Success at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show

 (Above:  Roadside Madonna, detail.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Last weekend was wonderful in too many ways to count. Booth 119 stayed very busy during the entire run of the 42nd annual Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show.  I couldn't have managed without my husband Steve.  He drove, worked, rang up almost every sale, and cooked dinner in our AirBnB apartment. Together, we saw old friends, new friends, a celebrity, and several fiber enthusiasts.  Best of all, we sold several pieces and lots and lots of wooden thread spool ornaments.

 (Above:  Roadside Madonna.  Framed:  25 1/2" x 21 1/2". Image transfer on fabric with both hand and free-motion machine embroidery, beading, and trapunto (stuffing from the reverse for a more three-dimensional effect.  $150 including the frame.)

During the drive to and from Philadelphia, I densely stitched the background on this image transfer.  The photo was one I took while visiting Arizona two years ago.  We stopped by a roadside memorial that included this beautiful, plastic statue.  Since returning home late Monday night, I added the beads and inserted a small amount of poly-fill stuffing to give a bas-relief shape to the figure.  Today I finished the framing.

 (Above:  Donation of clipped letters from Kayle Rice, a Facebook friend!)

Being gone for an entire week meant our mail was held at the post office.  For the most part, the large stack of letters was garbage, but one envelope came from Kayle Rice.  She sent me her collection of letters clipped from magazines!  I promise to put them to a good, creative use!

 (Above:  Me in booth 119 at the 2018 Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show.)

So ... how was the show?  WONDERFUL!  We moved into our space on Wednesday morning and had everything set up in smooth order.

 (Above:  Steve and me at Magic Garden.)

We had enough time to walk around the southside neighborhood on Halloween night.  There were lots of kids in costumes, real candle lit jack-o-lanterns beside doorways distributing candy, and at least a half-a-dozen dogs wearing outfits for the occasion.  We went by Magic Garden too!

 (Above:  Veronica Lewis, who sang at our wedding, came to the show from NYC.)

During the show, we were overwhelmed when Veronica Lewis showed up.  She sang at our wedding but we haven't seen her since moving to South Carolina in 1986.  She looks exactly the same.

Family friend Anabel Pichler and her youngest daughter came too!

My friend Kim Bendillo's daughter dropped by and so did a young artist named Olivia with whom I shared accommodations last summer at Homestead National Park. (Forgot to snap a picture).  I got to talk to fellow art quilter Natalya Aikens whose booth was one aisle away and beader Teddi Fine whose booth was next door.

 (Above:  Micheal Moore at the PMA Show.)

On Saturday afternoon, our aisle broke into spontaneous applause when Michael Moore came to support a friend who was "new to the show".  It was exciting, and he seemed quite humbled by our admiration.

(Above:  Gwen, Roxanne, Steve and me at Geno's.)

Yet, the best part of the weekend was spending time with Gwen and Roxanne, friends from waitressing days in Columbus.  We've stayed in touch but I hope that our contact is more regular in the future.  It was a blast to taste test Geno's and Pat's Philly cheesesteaks one evening, having dinner like a tourist but surrounded by locals and sharing lots of laughter!  The weekend was indeed wonderful!