How things change in the space of time

See what one needs is...

A mentor.

A real one. Not the bus tossing kind, but someone with real wisdom and grace that will make the time to answer a million questions without steering one wrong.

And how did this come about you may be wondering?

That quilt that was brought out of retirement is almost finished and it is good enough to enter into a show. Not the local show our quilting group puts on each year, but a Royal Show. It was always the plan with it, sometimes you can see the course of events put out before you as plain as the nose on your face.  And don't get one wrong there is no expectation of winning anything... one is simply too new and unknown to do that. It wouldn't matter how good it was. it simply won't win. But, and this is the big one, it is good enough that it should be shown.

So being proactive one scampered across to the RNA Show site to see the criteria that are needed to be fulfilled. It was there that one came across a small road block. There is a list published, without any real details. Yes you need a photo of your quilt, no there is no mention of what size. Yes there are categories, no there is no mention of the ins and out of each one. Yes you have to have a label, no there is no mention of where it has to be placed. Yes you need a hanging sleeve, no there is no mention of how many pieces it has to be to allow for hanging. Yes... you get the idea. There was a complete dearth of actual information.  

It was then that it hit how old most of the quilters that one knows are and how all of them are complete technophobes. Of course none of this is available online. So off one trotted to quilting to get some advice, only to find that none of our members have ever entered a show at that level. In fact they looked at one as though a second head had just sprouted on the shoulders. It was closely followed by that narrowing of eyes as they wondered just what was up one's sleeve.

It would seem that the only way one can do this is go to our parent company's monthly meeting to seek the advice of one of our former members. This is a massive road trip that will start at the crack of dawn to travel clear across town on public transport. In fact it is almost a pilgrimage by the time one has got a lift (otherwise it is an hour bus trip) to the train station, met up with a guide, caught a train, a bus and completed a long walk along leafy suburban streets. A pilgrimage might one add that will culminate in throwing oneself on the mercy of a relative stranger, who though generous with her time, is a busy, busy woman who will probably barely remember one from our time together at the club.

Groans life just has a warped sense of humour sometimes...