Fellow Quilters,
Greetings from the happening city of Pigeon Forge TN! What is happening, you ask? “A Mountain Quiltfest” of course 😊 Yesterday was the first of 4 days of classes, and my students did an a-MAZE-ing job with their offset flying geese for their Panel Pizzazz quilts. Yay students!!! They all received gold stars. The equally amazing quilt show opens today, with so many spectacular quilts – I pity the judges. The show runs until Thursday and it’s free – yes, free! There are 47 vendors and many demonstrations each day – so much to see. If you are within 2-3 hours of here, I highly recommend a road trip with a quilting bestie or two. Pigeon Forge is nestled in the foothills of the popular Smoky Mountains National Park. The scenery is truly inspiring.
Mountains seem to be a recurring theme in my life these days. Hubby and I just returned from an epic cruise through the jaw-dropping fjords of Norway above the Arctic Circle. My photos cannot capture the impact of sailing through these narrow passages of towering snow-capped cliffs.
Geiranger Norway
The best ones were in the Geirangerfjord. I had booked a kayak excursion that was unfortunately cancelled due to inclement weather (quite cool and rainy), so I memorialized my missed adventure in this month’s entry for Quilt Block Mania. The theme this month is places and, of the 35 or so ports of call on our cruise, the Geirangerfjord topped my list.
My Geirangerfjord paper-pieced block
My block is a departure from my usual style – it is paper-pieced, with 11 sections. No worries, though, if you find paper-piecing daunting – these sections are fairly simple, and I included a link to an online tutorial that I found quite helpful. I completed the block by adding a canoe, though I contemplated trying to draw a cruise ship (my drawing skills are too rudimentary☹). You can find my Geirangerfjord (pronounced GUY-rang-er-fyord) pattern here.
Click on these links below to find the blocks from the 16 other participating designers this month, and thanks to Carolina at Always Expect Moore for hosting this fun monthly event:
Cruise Ship Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Beach by Inquiring Quilter
Rose Garden by Inflorescence
Glimpse of Home
Rainbow’s End by Sugar Sand Quilt Co.
Cabin in the Woods by QuiltFabricaion
Geirangerfjord by Patti’s Patchwork
New Mexico by Paleofish Designs
Lighthouse by Appliques Quilts and More
On the Lake by Crafty Staci
Welcome to Sunshine Village
Blue Hole by Sallys Sewing Circle
Welsh Castle at Flowerdog+Co
Are We There Yet? at Purple Moose Designs
Going to Ohio at Epida Studio
Beach Scene by Patchwork Breeze
House on the Hill by Robin Kinley Designs, Etc
Coffee Shop Quilt Block by Happy Hippie Studio
For 3 days, as we visited Honningsvag and Hammerfest, we were above the Arctic Circle, where the sun didn’t set. Here’s a photo from my balcony at 1am.
The land of the midnight sun
Surreal!
Of course, I was always on the lookout for local quilt shops and I found a must-visit shop in Trondheim. Quiltegarden shop owner Siw Elisabeth By gave me a tour of her lovely shop, chock full of pretty quilts and fabrics to entice quilters near and far. Her creative displays were fresh and inspiring, featuring everything from Japanese taupes to homespun yarn-dyes and linens to some FIGO basics and True Kisses! 
Shop owner Siw and I in Quiltegarden in Trondheim
Hubby patiently poked around while Siw and I talked shop.
Do you search out quilt shops on your vacations? Have you found a must-see shop? Drop a line in the comments to share your find. I’ll randomly draw a name from all those who leave a comment by midnight June 15th for a prize pack of FIGO fabrics. Good luck to you 😊
Cheers,
Patti
pattispatchwork-blog.com 
Just found “relatives” on my genealogy journey who immigrated from northeast of Trondheim.
Fun to explore your post about this quilt shop & it’s website. Also recently learned about Tilda fabrics and purchased some at a local quilt shop.
Know there are more of these fabrics at Quilt Shop Co-op near Mindekirken (the Norwegian church) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I see patterns online designed by Tilda–so charming.
Always fun to read your posts!
Yes
A little store in GreenAcres , Florida called “Quilt a Bit” , great people. Taught me introductory paper piecing💕
Hi Patti ! What an educational adventure! The scenery sounds breathtaking and the same for the quilt shops. Yes, I love to check out fabrics when on vacation and will buy locally designed fabrics to make a souvenir item! Recently made a road trip to Ottawa and bought all through the kawartha district!! Safe travels. Connie
I am sorry you couldn’t complete your trip. But it looks like you still got a lot our of it. Oh but I love to go to shops like this. Thanks so much for sharing your pictures and your block.
Always look for quilt fabric shops, no matter how small the town. I found one near home and within that shop, I discovered matching fabric to the sashing in the Dresden Plate top my dad’s grandma hand stitched for my parents wedding in 1944. With this grand find I was able to add borders, backing and prairie points. A long held UFO was presented to them on their 35 th wedding anniversary.
How wonderful that you got to see those amazing sights. I do love your quilt design.
What amazing adventures you have been experiencing! Our daughter is moving to Vietnam, so I will be checking out quilting fabric there!
Epic indeed! What a special trip to Norway! I had fun each summer going across the province collecting patterns during the Row by Row event. Even fun planning our route, and got to experience many new-to-me shops that way! Glad to see it’s returned, but I wish more shops were participating this year.