Quilt Walk Day 1

We're on our way to the small peaceful town of Panguitch for the 14th annual Quilt Walk. My chauffer knows the way because, one, he's a good driver and 2 we went last year. We followed this vintage trailer for a small amount of the trip. I wonder if she was a quilter and was going the same place we were. The Whitehouse on wheels or the GRDFRC1 as we now call it is an ideal place to live while your away. It has all the luxuries of home.

Just getting set up for the few days we will be spending here. The weather couldn't have been any better. It was gorgeous, but not real hot, yet.

Two of my classes were chosen last fall from many, many entrants. I submitted the Twister quilt and My Favorite Bag. Here I am the first day of class. Both of my classes were full day ones. 8:30 - 5:00 with a hour lunch break. Makes for a long day but sure worth it when you are sewing with such fun ladies. I really had some fun ladies in my classes. My classroom set up. I had taken a bag of goodies and bottled water for all of them. And we played quilt bingo during the day to break things up a bit. And of course there were prizes!

This is Crystal and her completed quilt. She came from Tooele to take my class. She was one speedy sewer.

These three sisters were a hoot. Janet (Las Vegas), Lisa (Dallas), and Christine (Denver). It was their first retreat ever and boy were they trying to get it all in. We had a good time getting to know each other.

Here's the whole gang. Back: Leslie(Cedar City), Karen(Cedar City), Dorothy(Cedar City), Myself, Cheryl(Salt Lake), Mary(Las Vegas), Janet, and Christine. Crystal and Lisa kneeling in front.

After Stuart picked me up we went to visit the new memorial they have put up in the Quilt Walk Park. It's a monument dedicated to the 7 walkers. It was dedicated last October. What a beautiful little park.

There are 7 benches around the park dedicated to each man and a little of his life history is included on top. Notice the quilt block in the cement pad.

The Quilt Walk Story revolves around the initial attempt to settle Panguitch, Utah in 1864. The first winter was brutal, food was scarce and the settlers were starving to death. A group of seven men, with a wagon pulled by two oxen, set out to get food from Parowan, 40 miles away.

In their weakened state the men struggled with every footstep, sinking up to their hips in the deep snow. Eventually they abandoned the wagon and oxen and continued on foot. As they held a prayer circle kneeling on a quilt, they discovered they did not sink in the snow. The men completed their journey by laying quilts over the deep snow and walking across them, retrieving their quilts and repeating the process over and over again. The story came to be known as the Quilt Walk and is treasured in the annals of Panguitch history.

During the weeks activities the city puts on a dinner show depicting the story of the seven brave men. They hold it at the Social Hall there across the street from the park.And of course after supper we had to hit the ice cream parlor, Scoops from the Past. It was a yummy treat. The homemade ice cream is made right there. A definate stop if you are going through town.

This post was getting kind of long so I will continue with Quilt Walk tomorrow.