Speaking at the Mid-Valley Quilt Guild...and a Surprise Encounter with Treasure

My day in Salem, Oregon yesterday with the Mid-Valley Quilt Guild was really fun. They were a gracious and welcoming bunch of gals....little knowing that my two lectures to their guild were not only the first public speaking I have ever done, but it was the first guild meeting of any kind that I had ever attended!
My talk was "From Sane to Crazy"...and was about all the quilting "phases" I have gone through from the early 1970's until now: bed quilts, stained glass quilts, Broderie Perse, landscapes...and then how that prepared me for my work today in crazy quilting.
I brought scads of quilts from all these phases and often tossed them into the audience to pass around for them to see them up close. Evidently this is never done by lecturers...and I was told they really enjoyed that part.
I sold around 40 of my Jump Start Packs too...I am so glad some ladies were inspired to try crazy quilting.

The morning lecture was attended by around 140 people; the evening lecture had around 40 I think. I asked some of them to wave to you all here!

Some of them are checking out the details on a quilt after the morning lecture.

The guild assigned a wonderful lady to ferry me around during the afternoon between lectures, and asked if there was anything special I wanted to do.
Ask any CQer in a strange town that question and she will answer, "Are there any good sources for embellishments around here?"
So she took me to Jean's house.

O. M. G.

Jean is a guild member and had been at the morning lecture. Lucky for me she was amenable to my coming over and looking over a bit of her "collection". Jean has collected of all kinds of things for many decades, but one of her purposes was that she restored vintage clothing for classic car people...you know how they ride around in costumes authentic to the period of their cars. So she needed vintage laces, buttons, etc. Now she wants to start selling off what she won't be using. You can see where this is going.....
So as I sat in her home she started bringing out these boxes, and drawers, and baskets...and she said I was only scratching the surface of what she has. I will have to go back.

Jean, surrounded by the things she loves.

Here I am, trying not to hyperventilate and faint.

What I came away with.....Some interesting buttons, beads and trim. That linen in the background behind the yellow buttons is from the 19th century.

That thread is coated with real silver. I could tell because it was a little tarnished on the surface of the old tin spool. Hand tatted crosses and some '50's polyester trim that looks like rayon....

That pink ribbon is o-l-d...the green silk velvet ribbon gets my personal Best of Show award...

Well, maybe that gossamer French leaf lace, second up from the bottom, does....

Second up from the bottom here is some lace with rickrack attached to the edge. I had never seen that before and I love the effect.

I was instantly rewarded, I think, for stepping out of my comfort zone, accepting this speaking engagement, and giving it my very best shot. Karma is instant, sometimes! Treasure was showered upon me for what was essentially pennies...

Thanks again to the Guild and to my pals here online who have wished me well with my debut as a professional speaker. It all went fine....because the ladies were so nice!
But we all know quilters are the nicest people on the planet.....