Ready, Set, .....

Today is the last day of the quilt show. The time has flown by. I thought you might like to see what the convention floor looked like before the show started. AQS provided 2 days for set up, so it wasn't that crazy busy when we arrived for set up on the second day.

We arrived in Daytona on Monday. It took us about 8 hours to drive from Key West including assorted stops. This state of Florida is long! Tuesday we headed to the convention center to set up the Curvalicious booth (#1507). This is my 3rd show, so booth set up is pretty smooth with a few tweaks for either new patterns, kits or quilts.

It's exciting to see the convention floor with unpacked boxes and pallets full of quilting goodies.

They were still hanging competition quilts.

 

There was a teachers' meeting before the show started. I was sooooo excited to be a member of this group. I felt a little star struck to be in a room with Gina Perkes, David Taylor, Karen Stone and Leni Levinson Weiner. We were even given a box of Winderfil thread. You can see I already removed 2 spools to share with my class.

 

The show has been awesome. The Daytona quilters were numerous. Many watched my demo and they loved Curvalicious. I sold out on Friday. My classes went well. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Now I'm ready to head North to sleep in my own bed. It's been 2 1/2 months.

You can check out my FB page for photos of some of the contest quilts

 

 

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Mosaic Mania

I had the pleasure of sharing my Fabric Mosaic technique with 21 adventuresome women at the Daytona show. It's a brand new type of quilting that is unique and fun.

This was the sign outside my classroom door. I felt like I entered the big league.

The facilities at the Ocean Center Convention Center were top notch. The classrooms even had a section of wall to which I could pin my samples. It was perfect for my students to really inspect them.

 

The great news is they all loved the technique. They were given 5 different patterns to use and all of them were chosen. My little village, the most difficult, was the most popular. Many of them are determined to do them all - eventually. I really enjoy seeing how some of the quilters chose alternate fabric choices.

One student finished hers!

This is a 3 hour workshop and would be a perfect companion to a lecture about quilt inspiration from my travels. If your guild may be interested, have them contact me.

The show has been amazingly well attended with buses and buses of quilters arriving daily. They are all excited to have this caliber of show in this area of Florida and are not afraid to shop. I'll share more about the show in another post. It's time to get easy for another show day.

 

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Feeling Better

I have been feeling a bit under the weather. Since, I only have 2 days left to get in my island bike ride, I was so happy to be feeling better today. A better bike ride can't be had without my trusty companion, who laid by my side while I was in my bed.

We ride from Old Town to the Atlantic Ocean

past the beaches

 

near the Gulf of Mexico and then back to our courtyard

with my funky folding bike. It takes about an hour and the big challenge is the wind. Bailey sits like a statue and keeps her eye on the scenery. I will miss this.

 

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Curvalicious Goes Modern

I like to think that Curvalicious is extremely versatile and can be used to create many styles of quilts. I had the opportunity to write a tutorial for the online quilting publication, The Quilt Pattern Magazine (TQPM). I found this great grey fabric and pulled out the teal and my new favorite color, raspberry. If you're familiar with the traditional Curvalicious, this one was made with the appliqué strips offset.

I love doing the hand stitching on the circles. My favorite thread to use is Wonderfil's Dazzle. It has one strand of metallic thread with the cotton that gives it just a little bit of bling. I use an embroidery needle with a large enough eye for threading.

To see the article, visit the TQPM website. They are also offering my readers a special subscription price. To get that price visit: SUbscription and use the secret code: special

For more ways to use Curvalicious, visit: www.Curvalicious.net

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Redecorating

Every year we make an update or two to our place in Key West. This year we painted the downstairs. That is the Royal we! My husband says there is only one thing he dislikes more than painting, and that's paying someone to paint. The color is Sea Kissed. I have to thank my friend Lynne for that. I visited her beach house in Delaware and fell in love with this color. She also inspired me to hang Key West art on the walls. Our place looks so bright and light now. Before this, the walls were gold and maroon - not very Key West.

I decided that the wall was calling for a Beachalicious.

It was hard for me to make this quilt again, after spending so much time developing the pattern. To help me get it done, I made some additions. Thanks to Judy for the lighthouse fabric.

Beach chairs

A sun

And some towels.
Many of my students have made changes to the pattern, including a Mickey Mouse in a sailboat. I love to see the changes. Beachalicious pattern is available in my Etsy shop. I'll also have it for sale in my booth at the Daytona Quilt Show.
We also purchased some new furniture from Ikea. I love this buffet we bought.

It's my sewing studio for 2 months. On top is my cutting mat and an ironing surface. Inside are baskets with fabric and sewing supplies. Everything is so well organized and easy to see. Plus it's hidden from sight.

When we leave I will take everything with me and it will be nice for storage for our renters. Here's a link if you are interested in renting our place to spend some time in Paradise.

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Happy Valentines Day

 

Love from Key West!

 

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Almost Ready

I realize I have not blogged for a while. I am so frustrated by lack of reliable internet. It's been al,post 2 months and it is a daily challenge. So instead of banding my head against the wall, I have been plugging away getting ready for the Daytona show. The dates are Feb 24-27. I think my booth # is 1507. If you're in the area, stop by. There's still room in my classes. Can you tell that I'm excited? I am ready to meet all those Florida quilters.

Here is a giraffe that I designed as a step out for my fabric mosaic class. I created it in both realistic colors and in the brightest colors. These pieces are not quilted yet. Do you have a preference?

Lots of people signed up for my class. I am so excited that so many quilters want to learn my technique. I have a student who took a Curvalicious class from me in Lewes, De, then stopped to see me in my booth in Syracuse and is now taking this class in Daytona! How amazing is that?

Wednesday night, 2/24, is the All Star Review. Faculty have 10 minutes to share a technique. I named mine "Curved Illusions". I am presenting 4 quilts illustrating how to include curves in a quilt. I finished this one yesterday and since it was made with reverse appliqué, I'm leaving it unfinished so everyone can see the back. It's got a very modern feel to it and I'm looking forward to quilting all that negative space.

We had some friends visit us from Canada yesterday. One of the must dos for visitors is the Sunset Celebration. There wasn't much f a sunset, because it has been very overcast. There are lots of street performers and a crazy cat man, but my favorite was this pig. Cute?

 

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