Passing the Time

What did you do all winter while you were in Florida, you might ask?  Well, this was our third winter in the same town and we have seen most all the sights there, although we are always surprised when something new pops up.  There are loads of parks and we have hiked the trails of all of them.  This year we were next to the ocean so we spent a lot of time walking the beach, watching the waves, picking up shells.  The usual stuff.

We spent a lot of nights playing trivia in a couple of different restaurants or bars.  Every time we or our friends had company we tried to work in a game of trivia.  We must have been getting pretty good at it as we won gift cards to the restaurant where we were playing, which meant another return visit the next week to play again.  Twice we took first prize.

The highlight of my trip was taking a class from Bonnie Hunter through the local guild.  I was so excited to be able to join them and work on the Talkin' Turkey block.  Bonnie is such a friendly and fun person.  I didn't know any of the other people, but met a few and they were very welcoming.  After the workshop, Bonnie did a trunk show which was fun too.

The first time we pulled into the garage of the house we rented this year, I immediately spied a plastic table folded up and stored against the garage wall.  I knew right away this was the table I could use to set up my sewing machine in the house.  There was a 3rd bedroom that was used as an office and a wall under a window with just the right space for the table and all my stuff.  I sewed nearly everyday we were there, sometimes for just a few minutes and other days for several hours.  Here are some of the things I was working on.

 I made this quilt top for my great niece who has a birthday coming up in May.  She will be 11.

 The pink fabric in the center of the square is elephants being carried by hot air balloons.  So funny.

 What grabbed me was this adorable fabric of girls carrying pink parasols while riding unicycles.  My little niece performs in a unicycle/ gymnastics group called Young Ambassadors.  They are ambassadors for physical fitness and perform at the half time of basketball games or at special assemblies at all the elementary and high schools and even college games in their town.  How perfect!!

 I  made these two little doll quilts for the granddaughters of my friend in Florida.  Her granddaughters live in Ecuador.  She had quilts made for them and I made these to go with them.

 I have been making a bunch of these for a Goose Chase quilt.  I made quite a few in Florida and just keep going.

 They are pretty small.

 I made this fancy carrying case to put my Talkin' Turkey blocks in to bring them home.  I didn't want them to get all wrinkly after I spent time ironing and squaring them.

I also made a bunch of these stars for a quilt designed by Humble Quilts.

Just a few more...

I still have a few more photos to share of the Daytona Quilt Show.  Are you sick of them yet?  I can always look at picture of quilts. So much easier than making them. LOL.

This quilt, called the Arc, is a picture of an arc welder looking down from above.  You can see the welder's glove in the center holding a metal rod.  The head and mask are in the top left corner.

This is such a neat perspective.

 Another beautiful Caryl Bryer Fallert quilt

 This is all little gray and black dots on a white or light gray background.  It is all appliqued.  It looks like a screenprint from a distance.

 This quilt is by Marilyn Badger, one of my favorite quilters.  It did not win any awards, which is unbelievable.  Lots of beautiful threadwork, embroidery, paper piecing, beading, etc. etc.

 Such a cute quilt.  The maker reproduced old patterns.  First she recreated the patterns by appliqueing the dresses on the white background.  Then she xeroxed the original patterns onto fabric and appliqued each one in the bottom right corner.  So clever!!  The quilt name is Memories are Made of This.

 Doesn't this elephant look like he will come right off the quilt?  So beautifully colored.  It is all applique.

 Gorgeous colors!!

Lots of beading on this beautiful piece.

More to Share

I always take a lot of photos when I attend a big quilt show.  I am always looking for ideas, although honestly I will likely never make a quilt like the ones I see.  They are so lovely to look at, but I don't have the talent or patience or need for such an elaborate quilt.  That makes going to the shows all the more enjoyable -- kind of like going to an art museum.

Here are more of the wonderful works I saw in Daytona.

 I believe this won Best of Show.

 Edge detail.  Loads of beading on the entire quilt.

 The beading was done like cutwork.  The black behind the beads is the curtain fabric, not the quilt.

 Lots of machine embroidery, too.

 I love Dresdens.  I might try to make something like this.

The background is covered with gold polka dots.  The top half are spaced far apart.  Closer to the bottom they are nearly on top of each other.  I believe they are all hand painted. 

I love every one of Janet Stone's ABC quilts.

Caryl Bryer Fallert has an unmistakable style.

 So many tiny hexies.

 A second quilt by the same quilter.  Lots of detailed drawing by machine.

Still a few more to come.