A "Quilty" Visit to Rothenburg

Moving to a new place and making new friends can be daunting. I (Kara) was pretty nervous about how I would connect with people—in not just a new place, but a new country. Had it not been for the kindness of the Black Forest Quilt Guild and some of their members, I might have become a stitching hermit! In a previous post, Welcome to Germany: Quilter's Style, I shared how I was welcomed to BFQG with open arms. The welcome extended outside of guild meetings: from stitching visits in homes to a field trip to the Zwiegart store and factory to purchase threads for my Academy block. Most recently, some of the guild ladies invited me to Rothenberg ob der Tauber for a visit to a quilt shop there. Of course, I said yes!

Our view as we entered through one of the city gates.

I had heard that Rothenburg was a must see while we were living here, and the fact that it had a quilt shop made this field trip even better. The day started out a little cloudy, but by the time we got there the clouds were moving out and we were ready to shop.

Our fabric shopping shoes are on!

As we entered through one of the gates in the wall, the quilt shop was one of the first shops we saw. It is unmistakably a quilt shop, and the outside displays were so charming that even if you didn't quilt, you would want to go through the door just to see what was inside.

Der Patchwork Engel

While the shop is small, the owners have made the most of the space, with enough different fabrics to satisfy many tastes. Der Patchwork Engel, or The Patchwork Angel in English, was filled with fabric, patterns, and samples. It even included a display of Traditional German fabric.

This shelf was full of not only German fabrics,
but all sorts of small purses, pouches, and
 tissue holders as well.

Lots of different fabrics and patterns to choose from!

The cutting counter and some lovely
reproduction fabrics

When asked to go on this trip, I thought the quilt shop would be all there was to see, but I was pleasantly surprised when I realized how much more there was to Rothenburg. It is a quintessential, medieval, German town and is one of the few towns left with the encircling wall still intact. If you never stepped foot in any of the shops or restaurants, just walking the streets would be a treat for the eyes.

The well-preserved buildings will transport you back in time.

A quaint timbered house

The town center

A cottage straight out of a fairy tale!

There was more shopping to be done, so we made our way in and out of many of the shops. Never one to miss an antique store, I led the charge into a little shop we found. I only bought a few doilies to add to my collection, but was tempted by a few other things.

Lederhosen anyone?

A sweet sewing box.

Still filled with treasure!

In and out of the shops we wandered, stopping whenever something caught our eye. Lace, chocolate, dirndls; there was so much to see!

Beautiful lace trim found in a linens shop.

I didn't adequately capture the scale of
this giant bag of Lindt truffles!

A dirndl to go with the lederhosen

Another dirndl option!

Rothenburg wouldn't be complete without the German, Käthe Wohlfahrt, Christmas store. This store has all things Christmas for every person's taste and wallet. Upon entering, you follow a path similar to Ikea, that leads you through beautiful Christmas displays.

The Christmas village.

All too soon, it was time to head back and leave this stunningly beautiful town. I fell in love with its charm and beauty, and I thought it would be wonderful to show it to our soon-to-be-visiting friends. I wish I had read Rick Steves' review of Rothenburg; especially the part that tells you to put the full name, "Rothenburg ob der Tauber," in your GPS. There are quite a few Rothenburgs in Germany, and if you don't enter the right one, you will find yourself in a completely different Rothenburg than the one you were intending to visit. Had I read that before the road trip we took with our friends recently, I wouldn't have had to tell my husband that we had just driven two hours in the wrong direction! 

I will come back Rothenburg

Welcome to Germany: Quilter's Style

The sum total of my stitching choices while I wait
for my sewing room to arrive.

As we told you in our post "Going Global," I (Kara) have moved to Germany! We found out that we would be moving here last October—two days before Teri and I left for Quilt Market in Houston. I waited to tell Teri that it was official until we had arrived at our hotel, and she was sitting down with coffee in hand (wine would have been better, but it was only ten in the morning). She took the news well, and we proceeded to enjoy all the wonder that is Quilt Market and Quilt Festival. I was told so many times in that week, "You had better stock up on fabric, because it is so expensive in Europe." So for that week and up until we left, I took those words as a personal challenge and built up my stash. My stash is currently on a boat, working its way to me, and unfortunately, I don't expect to see it until the beginning of August. I did pack my Academy of Appliqué 2018 block, a crazy quilt project, and an English paper piecing project, but that is all the "quilty" stuff I have.

We have been living in a hotel for about three weeks now, and while stitching on the above projects is fun, I was definitely craving some quilter companionship. Thankfully, the Black Forest Quilt Guild had their monthly meeting the last Friday in June. My new friends—Birgit, Lisa, and Becky (thank you Facebook)—let me know the place and time and off I went to the meeting, driving by myself for the first time.

The guild meeting is held monthly in a community center very near our hotel. I was a bit early, but I was warmly greeted by those who were there. The guild, almost 20 years old, is made up of ID card holders (military and civilian) from the Stuttgart area, as well as residents of the greater Stuttgart area. 

A view of the library table

A beautiful hall to host the guild meeting

The guild began with a little business first, and then a lovely program about traveling with various quilt projects. The speaker brought quite a few handy items—such as bags, tools, patterns for bags, and many tips and tricks. 

The speaker (on the right) sharing some of her quilting travel trips.
Because this is a German/American guild, both languages are represented,
so this presentation was given in English and interpreted in German.

Then some of the members showed their favorite quilt projects for travel. One project that someone brought was a quilt done in the Japanese fabric folding method, atarashii. I had never seen this method before, and it is a bit difficult to find much about it on the web, but it is beautiful and very portable. You can see some tutorials here and here, but you must use Google translate, unless you are fluent in German. I was fascinated by this method and can't wait to give it a try.

I love the color choices!

Demonstrating some of the prep work.

Sharing this method's portability.

Each piece is quilted individually, so there is no need for quilting once
all the pieces are connected.

After the presentation and a break, it was time for Show and Tell. The quilts that members showed varied in size, style, and method, but they were all wonderful. I didn't get pictures of all but here are a few. Note: While the hall was beautiful, the lighting was not the best for taking pictures.

As part of the travel theme, members were asked to bring quilts,
 if they had them, about travel. 

This quilt with mini campers was adorable.

Many of the places visited during this quilter's time in Germany,
are represented in this quilt.

This quilt represents a visit to the northern part of the U.S.

Another gorgeous quilt highlighting places that were visited. 

This beautiful quilt was made from different shirtings.

A T-shirt quilt made for her husband.

This quilt was made for a close friend. Wouldn't you be thrilled to receive this?!

My new friend Birgit and a child's quilt she made.

She cut out and quilted some of the individual
panels to create a memory game.

The green in this quilt started life as a tablecloth.

A sweet child's quilt, lovingly made.

This quilt is stunning in person!!

A patchwork garden

A beautifully done Bonnie Hunter pattern.

This guild does two different block of the month projects each month. Those who want to participate, make the block for that month—either modern or traditional—and then they have a chance to win all the blocks. 

The traditional June BOM.

The modern June BOM.

Someday, when my ship comes in (meaning the boat that is carrying my sewing machine), I will definitely take part in these fun blocks and all the other exciting activities this guild offers. They even let you ask for a block to be made by fellow members, to commemorate a birthday, farewell, or other special event. One lady asked for a birthday block, and passed out materials and guidelines for the block. I will share more on that in another post.

The Black Forest Quilt Guild has been one of the most welcoming guilds that I have been privileged to attend. It proves my theory that quilters are some of the nicest people, no matter where you are in the world. I am looking forward to jumping right in with both feet and a sewing needle! Hopefully you have enjoyed reading about a guild on this side of the world, and if you have a special story about your guild, please let us know!