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Celtic Quilt Journeys, LLC
Beauty of Ireland Quilt & Textile Tour September 7 - 20, 2026 Meet the Team
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"I'd give Debbi an A+. I appreciated your personal touches to the ones that needed assistance."
Bonnie, Ireland, Scotland & Alsace, France, & European Patchwork Meeting Participant
Bonnie, Ireland, Scotland & Alsace, France, & European Patchwork Meeting Participant
Celtic Quilt Journeys, LLC is a United States-based company owned by Debbi Cagney (Houston, TX, USA). Previously, Debbi founded and managed Celtic Quilt Tours with a business partner. After a decade of significant growth, the original company was closed so both could pursue new ventures.
Celtic Quilt Journeys, LLC, continues to offer global experiences centered on quilting and textiles. In addition to visiting local quilt shops and textile sites, each tour includes trips to historical landmarks, ancient sites, modern wonders, and opportunities to experience the highlights of each country.
We are proud of our team of caring and dedicated Tour Hosts who are committed to making every journey enjoyable and memorable.
To ensure the highest quality travel experience, Celtic Quilt Journeys continues its established partnership with Marc Kavanagh and Journeys Connect and their affiliates. With over 35 years in the travel industry, Journeys Connect brings invaluable expertise. Debbi has worked closely with this team for more than 12 years, planning and coordinating tours in destinations such as Ireland, Scotland, France, Iceland, Wales, England, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, and Japan.
Celtic Quilt Journeys, LLC, continues to offer global experiences centered on quilting and textiles. In addition to visiting local quilt shops and textile sites, each tour includes trips to historical landmarks, ancient sites, modern wonders, and opportunities to experience the highlights of each country.
We are proud of our team of caring and dedicated Tour Hosts who are committed to making every journey enjoyable and memorable.
To ensure the highest quality travel experience, Celtic Quilt Journeys continues its established partnership with Marc Kavanagh and Journeys Connect and their affiliates. With over 35 years in the travel industry, Journeys Connect brings invaluable expertise. Debbi has worked closely with this team for more than 12 years, planning and coordinating tours in destinations such as Ireland, Scotland, France, Iceland, Wales, England, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, and Japan.
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With over ten years of experience, Debbi has planned and hosted quilt and textile tours to destinations around the world. These include tours to Ireland, Scotland, France, Canada, Iceland, Wales, England, Japan, Newfoundland, Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. In addition, she has organized trips for quilting friends and travelers attending the Houston International Quilt Festival and Market, which is local to Debbi.
Throughout her career, Debbi has prioritized the comfort and safety of travelers. She maintains a personal rule: only to lead groups to countries she has previously visited herself. This commitment ensures each journey is both enjoyable and secure. In 2025, Celtic Quilt Journeys introduced its first tour to Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic - destinations that quickly became Debbi’s new favorites following her preview trip in 2024. Debbi is deeply grateful to all who have traveled with her. She hopes that your ongoing journeys are enriched by friendship, adventure, and travel. |
Jennifer Blickenstaff
Kansas, USA |
After retiring from a fulfilling career as a psychologist, Jennifer set out to realize her lifelong ambition of learning how to quilt. She quickly discovered a deep passion for the craft and spent six years working in a quilt shop in Kansas, where she created numerous shop samples and designed three original quilt patterns for the store.
Jennifer’s curiosity and enthusiasm for quilting led her to her first quilt tour with Debbi, which she found while exploring Facebook. This journey opened the door to travel experiences in Scotland, Iceland, Wales, England, Ireland, and Newfoundland. These adventures eventually provided her with the opportunity to assist Debbi on tours to Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. Jennifer brings a friendly and outgoing spirit to the team, eagerly looking forward to meeting fellow quilting and travel enthusiasts. She cherishes the moments she has shared with travelers from past tours, many of whom she now considers friends, and is excited to create new memories together on future journeys. |
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Award-winning author Patience Griffin has been writing and sewing her whole life but didn’t discover her love of quilting until her late thirties. She decided the best way to acquire her first quilt was to make one for herself. At nearly the same time, she started commuting three and half hours a day for her dream engineering job. To pass the time on the long drive, she got hooked on audiobooks—especially books with love stories.
Within a couple of years, she was writing stories of her own. It was no surprise to her family and friends when she combined her love of quilting, her small town roots, and her obsession with Scottish romances into novels. She has gained some recognition with her September 11th Story Quilt which has toured the country as the property of the Pentagon. Patience’s first book, To Scotland with Love, received a Publishers Weekly *starred reviewed, won the New England Readers’ Choice award and Golden Quill for best first book and was also a double RITA® finalist. She loves to write about home, heart, and the community of quilters. She has teamed up with Riley Blake Designs™ for an extensive line of fabrics to accompany her novels. |
Marc Kavanagh
Owner and CEO |
Journeys Connect boasts over 37 years of experience as a business-to-business travel provider, specializing in group and customized specialty packages across Europe.
It has been a pleasure to collaborate with such a professional and meticulous tour company. For more than a decade, I have worked closely with Marc Kavanagh to plan, organize, and deliver our distinctive and memorable quilt and textile tours. Journeys Connect excels at creating imaginative and inspiring Custom Group Journeys. Their expertise spans a variety of groups and interests, from family culinary tours in Tuscany, intimate experiential vacations for small groups in the UK, larger affinity groups traveling through France and Spain, to groups of friends enjoying golf experiences in Ireland and Scotland. Regardless of the group size or interest, Journeys Connect has the knowledge and experience to manage every detail of a group’s travel arrangements. Known for their expertise, reliability, flexibility, and innovative products, Journeys Connect is dedicated to earning the loyalty and trust of their customers. They strive to listen, anticipate needs, and create value for clients. The team works diligently to understand each group’s goals and needs, consistently delivering excellence in product quality, value, and destination knowledge. These principles form the foundation upon which Journeys Connect is built. |
"Everyone was helpful, friendly, professional, knowledgeable and etc.
I appreciate that for Debbi, this is a labor of love and not just labor.
It really showed through in the thoughtfulness and everything Debbi did for us.
And it may be Tony's job, but you can tell that he really enjoys it and enjoys being excellent at what he does.
He made me fall in love with Ireland and appreciate the complex layers of history."
Ireland Tour Traveler
I appreciate that for Debbi, this is a labor of love and not just labor.
It really showed through in the thoughtfulness and everything Debbi did for us.
And it may be Tony's job, but you can tell that he really enjoys it and enjoys being excellent at what he does.
He made me fall in love with Ireland and appreciate the complex layers of history."
Ireland Tour Traveler
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Celtic Quilt Journeys, LLC
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Debbi Sinton Cagney - [email protected]
832-492-2205 |