BENEFIT QUILT SHOW

Last weekend my former hometown quilting group held its annual outdoor quilt show. The show is usually held in the month of September and has always been held outdoors, as far as I remember. The proceeds from the show have always gone to the Georgetown Volunteer Fire Department.The 1937 Studebaker fire truck was restored by my husband when he was a volunteer in the fire department. He retired after 15 years of service. And that word "service" is really accurate: there is no monetary benefit. It is strictly volunteer. They give tirelessly of their time and energy. And after he devoted 15 years to the department, he joined the board of directors to have a say in what decisions were made for the volunteers.
Here was one of my favorites for its sense of humor and artistic ability. In fact, I voted for it for "Viewers Choice". I'm not sure which quilt won but this was my choice for originality.
Here how some of the quilts were displayed on the gazebo in the park. This gazebo was a boy scout (or eagle scout) project for a young man years ago. It is made like a fortress with giant telephone poles for uprights.
A close-up of some the the blocks and the stitching. I notice more and more machine quilting and less hand quilting. I suppose that has to do with the amount of time it takes to put a quilt together in the first place and then wanting to be able to enjoy it without having to take all that much more time to do hand quilting. I prefer the look of hand quilting still though. Something about it just really makes a quilt "sing".
Take time to enjoy your day today. Take time to smell the flowers. And if you have some time left over after all your hard work, go do something creative. It's not every day that you get to fulfill the need to contribute to what you need inside. Most days are filled with pleasing everyone else.

"No man can produce great things who is not thoroughly sincere in dealing with himself."

James Russell Lowell