From There to Here

The past five days have been a whirlwind of activities and emotions. I've been alternately crying, grinning, moping, laughing, and crying again.


Your comments on my last post have been so generously kind! Thank you doesn't begin to express how I am feeling about everyone's congratulations. But still I say, thank you, every one of you, for them! Your long-distance hugs and pats on the back mean the world to me.


As a courtesy, I like to reply to every comment, but the sheer quantity of your kind remarks, coupled with recent activities, make answering downright impossible. Responses to a few of your comments and questions are:

• I didn't know the Machine Quilter's Showcase (MQS) had an awards ceremony. According to MQS staffers, I would have known about it if I'd read my show catalog.
• I didn't know there was a show catalog! Apparently when you register online, you don't get one.
• No, MQS does not notify winners that they should attend the awards ceremony. If I had known, I would definitely have been there.
• After I attempt to get these two quilts juried into one more quilt show, they'll come back to me for good. I'm pretty sure Snowflake will be on the guest bed.
• The new Bernina 440 is safely stored at our daughter's house, until it can be moved to Florida. Same goes for the thread.
• Since I have a new Bernina, my friend Doris (see her picture below) is buying my 1976 Bernina 830 Record, the machine I've been sewing on. Yay!
• When MQS ended and I picked up my quilts, I was pleasantly surprised to not only receive paper copies of the judges scores but also a small jump drive with audio comments! These are the most comprehensive critiques I've ever received.

jump drive

Last Friday, on the heels of the MQS show, I had the thrill of attending quilt market. I've been to market a couple times before, but this time was different. I hung out with friends Carla and Cindy who met each other for the first time last week.

Carla (Lollyquiltz); Cindy (LiveAColorfulLife); me; Doris (MadebyaBrunnette)

I have to say that the timing for the MQS wins couldn't have been better. When I then went to market, I was able to give my personal thanks to the Australian designers of both quilts!

Beautiful Emma Jansen owns Ballarat Patchwork, and was helping her friend in the Melly & Me booth. Emma designed my Best of Show "Snowflake Medallion" among other fabulous designs. She was happy for my win and promptly gave me a copy of her latest pattern "Harlequin Stars." She said, "Win again!" Ha!

Adorable Kellie Wulfsohn of Don't Look Now, designed my second place winner, "Life is a Celebration: Nature." We'd never met previously, but on one of my trips to Australia I took along four yards of a tone-on-tone white fabric she wanted and mailed it to her on my arrival. In return, she sent me a bag pattern and its accessory kit.

Kellie's gorgeous raw-edged applique work is stunning! This is her new design, "Jessie." Kellie quilts on a Sweet Sixteen... and she has four young children. 

I can't tell you how wonderful it was to introduce myself to these Aussies and hear, "Oh Linda!" followed by a warm hug. It was like we were long-time friends. 

It was the same when I met the lovely Long ladies in the marie-madeline studio booth. I just happened to be wearing one of their skirt patterns: Route 66. I met Achaia and Apphia in their booth.

The rest of the family found me, no doubt by my telltale skirt - grandmother Sandy; mother Kristie; Abiah and Abigail. Sandy and I had a good chat about Sandy's last name being Kingery, and my maiden name, Kingrey.

But enough pictures of me! Here are a few other views of market booths and quilts.

Anna Marie Horner booth

"Shore Thing" fabric collection by Emily Herrick

Pat Bravo, Art Gallery Fabrics

As if MQS and market weren't enough excitement, a quilt I quilted appears in the latest issue of ScrapQuilts magazine.

I FMQed this for my friend Kris who works at Fons and Porter.

Kris named the quilt "It's Easy Being Green."

Believe it or not, I'm writing this post from The Villages, Florida. 

We left Kansas City early Sunday morning. Along the way I shed copious tears - the real thing. These were tears that had accumulated from leaving Iowa a little more than two weeks ago, and now leaving our daughter and her family. The tears are probably also from so much of our future being unknown.

On Monday afternoon we arrived in The Villages to a very hot 92 degrees (32C). We'll stay in this two-bedroom patio villa while we house-hunt.

 We've stocked the kitchen, and unpacked our belongings to settle in for the next four weeks. 

Too many exciting happenings in a short amount of time. As wonderful as it all is, it's draining. It's also downright surreal. I wonder when life will start feeling normal again. Linda