Episode 36 - April Jouse and Carmichael

Welcome to Episode 36 of Sit & Sew Radio, a Quilt Addicts Anonymous podcast. This episode is all about travel opportunities for quilters. I personally love checking out new quilt shops when I travel and we've got some really fun shop hops and fiber activities you can check out while you are on the go.

This week we don't have a coupon because we have already started our Black Friday madness over at shop.quiltaddictsanonymous.com. Our Black Friday Preview Sale is already live with nearly 100 fabrics and bundles on sale for 50% off. And we're about to announce a bunch more deals and pretty much everything in the store.

So make sure you sign up for emails so you will be the first to know about all the fabulous deals.

(http://sitandsewradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/GMarks-NMFiberArtCrawl-EVFAC-20.jpg)

April Jouse, Director of Opperations, EVFAC

(http://sitandsewradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/April-Jouse-Director-of-Operations-300x300.jpg)April Jouse works at a pretty cool place. The Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center is a haven for fiber artists in northern New Mexico. The 7,000 square foot facility has classes for kids and adults on basically anything you would want to know involving fiber.

This weekend the EVFAC is hosting the Fall Fiber Fiesta in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The festival is filled with fiber creations from more than 50 artists in the Santa Fe area. You can find anything from woolen gloves to garments and home decor items.

They also host the New Mexico Fiber Crawl (http://www.nmfibercrawl.org/) which offers opportunities for crafters to learn new skills in a variety of mediums at locations from Albuquerque to Taos, New Mexico. Listen to the interview to learn more about the Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center, and check out its website evfac.org (http://www.evfac.org/) for info about visiting and upcoming classes.

[caption id="attachment_328" align="aligncenter" width="1024"](http://sitandsewradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Quilt-Trail-Shop-Owners-and-Representatives-1024x768.jpg) Quilt shop owners from the Missouri Highway 36 Quilt Trail.[/caption]

Beth Carmichael, St. Joseph, MO Visitors Bureau

(http://sitandsewradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Beth-Carmichael-214x300.jpg)If road trips, quilting and shop hops get you excited, then check out the Missouri Highway 36 Quilt Trail in 2018.

A program organized by the Missouri Highway 36 Heritage Alliance, the Quilt Trail seeks to highlight the 16 shops located on Missouri's historic Highway 36, and the people who were born there. And they've got some famous names with connections to Highway 36. Walt Disney, J. C. Penny Mark Twain and Gen. John J. Pershing all have connections to the area. Plus it is where sliced bread and the Pony Express were invented.

The Quilt Trail opens on April 3, 2018. Participants can visit 16 shops along the highway, get the free pattern for that shop's block and get your passport stamped. Then you have until October 31, 2018 to finish your quilt top for a chance to win some awesome prizes. Listen to the interview with Beth Carmichael with the St. Joseph, MO Visitors Bureau to learn more about them.

To learn more about the Missouri Highway 36 Quilt Trail, check out their Facebook page facebook.com/MoHighway36 (https://www.facebook.com/MoHighway36/). And keep scrolling to see all the shops that are participating in 2018.

* Bits & Pieces, Hannibal

* By The Yard, Rayville

* Cornerstone Fabric, Smithville

* Crossroads Quilting, Cameron