I couldn’t believe my eyes

I couldn’t believe my eyes. There it was, in the winner’s corner of the IQA website. My quilt.

WHAT? !!!

My husband, sitting next to me, looking at the same screen, raised his eyes to mine. I looked back at him, and we bust out laughing. WHAT the heck?

I knew one of my quilts had received an honorable mention and there it was, in the spot for “honorable mention” — as expected. Why was THIS quilt in the 2nd place spot? It had to be a mistake.

“Check your emails,” suggested my perceptive husband.

I did a search…. and I found it. In my outbox — a second email notice from the International Quilt Association. My quilt, Boogie Wonderland, had received 2nd place in the Whimsy/Fantasy category of the world’s largest quilt competition. “Oh NOoooooooo,” I exclaimed.

How does someone miss an email of this magnitude? How? Well, in my defense — it looked exactly the same as the other email I had received for my honorable mention. Both emails had the same title. And the same layout. And they had arrived in my inbox at the same time, same place. Same everything except for a couple of words.

I got over the shock and began to feel the delight… I had a second place award! In this huge, prestigious, international show!

What an honor. I’m still overwhelmed — and excited to the tip of my toes. This quilt is special to me. It was the start of a new series and signalled a new direction. I had put everything I had into it, and found reserves of creativity and tenacity I hadn’t known I had.

OK. Time to stop blogging and get back to work. Next year’s IQA Quilt Festival is less than a year away…