15 minutes of fame

Andy Warhol is credited with this statement, "In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes."  I am not sure that is a true statement.  However, "Thistles" and I did have a few minutes of  fame in the world of quilting.  She was awarded 2nd place  in the "Made by Machine" category at the American Quilter's Society show and contest in Knoxville, TN.  It was such an honor to walk into the show and see her hanging there with a big red ribbon.  And when other viewers noticed that my friends were taking my photograph with her, they wanted to snap a few pictures as well.  WOW - not too sure how to handle that, makes me a bit self conscious since I don't like to have my picture taken.  But, I tried to be very gracious and humble as I received many, many wonderful compliments.  Alex Anderson of  "Simply Quilts" show fame and the co-anchor of the The Quilt Show,  even said to me that she,  "really, really, no I am serious, I mean really, really, really love your quilt."  Those were her exact words.  After I got myself up from a dead faint on the floor, I blushed considerably and thanked her graciously.  I was so flustered that I am sure that I did not compliment her, but quickly fled the scene.  She was even rumored to have been seen taking photos of the quilt up close and personal.  I am quite sure that "Thistles" was blushing, too.  Of course, with all that pink, fuchsia, and purple it would be difficult to tell if you didn't know her as well as I.  Don't get me wrong, we are not complaining, but living my life in the background makes for a huge adjustment on my part.  Oh, well, maybe I could learn to adjust . . . . .   I want to thank my husband, my children, my mom and dad, my friends, the AQS . . . . .  .  is that how the typical acceptance speech goes?  
All jokes aside, it is a thrill and one that I won't forget.  Receiving such recognition encourages me to continue to do what I love to do.  Play with fabrics and my sewing machines.  Ah, life is certainly good.

Progress

Some days, when I am thinking that I have not accomplished a thing lately, I make myself look around the house.   I've got "Fractured Honeysuckles" hanging on a wall in my house now.  Picture driving along a country road and glimpsing wild tangles of vines with an illusion of white blurbs here and there.  To further illustrate my thoughts of this idea, here are some her beginnings as she appeared from my mind to the design wall.

I'm thinking that it might well be a good piece to redesign one day. I'll just put that on the list and see if the spirit moves me to actually do another one.

"Shirts & Skirts" is also finished. Once washed and dried, it is ever-so soft and cuddly.  Not sure if it is the woven plaids and stripes, the linen, or the wool batting, but I am sure it will be a favorite for snuggling under on my sofa while watching a movie on a cold, winter evening. 

 

Click here and  here  if you would like to see the befores.  I had intended to do minimal quilting on it, in the vein of  "Fresh Modern" , but decided that it would be a good chance to practice my free motion quilting.  I don't think that I will ever learn to stay focused long enough to do a "quilt police approval" job on my quilting.  I have heard many folks comment about the process of quilting, whether it be by hand or machine, being so soothing, calming, but I just have yet to discover that nirvana.  Doesn't mean that I will stop trying.  Some things just seem to take longer to get my head and hands around than others.



In the mean time, I'm still quilting along on my grandpuppy - just about to get her ready for show.  And also thinking about using these blocks and/or some of my hand dyes for the backing on the other Shirts top.   I was inspired by Tonya R at Lazy Gal Quilting and her "challenge" class.   Sometimes the picture just doesn't say it all and a few words are necessary.  And oh, what fun it was to create the words.  I didn't take the time to read her tutorial about her process of creating her letters, but jumped right into it with my pencil and notebook paper, and filled up my page.  It may have gone a bit more quickly for me had I actually taken the time to read first, but now that I have, I see that it was to be all about the fun.  And since I'm not the teacher type, you can see all the great ideas that Tonya has taken the time to share for us all in this link.  I used more of my plaids and linens for the words of John Lennon.  I'm thinking John would approve of the tie dyes.