Taking another photography class taught by Allison Tyler Jones

Documentary Portraits verses Interpretive

Most documentary portraits are those like the school pictures. Wedding pictures of the whole wedding party facing forward or even the family picture in front of the Christmas tree are documentary photos. They usually answer questions like who, what when and where. Interpretive pictures have much more life to them. As a photographer you are trying to show an emotion or to really show who that person really is. These types of photos try to capture what this person has to say. Watch in the coming weeks to see if I can capture that emotion or feeling.

Sgt. First Class Steven Beck My Hero

Wow an Officer and a gentelman. His Dad and I are so proud of our son.!!!

Quilt Show Ends and Thank You's

We want to thank Tony Boothby for allowing us to use his store front. It was perfect for our show. We could not have done this without our friends from the Friday Lunch Bunch. They jumped in to help setup, clean up and staffed the show as well. Big thank you to Lynne for doing the staging for the show. Thanks Trenton for the loan of the quilt poles.


I put on two demonstrations at the quilt show. One was on making fiber necklaces and the other was creative ways to use buttons.

Lynn from Decades gave a History of the American Quilt.

Jeri gave several demonstrations on using embellishments on your quilts. She is wearing her latest creation. Notice the grand necklace. It is called Primitive Howl. She made it while she was feeding the horses and mucking out the stalls. She is one talented lady. At the end of the show she presented it to me.

Not only did people come in droves but we had a doggie visitor as well. This is Banjo.


He even sat in on one of the demonstrations, gave a big yawn and settled down for his afternoon nap.

Here are the fearsome four that put the whole show together. Suzie, Celeste, April and Jeri. Yes we are still friends.

Carolyn drove all the way from Key West so she could see her Grandmothers Quilt.



After closing down the show it was time for some libations and just having a good time. Bev Hilton and her husband joined us. She is the President of the American Sewing Guild Ocala Chapter.

Let's see the High Springs Quilt Show

Join me as I take you on a photographic tour of the quilt show.
African-American quilt done by Mrs. Newsom. It is based on African strip loom weaving.

Stacy West sent these lovely contemporary quilt wall hangings. Check out her web site

http://www.stacywest.com/

Lynn from Decades not only was our quilt stager but she is a fabulous seamstress as well. This creation is made from doilies, handkerchiefs and other heirloom pieces.

The quilt show was held in a two story building so we were able to hang quilts from the second floor loft.

Harley quilt and Seminole jacket.

I made the Harley quilt from 40 T-shirts. It was a surprise gift to my husband for Christmas 2000. I kept taking t-shirts from his closet hoping he would not notice that any were missing. When you have over 100 Harley t-shirts how can you keep track. After a while he did notice that some were missing. I think some of these were his very favorite ones to wear. We visited every place that the shirts represent from Sturgis, South Dakota to Hawaii.

Pictures shot in RAW with Nikon D60 taken from the second floor loft.

Show Stopper at the High Springs Quilt Show

This quilt , made in 1848, commemorates the War of 1818, the first Seminole War. General Andrew Jackson went to war against the Seminoles at St. Marks, Florida. Many skirmishes occurred all the way across the panhandle and down to Paynes Prairie. Thank you Mrs. Ross for allowing us to hang this never before displayed quilt.

The red and blue material was cut from the coats of the military uniforms. The red may even be from British Red Coats. The brown or Khaki is from the trousers. The whole quilt is wool and is quite heavy.

Notice in the middle of the quilt, the fourth square down is not consistent with the others in that row. One lady visiting the show said it was a Jesus square. That means that man is not perfect and we should never have our work perfect. Only God can be perfect.

Mrs.Joyce Ross won the Contemporary Viewers Choice award for this beautiful quilt.
Mrs. Nancy Boone won the Heirloom View's Choice for this 1933 quilt from her collection.

This crazy quilt was made in 1884. All the lace is handmade as well as all the embroidery. This quilt has many squares of silk that have begun to fray. During that time period, silk was dyed with lead to make the fabric weigh more since it was sold by the pound. The lead is causing the silk to be destroyed. Thank you April Baily for sharing this quilt.

High Springs Quilt Show

This week the High Springs Sewing Society along with Main Street presented the High Springs Inaugural Quilt show. We had over 300 visitors to view many wonderful heirloom and contemporary quilts.

This quilt show was a testament to all of our ancestors.

Mary Etta Jennings Bell August 13, 1884 - April 8, 1963
Vincent, Alabama

We always called her Big Mamma.Aldie Sue Deason Scales

December 6, 1873 - October 20, 1962

Coker, Alabama

We called her Mammie.

The man in the photo is Memnon Cledith Scales our Daddy.

My sister dug through the family trunks and brought out several quilts that have been in the family since the early 1900's. Our grandmothers lived in Alabama and really needed to have warm quilts for the family.

My sister Mary Elizabeth and I are quite proud of what our grandmothers did with their quilting skills. Our family quilts were all displayed in one area.

This is an example of what was done with Sears and Roebucks men's wool suiting samples. My grandmother either ordered these samples or the traveling salesman must have left his suitcase. My grandmother never let anything go to waste.

This is a wonderful example of the Dresden plate design. Fabrics are from flour sacks.

This pattern is called a Hole in the Barn Door. It has the flour sacks and seersucker fabric as well.

The red quilt had homespun on the back. Our other grandmother Aldie Deason Scales spun the fibers and then wove it into the fabric. The rocking chair belonged to our Grandmother Mary Etta Jennings Bell. Standing in the middle of all these quilts gave my sister and me such a feeling of pride and connections. The family would be so proud to have them displayed for all to enjoy.

Clouds before the Storm

These were the clouds that appeared the day before a large rainstorm hit the area. They kind of look like boulders.

I don't think I have ever seen clouds like these.

Visit to Tampa

We celebrated Easter early so Samantha would have practice hunting Easter eggs. She did a good job.

Exciting news. Stevie and the family are having a new house built. It will be ready at the end of May. It is just perfect for them and close to good schools.

We had a great visit with the grandchildren.

Samantha honored us with her constant babbling and saying " dog, plane and bidiebiddiebiddie."

Grandma do you like my new Easter hat? I think it will go with my new outfit.

Katelyn is staring a new fashion trend. I think I like it. Now where are my polka dot socks?

I like to go outside now and Daddy is going to get me a new red wagon. I can wear this outfit when I go out.

This is my final layout for my digital class which has over 50 layers. It was quite an extravaganza. I learned so many new skills and put in mega hours learning. I still am behind in the class and it is over so you will just have to wait for the next installment.

Molly Then and Now

This is my layout for the digital scrapbook class I am taking at JessicaSprague.com. Once again it has taken me all week just to finish this layout. I am learning so many new things. This week I learned to make my own custom brushes, re-color patterned paper and created a photo overlay. I even learned how to do a custom drop shadow. Look at the Journal tag to see my special drop shadow.