Catch of the Day

Manitowoc, WI harbor at 4:30 AM

We left the harbor at Manitowoc, WI for a 6 hour salmon fishing trip on Lake Michigan at 4:30 AM.
This was all Jon's idea - fishing at 4 am during vacation. My teenager, Liv, wanted to bring the Kindle and I wanted to sleep. But, you know, sometimes you gotta roll with it.



"we're gonna need a bigger boat"

Holding it closer to the camera makes it appear larger than your wive's fish

1st fish was Liv's- with Tim, 1st mate

Jon, Jill, Tim 

Our catch: 15 salmon, one lake trout. Largest salmon about 16-17#

Steve and Tim cleaning the catch for us

Seaduction boat

Thanks to Captain Steve and 1st mate Tim of Seaduction Charter Services for a great time! And Jon, it was a good idea!! And, I caught the biggest fish. But we'll go again so you can have another whack at it. : )

Minnesota Quilters show

"Moody Blues" by Laurie Latta
Special exhibit- Cow Parade

The annual Minnesota Quilters was held in Rochester last week. We made it a family trip which means my teenager read "The Hunger Games" trilogy most of the trip there, there and the trip back.


The show was great, as usual, but (I think) fewer quilts than in past shows. My pics:

"Lambeau Snow" (detail)

"Lambeau Snow" by Janell Dahms  Cannon Falls, MN
Quilted by Sherry Reynolds
1st Place:  Pieced, Small

"B.S. I Love You" by Janet Stone   Overland Park, KS
1st Place- Applique, Small

"Grid Lock" by Jill Robinson

2nd Place, Art

Faculty Award

Here's my vote for Best of Show- photos truly don't do it justice partly due to all the people standing in front of it also trying to get a good photo:

"Cordoba" by Claudia Pfeil    Krefeld, Germany
3rd Place, Blue Diamond

People were literally OMG'g while admiring the quilting details and embellishments on this piece AND it's an original design. It's just gorgeous work. I took numerous pics to show all who couldn't make the show what Claudia does with a sewing machine. I don't think this is longarm quilting but I could be wrong. It looks like home machine quilting- either way, it's amazing!!!

This is the BACK of the quilt. If you're a quilter, you know the back is supposed to look this
 great but rarely does!

One of the things I like about quilt shows is the conversations you get to have with great people you don't know and may never see again. It's a very eclectic crowd that goes to quilt shows.

Meet romance writer and quilter Dianna Nicolai from Riceville, IA. Dianna saw me on my IPad at the show and stopped by to check it out. Since she is a writer, she's been thinking about getting some type of notebook. I showed her the Ipad and while showing her the camera feature, took one which is obviously candid. So, if you're reading this Dianna, it was fun talking with you!  Btw, all the pics on this post are from my IPad. The down side is that people don't realize you're taking a quilt picture and they keep walking into the shot! 

Candid camera  (Dianna Nicolai/Jill Robinson)

To see all the award winners visit:
http://www.cvent.com/events/mq-2012-quilt-show-and-conference/custom-127-a00fa6898b294dabb2da0725179c8ec7.aspx

I think it's fair to say I did some damage in the vendor area. Not as much as I used to since I also now buy bolts of white kona, silk, etc. Met a new vendor at the show, Michelle Young Crawford, owner of Flower Box Quilts. She was doing a nice business, lots of great colors displayed nicely and easy to reach. Don't you love her sign?!

Flower Box Quilts   Spokane, WA
Michelle Young Crawford, owner

 Also, Lucy Senstad, owner of Aunt Annie's Quilts and Silks from Avon, MN. She carries a lot of batiks (on purpose to force me into spending money) and also sponsors the Art Category awards at the show. Thanks for supporting art quilts Lucy!

Lucy Senstad
Aunt Annie's Quilts and Silks

Aunt Annies Quilts and Silks

As we were heading out of Rochester, we stopped at a great place for breakfast. It would be a good one for Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives but the food was great and it was cheap.