Some of you have been wondering where I have been -Arizona – that’s where! We flew out Thursday for a quick trip to attend a family wedding – home again on Monday. It was great to see folks we hadn’t seen in a long while. Besides the wedding we went to Taliesin West and Casa Grande Indian Ruins.  Since visiting Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water in PA, I couldn’t be that close and not check out Taliesin West, but in comparison, it was not so good.  Of course tour guides make a big difference and we didn’t get a very good one. I have always been interested in the ancient cultures so I did enjoy Casa Grande more.

Home again on Monday and now the concentration is on getting everything together for my next trip – GA on Friday. Starting with clothes, I emptied the suitcase and started laundry. Load the machine and start water running into the sink for a few handwashables.  While that’s filling off to the other room to take care of something else, totally forgetting the sink and not remembering until the entire utility room is flooded along with the two bathrooms on either side and the hall carpet.   Let this be a lesson to you. After a certain age multi tasking may NOT save you time. In spite of wet vac, dehumidifier and fans the carpet is still wet.

Good news though– I was totally thrilled and very honored to have my Yellow Headed Blackbird in the SAQA auction snapped up in the first few seconds by none other than my good friend Del!  She seriously wanted it and I’m glad she got it!

The number of visitors to my blog more than doubled yesterday, which must have been in response to Del’s post on HER blog concerning my (now her) “Early Birds” quilt which I am very proud to say, is in her Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection. It is indeed an honor to have a piece in that collection and to count Del as a personal friend!

There is less than a week to go for the SAQA Auction which starts September 10th at 2:00 Eastern. My donation “Yellow Headed Blackbird” will be amongst the first group offered.

Sept 10 at 2:00PM, I will be somewhere between here and Phoenix so I don’t know when I will get to know how it goes!

The last quilt that I sold was also a bird quilt- “Baltimore Album, Baltimore Oriole” and my last pattern, “Bluebird” is selling well, so I guess there is a theme here – birds have been good for me!

The two in progress pieces are finally finished! “Yellow Headed Blackbird”, 12″ x 12″, will go to the SAQA Foot Square Auction. We actually do have these birds in Kansas though they must not be common in this area. I have only seen one and heard of another.

Vivien asked about the eye. To avoid the intricate piecing, I used a bit of the green with black spots batik that is in the bottom right edge. I isolated a spot that was the right size to be an eye, then with black Pigma pen I blacked out the remaining spots, leaving just a rim of lighter color to define the lower eyelid.Two little white embroidered stitches give it life and also to avoid itty bitty piecing, I embroidered two of the toes.

“The Merchant’s House” 39.5 X 37″ was made for Tactile Architecture but not finished in time. I’m sure there will be another venue for it and it will be ready for next year’s entry.

To see the original photo, scroll back a few entries, or click on the appropriate tag.

I got quite a few nice architectural shots while in the UK so perhaps there is fodder for more quilts there!

Due to the way I work, ruled as I am by deadlines, I almost always finish the current work before starting a new one. That is not to say that I have no UFOs (unfinished objects for those of you who are not quilters) I do have some old ones that are traditional pieces that have been bumped out of the way by the newer stuff with deadlines. I can see how they could quickly get out of hand though. Since I set the Merchant’s House aside to start the Yellow Headed Blackbird and have fabric laid out for the next piece, I guess you could say I already, in the span of a week or so, have three new UFOs to finish! I prefer to call them WIPs (works in progress).

I started quilting the 12″square for the SAQA auction yesterday and hope to finish it today. This closeup was taken after the piecing was completed. The top background fabric is a piece that I have had in the stash for years. It is hand dyed cotton damask. I’ve never found just the right place for it, but I love it here.