My Kind of Candy Store

My contribution to the fundraising quilts for the Alliance for American Quilts is late.  I'm a tardy girl.
I needed to make time for this project before the holidays, but that sure didn't happen.  In a way, I'm glad.
As part of a holiday gift exchange with the Austin bee I belong to I received a box of delightful goodies from my friend and fellow Alliance Board member, Frances Holliday Alford.  I received yoyos, small hand-embroidered squares, among other delights.
My 16-inch (still unfinished at the edges) quilt is called, "My Kind of Candy Store", which is a collaboration of sorts between myself and the queen of all bower birds, my friend Frances.  Frances has a collection of embellishments that would put any bead and embellishment store to shame.  Her new studio space in Vermont, aptly named "Embellishments" is a sort of wonderland that would bring any beading enthusiast to tears.  I was on hand to watch Mark Lipinski perform a sort of "self-baptism" into the bead religion at the altar of Frances' bead studio.  You think I'm making this up?  I have photos:

Mark's expression of amazement as he enters the "bead and embellishment" room

Mark immerses himself in the riches of Frances' 

color-separated bead drawers.  A separate drawer for every color.

Here is an image of the stacked jars of smaller beads and spools.

Here is the quilt I created with my Spoonflower cloth, beads, and Frances' yoyos:

detail