No quits for quilters: The work continues after annual Emerald Coast Retreat & Quilt Show in Destin

The curtain has closed, the lights have gone out and the room is silent.  Wait, what’s that I hear... clip, cut, clip, and cut, needles flying?  The Emerald Coast Retreat and Quilt Show is over for 2013, but enthusiasm and ideas for next year are already under way.

It will be ever so difficult to exceed the splendor of this year’s show.  In case there is anyone out there who didn’t make the show that was held last weekend at the Palms in Destin, here are some descriptions and pictures of a few of the outstanding quilts.

Oh My, More Stars, a pieced quilt made and quilted by Glennes Youngbauer, was one of those standouts. I met Glennes at the show for a fleeting moment and she said, “I have been sewing for a lifetime and took up quilting in 1989.”  I inquired as to how long it took to make this quilt.  “I can’t begin to count the time, but the machine quilting alone took 45 hours,” she said. A blue ribbon got pinned on this one.

A favorite of the crowd I was standing with was titled, Memories, a pieced quilt. This was made by Jackie Youngblood for her husband, Russ.  Photos of his life had been transferred to cloth and pieced into this special quilt.

An interesting concept of friendship and cooperation was shown in a group quilt named, Butterfly Garden.  Linda Scoggins explained to me, “I made the center, Sue Donavin did the first border, Karen Hansen the second and Betty Davey the third.  There was no pattern.  Each person decided what they wanted to do and provided the fabrics.”

This is called trust, folks.  I wonder if they let each person keep the quilt 3 months out of a year.

I loved this show and it made me wish I had the talent and patience to quilt.  I know I don’t, they do and I have great admiration for this creative endeavor. I can see a future generation fighting over who gets the quilt….

Laura Hall is a longtime gardener and Destin resident. She explores area gardens and other topics — often with her cavalier spaniel Annie. If you would like to show off your garden or have a good yarn to tell, contact Laura at 837-8720.