Happiness Is...

This man is Gerald Roy. It was his collection of quilts that was exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston last year, and is currently on display at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art until February 2016, and then later in San Diego. He's on the Executive Board of Directors of the National Quilt Museum in Paducah Kentucky. He's an artist, quiltmaker and expert quilt appraiser.

It was in this capacity that I met with him last night as he appraised my quilt, Too Much Chicken.  He loved my quilt.  He said it was fun, but not silly. He loved all the little elements (foxes, the use of fabrics and the word jokes.) He said it was well made and beautifully quilted. (Check that smile on his face!) What a rush. It's one thing to have friends and family like your work. It's another thing when an expert loves it.

I've never been really sure about this quilt. It was fun and happy and somewhat ridiculous. Everybody who sees it smiles, and it was very heartwarming when Gerry turned it over and grinned from ear to ear.

The last time I met with him he asked me if I signed my quilts. When I showed him my discreet signatures on the back of my quilts he said, "Not big enough," so last night showed him the back of the quilt first.

He even loved that.

He said the workmanship and quilting were excellent, noted the quilt was extremely humorous and then valued it about three times what I expected. To say I was thrilled is an understatement of epic proportions.

It THAT wasn't enough...

 He signed my book. :-)