I can't remember a time when I didn't blog for this long a period

and it was killing me not to.  Why?

     I was working on a commission for a friend.  It was a secret.
  I never remember to take pictures of where I am or of what I am doing just telling you that I was teaching  a few small group classes in my house, which are fun for me to do, and writing that I had a booth at a quilt show hosted by a guild in Tampa, I didn't feel like there was that much in that that was blogging about.  And with nothing more exciting than that going on in my life, I certainly didn't want to rub in the fact that  we here in Central Florida were not having as hard a winter as some, I didn't have much else to say.  But now that Spring is coming to most of you, this  is what it was like here in Jan, Feb. and early Mar.

  From every window I could see something in bloom and blue skies although less days like this this winter than normal I will admit.  It rained here more than it normally does during those months.

Feb. 11, 2015

   

Not sure what these are but saw them blooming from my patio door on Feb 18 in the wooded area behind my house.
 

   I live 42 miles from the nearest beach on the Atlantic Ocean side of Florida.  Because of friends and quilting last Tuesday  I drove over 400 miles.  Got up on Wednesday morning and drove another 400 to be near the same body of water.  I knew it would be colder there but I was looking forward to seeing some old  friends and doing a little beach walking.  Friends I saw and that was great and we talked and laughed a lot.  We stayed up late and rose early.   We ate too much wonderfully prepared food with  glasses of wine and of course we did some quilting.   Walking on the beach; there was none of that.  It was cold and it rained every day.

 

    We stayed in three story with elevator, 9 bedroom, 9 1/2 bath house facing the Atlantic Ocean in Sandbridge Beach, Virginia. The Girl Friends came from distances, like Boston, NJ, NYC, NC and SC as well as me from FL a few closer in VA.    

  Not knowing I would be bringing along a quilt for her Sandra asked me to bring some of my work for show and tell and as an aside she said she and Darrel (her husband) were thinking of buying one of my quilts for their home.  I smiled knowingly, it was all I could do not to laugh out loud.   At the end of my show and tell, I unrolled these two pieces.   

 



 

Which one did she like best?  BOTH  and which one did her  husband buy for her.  BOTH.  Boy was she pleased and surprised when she learned of his planning. 
The top one measures 40" x 33"
The bottom one 41" square
Both pieces were constructed using a pieced applique technique and I used  commercial fabrics, all but for the orange flower in the upper.  That flower was created using a piece of my hand dyed cotton.

     It was cold and it rained most of the time I was there.   It was cold enough for  me to drive  for thirty minutes through a snow  showers on the day I left to make my way back home. Thankfully it did not stick on the roadway.   I stopped and spent the night on the way up and back in Florence, SC.  In my younger days I could have driven it all without and overnight stop, alas those days are gone forever.   Next year, God willing and the retreat happens again, I am taking a Southwest flight into Virginia Beach.

     My calendar is fairly clear of commitments for three weeks.  I have an odd assortment of appointments on three of the days but for the most part I will be working in my studio and toward the end of that time I will be gathering my stuff for a trunk show and class in Pensacola, about an eight hour drive away. 
     Until next time.