The American people we found very friendly and helpful which really made our tour very enjoyable.
Article written by Michelle Maher
If you are interested in more information on our Quilting and Patchwork tours please contact Travelrite on 1800 630 343 or see the latest Tours departing to the USA and Japan – details here.