SAQA auction starts today!

SAQA auction starts today! SAQA stands for Studio Art Quilt Associates and it's primary mission is to promote art quilts. In this regard, they have many exhibits at wonderful venues, and it all costs money. The annual fundraiser is in the form of an auction. Be sure and read "How the Auction Works". On the first day, the quilts are $750, and the first bidder wins the quilt. Each day the value of the quilt goes down. Each week for three weeks a new group of quilts will be offered. My quilt is in the first group and it starts at 2:00 Eastern time today. Read more about this quilt here.

Urban Landscapes

Urban Landscapes leggings for the trees I love taking geometric and regular shapes and turning them into an organic shape. It's unexpected and wonderful! Maybe that's why I wrapped my trees in Urban Landscape. Or maybe to announce to my neighbors my new fabric line (as many stopped while I was working to comment!). Maybe I have been inspired by Christo? There is plethora of tree art in Austin that also resides in my subconscious. Maybe all of the above? I'm not sure, but I knew I wanted to try this idea before I cut into my stash.....well except for those curtains I made for my daughter (see previous post). This just looks so stinking cool!! And don't you wish you could put some on your trees? Or....all over the trees in a downtown area??? That would look super cool! If you are in the neighborhood, drive by, this isn't staying up long, probably not even overnight, but at least we will have the photos to look at! If you want to buy some of these lovely bright happy fabrics, you might want to hurry. I think my mom is trying to buy it ALL! lol!

Urban Landscapes Simple Curtains

Urban Landscapes Simple Curtains 

 So, I finally made time to sew some curtains for my daughter. We repainted her room last spring in this lovely combination of pink and orange. The fat boy bean bag chair is a perfect bright spot! The ceiling fan is pink against a lovely and smooth white ceiling (gone is the popcorn texture and pale blue paint from her infant days). The curtains were incredibly easy to make. I found these snap together white rings at Fanny's Fabrics in Austin. They snap apart. Then you trace a circle and cut the fabric slightly larger. Last, set one piece of the ring on top, the other on the bottom and then snap the two pieces together. No grommet tools required. I LOVE the simplicity. I lined the curtains in a plain white fabric and used crinoline in the top to stabilize the edge. It works great! Easy to slide open and closed. Heck, even the cat likes it! And, sweet adorable daughter is wearing the happy contented smile that warms my heart!

What you can do with Urban Landscapes?

What you can do with Urban Landscapes? 

 Well, you've seen a number of my projects, so today I am going to show you what a few other people have done. This lovely photo of floating squares is just awesome! I LOVE it!!! It was made by Sheri over at the Quilt Store in Austin, TX. I love the way she floated the cool colors on top of the warm ones and then alternated it. It is going to be a table runner. Aside: if you haven't been to the Quilt Store in a while, you owe yourself a visit. The fabrics are luscious and inspiring. It will make you want to sew even if you don't know how!! Also, Nancy has received my gift bag stuffed with fat quarters and has blogged about it here. She promises to make something with it soon, so we will be checking back with her. She has a cool blog, so maybe you will want to pop over and visit anyway! And...we have Clothworks. Joyce has made this cool Messenger bag! It was inspired by the circles from my quilt, Urban Circles. It is wonderful though. I just LOVE the pattern. And now that I have finished my extremely time intensive project for Quilt National, I am free to sew on other projects again! Hurray! I love finishing a big project! And, next up, curtains for my daughter's room with Urban Landscapes. She has been waiting a while and now is getting rather excited!

Another Giveaway!

Another Giveaway! 

Some Urban Landscapes fabric for you! This one is by Clothworks, so you will have to go to their blog (here) and leave a comment. Brandi is posting the winner on Monday, so you will have to hurry! I LOVE these little zipper pouches, and especially the color combos! Nice job Brandi!

Winner!

Winner! 

I am happy to announce that the winner of my blog giveaway is Nancy! Just in case there was more than one Nancy, she left comment number 47 on my blog, and I have sent her an email already! This was really fun, and I hope to do this again in the future. And the timing is good too because Quilting Arts has Gifts on preorder now (see more here). The instructions for making this little bag are inside, along with many other fabulous projects! I can't wait to get my copy!!!

In the news!

In the news! 

 My quilt, Fifty, Fearless, and Fabulous....no, wait, Fifty, Female, and Fearless, oh yes, that's it, has been featured in a video (along with a number of other wonderful quilts) at equilter.com. This quilt was in the exhibit Beneath the Surface, at IQA Long Beach, CA, curated by Jamie Fingal and Leslie Jenison. See the video here. And while this could get a little boring over time, photos of my fabric in every store that carries them....this one is special because my friend, Jamie Fingal, had a solo show there. Congrats Jamie! Looks wonderful! Anyway, here is a photo of Urban Landscapes lined up with their other wonderful fabrics at Fabric of Vision in Ashland, Oregon. Meanwhile, stay tuned. I will announce the winner of the fabric giveaway on Friday!

Blog Giveaway!

Blog Giveaway! 

To celebrate the arrival of Urban Landscapes, I am giving away a short stack of fat quarters! And, to sweeten the pot, I have made a Bunch of these little drawstring bags. Sorry most of them have designated homes already, but I saved one just for you! I will pack it with the fat quarter short stack and send it to you. Leave me a comment, and I will randomly select a winner in two weeks. The fabric was donated by Clothworks. Look for instructions on how to make these little bags in the upcoming issue of Quilting Arts Gifts (this link goes to last year's issue, the new issue should be out in September). You may remember my post about cleaning cable clutter from this link.

Free Pattern at Clothworks

Free Pattern at Clothworks 

 Oh, it's just so cute! Clothworks made up a quilt from the pattern I designed for them. I LOVE IT! It is so happy and cheerful, and perfect for some little kid's bed! Just saw this on their blog and had to share it with you. You can get free instructions (here) for this quilt on the Clothworks website. Keep checking back with me, I will have a small giveaway soon!

Going to the Show!

Going to the Show! 

I am super proud to announce that my quilt, Doors Across Austin, has been juried into A World of Beauty, IQA in Houston. Click on the name of the quilt if you would like to read more about it. This is the same quilt that won Best of Show at ARTQUILTStransitions. It traveled to a number of venues, but I think this will be it's biggest one! It just adds so much meaning to my work when it gets to be seen and connect with others! Also juried in was our group quilt, Rainbow Pixel Project, made by the Austin Art Bee (Kathy York, Connie Hudson, Sherri McCauley, Barb Forrister, Frances Holliday Alford, and Leslie Jenison). Whoo-hoo!!!!!!