The Day That Was Heavenly For Me

As we were talking about our trip, I pulled up Google Maps (I hardly look at a paper map anymore) to look at what our route would be. I noticed that Paducah, Kentucky wasn't terribly far out of the way.

Why was I interested in that town? Why, because it has The National Quilt Museum! I have read and heard about Paducah for years. In addition to the museum, Paducah hosts a huge quilt show in the spring. I read somewhere that 40,000 people show up for it.

We drove to Paducah Tuesday night of our vacation. Wednesday we got up and had a yummy breakfast at Chick-fil-a. Such a great place. The food is good (I can eat chicken in any form) and the service is impeccable.

We headed for the quilt museum and ended up spending almost three hours there.

I was excited to go in. Sadly, no pictures are allowed. And I didn't cheat. There were several different exhibits. One was of very modern art-type quilts. Not quite my taste.

In another area had miniature quilts. One quilt was about 18" square and had 7,000 pieces in it. Crazy. Another of my favorite miniature quilt was 20" square. The border had tiny Dancing Dollies that were about 2.5" across the bottom. Go to this blog post to see the quilt I made with Dancing Dollies. I just loved it. I wish I had a photo of it.

Another area was showcasing quilts that have won awards. Wow! Those were fantastic. Way over my ability.

My favorite exhibit was of a quilter who had collected old quilt blocks and reconstructed them into new quilts. It was very fascinating. If you go to the National Quilt Museum's website to this link, scroll down and you can see some of the quilts. The exhibit is called Blending the Old and the New.
I think one reason I was so intrigued with the exhibit is because I have quite a few old quilt blocks that my grandmother made. She passed away in 1963 and I never really knew her. I want to figure out some way to use those old blocks some day.

Hubby even enjoyed the museum. It was fun to look through it with him.

After lunch, we headed to a store called Hancock's of Paducah.  I've heard of this place for a long time. This is a fabric store with bolts of fabric as far as the eye can see. Behold:::

This picture doesn't do it justice. There are thousands and thousands bolts of fabric. That doesn't even include the pre-cuts and kits they offer. And the home decor fabric. After I had been in the store for and hour Hubby (who was taking a nap in the car) texted me and asked me if I was having fun. My response was:

Oh. My. Goodness. You'll have to some in just to see it all.

It was just heavenly. I think I was in there for close to two hours. There was just no way I could not walk up and down every single aisle and look at everything I possibly could. It was heavenly. :)

I am so glad we made a day stop in Paducah. And I and thankful for my hubby's patience with my obsession interest in all things quilting. He's quite the guy.