More Florida Beauty

The Florida Quilt Competition was the second largest show on exhibit, with 79 entries. It was open to any quilter who is a resident of Florida. The entries were varied and showed off the considerable talents of many fine Florida quilters. Sadly, I was not diligent in photographing the cards for the info on every quilt, so there are a few here with little info. I apologize for that, it is not fair to the quilters to show their work without giving them credit, but I do want you to enjoy the amazing work that I saw. Please forgive me, Florida quilters!!







The first place winner was Mozart by Barbara A. Stewart of Miami.














It was an original design, hand pieced, hand appliquéd and machine quilted on her own domestic sewing machine.

Second place went to Natalie Carlton of Palm City for Stuart 100 Year Anniversary. Stuart is known as the sailfish capital of the world. An original design, it was made for the town of Stuart which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.















A whole cloth quilt of teal dupioni silk, she added trapunto with wool, and it was machine quilted on her longarm machine. It was stunning, sadly the poor lighting did not do it any favours.

Affirmations by Pat Kumicich of Naples won the third place ribbon. It was an original design,  machine pieced and machine appliquéd, and quilted by hand and machine.

Out of The Loop was a collaboration between Eyvonne Smith and Karen Marchetti.  Eyvonne pieced the top and Karen worked her magic with the longarm quilting. Not surprisingly, they won a Judge's Choice ribbon!  It was an amazing quilt to see.
















Luckily we were in the right place at the right time as a white glove lady came along and "turned" the quilt so we could really appreciate the quilting. Look at the back side - it was as beautiful as the front!!

Bluebirds by Laura Ruiz won the Best Pictorial Quilt ribbon. This was one of my favourites- those little birds were so well done and looked so very real!












See what I mean???

A Taste of Sunshine  by Deb Crine was certainly worthy of the Best Machine Workmanship ribbon. The quilting was just amazing.






















Deb hand painted the design on cotton sateen with textile paints and colored pencils. Threadwork was done with polyester threads.

Bloom is another amazing piece by Deb Crine. It won the ribbon for Best Use of Embellishments. After attending an inspiring workshop with Cindy Needham, Deb applied her new skills and knowledge re. working with linen.














Detail shot: This is antique Madeira linen with an underlay of Dupioni silk. It is quilted with silk thread and although they are hard to see here, there are over 600 Swarovski crystals on this quilt. It was stunning!

Fish House: Pine Island, Florida  
by Carol Elrod was one of my favourites.
"In days gone by, fishermen brought their "catch of the day" to houses like this one to be weighed - and to receive their pay. Over the years, many houses, especially those surrounded by water, have been destroyed by hurricanes. Some have burned. This house, in Jug Creek on Pine Island, was built in a protected spot and has been converted into a residence."

Medallion by Loretta Sylvester. What an incredible amount of work! Both the piecing and the appliqué were exceptional.













Sweet Dreams by Pat Kumicich

















Sparkle Star by Natalie Carlton. Natalie is
another amazing long arm quilter and here's the proof!





























Milkweeds to Monarchs in My Mosaic Butterfly Garden by Charlotte Noll. Loved this one.

And loved this one too. Sadly I have no info on this quilt, name or the maker. So sorry. But I really wanted to include this just because it is so different. Took me right back to the 60's and my very first trip to Florida as a child. I still very clearly remember seeing and meeting several Seminole Indian women. Mum bought me a doll in traditional Seminole costume with very similar design and color to this...


Peace,
Linda

"Live daringly, boldly, fearlessly. Taste the relish to be found in competition - in having put forth the best within you." ~ Henry J. Kaiser