Wednesday, 5 June 2013

USA Road Trip / USA Quilt Shop Hop

May 2013 Progress - Nearly Insane Quilt
May 2013 Progress - Nearly Insane Quilt
You may have been wondering why I have been so quiet lately. As if my quilt adventure to the Dear Jane 150th Exhibition in Nantes, France, wasn't enough, for the past few weeks I have been on another Quilt Adventure.  We have been away from the UK, on a Road Trip in the USA.  The majority of the trip was in a hired RV (campervan) touring the West Coast in California, travelling up Highway 1, across to the Gold Country, visiting the National Parks (Yosemite, Death Valley), with an excursion to Las Vegas and Kansas thrown in. Our van at home is half the size of this, but this was the smallest we could find to hire!
Quilt Road Trip at Carpinteria, California
The Quilt Road Trip stopping at Roxanne's Quilt Shop, Carpinteria, California
It works out like this. We enjoy driving and touring around.  We get to see new places, and I get to do my hand stitching - but how to decide where to stop on the route? Quilt shops naturally.  So over the past few weeks, as we have been doing our sightseeing, I have been busily stitching my Nearly Insane Quilt blocks, as well as keeping up with the cornerstones and sashing, with plenty of breaks at quilt shops, building up my stash along the way.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of quilt shops in the UK, but let's put things in perspective.  The current exchange rate between US dollars and GB Pounds means that in the UK you would normally pay between £9.99 - £13.99 for a metre of fabric, which is equivalent to $15.29 - $21.41.  In the US you pay between $8.99 - $12.99 (+ Sales Tax) for a yard of fabric (which is about 9cm / 3.5 inches shorter than a metre), which works out about £6.33 - £9.16.  Throw in a 30% Memorial Day Sale, and it works out about £4.43 - £6.41 a yard. Happy Days!

You can see above the Nearly Insane blocks I managed to complete on my journey, and in the next few posts I will keep you up to date with that progress, and some of the great shops I visited along the way.

Joining Up with Freshly Pieced

 
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9 comments:

  1. JoAnne5 June 2013 at 13:29

    Goodness, what fun! You should have warned some of your blog friends who live here in the US and maybe we could have met. I'm on the East Coast, though, so it wouldn't have worked for me...

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  2. Karen - Quilts...etc.5 June 2013 at 13:42

    we have an RV smaller than the one you show also and love it. When we travel I hit the quilt shops too as I have none at home. Sometime you need to tour the rocky mountain area from north to south it is wonderful.

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  3. Sarah5 June 2013 at 14:34

    I hope you brought a spare suitcase so you can bring your new stash home. At that price difference I hope you bought a ton! I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.

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  4. Tanyia5 June 2013 at 14:36

    ummm, wow, what an amazing trip! I would love getting to see so much of the country and all the quilt shops along the way, Enjoy!

    I am stopping by from the WIP hop, hop on by if you can! http://domesticdeficitdisorder.blogspot.com/2013/06/wip-wednesday-june-4th-edition.html

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  5. Renee5 June 2013 at 15:08

    Oh yeah, I would totally be stocking up too!! What a fun trip! Love the block, it looks like your quilt is going to be stunning!

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  6. marcella5 June 2013 at 15:37

    What a fun adventure. The Nearly Insane quilt has been on my "to do someday" list for a very long time. Your blocks look so good!

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  7. Lyanna L.5 June 2013 at 15:49

    What a fun trip, I'm jealous!! Also your blocks look fantastic =)

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  8. Anonymous5 June 2013 at 16:24

    Your trip sounds wonderful- and how much fun to have an exchange rate working in your favor!

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  9. Sara6 June 2013 at 03:20

    That sounds like a lovely way to travel! Stopping at quilt shops and stitching along the way--marvelous!!

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