Saint Augustine, FL

With the Paducah trip and the resulting postal issues to deal with I am just now posting about our trip to Florida now (2 weeks later). Dad and the guys went down early and attended the PGA tournament. Damon and I went down on a Wed. and came back on Sunday - so it was a pretty short trip, but it really felt like a vacation - relaxing.

One of the things that really appealed to Damon was the chance to take a ride in a Biplane. So the first picture is us next to the plane we went up in. And the second picture is a shot of of downtown St. Augustine from the plane as we flew overhead. You can spot the fort on the left-hand side. We also flew over the lighthouse and then did some dives over the ocean. 

A lot of the rest of the time was spent on the beach. This was easy because we were literally just around the corner from beach access. We took walks on the beach every morning and most evenings.  The third picture was one of the sunrises.

Eventually, after mom, Tammy and the kids showed up on Friday we even all ventured out to the beach during the middle of the day (last photo).

Overall a really great vacation. We had really great weather the whole time. Too bad when we got back it was dark, cool and rainy.

Post Office Drama

Well all the excitement of getting my box from the AQS show was diminished greatly by the fact that the box got damaged and several things are missing. What really is a bit upsetting, even though the box was obviously damaged and had opened up, the post office staff who gave me the box didn't even say anything about checking what was inside. I had to insist - and then they did not provide any space to sort through the stuff. Interestingly along with several of my things missing, there were a few things that clearly were not mine in my box. Thankfully I had insured the box, taken pictures of everything I shipped and had all the receipts. So I filled out the insurance claim form and hopefully I will get some reimbursement for the lost items. In the meantime I have started contacting the vendors to get replacements.
Next time I am following my initial instincts and shipping only with UPS or Fed Ex.
Not happy at all with USPS and how they handled this so far. I still have to wait to hear about my claim.

Most of what I lost were the small things like small fabric bundles (charm squares), patterns, stencils and most of the fabric inks from a kit I bought. It appears that just about all the yardage I bought got to me. So I have started with washing it all. Some fabrics really needed it because along with the damage there was some blue staining (not sure from what) but thankfully is seems to be washing out.

More from Paducah

The show opened with a parade/flash mob with quilters holding quilts and following the band into the event. These guys were the capstone to the parade.

You can view this year's winning quilts in this AQS video.

Along with the the show and the vendors we also went to Caryl Bryer Fallert's shop and studio know as Bryerpatch Studio.  I have always been so inspired by her work!  While we were there she offered to show everyone her studio space upstairs, some of the pieces she is working on and answered any questions we had. Gina was smart and took some notes.    

The big box of stuff I bought while in Paducah still has not shown up. Can't wait to get it and go through it. It will almost be like all new stuff cause I am not sure I remember everything I bought.

I Survived Paducah!

 Paducah was both wonderful and overwhelming. The weather was great - usually in the low 80s and partly sunny. It was a bit strange being somewhere where it was full-blown summer, while we were getting snow back home in Saranac. As you can see here even the roses were already in full bloom in KY. These 'Julia Child' roses were at Patti's 1880s Settlement Restaurant.  They smelled wonderful.

I just downloaded all the photos I took during the trip. The AQS show rules does not allow for posting pictures of the quilts online, but you can keep them for your own inspiration. I have over 320 pictures! I also bought the show book that includes a picture of each of of the quilts in the show. We were able to see everything on our list and then some. I will share more details in the next few posts - it will take me a while to sort out my thoughts and impressions.

Today my first mailed box from Paducah arrived. I put most of the books and a few bundles of fabric I bought into a Priority Mail box. The picture is the contents of the first box (this is the small box).  

Here is a list of the books I got:

Adventure & Applique, by Suzanne Marshall

Art and Inspirations, by Yvonne Porcella

Crazy Patchwork, by Alice Wilhoit

Create your own Free-Form Quilts, by Rayna Gillman

Crop Circles: Stained Glass Coloring Book, by Jessica Mazurkiewicz

Hall and Haywood’s Foundation Quilts: Building on the past, by Jane Hall and Dixie Haywood

Kaleidoscope Paper Piecing, by Nancy Mahoney

Magnificent Mosaics, by Jessica Mazurkiewicz

Pieceful Garden, by Mary Sorensen and Jan Wildman

Rotary Cutting Revolution, by Anita Grossman Solomon

Scrap-O-Lator Quilts and More, by Dianne Springer

60 Pieced Quilt Borders, by Judy Laquidara

Two-for-One Foundation Piecing, by Wendy Hill

The ideas and projects and fabrics I bought in Paducah should keep me busy for at least a couple of years!

Still waiting for the big box to show up.