Women and men of all ages and from several continents  descended on the Marriot Hotel and Conference Centre in Naperville IL for a week of fun and quilting experiences. This is the second such cocoon in the USA and I’m certain there will be more very soon.

There is something to say about an event that has four top Tutors teaching  their own Quilting Genre. The students each spend a day in the class and the rooms were opened each night for extra sewing thanks to the generosity of the sewing machine facilitator Scott of Sew and Vac in Florida. We had brand new top of the line machines which made it very easy for the Tutors and students alike. Each Tutor generally has a custom designed class where the project teaches you their specialty.  Of course you will do more when you get home, but the secret is to learn something different from the person who has designed that amazing quilting technique.

The hotel was a great venue, and it has some of the best classrooms I’ve ever used. The classes are kept small so that each student get individual attention.

These old metal cases added a nice touch to the decoration of the sitting  room… I love the idea and I’m taking it home with me.

Each lunch time one of the Tutors gave a small presentation.

Pepper Cory, excited us with her beautiful vintage quilts and their modern counterparts at the first lunch lecture.

Then it was Mark Sherman’s turn and he made us smile with the story of his honest journey on his way to becoming one of our best Male Quilters. His quilts are stunning.

Bonnie Hunter shared her quilts and the quilts of previous classes in her lecture. They were just beautiful. I didn’t take the camera down on that day sadly, but she has them up on her blog.

This is some of the work of one of my dear ladies.

Dinners, time on your own and  camaraderie with other students. Tutors spent down time with their students over drinks and dinners and several people said it was a  life changing event.

“I didn’t think I could do that” said many students and yet… they all went home enthused.

One evening function was a silent auction and this signed piece from Pepper reached a grand figure after some desperate bidding.

And the winner was happy.

Kaye England overheard one of the students mention that she was a Vietnam vet.

The wheels sprang into motion and in just a few hours a Quilt of Valor was on its way with Rita Pennington, who is the Land of Lincoln coordinator for Quilts of Valor here in Illinois.

Rosemary Dawes was the recipient and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as she was surprised during one of our evening events. I made a small video and I’m happy for you to share it with other vets and indeed your quilting community.

So there you are. I didn’t do a blog while I was there, to be honest, it was such a spectacular event I wanted to wait and do it justice.

I hope you enjoy the journey with us and join us on the next