Florida has been on my mind lately, as I am sure that it has been with everyone.

Connie is from Florida and sent me her quilt, called “Rowdy Library” quilt

this past spring.

It was completed and sent home to Florida but Connie didn’t see it until this

past week. With all the weather tantrums occurring, she was concerned, and so

was I, about the condition of it when she got home.

I know and understand how important people are and I constantly have

Florida in my prayers;  yet I was also thinking about this quilt. Wondering

if it had made it through the Hurricane as well.

Connie contacted me this past week and let me know that it was ok. A huge

sigh of relief on both of our parts. I also want to mention that Connie is

a nurse and has been out helping people who are needing help in

areas around her home. Thanks for being so kind and helpful Connie.

As you can see by Connie’s quilt, there is alot of detail in this quilt. And the

colors, fabrics and applique are outstanding. I so enjoyed just looking at this

quilt while I was working on it.

When I begin a quilt like this, I use a monofilament thread and SID around all

the applique shapes. Yes, it does take a long time but it is well worth the effort

in that it helps to hold everything down and nothing shifts, most of the time.

I also used 2 layers of batting:  Hobb’s wool batting on the top, next to the

quilt top and a 80/20 cotton batting under that. This combination gives

tons of loft and makes all the applique and quilting ‘puff” up even more.

There is some shifting sometimes, but most times, if you do stabilize the

quilt, it works out in the end.

After all the SID is done, then the fun begins. Even before I begin stitching,

I like to have a road map of what I am going to quilt  on the top. This

can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, depending on what

type, size,and budget that I have. This is both fun and mind boggling sometimes.

When the design is done, I can begin the stitching. If I am unsure of an area, I

usually work on what I know I want to do. In this case. lots of straight lines and

swirls.

The back of the quilt. Here you can see the stitching more. I also used

cream Bottom LIne thread for the background fills, on both the front of

the quilt and on the backing as well. It helps using the same thread

color so you don’t have to worry so much about tension issues.

A thin thread such as Bottom LIne gives a lot of texture without the

thread build up.

I had a lot of fun adding texture to this quilt. As I mentioned

before, this is my Ode to Florida, after all that they have been

through. I also wanted to show this quilt all on its own, as you

have been getting bits and pieces along this quilt’s completion.

Now, you can enjoy the full show in one blog post.

More texture and sunlight.

I had alot of fun with this quilt. Thanks Connie for

your quilt and all the help you are giving to people at

home. We are  praying for you all.