Happenings

A couple of small accomplishments...

I finished hand appliquéing and hand embroidering the 11" X 13" ukulele block for Clara @bimbambuki_blog who is collecting them to make "A Quilt of Things That Bring Me Joy." I'll give her this block in person at QuiltCon.

Hand appliqué is finished on this 21" square clamshell piece. Now what?

Our Quilting Guild of The Villages (QGOTV) every-other-year quilt show, called "Showcase of Quilts" is coming up next week Friday and Saturday, January 27 and 28. 

Last Wednesday QGOTV members dropped off their quilts for judging. I took three. On Saturday, I picked them up.

If a yellow tag was attached to your quilt bag, it meant you won a ribbon. 

When I stepped up to get my quilts, all three of them had yellow tags! What a shocking and happy surprise!

These are the three quilts I entered: 72" X 84" 2019 Temperature Quilt which was at QuiltCon 2022 in Phoenix, appeared in QuiltCon magazine, and last year for a month was in a modern quilt exhibit at the Bailey Contemporary Arts Center in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Playin' Around was also at QuiltCon 2022 in Phoenix. It's 61" X 70" and was my challenge entry in the South Florida MQG "Curve Around Challenge," where it took first place and won the "Cassandra Beaver Award." 

Party Times 30 quilt is my entry in the QGOTV "30 Challenge" to celebrate the 30th anniversary of QGOTV. All submissions had to be 24" X 24". I chose to piece flying geese in primary colors because they're in the QGOTV logo. Besides domestic machine quilting, there's big stitch hand quilting in this one too.

So all three quilts won ribbons, but I don't know yet what places each received! I'll find out Friday morning, January 27 when there's an 8:30 preview for ribbon winners, before Showcase opens to the public.

I also learned that Party Times 30 will not be returned to me after Showcase. It will be traveling, along with the 37 other challenge quilts, to Daytona Beach, Florida for a special exhibit at the AQS (American Quilter's Society) show! Happy days!

In the past, I have attended the AQS quilt show, however, this year it's February 22-25 - the SAME weekend as QuiltCon, so I can't attend. It's AQS that changed their show dates; not QuiltCon.

In Florida, you never know when you're going to encounter interesting wildlife. This is a threesome of sandhill cranes that surprised me on my Saturday power walk.

At first they were in the street, and startled me! They're not usually seen as a threesome, most often being in pairs (they mate for life). I can't tell if one is a colt (juvenile) or perhaps a loner they adopted... do they even do that? 

II am always fascinated to see these large, beautiful creatures up close. Being around people doesn't seem to bother them.

Sandhill cranes are a Florida endangered species with penalties of incarceration and/or a fine if one is killed.

Book Recommendation

I had a chance to check out another Charles Martin book from my public library's Hoopla app, and once again, Mr. Martin didn't disappoint.

Wrapped in Rain is about two brothers who grow up in Alabama, at Waverly Hall, a former plantation, rebuilt as a castle by their money-hungry father. They don't know their mother, and their father, Rex, is a controlling, abrasive, and abusive man who gets worse with drink. If it wasn't for their hired nanny/housekeeper Miss Ella Rains, they would never have been cared for, nor known love.

As grown men, they're each dealing with demons. Tucker has been traveling for years, mostly avoiding home as he expresses himself through photography. Tucker's younger brother, Matt hasn't fared as well. After years of traveling across the US in railway cars, he's living in a group home with a psychiatric disorder. His compulsive behavior, obsessively cleaning, and an ability to take apart and rebuild anything, is a curse and a blessing.

When a childhood friend, Kate, comes back into their lives, bringing her young son Jace with her, together the four of them stay at Waverly, face their pasts, and find wholeness. 

I admire the way Mr. Martin uses Miss Ella to weave Scripture through this story. He has a subtle, gentle skill for sharing faith in an encouraging way.  

Linda's score: 4.5/5.0 

Linda