Meet Pat Alderman...

All my photos today were taken on my iPhone.

 Yesterday was a beautiful day, filled with beautiful quilts.

I drove to Parrish, FL to take two of my quilts to a long-arm quilter that

I've been hearing quite a bit about. My friend, Loreen was the first to sing

her praises, and then I heard more about her from friends, Lunetta and Andy.

I really couldn't wait to meet her, and I was so glad I made the drive!

She lives in a lovely community within Parrish and I was taken with her

home as soon as I saw it. Inside was a real treat for the senses. Not only

were her quilts stunning, but her home is as warm and inviting as she is.

 We started our visit when she invited me into her studio. Look at her

New York Beauty quilt!!! (Remember one of my goals for 2014 is to

create a quilt with circles, and a New York Beauty is #1 on the list.)

Now I have a color and design in my mind to aim for.

 Pat took me into her long-arm room to show me her award-winning

quilt. This stunning quilt was created by her and her daughter. It uses

multiple techniques and is a sampler of her many quilting techniques. My

jaw actually dropped when I first saw it. It's large and truly impressive.

 When I turned around in her long-arm room, Pat pointed out her Dresden 

plate quilt. Rather than stitch down all the points, Pat machine quilted about 

1/2" away from the points, leaving them free at the edge. It gave the plates

more dimension. It's such a pretty quilt - sweet color choices and layout.

 Pat has a large basket in the living room, filled with the most scrumptious 

quilts. This one is machine appliqued' and then machine quilted. It's Pat's 

own design! She used whole-cloth Minke fabric on the back for the softest 

girly quilt imaginable. I'd make this quilt in a heartbeat, but I'll have to wait

because Pat hasn't done a pattern yet. (She said she's thinking about it.)

 This was a kit from Keepsake Quilting. (I want one!)

Pat backed it with flannel, creating another cuddly masterpiece.

 This is the last quilt I photographed and it hangs in Pat's dining room. 

She said that it was designed for wools, but she appliqued' the design 

in cotton fabrics with embroidery. I don't know the name of the quilt,

but it could be "Smitten", because I surely was when I looked at it. 

I loved everything about it.

I am so excited to have Pat quilting my latest completed pieces.

"Over The River" and "Princeton Plates" are in good hands.

I know that she will leave her special artistry on them and they'll

be better than they were. I'm so glad that she could take them in.

Thank you for making time for me, Pat.

I already feel like we're friends because of our mutual acquaintances.

I'm looking forward to forging our own friendship, and sharing more

of our love of fabrics, fibers, patterns and all things quilting.

It was a beautiful day, indeed.