Hello!! Things are getting exciting around here as we gear up for Pine Belt Quilters 17th Biennial Fiber Art & Quilt Show. It is this Friday and Saturday, October 5, 10-6 and October 6, 10-4. It will be held at Lake Terrace Convention Center, 1 Convention Center Plaza, Hwy 49 at I-59, Hattiesburg, MS. The theme of the show is Celebrate Mississippi!

There are over 290 quilts on display, as well as 54 art quilts displayed by Southern Fiber Artist. We will have vendors, handmade items in the Boutique, handmade items in the Silent Auction, and lectures all day Friday and Saturday! Our beautiful raffle quilt, Mississippi Kaleidoscope, will be on display and you can still purchase tickets. The drawing will be Saturday, October 6th around 3:30.

There will be fun for everyone!

Raffle quilt, Mississippi Kaleidoscope

When the guild announced the theme of the show in February 2017, I knew I wanted to make a quilt and immediately started thinking about it. I knew I wanted to paint a quilt, so I started art lessons in July 2017. I have a new passion! Painting!! I absolutely love it! (That's a whole other post!)

I mulled over several ideas of exactly how we celebrate Mississippi. There are lots of festivals. I contemplated highlighting festivals all over the state. Then I thought, what about the things that make Mississippi what it is? The state symbols and things that are Mississippi. And so my journey began...

This is a very rough draft of what I wanted to make.

Below is the finished product.

Mississippi Treasures

Let me introduce to you, Mississippi Treasures. Every piece of fabric in this quilt, with the exception of the black sashing and borders and the Mossy Oak camo (which is made in Mississippi) around the deer, began its life as white fabric. 
Inktense blocks were used to paint it everything else. 

Logo of Mississippi

The logo of Mississippi

Map of Mississippi

Mississippi is comprised of 82 counties. The Gulf Coast is home to six barrier islands: Cat Island, Ship Island, Deer Island, Horn Island, Round Island and Petit Bois Island.
Located on Ship Island is Fort Massachusetts, a beautifully preserved brick fortification completed in 1868.

Mockingbird, the State Bird

The mockingbird is the state bird and is perched in a magnolia tree, the state tree. 

The mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) was designated the official state bird of Mississippi in 1944.

In 1935, the Director of Forestry started a movement by which to select a State Tree for Mississippi, to be selected by nomination and election by the school children of the State. Four nominations were made--the magnolia, oak, pine and dogwood. The magnolia received by far the largest majority. On April 1, 1938, the Mississippi Legislature officially designated the Magnolia grandiflora as the State Tree.

Country Church next to a cotton field

Mississippi is #3 in the nation for producing cotton and has more churches per capita than any other state in the country.

Paddleboat on the MS River at Natchez

A paddleboat on the Mississippi River at the Natchez Bridge. Established by French colonists in 1716, Natchez is one of the oldest and most important European settlements in the lower Mississippi River Valley.
It was named for the Natchez tribe of native Americans, who with their ancestors, inhabited much of the area from the 8th century AD through the French colonial period.

Music block and famous Mississippi musicians

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This block represents music and blues music being born in the Mississippi Delta. 

It has names of famous musicians that were born in Mississippi along with the Highway 61 sign, also known as the Blues Trail.

Largemouth Bass, State Fish

Mississippi designated the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) as the official state fish in 1974. This black bass (an elongated sunfish) lives in quiet, vegetation-rich waters.

Dentzel Carousel, Meridian, MS

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and named a National Historic Landmark, the Dentzel Carousel is located in Meridian’s Highland Park.

Gustav Dentzel of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, manufactured the carousel, which in the early 1900s manufactured about two or three carousels a year. The Dentzel Carousel has been in operation since 1909 and was actually constructed several years earlier in 1895 for the 1904 St. Louis Exposition, making it the oldest in the country.
The animals are all hand-carved of bass and popular wood and is the only remaining two-row stationary Dentzel menagerie in the entire world.

The structure that houses it is the only remaining original carousel building constructed from a Dentzel blueprint.
The city of Meridian purchased the carousel in 1909 for $2,000. Today, it is estimated to be worth more than a million dollars.
It is still in operation today. The cost to ride is only $.50.

White-tailed Deer, State Land Mammal

Mississippi designated the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) as official state land mammal in 1974.

Bottlenose Dolphins, State Water Mammal

Mississippi designated the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) as the official state water mammal in 1974. Common along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, bottlenose dolphins are extremely intelligent creatures.

Oysters, State Shell

Mississippi designated oyster shell (Crassostrea virginica) as the official state shell in 1974. The American oyster is a valuable resource of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Back of Mississippi Treasures

I chose fabric for the back of the quilt to represent Celebrate Mississippi! The main fabric is Star Spangled and looks like fireworks erupting. The flag and eagle fabric is Stars and Stripes. The bottom red fabric has small stars in white.

Mississippi's State Flag and quilt label

I chose to use a whole block for my label instead of a small label, and paint the Mississippi flag on it. 

I hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures of my quilt and learning what makes Mississippi such a great state!