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!