Entering quilts into shows is actually a pretty new thing for me – at least compared to my age. The first time I entered was because I thought that the quilt I had made was worth being seen by others and that specific feeling was stronger than any fear I had of opening myself up to other’s opinions.

The first show I entered was in 2012. There are three shows I’ve “built up” to over the past 4 years and I thought I’d try to add another this year. I submitted a quilt to the AQS show in Paducah and I got the notification this week that my entry made it in! What’s so completely ridiculous is that it has given me just enough validation to lead to a profusion of ideas and now I have a crap load of quilts in progress!

The quilt that will be hanging in Paducah is High Voltage Birds. Seems like a good time to tell you how it came about. I had an idea in my head to do this digitally printed, multi-panel, two color quilt for a while and had my mind made up that it had to be a winter tree – bare branches, lots of negative space – I can still see it. That started my search for the perfect tree. Living in California didn’t give me too many options for those big, leafless trees out in wide open spaces. Traveling to other states gave me some “almost rights” but nothing I wanted to use. This went on for almost two years.

Then one day my husband and I drove along the coast and stopped in Pescadero – a couple of great little shops, freshly made artichoke bread, a little farm that makes incredible goat cheese. My husband made me go down a back street to take some pictures of rusted metal and peeling paint (yes, I was feeling cranky and wanted to go home) when I happened to look down the street a bit – the telephone pole and birds – my urban tree. I ended up taking masses of photos and then home to play in Photoshop!

I hope this quilt has a good time visiting Kentucky. Not sure yet if I’m going to be able to make it there to visit.

I thought I’d tell you about some of my pieces over the next few months. This is my latest made for the FiberShot challenge and sale at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. All donated quilts will be hung in the museum and available for sale beginning on March 11th. It’s for a great cause and it’s a chance to own some pretty special pieces!

My little piece is entitled Adhesion Failure #1. (The number one was tacked on as I really think I’d like to work on a series and I really love the title!)

The background – My husband and I were on a trip and passed through Mansfield, Ohio and stopped at the Ohio State Reformatory. Not the one still in use, but the one next door that was completed in 1834, housed prisoners throughout the Civil War years, once held a prisoner that wrote under the pseudonym O. Henry, and was finally closed as a functioning prison in 1972. It’s now an historic landmark and used for films, music videos, and television shows – most notably, The Shawshank Redemption. Walking through the prison was a little disturbing, but it was interesting seeing what rooms had been converted for the film to the warden’s office, the hotel room the men were sent to once released, etc.

What really captured us was room after room of peeling paint and rusted metal – years of historic decorating choices being slowly revealed. I did not realize that there is an actual term for peeling paint – intercoat adhesion failure. Isn’t that pretty great?! And now you know how this piece came about! Curt and I came back with loads of pictures and this piece is the beginning of translating some of those photos into quilts! I hope that the future adhesion failure quilts go together as well as this one did! (And I really hope it sells!!!)

With all the craziness that makes up life, it’s been a long time between posts! So much for my budding career as a blogger!

Creatively, it’s been a good beginning to the year. I’ve just finished two small quilts (to be seen later) and lots more ideas are percolating. I’m sure I’m like a lot of you in that sometimes I need to jumpstart my creativity by seeking out a challenge or two. I love getting involved in the planning process of “how could I approach that?” Or, “could that really work?” Truly, that is probably one of the most exciting phases of any project for me, the obsessive thinking stage! I love planning it all out in my head before sitting down to sew – will I press the seams open, will that edging work, which paint will give the right look, will that fit through my printer – I miss a lot of what my husband says to me during this time! Of course, in spite of this ridiculous over planning, I always have to make adjustments and changes during the actual making of whatever I’m working on.

I love hearing how other people work. I love getting to listen to artists (especially art quilters) talk about their creative process. It gives me a fresh perspective. In a silly way, it helps me to accept my own way of approaching projects and gives me some new tools to play with. Would love to hear about yours!

I’m just back from my first time going to the International Quilt Festival in Houston and, as my mind and body are still spinning from all I’ve seen, I think it’s only right and proper to begin writing now! I knew that this was the largest show in the states but this year was even bigger. As it was celebrating it’s 40^th year, there were even more quilts that usual – around 2,000.

After 5 days, I still don’t think I’d really seen them all. Every morning I’d get up ready to see a section I hadn’t seen before. Every morning while walking to that new section I just had to run by some favorites from the day before and revisit them. Every day I’d see some quilts in sections that I’d already walked through that I didn’t remember seeing before and that I loved. Hours later I might make it to the “new” section!

In addition to being my first time at the show, it was my first time of going to a show without the buffer of a friend. Sounds silly, but that meant I had decisions to make – I could be lonely or make new friends. Don’t get me wrong, I like my quiet time, but just not a week of quiet time! I connected with wonderful people from my hometown guild that were gracious enough to include me in some of their plans, met wonderful people that I’m hoping will grow into new friends, and had coffee with great people that I met in line while waiting for our daily fix of caffeine – those brief connections that won’t really go anywhere but just make you glad that there are people like that in the world.