Quilt-y Friends at a Quilt-y Show

Wednesday was the first day of the AQS and DMAQG (Des Moines Area Quilters Guild) quilt show.

I was at the show shortly before 9:00 a.m. to catch the AQS awards presentations - about half of the winners were actually present. Then I met for the first time, another blogger, Patty of MomLoves2Quilt. As Patty and I perused the quilts together, we ran into another blogger, Doris of ThreadsofConversation. I already knew Doris, and Patty knew of Doris through the blogosphere. What a relief... none of us are "ax murderers!"

(L-R) Linda, Patty, Doris

The quilts backdropping our photo are in the DMAQG portion of the show. The quilt directly behind Patty is an original design called "Travels With Sunbonnet Sue" by Deb Kimball. While Sunbonnet Sue has never been a favorite of mine, Deb has done a very clever job of clothing Sue in garments depicting 49 countries. Deb's little Aussie Sue sported bush wear and carried a boomerang. Quite adorable, really. Signage on the quilt indicates that Deb's Sue quilt will be in a new AQS book.

As always, the show is fabulous, and I wish you could see the quilts! The winning longarm quilted quilt, "Parrot's Island," is thread-y, sparkly, and beaded. Designs include a very large palm tree (Hmm, now why would I like that so much?!) water, and fish. "Parrot's Island" was made by Claudia Pfeil of Krefeld, Germany. If you ever have the opportunity to see it, you'll need a few minutes to soak it in.

This overview of part of the convention hall gives you a taste of what you're missing.

Hy-Vee Hall Convention Center, October 6-9, 2010

I truly believe the show is much larger than the 2008 show I attended.

Don't forget to comment on my previous blog post to enter for a chance to win my giveaway quilt. You have until the Des Moines AQS/DMAQG quilt shows end, on Saturday, to comment.

The joke below comes from Linda of Cudahy, California, whose blog is LifeWithaBigFamily.

A country doctor went way out to the boondocks to deliver a baby.

It was so far out, there was no electricity. When the doctor arrived, no one was home except for the laboring mother and her 5-year-old child. The doctor instructed the child to hold a lantern high so he could see, while he helped the woman deliver the baby.

The child did so, the mother pushed and after a little while, the doctor lifted the newborn baby by the feet and spanked him on the bottom to get him to take his first breath.

The doctor then asked the 5-year-old what he thought of the baby.

"Hit him again," the 5-year-old said. "He shouldn't have crawled up there in the first place!"