I’m a little over two weeks into the new work and a little over half finished with the top. I am taking my time and not pushing to finish as there is no rush this time. It is fun to work with no pressure for a change!

Outside things are looking good; lots of things blooming right now and the work I did last fall, thinning and moving and transplanting is paying off with happy plants. Look at this daylily – Oklahoma Kicking Bird! It’s never been this huge for me before!! This was yesterday and today there are three blooms just like it.

This pink lily has multiplied nicely from the one original potted plant. Luscious color!

These rocks are held in place only by weight and balance. If you are good at doing this, you can balance that top one on it’s point, but I am not that good. It stays through storms and snow, but a squirrel can take it out in a moment, much to his surprise!

I am woefully behind, can’t believe it has been so long since I have posted, but I have been busy!

I did manage to get a photo of “Jesse At The Lake”, on display at the art guild.  This guy was impressed that  I had even included the pulley mechanism!

With the sewing machine off to the shop getting cleaned I was able to spend some time working outside and drawing some new projects for later.  After I got the sewing machine back, I made 25 more matted 4X6’s to donate to the Topeka Art Guild’s fundraiser, last time I checked there were only 7 left.  30 @ $7.50 = $225.00 for them- nothing for me!

I also made my annual 12 x 12 for the SAQA auction, which needs to be there by the 1st of June.  It went into the mail this morning.  I had a challenge to use the hand dyed material

that I made at an art quilting group that I belong to, so I used those fabrics in the flower and leaves plus another hand dye by Judy Robertson for the background.

The little quilts will be auctioned off online this fall.

While the dogs quilt was hanging on the design wall, finished, I saw something that bothered me, so after I got my machine back I fixed that; time was becoming an issue as it needed to be entered soon.

Actually there were quite a few entries that needed to be made, entries that were due from May 29 – June 6, so for the last two days I have entered IQA World of Beauty and Raining Cats and Dogs, AQS, DesMoines, Aullwood and the SAQA auction.  It sounds easy, but involves getting and preparing photos with differing requirements for each one and generally jumping through a lot of hoops.

The quilting and blocking was finished on Sunday and yesterday I did the binding and the photography. I love how this piece came out! It finished at 33 x 41″, a nice size.

I had considered doing a facing on this one instead of a binding, but liked the way this, the darkest batik looked, so I went with that instead.  Cut on the bias there is a nice subtle stripey effect. I think it frames it nicely.

As usual, it is very heavily free motion machine quilted with a variety of different threads to compliment the different fabrics. I met the deadline and it will go to it’s first show next week at the Topeka Art Guild Gallery. Be sure and stop in if you are in the area!

It was a pretty gray day with heavy snow falling in the afternoon so I’m not real happy with the pictures and will probably re – shoot, but this will do for now.

The snow did not last and it is supposed to be in the 70’s by the weekend. I will be so glad when we are past the freezing nights so I can get the outdoor plants back outdoors and start working in the garden!

This morning’s email brought notice that today is the deadline for “Form Not Function”. I have already missed two deadlines this year and we are only barely into the second month! I missed the entry for “AQS Paducah” and “Road To California” which just ended. I have never gotten into “Form Not Function”, they seem to prefer more abstract work than what I do, but I thought I’d like to give it a try anyway since it has been awhile since I submitted there.

Every show seems to want the photos different, so it takes time to figure out what it is they want and find the photos and prepare them after having spent a bunch more time just looking through everything to find out what will be available for the time period that they want it, and not be too old. In this case made after Jan 2010, so that’s easy. This one has an entry fee of $30.00 for up to 3 pieces so it makes sense to submit three. Multiply the time factor by 3. I settled on “Bignonia”,

“In The Bleak Midwinter”

and “Prairie Power”

I expected problems with the online submission, because, don’t I always have problems? And also it being the last day and all, I figured it might be bogged down. But it seemed to go quick and seamlessly.  Almost TOO easy, did it really go through?

Recently the Northcott Fabric Company contacted me about using one of my patterns. POPPY!, to feature one of their new fabric lines, SHIMMER. Of course they need it before Quilt Market in Houston the end of October, so it can hang in their  booth there. They plan to market the pattern to stores along with the fabrics for kitting, so hopefully we will both see the benefit.

I already use a lot of Northcott, especially their Stonehenge line which works wonderfully well in my nature themed work. Shimmer has gold added.  The fabric has a nice silky hand and is a pleasure to work with.

Whenever you work with a fabric company before market, it’s always rush, rush. The fabric didn’t even come in to them til last week, they cut it and express shipped some to me and I finished the top Monday. Started the quilting yesterday and hope to finish it today.

Better go get busy!!

It has been a LONG time since I have posted here, I know! My server was hacked and there for a while I could not get to my website at all. Then yesterday morning I thought I had some time to do it, but then our power went out! Four hours later the power company guys found that a squirrel had committed hari-kari causing a blown fuse in our transformer. It was a nice morning so I spent some time deadheading flowers and watering. Then I decided to retire to the shade on the deck by the koi pond, reading and I didn’t even have to feel guilty about it since with no power I couldn’t do much anyway! I’m still reading the Stephen King book, Insomnia and am nearing the suspenseful ending. His books are always SO long, this is an old one but I don’t remember how it ends. I fell asleep in the hammock watching the orioles.

I am nearly finished with the quilting on the deer quilt, Just the sky and some grass left to do. I have not been working very steadily on this one – for some reason, probably lack of a looming deadline and temperatures in the 100’s, I have not been terribly motivated to work.

The Hen and Chicks have been enjoying the weather this summer, this is the first time I have seen one bloom!

I’ve tried a couple of times to rotate this but it won’t do it.  I guess you will just have to tilt your head!!

Last week it was my turn to host my quilting group here, so I did have some extra preparation for that to do. Part of the deal is making dinner for everyone which can be up to 12 people (only 9 this month) We had Chicken and Strawberry salads, deviled Eggs and for dessert, Gluten Free Pear and Almond Crostatas which was a hit, and not too hard to do.

The snow is nearly gone and the mud is here! Should be in the 60’s this weekend, but maybe with rain, which is not a bad thing.

Yesterday I quilted most all day, I NEED to get this dog quilt finished; I don’t remember ever spending this much time on one quilt. Not so much the hours, but the calendar time. I guess I just need closer deadlines to keep my nose to the grindstone. I tend to get distracted. It’s coming along, though and a few more dedicated days will do wonders. I am planning a couple more projects which I hope will be smaller!

This week has been good! I finished two pieces.

“Cloudy With A Chance Of Rain” 31 x 24″

You may remember this one without the borders. I think they give it a little more presence and help the binding to blend in better.

The sky fabric is a hand dye painted piece that really depicts a Kansas summer storm rolling in. The horse is a figment of my imagination but the shed is real! It was a lucky day when I found that batik for the rusty roof!!

This was made for the”It’s All Kansas” exhibit at The Topeka Art Guild Gallery and needs to be delivered today for a show running through Oct and Nov.

The next one is not due for a week or so but now I don’t have to worry about it. It was made for the “Inspirations” exhibit in Topeka, that collaborative exhibit of artwork inspired by local photographers. Here I was inspired by two photos by Tammy Patterson, both with cows and turbines and the hand dyed Shibouri fabric used for the sky. Tammy and I have paired up for this annual exhibit since it began three years ago and have won the People’s Choice” awards both previous years, first with “Colorado Kids” and last year with “Majesty”. She is an amazing photographer! Those can be seen on my website in the Gallery.

“Prairie Power” 27 x 30″
If you followed the making of this one you may remember that I had bound it in black and was not happy with that. You can see that by following the link above. Changing it to blend with the scene is better, I think.

I got THE call last week! The call from IQF – Houston that my entry this year has won one of the eight top awards!! This comes with cash of at least $5,000.00, plus transportation and lodging for the show. WOW! I’m excited, it was certainly a surprise! They don’t tell which award, you have to wait for the official ceremony.

So I decided I’d better get busy and make them a donation piece for their Silent Auction. This was still on my “to-do” list but time was running out. Now it is a priority.  This is inspired by, but not the same as, the winning quilt. It uses some of the same fabrics and some different ones.

I seem to run on deadlines. So much time has been wasted since returning from the trip to Maine this summer. Perhaps “wasted” is the wrong word as I have done other things, like gardening, but quilting has been on the back burner. A couple of weeks ago with the deadlines approaching, I finished changing the binding on the turbine piece and started the quilting on the KS scene – that is what I was doing when I got THE call……

Sunday afternoon I cut the grass pieces. I don’t know when I will get the time to sew them, but there is no rush, it’s not due til Oct.

I have been doing a lot of computer work, getting the things ready to send in for the Seasonal Palette portfolio. I thought they had to be there by the first of June but no, it’s the first of July. So for once I am ahead of the game as it is going out today!!

Last year I missed the entry deadline for Houston because it is June 1 and that just seems too early for a show that isn’t til fall. So I prepared that for this year, and it will go out today too. I wanted to enter “Longhorn Splashdown” but it I goofed and entered it somewhere else so it will not be available. Again – Houston requires the work to be there in August for an October show, so it messes with my mind. This is the last year that one will be eligible to go there, too. Juggling these things is a full time job!! I couldn’t do it at all without my spreadsheet to keep track of everything.