A Great Little Trip!

My quilting buddy and I had a whirlwind two-day trip! We left early Friday morning with Shipshewana, IN as our destination. We both had shopping lists with us, but when we hit the quilt shops, we had a hard time sticking to those lists! Lots of things to tempt us. We certainly helped the Indiana economy as we filled our heads with new ideas and filled the car with lots of fabric! :) Friday evening we showed off our purchases as we met with some of my Fort Wayne quilting friends.
The Gathering of Quilters on Saturday was our real destination. There weren't the 1000 quilters that they were planning for, but there were over 600 quilters in attendance! The farthest one came from St. Louis, MO. It was a fun day--a chance to renew acquaintances, hear a great talk from Kaye England, do some more shopping of the vendors, and view quilts on display made by area quilters (including some great ones made by MEN!). From time to time during the day there were "bed turnings"--various quilt groups put together 10-12 quilts on a certain theme. The quilts were stacked on a bed. One-by-one they were held up from the bed and talked about. We especially enjoyed the one that featured 1920-1940 era quilts.
When it first began, the Gathering was meant to be a way for quilters in Northern Indiana/Southern Michigan to connect and share ideas. I was disappointed in the "sharing" aspect this year. Part of the day's activities were events like Show and Tell, Charm Square Exchange, and a Block Exchange. With over 600 quilters attending, I expected LOTS of show and tell. I took 2 quilts to show, but in all, I think fewer than 40 people had things to show! I am really into using charm squares right now, so I made up 8 packets of charm squares to exchange, excited to get a new variety of fabrics to use in my quilts. So few people brought charm squares to exchange that I came home with 5 of my own packets! And I saw very few blocks turned in for the block exchange. WHAT IS WITH THIS???? Was this event unique, or are quilters not SHARING these days??? I hope that is not the case, because sharing is a big part of what quilting is all about!!! Let me know your thoughts!
I'm off to sew...Carol