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I’ve been wondering why the comments have not been appearing – duh! I have to approve them! Who knew? Sorry about that, someday I will know what I’m doing. Maybe.

Hooray! Yesterday I FINALLY finished the quilting on a rather large piece that seemed to take forever. It is currently being blocked and I hope to get on with the binding later today. It’s about a fire that happened last spring in the historic town of Burlingame , KS. It was inspired by a photo taken by the fire dept, used with permission. No recent pics, but here is an in progress shot.

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Where did the week go? Where did the MONTH go?? I have taught classes for the last three Saturdays, and while I love to do that and enjoy the interaction, I am looking forward to some uninterrupted working time. After a few weeks of that I will be raring to go teach again. It is so fun and gratifying to finish a class where folks came in with a little trepidation to having them leave saying “WOW! I’m so glad I came, it really WAS fun and easy!” Saturday was a “Coneflowers – Introduction to Picture Piecing” class. Hopefully some will send photos of finished projects that I can post for you all to see, but in the meantime here is my class sample with two completed sections plus a few other pieces not yet sewn.

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I have been blogging for a month! One reader reminded me “not very faithfully”, but hey! I think I said I’d try for at least once a week so I’ve not done too badly. I have been working through some of the bugs and am reminded often of my technologically challenged condition! I will persevere.

I’m still playing catch-up here, trying to quilt as much as possible in between other commitments, making good progress on the large piece that I had to set aside in favor of “Just Dandy”. Perhaps with a bit of luck I will finish this week. That is unless I am lured away as I was this morning by Sarah’s announcement on QA about the World Beach Project- http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/textiles/lawty/world_beach/
Amazing! Makes me wish for a beach and warm weather, neither of which can be found in KS in January. But it did bring back memories of a day spent on the beach at Galveston and a small quilt that resulted made with bits picked up that day. You can see “Galveston” in my ‘Small’ Gallery. The Beach Project is something to think about for the future though, as I do love to play with rocks. Here’s my project from last fall, photo taken during our recent ice storm:

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Sales tax is finished, ten days early! What a relief that is, and now I also have a good start on the IRS thing as well. I still do that myself as I wear many hats in this business. Since finishing “Just Dandy”, I have taught a class and started a new Coneflowers sample, caught up on many of the things left undone during the marathon that caused the first couple of weeks of 2008 to become just a blur, and even wasted a couple of days being just plain decadently lazy! I’m itching to get on with the next quilting deadline…..But first I will clean up the studio – it’s a perfect drizzly turning into snow kind of a day here – no distractions there!

Well little guy is somewhat of a distraction- he is a destructive but cute fellow who is not bothered in the least by the squirrel guard or the angry birds he has displaced. I don’t know how much longer the feeder will stand up to his daily assaults!

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They are having the perennial “what is art” discussion on QA and I am reminded that half of the people will not like this piece because it is too realistic and a flower to boot! Oh, well. It is what it is and I am happy with it. That is what is so great about quilting, I think there is room for everyone, viva la difference! Due to my self imposed schedule I have started each day before the sun comes up and quit well after it has set. I have totally missed the beautiful springlike weather that Kansas has been enjoying. (The dogs have been bringing some of it inside to me in the form of mud though!) Yesterday I decided that the leaves needed more quilting so I did go outside into the colder but still not too bad temperatures in search of an early dandelion leaf – found a few, even a flower – what a persistent little weed!

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The quilt is finished! Start to finish 9 days. I can’t believe I did it, but I have to admit the time was a blur, I didn’t even know what day it was most of the time. Not a process I would want to repeat but I am glad that I persevered and did it. Photos were taken and the entry sent to Houston yesterday, so it is out of my hands now and I can breathe a sigh of relief and move on to the next challenge which should be to clean up this studio, but probably WILL be to work on the books as the sales tax deadlines are as pressing as contest deadlines!

Just checking in here with a progress report – my nose has been to the grindstone and I finished the piecing on Sunday the 7th (started on the 2nd) I spent Sunday evening removing all of the freezer paper and Monday morning I pin basted and started the quilting. At this point is is over half done so I think I will make the deadline. I know – you’d like to see a photo, but I haven’t gotten the photo thing down yet. I always get them up eventually, but it takes forever and right now I just don’t have the time to play with it. Got to get back to work!!

Deadlines rule. As 2007 came to a close, I had already sent in my AQS entry and was just finishing up the top for a Feb. deadline, feeling pretty good about being ahead of schedule. Then I realised that the deadline for IQA’s Celebrate Spring had somehow escaped being posted to my list of things to do. Yikes! It was in 2 weeks! As I tidied up the mess from the current project my mind was racing. How could I get something done that fast? Probably I couldn’t – but maybe. What if I did a flower, then if it doesn’t get done in time, I can use it for “In Full Bloom” YES!!

Stress and deadlines – 2008 is starting out with both, but for me that’s normal!

As 2007 neared it’s close, I have given some time to pondering the events of the past year and aspirations for the year to come. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but I do make goals! One long term goal that finally came to fruition this year, was the acquisition of my new website with the help of Gloderworks. Several years ago I made it a priority to dedicate more time to creating the quilt art that is my passion. The pattern business, INNOVATIONS, had been taking way too much of my time. All work and no play…. Not a good thing.

This year I had eight things at Houston and plenty to send to other shows with some nice wins to add to the resume, and even a few sales, as well as traveling to teach and lecture! Dropping Spring Market has helped with the stress level and not hurt pattern sales, so that will probably continue, making more time to pursue the joy of creating art quilts. I hope to continue everything that worked so well last year with the addition of developing this blog, to which I will try to loyally post at least once a week, assuming that there is anything of interest to post! The intricacies of technology do not come easily to me, but I am learning!

Happy 2008!