Daytona Day 1

After a wonderful breakfast of waffles and eggs, Aunt Gertie and Cousin Martha were ready to start their day. They were headed to the quilt shop in Deland. It was a little bit of  a drive but the girls were ready to enjoy some Florida weather. The sky was blue and the temperature was quite a bit warmer than they were used to.

This shop was a new shop for them. As they drove out of town Cousin Martha reached for the GPS to plug in the address. Unfortunately, they had been so excited about their day, they had left the hotel without the GPS. “Not a problem!” exclaimed Aunt Gertie. “Deland can’t be that large a town.” With that, they were off to explore.

As they approached town, it became clear that they were not going to be able to drive through town. It seems there was a Bike Week event going on in Deland. The roads downtown were all barricaded and bust with pedestrian traffic. Up for an adventure and some motorcycle excitement, they parked the car and walked towards the festivities. The streets were lined with vendor tents; motorcycle insurance, skimpy clothing, jewelry, riding jackets, helmets, t-shirts, all things motorcycle were available. There was a band playing loudly somewhere close by. The girls walked the streets talking, laughing shopping and watching the people walk by.

After a while they were ready to find the quilt shop. They had walked up and down the cross street but had not seen anything looking like a quilt shop. When Cousin Martha reached into her packet for the address, she came up empty. It seems the address was sitting on the dresser in the hotel room right next to the GPS. Nothing to do at this point but ask. All of the vendors in the tents were from out of town. They had no idea what a quilt shop even looked like. Finally they stopped in a pet shop to ask.

As they walked through the pet shop door, Gertie and Martha were greeted by a giant alligator. It was in a tank thankfully, but even a baby alligator can be a little startling when you get close. “That is a certain reminder that we are not in Kansas anymore Dorothy!” Aunt Gertie whispered. Alligators were not a common pet shop attraction at home. Gertie had spent a fair amount of time in the pet shops at home buying treats and toys to spoil her three little babies. She had expected dogs, cats, fish and maybe a ferret, not a reptile of this size. The gator was not for sale, thank goodness. Aunt Gertie stepped closer to take a look. As she gazed on the creature she thought, “The texture of his skin would sure make a nice fabric print. I can understand the lure of belts, bags and boots from the hides.”

Cousin Martha ignored the reptile and walked right up to the counter to ask for directions. “Quilt shop? What is a quilt shop?” they were asked. “There is a store that sells knick knacks and stuff on the other side of town…across Main Street. Maybe that’s the one you mean.”

“We have to walk that way anyway to get back to the car Auntie.” Martha commented. Out the door they went and down the street through the crowds of bikers. They walked past all the tents, down past the taverns and across Main Street. Just as it looked like they were running out of town…just as they were about to turn around…Aunt Gertie spotted a bright quilt is a small picture window. “That must be it! Over there Martha!” Gertie commented.

There are few things to match the thrill of a finding a new quilt shop. The promise of new fabrics, patterns and embellishments is sure to give every quilter goose bumps. Every quilt shop takes on some of the personality of the owner and employees. They choose the fabrics and patterns to make up a very individual offering. While quilter’s buy fabric and patterns, thread and embellishments to create marvelous quilts, table runners and throws, they also buy dreams. Most quilters have a closet full of fabric that holds dreams of quilts. Regardless of what the fabric closet at home contains, new fabric beckons with the promise of something even more beautiful than anything imagined before.

Aunt Gertie and Cousin Martha hurried across the street. They heard the angels singing as they opened the door.