Today is my Birthday

How am I celebrating it. 
First thing, I was up before the crack of dawn to drive Rene' to the airport. 
I am off in a few minutes to early vote and drop two quilts at the UPS store for shipment to the Macuso show since the need to be there next week and I want to get them out of my way since I am moving!!!
Moving?
Yes, moving.
I'm moving from apartment 226 to apartment 434.  I will still overlooking or will be looking down into the garden instead of being able to walk directly out my doors into it.
But why?
There is a good reason for this move I assure you.  I hate, hate, hate millipedes.  And despite management being really diligent in their efforts to prevent them from finding their way into my apartment they still do and creepy crawly things creep me out.
I am moving up and out of their path. 
The best part is I  will gain a balcony space that will become an outdoor studio space as well as a place for me to sit, have my morning coffee and journal.
I think if you one is  moving the move with the least effort is one where you are moving into an identical space and there is no thought about where to  place something. 
So I am emptying a cabinet in one place and replacing everything in the identical space in the other unit.
After a year of living in my space I now know what works for me and I see no reason to change anything.
I'll just have a different viewpoint of the physical world in which I live.
I am plannng to have a great day.  i hope the same for you.

The Mt Dora Craft Fair

was held yesterday and Rene, the middle grandson Justin and I went  to walk the streets filled with people lined with high-end craft booths.  I first came upon the small town of Mt Dora by accident about a year ago when I failed to follow the instructions the GPS was giving me and I was glad that I did.  It is a lovely little town on a large lake that will remind you  more of New England than Florida if you could get past the moss dripping from the trees. After a year I am beginning to find that Florida is not at all what I had imagine before I had any thoughts of moving here.
Yesterday, the weather was perfect.  Low humidity, white fluffy clouds over head and temperature in the low 80's.  How perfect is that?
As I walked about venturing in and out of booths, there were several things that caught my eye, but nothing that insisted it come home with me.  It was just good to be out and about.I have included three collages of images that will remember. One is of trees. From time to time I have used them as the subject for my work while they do no dominate as flowers do I still am drawn to them.



The shape of these hats before putting them on your head caught my eye.  Cute!

The elephants were made from re-purposed silver flatware and table ware.

The last is a shot of the crowd going from street to street and booth to booth like me.

I saw my first live in the wild alligator yesterday lurking in the lake.  Mt. Dora is populated with fountains and I found then worth noting as was this church built in the mid 1800's as was the small resident hotel next door to the church. 

As I walked about, here are a few of the trees that caught my eye.  Not sure of what this flowering tree is but saw many on the way to Mt Dora on SR 436 and 441.  The colorful tree was for sale in a booth at the craft festival.  The leaves are ceramic. 

The left lower image is typical of Florida, " a tree that can be found growing anywhere in the US and a palm which is so typically Florida.  And then this short palm on the right that was just short, full and just cute.

Can you image if

I had this much quilting done before I decided I didn't like the color of the thread I was using. After a couple of long lines of stitches I came to this conclusion and turned the piece over to remove the stitches and discovered that some how I had stitched a stray piece of cloth onto the back. There it was smack dab in the center where I would in no way logically place a sleeve or a label. Let me say, the sound I made can not be conveyed in the English language.

But then I laughed and thought I'd share this with you while I take a lunch break now that the stitches are all picked out and the offending piece of fabric now resides in the trash.

World Quilt Show-Florida

I entered these two pieces into the show and they were both juried in. Yea! Yea!

Kissimmee Garden, on the left and Freesia, on the right.  I know those of you who follow my blog have seen them before.  Since Kissimmee Garden was at Bernina University early last Summer it is ready to go, but Freesia, still needs sleeves and a label since this will be its first trip out of the house for an exhibit or show.  

I've known about this show for a while as well as several others that the Mancuso's produce, but I never paid much attention to the fact this show was only for Florida quilt makers. Doing some further investigation into what other show were upcoming that I could enter I discovered that several other of the Mancuso managed shows are restricted to a State or region as well. So I crossed out some on their list.

Thinking back, I can't remember the last time I attended a large quilt show. Maybe the AQS Show in Paducah in 2002 or 2003.  The same last time and year I entered a quilt and had it  accepted.

While the show is in Florida, it is not, in my back yard nor for that matter in the adjacent county. Mapquest reports Fort Lauderdale is a 3-4 hours drive from the center of the state where I am over to the east coast and down toward Miami. Despite the 200 plus miles I  thought it was worth the drive and was looking forward to going.  

That said, I was also looking forward to seeing what my fellow Floridians create, but sadly, I won't get the chance.  I will be traveling.  

On the Sunday before the show  opens I will be on a plane to the Boston area to help jury a SAQA exhibit that will hang at the New England Quilt Museum.  While in the area I will get to see my son Myke, grand-daughter Joslyn and Mel, my daughter-n-law, YEA!!!!  And I will be bumming a horizontal surface to lay my body down on for a couple of nights at their house too. 

On Wednesday  I will drive from the Providence/Cranston area where they live over to  Southbury, CT to teach at the 15th annual Storytellers in Cloth Quilt Retreat.  I think this is the third or fouth time I have been invited to teach and I always have a good time with the quilters who attend.  The food at the Dolce Heritage Resort Hotel is...SUPER GOOD.

I will drive back to Rhode Island after Sunday Brunch to catch a plane out of the Providence airport for home. I think at this moment I'll do that late on Sunday as long as I can catch a non-stop flight otherwise it will me a non-stop on Monday. 

I hope Winter doesn't come early to the New England area this year. I have no heavy/cold weather clothes and I reeeefuse, to buy any and a coat purchase is a definte NO..NOT GONNA.

It's official...

Red Petunias is wearing a blue ribbon that was award in the Wall Quilt/Machine Quilted category.  Yeah!

Red Petunias went to Iowa

to hang in the AQS Show there.
Guess what?
I just got a call and I won....
I'll tell you tomorrow after the awards and ribbons are presented tonight.
Needless to say, I am happy.

The Modern Quilters Guild of Orlando

hosted a workshop taught by me yesterday.  It was held in a part of town I hadn't ventured into before and if it wasn't for "Georgia" the GPS with the female voice, I would have been lost for sure.  The area was very "Floridaish" in style .  Lots of lush greenery, trees draped in spanish moss and tall palms.
This is the meeting room at the Dr.Phillips branch of the Orlando Public Library.  The facility looked to be recently constructed.  I loved the windows.  There were eight students present.  I hope they enjoyed the class as much as I enjoyed teaching.  For more information about this group go to http://theorlandomodernquiltguild.blogspot.com/