About World of Quilts Travel

Unparalleled Service
Since 2004, Deb Roberts’ World of Quilts Travel and Textile Tours has been about one quilt lover sharing quilting traditions, new quiltmaking experiences and cultures, and extraordinary opportunities with like-minded adventurers. While travel is provided through established tour operators, Deb provides educational experiences on each travel itinerary.

Unique History
A collector, quilter, historian, teacher, author, judge and appraiser, Deb Roberts has been interested in quilts since childhood and passionate about travel for as long as she can recall; she has traveled extensively and planned unique travel experiences for friends and family members for many years. While traveling several year’s ago, it dawned on Deb that she was spending much of the time seeking out places to see quilts, get to know quilters, buy unique fabrics and seek out those who knew about the area’s quilts and quilt/textile history. Seeing things that opened her eyes to what has been available in other countries for centuries gave her pause to think about sharing all she was experiencing with others, thus she organized her first tour to France in 2004.

Blending the Old with the New
When possible, aspect of Deb’s specialty tour or cruise itineraries are meticulously selected to blend the old and the new of the quilt world. On land tours, Deb opens doors not only to historic cities and rare shopping opportunities but also to specialty public and private collection archives which are not often available to the public. She plans each trip as if for herself, and when applicable, knowledgeable speakers and teachers are chosen to enhance the overall travel and learning experience. Deb’s single goal is to have her guests return home not only having had a memorable journey, but also a once in a lifetime quilting and/or quilt and textile study experience.

On cruises, Deb looks for itineraries that provide great scenery as well as value. For cruises that begin and end in the United States, when appropriate to the teacher, machines will be provided at no additional cost. On our occasional international cruises, while sewing machines are not available, teachers will provide hand projects that will be geared so that when one returns home, they can apply the concept to machine or hand sewing. At times, such projects may not be ‘quilts’ per se, but will have quilt related techniques applicable to quilting projects. Small hand projects are often planned on international cruises so that they are easily portable and may be finished during the trip.

Deb’s desire is to provide both a vacation as well as an educational experience that will last a lifetime. She purposefully keeps the land tour groups small and intimate, hand picks all hotels and venues, and insists that her tour operators keep the price affordable. Deb believes that there is no reason for anyone to have to pay exorbitant prices to travel, and will not put a tour together that she herself would not enjoy. It is important to her that she pays close enough attention to details so that her travelers feel as if they are getting more than just a group tour, but a journey tailor made for their special interest.