quilts

Too Many Old Travel T-Shirts? Make a Quilt!

Published June 23, 2016 | By Clark Norton

My travel T-shirt quilt made by Too Cool T-shirt Quilts. Photo by Catharine Norton.

Over the years, I’ve picked up dozens — well, probably hundreds — of souvenir T-shirts from my travels.

I almost always buy at least one, and often more, from each trip. Some haven’t even fit me very well, but I liked the look of them, so I bought them. Others I’ve worn so many times that they’re practically threadbare.

But no matter how well worn or ill-fitting, I had a hard time throwing them away. Well, truth be told, I never threw any of them away .

They were, after all, souvenirs of my travels — one of the few things I regularly collect from my trips — and remind me of places I’ve been, cruises I’ve taken, hotels where I’ve stayed, or restaurants I’ve loved (or that just had cool T-shirts).

Most that I… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Collectibles, Quilting | Tagged Andrea Funk, quilting, quilts, Too Cool T-shirt Quilts, travel souvenirs, travel T-shirts | 2 Comments

Dazzling Displays at the National Quilt Museum

Published July 10, 2014 | By Clark Norton

Colorful quilts on display at the National Quilt Museum. Photo courtesy of the National Quilt Museum.

Sometimes travel discoveries come strictly through serendipity.

While attending a recent family reunion in southern Illinois, my new daughter-in-law, Nona Patrick, mentioned that she knew of a quilt museum in Paducah, Kentucky, that she would like to see someday. As it happens, Paducah was just a 45-minute drive from our reunion site and, since we had some extra time before driving back to the St. Louis airport (yes, three states figure into this tale), I suggested we go see it then and there — especially since Nona and our son, Grael, live in Tucson, Arizona — not exactly next door to Kentucky.

Until a few years ago, when I wrote a story on quilting theme cruises for Porthole Cruise Magazine, I would have said I had little interest in quilting and would have… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Cities, museums | Tagged Kentucky, National Quilt Museum, Paducah, quilting, quilts | 4 Comments

According to government and private surveys:

Leading-edge baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1955) and seniors account for four out of every five dollars spent on luxury travel today.
Roughly half the consumer spending money in the U.S.--more than $2 trillion--is in the hands of leading-edge baby boomers and seniors.
Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) travel more than any other age group.
When asked what they would most like to spend their money on, baby boomers answered “travel” more than any other category, including improving their health or finances.