Monday, August 22, 2016

I Went to Boca Raton

I was in Boca Raton from August 19-22. I went there with my friend Winnie.

Winnie and I met about four years ago when I moved to The Villages. We were first together in the weekly Happy Stitchers needlework group and then attended a weekly Bible study. Last year we also traveled together to Tampa for a Beth Moore "Living Proof" weekend.

Many months ago the South Florida Modern Quilt Guild, in Boca Raton, contacted me about presenting a domestic machine quilting program and workshop. When I mentioned it to Winnie, she reminded me that she moved to The Villages from Boca Raton, and still has many friends there. She suggested that she would like to visit her friend Bev there, so after contacting Bev, it worked out that I could visit and stay with Bev too! What dear people they are!
Bev (on the left), and Winnie
I had a wonderful time with them. Not only was Winnie my driver to and from Boca Raton, and Bev a lovely and gracious hostess, but the South Florida MQG is a fun chapter! And they treated me like royalty. Every little thing I could want or need was covered - transportation, help loading and unloading my quilts and teaching supplies, water, food, and quilters to chat with over a meal.

The meeting, with my presentation and trunk show, was on Saturday at Patch Reef Park Community Center.

For the first time, I wore my newly-finished, fabric-colored, two-tiered, A-line skirt, made from the book The Essential A-Line. The fabric is by Alison Glass and was colored with Tulip brand washable markers. 

I thoroughly enjoyed being among modern quilters, and gleaned lots of good ideas and information that I hope to share with my own Central Florida MQG.

South Florida MQG is active and vital! They're generous with their donation/charity quiltmaking. These are just some of the more than 22 quilts they have already and continue to make for #QuiltsforPulse. These quilts will be given to the Orlando MQG for distribution to victims of the June Pulse nightclub attack.

Their show and tell is modern.

And isn't their August BOM neat?

The six hour workshop on Sunday was at Sugar Sands Park Community Center. Both venues were ideal for group meetings. Twenty students attended my "Straight Ahead and Around the Bend" domestic machine quilting workshop.

Everyone who attended received one of these buttons, designed by the president. That domestic machine quilter is sweating over her machine!

As all quilters in my classes do, they quilt on fat quarter-sized quilt sandwiches that I encourage them to autograph and date for future reference. As they continue quilting, they'll see an improvement in the quality of their stitching, and a look at these these first pieces will remind them of that.



The time spent in Boca Raton was made special by the nicest people, and I'm thankful for each of them: Winnie and Bev; and quilters Charlotte, Allison, Debby, Debbie, Kate, Linda, Marya, and more. I wish I knew everyone.

This past weekend reminds me to reflect on my 2016 word of the year - lighten. Since my January and February leg procedures, I haven't had further symptoms of arterial blockages, and I'm only 18 months away from completing a five year course of Arimidex, my breast cancer drug. I was able to enjoy this trip, and activities of the past several months, without overriding health concerns. He lightened my load of concerns so I could enjoy the activities I most love doing. I'm feeling very grateful. Linda

12 comments:

  1. Hi Linda,
    I am Isabella (brown and green and pink quilt). I just wanted to let you know how much I liked your class. I did learn a lot but you gave me the confidence I needed to start free motion quilting. It will take a while before i will be able to free motion quilt anything larger than a fat quarter, but I eventually I will get there. Thank you so much. Isabella

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Isabella! I remember you, and it was a pleasure to meet you! Thank you for saying such nice things. Truly, this means a lot to me. Us instructors need to have confidence-boosters too. :-) You're gonna be a natural at FMQ. Persevere and I have no doubt you'll do fabulously! (I'm answering your comment here because you are a "no-reply commenter" so I do not have access to your email address.)

      Delete
  2. Hi Linda,

    I am not that good with technology .... my e-mail is isinoelias (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  3. It certainly looks like you had a fun time! You were quite the celebrity! You didn't show the sign they welcomed everyone with, that you shared on IG?!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. How wonderful that you are feeling well and getting out there, doing what you do best! You are a natural, Linda, and just as cute as a button. XO

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really enjoyed your Saturday presentation to the SFMQG and the domestic sewing machine quilt class on Sunday in Boca Raton, Florida. I learned so much from the class and gained the confidence to quilt several of the quilt tops I have tucked away in the closet. You bring such joy and happiness to everyone around you, your love for machine quilting just shines through. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge on machine quilting. P.S. I loved the two handmade A-line skirts your wore, just beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Susan! I'm replying to you here because you're a "no-reply commenter" and that makes me unable to send you an email reply to thank you for your very generous compliments. I'm so pleased that you liked the presentation and workshop! It means a lot to me to know that you have new knowledge and confidence to keep quilting. It's always a pleasure for me to share, but even more special to know that what I share is being used! It's super-nice of you to say you liked my skirts too. Thank you!

      Delete
  6. So happy for your good report and it looks like a wonderful weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  7. what a wonderful weekend - everyone looks so happy and I love the little button and your adorable skirt ! so happy to hear you're very healthy too :) daisyandjack@hotmail.com - not sure why I'm still a no-reply blogger :(

    ReplyDelete
  8. Linda--Sounds so wonderful and like everyone had a great time. While I love the report of all the classroom and trunk show news, I'm most happy about your "lighter" load of health news: such blessings! And I'm most happy they came your way. Congratulations on a successful experience!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wonderful all around, especially the health side of things.

    ReplyDelete

I reply to comments! If you are a no-reply commenter, or your profile appears as anonymous, I will reply to you directly on this blog post. Please check back!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin