The Spirited Autumn Event!

Get ready for The Spirited Autumn Event! From Monday, September 22nd (the Fall Equinox) until Monday, October 6, Members of Etsy's Earthpath Artisans Street Team are offering special promotions on selected items in their shops. The event focuses on Fall Themed and Magical items, just in time for Halloween! Search Etsy using the TSAE tag to find participating items.

http://earthpathartisans.blogspot.com/

I am excited about this 'event' on Etsy! One of the Street Teams (a group of artists who share common interests) is hosting a promotion to celebrate the Autumnal Equinox! This is my favorite time of year and the one I most align myself with! I have made several pieces expressing the awesomeness of fall foliage in the past and I still have a huge stash of fall colors waiting to become another display of color! I grew up in New England and miss the trees when they say, "See ya next year!"

I have a piece waiting to be finished this weekend so I can post and list it by Monday! I have such high goals! This particular piece has bee waiting for the next phase - quilting/embellishing - for several years! I think it is ready to make itself known! Here's hoping I get it all quilted and listed!

... eventually I will catch up! But not likely! Too many ideas jumping around in my head!

Purple Patch!

I support AAQI (Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative) and have donated priority quilts to be auctioned to raise funds for Alzheimer research! To raise awareness on World Alzheimer's Day which is coming up on September 21st, I am displaying the 'purple patch' you see in my right side bar! Julia is a friend of mine who has been dealing with this disease since I met her. Her husband, Les, has been supported by family and friends, but it is a grueling day to day task. I also have a good friend who's mother is plagued with Alzheimer's as well. Her family has been impacted in a way few people understand who do not have close experience with this disease.

To learn more about AAQI visit:
http://www.alzquilts.org/

There are quilts available for purchase. Please share your awareness of this devastating disease, we all need to support each other when we face life changing circumstances!

Big step for me!

Okay, I really did it! Yesterday was the deadline for entering the Innovations Quilt Show being held in Taccoma, Washington the begining of October -

http://www.mqinnovations.com/conference_info.htm

It is the first puplic quilting venue I have entered... yeah me! It is a machine quilters conference. It is not a jurried show, something I am reluctant to enter as it is expensive and I don't make my pieces to meet a set of standards against which to be judged compared to other contemporary artist.

The quilts selected by the pannel of highly qualified in their own art and techniqe individuals who I admire the work of are not always those I would have identified as prize/recognition candidates. That is probably the thing about Innovations that attracted me, it is peer judged. Everyone who attends is given a vote, and the winners recieve the prizes.

http://www.mqinnovations.com/Peer%20Judging.htm

Then there was the lure of:

"Cash prized will be awarded to winning quilts. More details about the cash awards will be posted at a later date. "

I haven't seen any updates to this statement, but it isn't about how much any way! $50 would cover the gas it's going to take to deliver it, pick it up, and hopefully attend one day in the middle! That's going to be 3 round trips to Taccoma...I could take the bus... perhaps this time I will, not as long a ride as to Seattle. There is a little more insentive to attend this as well, I'm hanging in it!

One day I will have a more versitile machine quilting 'system' than my home machine... that will be fun! It will add the fluidity of painting to the quilting phase!

Work has been interesting. I am in the throes of an extremely steep learning curve (can you say hit the wall) and it is an energy strain/drain on me. It is good to be learning, just intense! I am getting better at fitting in my art in the evenings... keeps me ever so much more content!

Speaking of which, I am going to go get a few projects under way!

Catch up

I have been having a difficult time taking the time to update this blog! I keep writing the posts in my head and never getting here to type them! Then I feel like I already did it, and so much has changed it would be a whole new post anyway... blah, blah! All good excuses but bad reasons!

So, what's new? I finally was able to get the Gypsy Rose lap/couch quilt as well as another crib/lap size Blocks in Red and Black, actually pin basted! I needed to stay after work to use the big tables, but have been just too tired for weeks! Finally I worked a Saturday and felt like I could actually get it done! Now comes the quilting, I have been playing with design ideas for the quilting. I often change my mind a bunch as I brainstorm. We shall see how long it takes these quilts to yell loudly before I get to them!

I have made progress on my ACEO tree series, it is a lot of time and energy to make the trees, but I am enjoying it. Not sure I will use this design element on the bigger one, very tedious and detailed work that would not showcase well on the larger piece with out a significantly different set of fibers, ones the variations could be seen from a distance!

I have also begun to bead an awesome Goddess design element on a set of Rainbow weaving post card sized pieces! These are going to be fun! I have 2 of 6 complete!

The following link is to my Gypsy Rose ACEO series 'How to tutorial.' It was fun to write up!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26286141@N08/sets/72157606504066124/

I am also beginning o focus energy on a new promotional coming for the Etsy Team EAST (Earthpath Artisans Street Team) for this Equinox celebration I'll post more on this another time!

I must be off, work demands and all!