I went to bed on Feb 28 and woke up in March! February is like that but I forgot; what a rude awakening, especially since I had a Mar 1 deadline to deal with. That took all day but I think I made it in time.

Back to the fairy, I finished her up yesterday. Did a little tweaking and sewed the final seams. I meant to get a final picture before doing the pin basting, but I forgot, so I will get a photo today before I start on the quilting.

In the meantime here is one before those last seams were sewn.

It’s been a lazy week; the current puzzle has sucked up a couple of days! It’s about a quarter done, has 2000 pieces, a Bavarian castle, but Friday I was strong and got the fire top layered and pin basted and even started the quilting.

Saturday morning I decided that I really did want to make something for the next SAQA Trunk Show– it only needs to be at least 9″ square, after all! I looked through already drawn designs and found, already on freezer paper, this little dog. I have made him twice before and I’m thinking that the pattern was in the reverse of what I wanted last time. But for this one – perfect!

I got it pieced yesterday and will quilt it today so it should make it to CA by the deadline which I think is Friday! This trunk show called “This Is A Quilt” will show all of the different styles of art quilts that people are making and will travel for a year, I believe.

Nothing for AQS this year; that’s not a very good omen!

Today’s the deadline for AQS and I discovered that “The Merchant’s House” is still away with “Tactile Architecture”, not due to return til summertime so I have nothing that falls within the size and finish date for Paducah. Too bad I didn’t get photos of “Colorado Kids”!

Yesterday I sewed quite a few of the previously cut pieces in the fire quilt and cut a few more.  The water in the middle will not be cut until later when I can see how the reflections will go. Today I will try to finish the sky.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I wish you all the best one ever! For us it will be smaller than usual. We’ll miss the ones that will not be with us, but look forward to spending time with those that are. The turkey is thawing in the fridge and yesterday we shopped for all the goodies to go with it. What did I forget?

I seem to be in a slump as far as creative urges go – just can’t seem to get motivated right now. I think I am driven by deadlines and at this time they are not pressing enough. Even that new hand dyed fabric from Ghana and the blank wall in my living room that needs a nice landscape don’t seem to be enough to get me going!

Perhaps getting past Thanksgiving will do the trick and some new inspiration will “dawn” on me!

I have been super busy the last few weeks producing four 12 x 12 pieces for my Artist of the Month show in September at The Topeka Art Guild Gallery. I wanted to do six, but I waited just too long! They are all finished except for the hand sewing on the back. Well, this one is all finished.

Inspired by the wren baby photo that I took earlier this summer, combined with one of the feeding parent.

During this time period I got word that the photo deadline for new pattern Market ads was Aug 27, so over the weekend I whipped out a larger version that will become a new picture piecing patten for fall. This will finish at about 24″square like the others in the series.

Yesterday I layered and basted it and got started on the quilting, there’s no time to waste!

The painters came yesterday, painted the living room, dining room, kitchen and hallway and were gone in three hours!! It would have taken me at least two days. In my defense no one has ever moved all of the furniture out of MY way and removed the baseboards for ME! The color is Desert Tan which looks yellow to me, sort of a light golden shade which will lighten and brighten the space, I think. The rug and pad that I ordered arrived already and I can’t wait to unroll it and see how it will look, but must wait for the tiling to be done. That starts Monday morning. I cannot believe the amount of STUFF that we have moved, the house is in upheaval and we are living out of the studio with the refrigerator moved into the utility room and the range soon to be in the garage! The dogs are very confused. Me too.

In addition to the above spaces, we are also having the main bathroom floor tiled so today I am going to paint that room while the baseboards are out.

In between all of this, I have layered, pin basted and am in the process of quilting “Colorado Kids”. It’s coming along quite well.

Yesterday was the postmark deadline for PA National and I had nothing available to enter there this year except for “Longhorn Splashdown” which can’t go there because I have it pegged for Pacific Int this year. So there’s two shows where my work will not be on display this year, Houston, and PA. Bummer. Well actually, I will have work at Houston, just not in the contest.

The good news is – the missing quilt, “Mon Grand Pere” is found and not a moment too soon as it has been accepted along with “Lazy Afternoon” to hang in New Visions’ “Culture and Agriculture”, a multi media exhibit in Wisconsin – their 24th annual exhibit of art with an agricultural theme. I don’t usually enter shows that are not primarily quilting except for the local art guild, but this one seemed right up my alley!

The bad news is – I have been so busy lately that I missed the deadlines for AQS Knoxville and Aullwood Audubon shows!

I had hoped to get the binding on the Longhorn quilt yesterday but it was a rare lovely day with no rain so we tackled the damage that occurred last winter to the fish pond/water garden. This involved resetting all of the rock work for about half of it and it is pretty good sized. We got a really good start and will be able to finish in another day, but not today. It’s raining. Again.

No problem, I’ll finish the binding instead!

Saturday I attended the KAQ annual conference in Topeka and thoroughly enjoyed the two presentations – Ruth Bowman on design and Sherry Best on submitting work to a gallery. I came away with new ideas and renewed vigor!

I also came away with a stuffed pig!

How cute is that! This was Lauren Fallis’s show and tell and since it was also for sale, it came home with me!! When I first saw it I thought it was made from the same fabric as this throw but, no, it is made from Lauren’s own hand dyed and printed fabric. From the tip of his hand sewn snout to his curly tail he measures about 23″.  I love it! Thanks Lauren.

Sunday afternoon I went to Topeka Civic Theater’s “Taming of the Shrew”. Now I don’t usually like Shakespeare but this was really good. They didn’t try to do accents and dialect so it was understandable and very well acted, even at times humorous.

Yesterday we had an appointment and errands in town so I continue to not be finding time to quilt. Today looked pretty open but here I am still at the computer with the morning half gone! I guess I really need pressing deadlines.

Bathsheba has been sold and has gone to a new home!!

I’ll miss having her here, but I’m glad she’s out of storage and being enjoyed.

Yesterday we had to go to town to deliver everything to the tax preparer, ship patterns and generally run errands. I found a sale on roses so now I have to make time to plant four rose bushes. Two climbers for the gate and two Knock-Outs for who knows where. Those are the ones that are supposed to bloom all season.

It was on the schedule to ship “Spring Encounter” to AQS but I ran out of time to package it so will have to do another trip to town today for that – no wonder I never get caught up.

I missed a deadline yesterday by leaving it to the last minute, and recently realized that the deadline for IQF is in May! Can I make something? I don’t know!

As often happens every morning as I try to deal with my e-mail, I get led astray. This morning it was to Australia and New Zealand to enjoy the exhibit of seven textile artists called Southernlands curated by Dijanne Cevaal. Fair warning- it’ll eat up some of your time, but it’s worth it!

Yesterday I think I got everything lined out to take to the tax preparer, so today I just need to check it all over and call for an appointment.  Then attend to some entries with deadlines fast approaching- maybe already too late for some!  It is so easy to get behind, but I’m seeing light at the end of the tunnel and thinking about the next project which needs to be a 12 x 12″piece for the SAQA auction.