Another Mountain Quiltfest week!

This is the second year that I've attended Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, TN.  A few of the Possum Town Quilters from Columbus, MS have been coming for many more years and have invited me along.  I'm thrilled to say the invite has been extended and I plan to come for many years to come!!

I didn't take as many pictures as I did last year, so this will be a quick blog update.

First, since the above picture will be what shows when sharing a link, I wanted to tell you about the projects i worked on during the quiltfest off hours.
I have drafted three patterns for a hand piecing class I will be teaching at the Mississippi Quilt Association's (MQA) June Gathering.  The picture above is an elongated hexagon.  After seeing quilts made with this shape in Pinterest, I searched online for a pattern but couldn't find anything readily available. So I drafted my own shape that measures approximately 5" x 3".  I chose to use my scrap pile, however it can certainly be made with any color scheme and color arrangements.
Next, I wanted to offer several levels of difficulty in my class. Starting with a simple 4-patch to stitching on the bias and Y seams.  And so I drafted a heart and a star, both are mug rug size.

With all that hand stitching going on, my hand muscles were becoming strained and getting sore.  I needed to find something to relieve the stress on my muscles so I could continue stitching!

The ladies at the TJ Lane Thimble Lady booth, Marci and Tammy, were wonderful with helping me find exactly what I needed!

Now hand piecing is a breeze!

I find it difficult to stop stitching at the end of the day. 🤣

Of course, I browsed lots of vendor booths at Mountain Quiltfest and found a few things to put on my wish list 😄.

Little boxes made out of yardsticks

Stamps for hand piecing.

I attended a few classes and programs.

My favorite were the presentations by "Yvonne Hollenbeck, top award-winning cowgirl poet in 

America and Jean Prescott, Song-bird of the Prairie" as described in the Mountain Quiltfest Event Program Guide.

Along with poems and songs, Yvonne gives a small truck show of quilts in her collection, made by her grandmother, her mother and herself. The oldest quilt in her collection is dated from the 1870s.

These two were my favorites. A postage stamp scrap quilt and a blue and white 9-patch named Jacob's Chain.  Both were hand pieced and hand quilted.

I took a stain glass technique class...

And "Stipple no more, background quilting" class.  This was a lecture class more than hands on.  The samples in the following pictures were made by the instructor.

The Possum Town Quilters of Columbus, MS participated in the Guild Challenge.

 Hmm, I'm missing pictures of the other six quilts!

Here I am with my Whimsy's Wish.

It's been an amazing week with wonderful women.  A week of being surrounded with awesome talent and inspiration from every direction!

 And once again, God sent angels on Earth to cross my path and give me messages., I have to tell you one of those moments...

A lady named Kathleen sat at the table in front of me in one of the classes I attended. She warmly greeted me as we stood in line for class supplies, "hello, Naomi."

I've recently met a lot of quilters as a result of giving a presentation about my Cotton Adventures (The Fields, The Combine, The Gin, and Bitten by the Cotton Bug)  at the MQA Spring Gathering last month.  I figured she was among those I'd recently met, so I casually returned her greeting.

She tells me, "you may not know me. I'm a member of MQA."

I mentioned that I felt I possibly recognised her from Facebook too. 

She says, "yes. Facebook, MQA, and I follow your blog."

😮!!! Wow! Someone I haven't had to beg to read my blog!! I was certain I knew all three people that follow me, and my mom is one of them! 😝

So we strike up conversation during class, telling little stories about ourselves.  By the end of the 3 hour class, she fesses, "Naomi, I gotta tell you... about 2 years ago, there was a quilt show in Iuka.  My guild set up a quilt and we were encouraging the show attendees to take a few stitches..."

I remembered exactly what she was saying.  The memory was like a movie playing in my head.

And she continues, "this Possum Town group comes in.  And you sat down. Made yourself comfortable and started stitching!"

LOL, the movie continued to play in my head.  I made the ladies with me wait while I put a few stitches into the quilt.

 Kathleen goes on, "You stitched a heart with your initials."

Omgosh! she even remembers what I stitched!

  And then she says, "THAT'S actually the first time we met!"

What?!!! 

...just 5 minutes of stitching,

 ...a moment in time...

..among a hundred-plus people passing through, .

.. Just being me...

I made an impression... I am memorable!

I can't find words to describe that revelation... 

It's humbling (as in I don't deserve the applause) and uplifting at the same time!!

Kathleen, if you're reading this update. Thank you for the incredible gift you gave me! 💕 You are an angel on Earth 😊.

Of course, the week sped by too quickly. It's sad when the fun has to end.  But I missed my Heartbeat and home. Happily, upon returning home, the cherry on top was that I didn't miss my little garden blooming!  I admit, my gardening skills are minimal. Results like these please me very much!!  

 It's good to be home again 🤗.

 

See you next year Mountain Quiltfest '19!!