One More Show

Last Friday, I attended the Georgia Quilt Show north of Atlanta.  I had never been to this show and was impressed by the quality of entries and by the fact that they were from all over the country, as well as a few international entries.  It's not a huge show, but it was well done and well attended.

I had entered my "Cowgirls Just Wanna Have Fun" and was pleased that she received a third place award in the Small Wall Quilts category.  They don't have a separate category for art quilts, so there were lots of different types of quilts in the group--some pieced (a gorgeous miniature that took 1st place), some applique from patterns, and a good number of what I would call art quilts (original designs, realistic, representational, and abstract).

This is my entry--from a photo of Sarah, my youngest granddaughter.  The big brown UPS truck brought her home to me today--that's always a relief when they come home safely.

I was able to enjoy the show with my daughter, Marla, who had never been to a real quilt show before.  I think she was rather impressed with the amazing work on display.

Another highlight was a regional meeting of SAQA, which allowed me to meet several fellow art quilters from around Georgia.  That was a treat and I hope it won't be our last get-together.

I've just completed a Quilt of Valor, which I'll ship out in a few days (as soon as I get an assignment destination).  This is the only one I've made this year--wish I'd done more.  I still have to do the hardest part, which is to write something to the recipient.  That's always tough because you have no idea who you're writing to--man or woman, young or not so young.  But I think it's important to put some kind of message with the quilt to make it more personal.

I'm taking a class online with Lesley Riley on composition.  I hope it will help me have a bit more confidence in what I'm doing, especially when I do a piece and I know there's something not quite right about it, but I'm not sure what that something is--very frustrating. 

I received my copy of Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine this week with the photo of my "Smoky Mountain High" included in a piece about mountain-related art quilts.  It was a thrill to see my work published. 

Ga National Fair Results

After my wipeout at the Asheville Quilt Show, it was nice to go to Perry, GA last week and see the results of the Fine Art and Quilt Competitions. 

My "Where the Pavement Ends" won 1st, "Black Hills September" won 2nd and "Top Gun" received an Award of Merit in the Fine Art show. 

The quilt I recently finished for my bed, "Perseverance", aka, "The Quilt From Hell" won a 1st place and an Award of Excellence for Best Piecing.  I was very pleased.

Next week is the Georgia Quilt Show.  I have one piece entered.  I'm really looking forward to it, as I've arranged to meet my daughter for lunch and the show.  She's never been to a quilt show, so I think it'll be fun to see her reaction to all the wonderful quilts.  My entry into the show is my portrait of her youngest daughter, Sarah (Cowgirls Just Wanna Have Fun).  Then, there's a regional SAQA meeting where I'll have an opportunity to meet other art quilters from GA and SC.

I'm currently working on a Quilt of Valor.  It's pieced and ready for quilting, so I will get busy on that next week.   

Show Time

We're back from the Asheville Quilt Show.  I entered two pieces--no awards...sigh...It was a nice show--over 300 quilts and numerous vendors.  We drove up on Saturday--it's about a 5 hour drive--and made a stop in Hendersonville for apples.  They're the best.

We went to the show on Sunday morning, then drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Folk Art Center.  It's a great collection of arts and crafts from the Southern Appalachian area.  There were lots of quilts and art quilts, pottery, wood carving, weaving, etc.  If you're ever in the area, be sure to visit.  And, of course, the parkway is wonderful--except the traffic was pretty heavy--but then, it was Sunday afternoon and close to a large city, so I guess that's to be expected.  The trees have just begun to show the fall colors, so the next couple of weeks should be peak time. 

We had a miserable, rainy drive home.  We do need the rain badly, but I hate driving in the dark when it's raining. 

The GA Nat'l Fair opens on Thursday of this week (Oct 4th) and runs through the 14th in Perry, GA.  I'll be going down at some point to see how my entries fared (no pun intended).  I have 3 art pieces in the Fine Art competition and 1 quilt in the quilt competition.

I'm so glad to see Fall arrive with cool mornings and warm (but not too warm) afternoons.  It's the perfect time of year, in my opinion, and then, there's the color.

Speaking of color, I took some of my hand-dyed fabric to my favorite local quilt shop (Sunday Best Quiltworks in Ellerslie) to see if Linda was interested in trying to sell some of them in the shop.  We had no sooner worked out an arrangement for her to take them on consignment when a lady came in and immediately bought a piece.  Then, a few minutes later, a second shopper came in and grabbed 2 pieces.  That left 5, so we hung them on a quilt rack to display them to their best advantage.  The next morning, Linda called to say that 2 more had sold--woohoo!  That means I can make some more--and that was the whole point of selling them.  I had to be able to justify doing more.

By the way, if you're interested, I'm making generous half yards (20" x width of fabric) and we're offering them at $15 each.  They are unique, one of a kind pieces--really suitable for framing, as is, but they present all kinds of possibilities for making your own art.  E-mail me if you'd like to know more.