Celebrate!

There is always something to celebrate and that's a word I particularly like.  Recently, I was the guest speaker at our guild meeting and my talk was "Celebrate the Ruby Jubilee". 

 

 

 

 

 

I  started with a little history of the International Quilt Festival, and how it began in 1974 as a "thank you celebration" to customers of Great Expectations Quilts.  Then I discussed how quilting was growing in popularity thanks to the Bicentennial Celebration in 1976, the growth of quilt guilds and quilt shops, and some of the differences in the quilt world between then and now. 

 

I had been asked to focus my talk on my Red and White quilt experience, so I talked about how I came to make the Red and White--By the Numbers quilt, in 2012-13.  And how it came to be chosen as the Commemorative Quilt for the Ruby Jubilee.  There was a call for entries to a special exhibit of red and white quilts, I submitted my entry for that exhibit, the quilt was chosen for the exhibit and ultimately, selected as the Commemorative quilt to represent the show in all the advertising, the catalogs and the Pins/Tote Bags. 

 

 

When I got home from Houston in November 2014, I wrote about what the experience meant to me, as best I could explain it at that time, find it here: Red and White Wrap Up.  Much of my lecture came from that post.  I finished the talk with photos of just a few of the quilts from the 2014 show, the Best of Show winner, the Viewer's Choice winner, quilts made by friends of mine, and my two quilts that hung in the 500 Traditional Treasures special exhibit:

 

A-Round With My Friends

Joyful Journey

It was a fun presentation to give, reliving that special time in my quilting journey, and sharing the fun with my guild, where I have been a card-carrying member for 27 years.  Many of those women have taken classes with me and many are close friends.  They were very supportive of me last year when all these good things were happening in my life.  Quilting friends are the best!  And more than a few of them made the trip to Houston for Festival, some for the first time. 

 

I ended my talk by saying "I came home from Houston with even more determination to make as many quilts as I can and teach as many people to quilt as I can.  Quilting is my Passion and my Legacy".   There was one last slide, however, my OTHER legacy:

 

 

My sweet baby grand-girl, Stella LeAnne Wilkins.  Oh, the quilts you will have, dear child!  And the fun and wonder you can look forward to on your Joyful Journey through life.  What a reason to Celebrate!

Let's quilt!

Barbara