Several Times

When I was growing up Near Philadelphia, there was a large (for the times) amusement park not very far away.  I remember riding past it, looking out the window from the back seat while my father drove.  It looked like an enchanting place.  I don't specifically remember going there with my family, but I must have.  I went plenty of times as a teenager and young adult.  My parents told me that at one time John Phillip Sousa and his band played there.

One of the rides was a roller coaster, the old-fashioned painted-white-wooden kind, and it featured an enormous mountain structure.  As a child I couldn't imagine having the courage to go on such a thing, but I was fascinated by it.  Because of the mountain structure and the up and down hills, the ride was called The Alps.  Eventually fascination won out over cowardice, and I rode The Alps.  Several times.

When I first saw the pattern, Roller Coaster, on Katy's blog just before it was published in Fat Quarterly, I thought it was a nifty quilt.  I didn't think much about the name of it; I just knew I wanted to make it.  Most likely several times.  I liked it that much.  I bought the issue as soon as it was available and as soon as some other odds and ends were cleared up, I started working on it.  The blocks are two-thirds made at this point and I still like it enormously.

It has to be called The Alps.

If you're still with me, here's something sort of related:  There's a wonderful semi-autobiographical novel by James Michener called The Fires of Spring.  It is totally different from his other tomes.  I read it for the first time when I was newly married and had moved Far From Philadelphia.  I loved it and was thrilled to identify landmarks near Philadelphia in its pages, especially the amusement park which had to be the same one that housed The Alps.  I've reread the book several times and have suggested it to friends.  And now I commend it to you.