Why I LIKE (no LOVE) local quilt shows!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't you just hate when you are tired and yet you cannot sleep????   That's what happened to me last night. I wasn't tired per se, but I took the entire evening off - we ordered pizza for dinner and I sat and read my VERY EXCITING book all evening. I want to know how it ends. But then I got tired and I went to bed. Then I am WIDE AWAKE thinking about that darn book!!!!!!!!!!!   So I had to get up and read until I got tired again and of course now I am TIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Well not that much, but I better finish that book tonight!!!!!!!


I spent a good part of the day at the Mississauga Quilt Show yesterday and here are my top TEN reasons for LOVING local quilt shows.


10.    We get to see some extraordinary quilts
9.      We get to see some amazing quilting
8.      We can pick up ALL KINDS (OK - TOO MANY) ideas of quilts we want to make
7.      We can get guilted into starting that kit that has been on the shelf for too long (especially when one of
                your friends has the same kit and wants to make the quilt together and when your kid sees that
                quilt and says that is neat - OH BOY - I didn't see that one coming!!!!!!!!)
6.       We get to buy tickets on the GORGEOUS mini quilts and hopefully win something?????
5.       We get to SHOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   at the merchants mall and see stores that I don't normally go to
4.       We get to SHOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   at the members boutique (more pictures on that another day!!!!)
3.       We get to share the quilt show with your teenager (who is encouraging her teacher to come today)
                 and see your teenager running around taking pictures and ENJOYING the show
2.       We get to be part of the local excitement and support our local groups (hey if we don't support local
                 shops and guilds - they WILL NOT be here for our future enjoyment



BUT - the NUMBER ONE REASON that I love local quilt shows??????????????


1.        We get to SEE and TALK and CATCH-UP with a TON of people (friends, students, guild
                  members, acquaintances) and it is FUN FUN FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I want to thank everyone who came out to the show yesterday and said HI. There were so many, I hope that I got a chance to say hi to everyone.

This is what the quilt show floor looks like - looking left

looking right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then there is some exciting news that also comes from the quilt show.....................


So you remember that quilt that I was madly working on the other day - the one that I sewed the label on just before it got hung?????   the one that I haven't shown you yet?????    Well here it is..............

This is FINDING NEMO. 

and LOOK - FINDING NEMO won a ribbon for Excellence in Machine Quilting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the story of Finding Nemo. Three friends of mine (Linda, Mary and Halina) were into making group quilts. For this one, we decided to do a row quilt format. Then we each choose a theme. Let me STRESS that choosing that theme is VERY important. For some reason, I choose Nemo as my subject matter.

I made the first row which was the jelly fish. Each of the jellies are thread painted to death!!!!!!!!!!  Well they were created on Solvy and I used several colours to create them. Then I attached several different yarns for the tentacle things.

The jelly row

Linda did the night sky, Mary did the turtle on the EAC (East Australian Current) and Halina did the final scene of the movie (not bad for someone who wasn't familiar with the movie  -\I  included the movie with the quilt project so people could use it as a reference.)


Something makes we want to believe that we did the first round and then it went around again, but I can't be sure about that. It was embellished with beads and buttons some of which had to come off for the quilting. Thank god the beads did NOT need to come off. I will take more detailed pictures and post them another day.

Anyway - there are several Nemos and Dorys interspersed into the quilt. People are having fun finding Nemo and Dory.    (YES - we are tweeting the pictures to Ellen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)


We worked on this project MANY years ago. I am not sure the year exactly, but let's just say that it has been a while since this project was started. Needless to say, Linda and Mary have been on my back to get this quilted. And now that this is done - I can only wonder what they will start nagging me about next!!!!!!!   BUT the bottom line - this quilt is DONE. The label is one, the buttons are back on - I can bring it home and hang it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

So Linda and Mary - I appreciate the nagging and I will try very hard to get more projects of mine done. I must admit it is fun to know that these are done!!!!!!!!!!!


The next quilt show (Brampton Quilters Guild) is in TWO weeks. I am happy to report that I have TWO bindings to sew down, SIX sleeves to pin on and SIX labels to sew on. ALL hand work - I should be able to get it done in plenty of time. But let's not forget that I still have TWO customer quilts to get done for that show!!!!!!!!!!!!!


On that note - I have a class to prepare for this morning and then I will be at the show this afternoon.  Yes the show continues TODAY from 10 AM to 4 PM so come on out!!!!!!!!!!!!


Have a GREAT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1


Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!