Catch-Up

Last week was hectic... but it really wasn't. It just felt hectic because QuiltCon was happening for four days in Pasadena (Thursday through Sunday), and the Olympic games were wrapping up.

Even though I didn't attend QuiltCon, I followed along very closely via Instagram. Lots of quilt pictures were posted, and even more quilters I know were in attendance and meeting up with friends.

My Australian friend, Di, who spent a month with me last year (her arrival on February 2, 2017) was able to attend QuiltCon, but shortly after the show began she was felled by the flu!

Here's Di on the first day of the show, doing her volunteer shift and posing in front of one of her two gorgeous entries into QuiltCon. This quilt is "Shining Through." Last November, it received 2nd place in the Modern Traditional category in the Modern Quilt Show Australia.

As lovely as Di looks here, it was just as this volunteer shift ended that she was laid low with the flu! The poor dear! She retreated to her hotel room, started taking Tamiflu, and slept. Though she was weakly back on her feet by Saturday afternoon, I can't imagine how disappointing it was for her to anticipate such a fabulous event and then be sick. She's a trooper, for sure. She let me know she still enjoyed herself... seeing the show, visiting the vendors, and connecting with other quilters. I'm so glad.

To participate in QuiltCon myself, I joined in #quiltconfromhome, posting a few pictures of what I was working on during those four days. I started something new using Christina Cameli's new book "Wedge Quilt Workshop," stashed solids, and a long-unused 9-degree ruler.

While piecing lots of these wedges, in between I sewed leaders and enders. My pile of 16-patch blocks (4" X 4" finished) has passed 90 now!

Last Saturday was our Central Florida MQG Sew-In at the Belleview Public Library. Though our group was small, we had a great time! Not only were each of us able to work on whatever we wanted (I was hand-sewing binding on two quilts), we had fun with a fat quarter swap of solid fabrics. I'm ever-grateful for quilting friends.

L-R: Karen T., Beth, Linda T., Karen E., Ruth, Dee, Edith, and me

As for the Olympics, watching the final of men's curling was by far the most fun sporting event I've watched in a long time. These guys made quite a comeback after several failures early-on in the round robin games.

It's the first time the US has won gold in curling!

During many hours of watching, we got acquainted with these fellas. Matt Hamilton of McFarland, Wisconsin (third from the left) was estimated to have played on the Olympic ice for slightly more than 40 hours. John Shuster, the skip (far right) from Duluth, Minnesota is given much credit for the team comeback, and his own high accuracy rock-delivery. Such a Cinderella story. Ahhh. It's great to be an American! I can't imagine what a wonderful homecoming it was for all these guys.

This morning, my neighbor-quilter-friend, accompanied me on a photoshoot to take pictures of a couple finished quilts. I encouraged her to bring along one of her own quilts for a photo. We headed to Brownwood, one of the three squares in The Villages. In Paddock Square there's a statue of a cowboy. Since Becky's quilt is small, we thought he would make a good backdrop.

Turns out, every cowboy needs a little quilt! 

The statute has a smooth finish, so there wasn't any way to get the quilt to stay laying across his lap. So Becky put the quilt through his arm, hung on, and stood behind him. Perfect, isn't it? I think Mr. Cowboy may be modeling more quilts in the future!

By the way, if you like that little quilt, it's a design by Missouri Star Quilt Company called "Trail Blaze." How ironic that it's a name that suits a cowboy?! Find the tutorial for a larger version of it here.

This picture of a long line of parked golf carts was also taken at Brownwood, last Saturday morning when we went to Farmer's Market. It's definitely snowbird season!

But when the weather's gorgeous like it's been, with the sun shining and the temps in the mid-80s during the day and 60s overnight, it's tough to begrudge anyone else wanting to enjoy it as much as we do.

The AQS (American Quilter's Society) show opened today, through Saturday, in Daytona Beach. I'm boarding a bus - one of three buses of Quilting Guild of The Villages quilters - early tomorrow morning to spend the day.

"Florida" 3rd place, Quilting Guild of The Villages, January 2017

My Florida quilt is in the show.

It didn't win anything, but I get free admission to the show! I'm looking forward to spending the day with quilt-y friends. Linda