Woo Hoo! The Second Row Is Done, Well Almost.

    I finally finished the second row of the Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt top.  Actually, it's not totally finished.  I need to add three green hexies to the bottom of the each of the half flowers on the end, but I was so happy to get all these pieces put together that I rushed taking my picture.  It won't take long to add the extra hexies.  Now it's time to cut more fabric to make flowers for the third row.

    I made a decision last month about how I'm going to finish this top when I get all seven rows finished.  I will applique a silver/gray border to all four sides of the top.  I don't know how wide the borders will be yet.  I will use the same silver/gray fabric for the backing.  I have decided to piece the back with a row of flowers, as well.  I bought eight yards of the Mirage line of fabric in the silver lining colorway at Connecting Threads on line store (Link to Fabric).  I'm glad I finally picked a border and backing fabric.  Now all I will need is a batting and I don't have to buy that until I actually finish the top and at the rate I'm sewing now, it may not be done until next fall. 

     I took a day trip to Jacksonville, Florida on September 23rd to see the quilts in the Quilt Fest 2017 show.  This show is held each year and this was the first time I had ever been.  The show was fun and there were a lot of great vendors there.  Since it was fall, the vendors had a lot of fall and Halloween patterns.  I was on the hunt for a nice quilt pattern and the gray fabric for my current quilt project.  I did not find anything I couldn't live without, but I had a blast looking.  Dear daughter found a backpack pattern that she had to have.  There were lots of local quilts and quilters.  It made a nice change from all the international quilts I saw in Paducah last year. 

Just Returned From The AQS Quilt Show In Paducah, KY

   I just got home two hours ago from a lovely driving trip to the quilt show in Paducah.  My daughter and I had planned this trip for two years and we were so glad that we finally got to go.  Paducah is an almost 800 mile journey from my home so it took a lot of planning.

      We left last Monday and spent the first night in Nashville, TN.  We spent Tuesday seeing sights in Nashville and left at around 4:00 p.m. to drive to Paducah, KY.  On Wednesday and Thursday we visited all the venues of the Quilt Show, walked around downtown, saw an art museum exhibit, and a local Paducah museum exhibit, we also visited the Quilt Museum, and the Rotary antique quilt exhibit.  On Friday we drove over to Metropolis, Illinois to visit the Superman museum and statue.  We also went into Harrah's and lost $30.00 on the slots in 30 minutes.  Then we went to Hancock's of Paducah to buy fabric for my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt that I started planning before leaving on this trip.  We packed a lot of walking and sight seeing into those three days in Paducah.

     I didn't take any pictures of the quilts on display because my daughter bought me a catalog of the quilts that were entered in the show.   All the quilts were amazing and I was in awe of the workmanship on all the quilts.

    This was a once in a lifetime trip for me.  I will not be going back to the show again.  I would rather use my time and my money to make my own quilts instead of looking at what others have made.

    Here is a picture of the Ohio River I took on our walk on Thursday.

Quilt Show at Stephen C. Foster Folk Culture Center State Park

   Yesterday my daughter and I drove over to White Springs, Florida to the Stephen C. Foster Folk Culture Center State Park to view the local quilt show.  We packed a picnic and a picnic quilt and we were off.  It was a beautiful day in North Florida.

   This park is located on the banks of the Suwannee River and it is named for the songwriter Stephen C. Foster.  Here is a link to the park website:  Stephen C. Foster Folk and Culture Center State Park Link.  There is a 97 bell carillon in this park that chimes on the hour, quarter hour and half hour.  It also plays Stephen Foster songs.  It's one of the highlights of the park.  Here is a picture of the tower I took yesterday.  That sky couldn't have been more blue.

    The Suwannee River yesterday afternoon:

   There was a display of quilts made by Kaffe Fassett in one building that was fun to see.  So much color.

   Here are some of the pretty quilts I saw yesterday that were competing for best in show.  The judging is done by the attendees with ballots filled out walking through the show.  I would have had a hard time finding best in show yesterday.