Just shy of a month between posts... I have been so busy I don't even know where to start.  I still haven't shared all of Houston with you, and I do believe I had one more post about the Mancuso Show in West Palm Beach... maybe one day, but not now.

I'll start the catch-up with Jeannie's "Perfect Bliss" quilt (a special edition Jenny Haskins/pattern by Simon Haskins)  more info about the pattern here.

This quilt turned out stunning... did we expect anything less.  Jeannie is a fantastic embroidery teacher and I absolutely LOVE her color choices.  Okay, ready for the funny part about this quilt... I just quilted my own competition in our local show.   Really!  Both of us fall into the Professional category so I quilted this beautiful quilt knowing it many possibly beat my own competition quilt.  The things we must do...

Okay, next item is NQR, but it made me absolutely positively delighted.  My husband put up Christmas lights outside.  I know, no big deal right... BIG BIG DEAL!  We moved to Florida ten years ago.  It has really never felt like Christmas.  No snow, no frost, no boots and sweaters... I was born and raised up north where it is always cold at Christmas and I have many, many memories of White Christmases.  In other words - I LOVE SNOW!  (If you don't remember last year, here's a link -- we went to Jersey for Christmas -- I hoped and hoped for snow, what did we get - a blizzard!).  So to move to Florida and have it be 85 degrees at Christmas and your wearing shorts and flip-flops Christmas day just does not feel Christmas'y... no matter how much I decorate it doesn't feel right.  So this year Joe surprised me with outside lights -- I was gloriously happy.  It's still hot and sticky, and I'll still be wearing flip-flops, but something about outside lights makes me feel just a bit more festive!

Then there was Sally's "House on Willow Hill" -- super super cute quilt!  You can't see the quilting very well in this picture but the quilt was a little late (oops) and needed to be shipped out that day, couldn't wait for the late afternoon sun that shows the quilting so well.

Then there was Donna's T-shirt quilt and Merry's Butterflies -- both super cuties.

And then two more shirting name quilts for Mary.  Mary has done a few of these shirting quilts and I add the text for the names - they turn out awesome every time!

Carol made an awesome tumbling blocks wall hanging for her daughter -- just happens to be in my favorite color... brown!  And she also made this super adorable popsicle wall hanging for her granddaughter.

Okay, some more NQR stuff -- sorry I can't help myself, it's Christmas!  Okay, here's my tree and just a few of the boys...

And last, but certainly not least, was the MCQG Christmas Party.  This is the guild with the Star Challenge, remember, Stella Luminosa.  If not, click here or here.  Well, turns out my challenge won (1) Best Machine Quilting, (2) Presidents Choice, and (3) Viewers Choice -- not so bad!

So that sums it up... well, most of it.  I promise to TRY to post more regularly like I do on facebook - go ahead and friend me, if you're not a fan of either of my pages you should be -- Creative Longarm Quilting and Karen Marchetti, Longarm/Quilt Artist.  

World Quilt Show Florida III (2) SAQA Exhibit

While at the World Quilt Show Florida III I was able to view an unbelievable special exhibit entitled SAQA: Layers of Memory (Curated by: Doria Anne Goocher).  For more information about SAQA, visit their website.

Here are my favorites from the exhibit:

"Shattered" 42x36
by Betty Busby of Albuquerque, New Mexico

"Tribute to the Past" 45x35
by Genevieve Attinger of Pontivy, France

"Under the Watchful Eye of Queen Charlotte II" 45.5x29.5
by Deborah Langsam of Charlotte, NC

"Homeless Love" 34x24
by Mary Pal of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

"Dream Music" 40x39
by Jennifer Day of Sante Fe, New Mexico

"Love is Patient, Love is Kind" 36x32
by Holly Adkins-Ardrey of Columbus, Ohio

These were some amazing pieces.  I have to mention (my friends all know this already) I am in a very gray monotone phase right now... but after looking at these pictures, it doesn't look like such a bad place to be.

World Quilt Show Florida III

For those of you that aren't lucky enough to live in sunny South Florida... it's hot, always.  No really, for three years West Palm Beach has been the home of the World Quilt Show Florida Competition - this year the show expanded to the 7 southeastern states.  Let me tell you, there are loads of talented quilters down here - loads!  I wish I could share the entire show with you, but that is just not possible -- I'm still trying to condense my Houston trip into just one more post!


Let me start off with a link to the winners.  Now, on to my quilts, yes, I was honored to have won two ribbons this year.  "Clouds in My Latte" took Best Machine Workmanship and "The Choice" took Judges Choice (Sue Nickels).  We'll get to pictures of the door challenge later.  This isn't my most photogenic photo... I have a problem with talking while having my picture taken, so all things considered, it really isn't too bad saying that I usually talk with my hands (and arms).



Now on to just a peek (here are my favs, yes that includes my own) at the special exhibit for MCQG Member Challenge -- can't wait until these are awarded ribbons (December?)... what a talented group of peeps -- so glad to be a part of such a talented guild!

WOW, this is going to be a very long post, even if I break it up... now on to a few of my favorite quilts hanging in the Southeastern States Competition:

"Bounty" by Mark Sherman

"Bounty" by Mark Sherman (detail)

"256 Blocks" by Susan Ziel

"Breezy" by Janine Ward

"Sunset Reflection" by Candice Phelan

"Zebra" by Lisa Gorski

"The Struggle for Dignity" by Jo-Ann Donato

Okay, I know you have been waiting for this... the door challenge!  For those that have just started reading, my art group, Journeys Thru Art, held a door challenge.  The only rules were it had to be at least 30" and it had to have a door.  This is a fantastic group of eight -- more talent and inspiration than is imaginable!  Another group I am proud to be a part of.  There are only seven doors here, one of the doors didn't get finished in time for this show, but don't you worry, it will definitely be at the next one!

"A Jug of Wine A Loaf of Bread"
35" x 49"
by Eyvonne Smith

"The Choice"
40" x 36.5"
by Karen Marchetti
JUDGES CHOICE (Sue Nickels)

"Pick Up the Key and Open the Door"
50" x 34"
by Kathy Rentz

"Faith Alone"
60" x  50"
by Jerry Granata
JUDGES CHOICE (Diedra McElry)

"Graffiti Door"
54" x 42"
by Judie Gutke

"Venice"
41" x 50"
by Natalie Carlton

"Temple at Angkor Wat"
36" x 48"
by Pam Post

Okay, that's about it for tonight.  One more post (possibly tomorrow) showcasing my favorites from the SAQA Layers of Memory special exhibit and also some favorites from the traveling quilts of the World Quilt Show.

Houston Fall Festival (2) Some Favorites

First we'll start with a link to the winners, once you're there, click IQA WINNERS on the left sidebar.

I'm going to post just a few of my favorites.  There are entirely too many quilts to post here, and I have way too many favorites, so I am randomly picking a few.  I am also including the name/description cards because who better to tell you about their quilt than the artists themselves.

And that's it for this post. A couple more posts with some special exhibits and then I need to catch you all up on the Mancuso Show in West Palm Beach... yep, I brought home two ribbons -- but wait, you're in for a real treat because we have some major talent down here in South Florida... yes we do!