Quilters car of the future

OK, so I had the shock of a lifetime here. Mr. Moosestash never ceases to amaze me. Just when you think he is completely unaware of my interests, he does something completely outrageous. Last week was my birthday. I am used to the "drill" after 32 years of marriage. It's flowers for Mothers day and birthdays, and money for Christmas. He isn't a shopper and will never be converted to be one. He's a great guy and I am good with it all.

Anxiously awaiting my flowers as he walks in the door. I am stopped dead in my tracks. NO flowers, what the heck is this????   No he has a big flat gift bag.  Really this is different????  Inside is a big beautiful color brochure of a Dodge Charger. He is grinning from ear to ear telling me I can order the car of my dreams. The first words out of my mouth are, the car of my dreams is a Dodge Challenger!  How selfish was that? But it just slipped out. He looked a little dazed and confused, but was delighted because he likes the look of Challengers a whole lot better than the Charger.  What makes this even more shocking is that he is a die hard Ford man, and always has been. He must be getting soft in his old age!

So I am sharing this story with Karen over at Sun Burnt Quilts. She had some great suggestions for options on this car. Get a load of this list!

 Built in portable sewing machine.

 Special storage compartments for fabric.

 Coffee maker that works off the battery.

 GPS with every quilt shop location already set into it!!


I know Karen thought she was being funny, but it got me to thinking... and ya know that's got to be dangerous.  :-)  :-)

So why is it that car makers have never created a car for quilters? Heaven knows, how well they have catered to "racing" enthusiasts with luxury and high performance cars. They have answered all the going green-ies, with the new flex fuel cars, electric cars, etc, etc, etc.  But when, just when has anyone even tried to accommodate a quilter with a car? Oh yeah there are extended cab trucks for the shop hop purchases we all love to make every year. There are the extra storage spaces in some cars where we can hide our fabric purchases from our spouses, but really now, most of them are so small, that its a joke for all of "our" fabric acquisitions.

We as QUILTERS are a force to be reckoned with, don't you get that in Detroit, or Japan, or where ever the heck they make cars?????  Just ask Michael Miller, Accuquilt, Moda, Handiquilter, Bernina, Brother, June Taylor, Fons and Porter, and the list goes on and on...  They have been enjoying the  profits of quilters spending for many years now. 

I am not talking the small stuff like an interior of a well pieced stack and whack...

Or seats made of a wonderful drunkards path.

                                                             OR

Steering wheels designed like the  handles on our longarms.

*********

No, I want something big, really BIG!  They have managed to make a car that parks itself, screams at you when you get to close to another car, and calls for help if your in an accident. Ok, nice start, but how many of us sit in traffic for eternity trying to get to work??  I know I do in Denver, and my guess is that many of you in big cities have the same issues. The gridlock is crazy everywhere anymore. I can't exactly quote it, but I've seen the statistics online and the number of hours we sit in our cars in traffic is huge. So is my pile of UFO's and the growing stack of patterns for quilts I want to start.  So Karen, your idea of a built in sewing machine is kind of sounding like a good one to me. I know there are laws about drinking and driving and texting and driving. They are there for a good reason, and I support them. Sewing and driving would likely rank right up there with them, and rightfully "sew"!!  But...

It was Ford, if I remember right that had a better idea??? Really, what better idea, than a car that can piece while I drive. Nothing like completing a quilt top in a week of commuting back and forth to work. Ok new technology, I would be happy if it could be done in a month of commuting. Now that would really be a better idea wouldn't it? I'm even willing to throw in, my own hand binding, if my car would just do the piecing. Just think of the things I could complete. I might even have time to whittle that UFO pile down myself.

As for the extra storage Karen suggested, great, but be realistic, and make it at least the size of a football field not a cubby hole the size of a crock pot!

I am liking the coffee maker idea, but I would prefer it dispenses from the dashboard and offers the same choices as Starbucks would! Too much to ask you say! Ok I give you that one... begrudgingly!

GPS with quilt shops, a definite. I took a GPS quilt shop trip with my quilting buddy 3-4 years ago. We took a week and giggled our way thru many small towns and visited some dynamite quilt shops. We topped the trip off with taking turns choosing which way to turn next, which is why the GPS came in handy. It kept us from getting so turned around that we could never find our way home. It is a trip I highly recommend to every "crazy" quilter out there!

So I am asking all you quilters out there, band together and demand "our" dream from car makers. Chant after me with your rotary cutters held high, CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE...

Then let me know what's on your list for the new Quilt - mobile of the future!!  :-)

In the mean time I am back to deciding between the two cars now. The Charger has some dynamite features. My fav's are the all wheel drive, 4 doors, and heated and cooled drink cup holders!! (close the my coffee maker dream) But the Challenger has been the car of my dreams for 40 years now. Decisions Decisions!