An adventure with the Hi Desert Quilt Guild

Well this week’s trip was a true adventure. I taught a two- day free motion class to 18 students and also lectured to the Hi Desert Quilt Guild, a rousing guild! And surprise, surprise, I was invited to an 80th birthday party, plus I caught the first half of the local orchestra’s concert that featured youth talent. Wow, who knew? Traveling to teach and lecture holds its surprises.

The Hi Desert Guild is in Ridgecrest, CA, in the Mohave Desert and home to the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station. Interesting stats (these may be a bit off; I’m going from memory): Ridgecrest is 15% PhDs, 30% Masters, 40% Bachelors Degrees, mostly STEM. They are at the southeast tip of the Sierras and and about an hour from Death Valley and 2 hours from Bakersfield. It is not an easy place to get to as it is a ways from major highways.

Yes, it was 99 degrees my last day there.

It was a 420 mile drive each way for me, so almost 850 miles of driving, but I enjoyed the drive. The drive took me down 99 through the San Joaquin Valley which produces most of California’s produce. It started with grapes, then vegetables, citrus, and alfalfa as well as some dairy. It apparently is garlic season as there were many trucks loaded with garlic. Silly me, I wish they posted what crops were growing so that passerby would know. I used Google all the way there and back: OK Google, where am I now, what are the demographics of Ridgecrest, what does the China Basin Naval station do, etc. It’s like I had a Hubby with me! At one point Google told me I was on a street next to the Eiffel Tower!

A few sights:

I was driving “in the middle of nowhere” and all of a sudden I see this – Red Rock Canyon State Park which I had no idea existed.

These Bird of Paradise Bushes were common in the area. So pretty!

On to teaching and lecture. I did not take any photos at my lecture, but this guild gave me a warm welcome with great attendance and a strong reaction to the lecture. I then taught free motion in a two-day class with 18 students!

The class was held in the Historical USO building and there was this charming hat vignette in the ladies restroom. There were many more hats mounted on the wall; I found this delightful.

Some had left at this point, but the class was a mix of brand new beginners and some highly skilled quilters. I was thrilled with the progress of the newbies!! I love having full two days with new free motion quilters. I am thankful that the guild brought me in for 2 days.

I “split myself” when I realized what a great variance there was in the experience level of the class. I taught some more complex designs to the more experienced group while supporting the newer quilters. I wanted all to thrive and learn.

The one photo I thought to take during class. I love the “gather round” sessions where I show something that I want them to see close up. This is my ” Everything-Done-Wrong” quilt. We all learn more from seeing the results of imperfect work than we do from very skilled work.

Some of the work that I thought to take photos of; the experience level is from expert to beginnner:

I am sooooo very proud of what we accomplished over two days!

And I was invited to a birthday party for one of the guild members who was in class:

JoAnn turned 80! I want to look that good at 80. It was just a delightful gathering of grandchildren with friends, family and quilters. I was touched to be invited and truly enjoyed the camaraderie. JoAnn is a highly skilled art quilter and Hubby paints. Their home was filled with beauty.

One of the guild members was performing in that night’s community orchestra concert and invited me to that. So I went!

It was their “Young Artist Concert” which featured a young Cellist and a young Bass vocalist. I attended the first half as I needed to wind down and get some sleep for an early morning departure on Mother’s Day. The Concert was very well attended and it was sooo enjoyable. I have not been to an orchestral concert in years and it filled my soul. I played French Horn for many years and of course, performed many times myself. This was yet another unexpected joy.

Debbie (above) and Deanna did all the hard work to make this possible. Guild Program Chairs work hard!  I am grateful for all the two of them did to make my visit so pleasant.

I do love in-person visits. You go places you wouldn’t otherwise see and for a moment, immerse yourself in their world. I enjoy learning about other towns, the people that live there and what they like to do besides quilt!

I’ll be linking up:
Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday