Blue skies, nothing but blue skies!

     A quick post about my quilts in the Bayberry Quilters of Cape Cod show-- heartfelt thanks to all of my "real" friends and all my "internet" friends who turned out for me-- the suspense is over!

   First, some background info-- I have only entered in this show for the past three years. The first year I got an honorable mention, the second year, I did get a couple of red ribbons and a yellow-- not the coveted blue-- to this point I had never had a blue ribbon, anywhere! This group is not made of big machine embroidery fans-- I do show 'n tell at most of the monthly meetings and when I ask how many people like machine embroidery, I get 2 or 3 hands up out of 200 people. So I decided to try really hard this year and entered four pieces in four different categories... this show is all Viewer's Choice--wait till you see the response this time!

    First, the challenge quilt. I thought this was my best shot at a blue because I minimized the embroidery-- it's English Paper Piecing, Foundation Paper Piecing, Machine Applique-- a little something for everyone. Plus, what's not to like about a tall ship? These are hung right by the entryway-- I walked in on Saturday morning and there it was! Yay! My ship came in!

Of course, I entered the New England Album-- ALL machine embroidery now-- I mean, people just think a computer did it. And my baby had a really challenging location in what is best described as the middle of a labyrinth of rows-- I couldn't even back up far enough to get a straight on picture. That being said, the difficulty of hanging a show like this with so many deserving members is noted and appreciated. 

Well, the crystals must have blazed a trail for everyone,
because they found it! Unbelievably humbled at this point-- there were some rock stars in this division. (More on that next blog post.)

My next piece was "Autumn Village"-- you might remember it as a Mug Rug of the Month-- and I just entered it because it's a personal favorite. I also entered it in an art gallery show a few months back, and it was hung behind a potted planted under a stairwell. So no expectations there. I remember on the night before the awards, realizing I hadn't even seen where it was in the show. So at this point, I was taking pictures of the ribbon winners, and I saw the ribbon, and went to take the picture, and through the viewfinder thought...

Hey, that's mine!

I think this was my biggest success... the Art Quilts category is the one I would never have dreamed of winning. I do love the way my free motion wood frame came out, don't you?

Finally, just another personal fave-- my Kiss Countdown Valentine Advent calendar... Valentine's Day is a big deal in our house because it is also my husband's birthday. I even hot glued mini chocolate bars into the pockets. I may have "bought" some votes this time, though, because when I got it home, some of the candies were missing. XOX

Don't you think the red ribbon is just perfect on this piece?!

So that's my story... I have to admit this is just way over the top, completely unexpected. Grateful thanks to the Bayberry Guild and all of the attendees. I'm happy to say, my fascination with ribbons is officially over, and I'll never say again that machine embroidery doesn't get the respect it deserves. But it's time to retire back to my sewing room and do what I love-- happiness is in the journey, not the destination.  

   
Later in the week, I'm going to do a heavy picture post of all of the gorgeous work in the show, and then a final post about my first ever booth and demonstrations-- once I restore order in my studio!

XOX
Carol