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!

Houston Fall Festival (1) Mental Mush

Houston... WOW! No other word describes it. The only thing I can say about attending Festival is bring several pairs of shoes! Your feet will hurt no matter what, but if you can change up the pressure points you'll do okay. Really, 5 days in Houston and my first comment is wear comfy shoes!

I do not know where to start... my mind is mental mush. I was quilting like a mad woman to get ready for Houston, got there, can't differentiate the days except for the clothing... it is all a blur! We'll start back in West Palm Beach, at the airport...

OMG that is a tiny plane! Holy crap, the walkway is almost double the size of the side of the plane! Now, that was the edited version. You should have heard the conversation between me and my husband in the minutes after I sent him this picture! Now don't get me wrong, I am not afraid to fly, I have flown many times in my lifetime... the first time on a 747 -- 3 seats-aisle-4 seats-aisle-3 seats, with an upstairs. We're talking a HUGE plane! Most of my flights have been on those normal-size planes, 3 seats on each side with one aisle. This plane had a single seat and a tiny little aisle and then two seats (like Chris from Fil-Tec said - a window and aisle seat at the SAME time). I'm talking TINY -- I have accepted the fact that if I'm flying to Houston from here I will be on a tiny little plane... all I hear is Tattoo (Hervé Villechaize) "The plane! The plane!"

So we (me & my Mom) get to beautiful downtown Houston (no, it was nighttime and dark) - this was the next day - the view from the 24th floor of the Hilton and the view from the street!

My first purchase... International Quilt Festival's Quilt Scene Magazine.  WHY, you ask?...

Okay, now it's time for me to brag.  Out of 752 entries, IQA selected 380 finalists, out of 380 finalists they selected 23 quilts for the magazine... OLIVER made it!  Better yet, they sent out a sneak peek email -- only two quilts made that cut... guess what, OLIVER was one of them!

Here is the email link:  http://e1.interweave.com/dsm?sna=fb&id=7091E023C1A704983C58D0E1439FC430F50FBD976777E7B1

I am on cloud 9... or maybe 11, if that is possible!  Somebody pinch me... please!  While I was there someone said to me "but he didn't win a ribbon"... I said "he is here, it doesn't matter what he's wearing!"

So, it that weren't enough for mental mush... add 1500 photographs.  Yes, that's what I took.  Full shots, closeups, super closeups, name cards, all of it!  Now, my brain is so over-stimulated that I can't even show you my favorite quilts... it is like a cyclone of photos spinning around and around!  So, my "Houston" post will actually become several posts - it is the only way I can accomplish sharing my experience with you.

So we'll start with me & Oliver, and then me & Sharon. For those of you that haven't been quilty peeps since the beginning... Oliver is the result of a week-long retreat with Sharon Schamber.

Sharon is a wonderful teacher, friend, and mentor.  If you ever have the opportunity to take a class with her do so - you will not forget it!  Okay, this leads us to Sharon's quilt - "Crimson Promises" which won the Master Award for Innovative Artistry.

So while I was talking with Sharon I got to meet another fantastic quilter/artist, Gail Thomas - someone that I am so glad I met and very happy to call her friend. Here is Gail's quilt, "Someone Found"

I have a million more things to tell you, but they will have to wait until my next post... Happy Quilting!

One Crazy Week

Well, I must admit, I haven't worked "full-time" in a very long time. Well for myself yes, but not on customer quilts. That is one of the perks of being your own boss and working from home, right? NOT this week, I've been a crazy quilting fool in an attempt to get caught up (or ahead) in preparation for Festival. So last week I pumped out five quilts... OMG, that's like a quilt a day - the hard way! No really, I had been quilting all day and into the evenings (so not like me), but I am okay on my schedule. When I get back from Houston I will only be two quilts behind... no big deal right? Wrong, I get one day after Houston to recoup, then its back to the airport to deliver my wonderful Mom back to her home state, deliver my quilts to West Palm Beach for judging for Mancuso's World Quilt Show Florida III, one day of what-the-heck has happened in the past ten days, and then two to three days spent wandering the Mancuso show. So, honestly, I might possibly be three quilts behind by the time I'm truly back to quilting, but it will all be worth it! It'll just be another crazy quilting fool week and life will be good!
Okay, back to business -- I really need to share last week's craziness with all my wonderful quilty peeps...
First we have Charlotte's Sampler. Are you ready for this -- this is her very first quilt. WOW, she did an awesome job, and I do believe she is an amazing piecer, because there was nothing wrong with this quilt, not a pucker, ripple, nothing!

Next up was Gerri's quilt. I love black backgrounds -- so this one was fun! Gerri used some bright solids and really made a striking quilt.

Now I may be a bit partial as I'm a machine quilter, or maybe the fact that I love wholecloths but, look at the back of Gerri's quilt - wow... that is just so cool!

Then we have two quilts by Judy, another awesome piecer. The first one was a mystery quilt class that Judy calls "Stars for Our Lady of Kibeho". This is a super cute quilt. I love how crisp the colors are against the white background -- a real eye-catcher.

Judy's next one is "40 Flower Pots" -- super, super cute. In case you didn't notice, Judy is very whimsical. I love the orange and yellows in this quilt and the fun flower shapes.

And last, but certainly not least, Marion's "The Blue Collection" (pattern by Maggie Walker) -- a delightful quilt.

That's it quilty peeps... I'm off to Festival in a few days, see you when I get back -- Happy Quilting!