Post 34- My first 1st place 'Mia's Garden'

The weeks seem to come and go and before I know it it's been two months and I still haven't mentioned something as important as my FIRST 1st place win!

I'm finishing up this quilt...finally!...with a blogpost and linking it to Finish It Up Friday with crazymomquilts.blogspot.com!

I entered the AdornIt Quilt Challenge at HMQS (Home Machine Quilt Show) in Salt Lake City in May. 

I have to confess that despite my hopes of winning, I had convinced myself I wasn't going to win, so I decided not to go to the awards ceremony. I regretted that so much when my awesome friends from the Handi Quilter Education Department (Vicki, Marie, and Cheryl) text me congrats on my win.

Before the quilting began:

This was a pattern on the cover of Quilter's World Spring 2014 edition (designed by Holly Daniels).

Quilting in progress:

I should mention that everything on this quilt was done hand guided with either templates and rulers or free motion quilting with the exception of the round flower motif (pic below). I designed that in Art & Stitch on my computer.

And finished!

Love the back texture too!

When I finally made it to the show I made it a point to introduce myself to Carolee McMullin, the founder of AdornIt. I was able to learn her amazing story of starting both her scrapbooking company and her fabric company, AdornIt, while raising a family. Now her children are grown and help within the company. 

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to meet Carolee. Not only is she inspirational to small business owners, but she is a genuinely kind person! And, like you and I, she is passionate about sharing her creativity with the world!

I also entered the SewBatik Challenge at HMQS and won a Judge's Choice award.