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I want to write about judging…again. Keep reading to the end and I’ll reveal the winner of my book! I’ve written about judging previously, but I have new thoughts to share based on my latest experience with Houston. My very first experience being judged was traumatic and it’s a bit of a chuckle to read. I’ll be inserting photos of my landscape because I know you need pretty pictures to keep you reading:-)) The photos have nothing to do with the text, just pretty pictures! If you know me or have read my previous posts on judging, you know I…
I am at a crossroads of sorts. Writing my book was a lot of work. My creative juices were thrown into the book, not my art. As a result, I’ve been in a bit of an artistic dry spell. I feel mentally exhausted between the book launch and the rigors of teaching at Houston. I recognize all these are Very Good ProbIems! But it has created a feeling of “meh” in the studio. I needed to get myself revved up. Coincidentally, Lyric Kinard recently released her Start Your Art cards so I had to try them. Start Your Art is a…
UPDATE NOTE: Comments are now closed on this post. Wahoo! Welcome to my very first blog hop! I have convinced nine of my incredibly talented friends to join me and each of us will be giving away a free, signed copy of my book. Here’s how it works: Every day from now through Dec 10, each blogger will post an article about my book on their day. They will be sharing their tips, tricks and even a project or two. I actually don’t know what they will be posting so I’m excited to see what happens! If you visit their…
I had to edit like crazy to get this down to 54 photos! And then I ran into an entire group of photos I hadn’t reviewed, but I’m sticking with what I’ve got. Here we go: Wild Things, Marianne Williamson, capturing the wild flowers that grow along the highway. I love the controlled chaos, lines and beauty of the color. Hole Cloth, Birgit Schueller, Germany. It’s hard to tell from the photo but there are literal holes in the quilt. It was done so well and hangs beautifully. The quilting really adds to the design. Playing in the Waterfall, Valeria…
I’ll probably have at least 2 posts of the quilts at this year’s Houston International Quilt Festival. Stay tuned as I may have more than one post/week for just awhile. It was not until I began to go through my photos that I realized 2 surprising things: I was drawn to applique (which I do not do!) and I’m shocked at how many of the quilts I liked that were made by international quilters. Walk with me through the show: This tribute to Judy Murrah brought tears to my eyes. Judy headed up the Education for Festival and was an…
I’m still pretty much levitating from the excitement of the Houston Festival and Market. This was my first time to attend Market and what a thrill to promote my book to a targeted audience! Market is for industry professionals only and it’s an opportunity to see what’s new and to establish relationships with others in the industry. As a first-timer I was a little bit clueless but it was well worth my time. I made new friends and created new relationships. The biggest surprise to me was that I connected a several people to each other-how cool is that? I…
I will be on a plane by the time this posts-yippeee! Prepping has been excruciating this year and for some reason has gone on and on. But it’s done! Truly, prepping is the hard part. Once I get teaching my adrenaline kicks in and the fun begins. I am a little concerned that I’ve overbooked myself. I’ll be gone 11 days and I KNOW I will be excited to be home again! Want a good laugh? Let’s look at the things I thought I would finish before Houston: This was such a small project-a bit of cutwork on a denim…
There’s so much prep for an event like the Houston International Quilt Festival and Market. I’ll be gone 11 days this year and will attend Market for the first time. I’ll be promoting my new book (squeeee!) and see what is new. It’s not just about quilting, there are wardrobe and grooming tasks too. So: hair, check; nails-next week; shoes-as good as it’s gonna get; chiro-check; theraputic massage to try to get this foot under control, check. Right now THIS is my biggest problem. The right foot is swollen both top and bottom. Every step holds discomfort. The swelling is pushing…
Warning: I unabashedly overuse superlatives in this post. I could not help myself. What a surprise this one was! I am not that familiar with Southern California and “Westside” to me meant just another area of Los Angeles. I had no clue that Westside meant right next to and including Beverly Hills. I really did feel like Jed Clampett half the time. If you don’t know who that is, read about him here. Pat, Westside Quilters Guild‘s Program Chair, picked me up from the airport and we had a grand few hours touring the area. There wasn’t quite enough time…
I had a free day before my evening lecture to the Monterey Peninsula Quilters Guild. I visited the iconic Back Porch Fabric first thing in the morning. Based on their recommendation, I drove to Monterey to visit the Monterey Museum of Art. What a treasure! It is a smaller museum but top-notch all the way. The front desk person greeted me with enthusiasm and was quite proud of the museum and its current exhibits. These were Big City Museum exhibits in a smaller space. Much of what I saw that day was ethereal-loved that! I swooned over the Amanda Salm…