A Weekend with Friends



Susan and Gayle at Quilt National a few years back


 Just a quick hello to you, as I close up my suitcase to head south. I am going to Quilt National this weekend with my old, dear friend Susan Shie. I am really looking forward to the drive time, as she always has a lot of great stories to tell.

Have a happy holiday weekend, and I hope your weather is nice!


My book on display in the Athens book store downtown for the Quilt National opening weekend, where I was speaking.
Andi Stern's artwork is in the background.

My Week; What Was Yours Like?

This snapshot says it all: my week was a busy one, and I am still not finished yet.

In addition to working on two custom orders from my etsy shop this week, I presented a lecture and book signing in Medina, drove another hour and a half to pick up artwork from an exhibition that was ending, did grocery shopping, and weeded in the garden while the world was supposed to be ending. I created two new workshops to offer in the fall, took pictures to email to the venue, wrote class descriptions for the newsletter, and prepared student supply lists.

What I have not done yet is clean up my living room, the repository for this week's activity, where I came in the front door, turned right, and left a pile to be put away later. You can see my artwork stacked up, leaning and lying on the coffee table. On the couch is an antique quilt I sold on ebay, that needs to be packaged and shipped tomorrow. Books from the book signing lie stacked, ready to be boxed up again for my lecture in June at the Akron Art Museum. On the floor is one of my archival quilt storage boxes loaded with quilts brought to my lecture, and covered on top with one of my art quilts just removed from the exhibit.

Since most of these artworks need to be re-photographed for digital format, I have told myself I will photograph them, then put them away. Let's see if they're still there next weekend! Oh, and I will be out of town next weekend. Heading to Quilt National in Athens. Hope to run into some of you there.

Wearables for Spring

 I finished this jacket recently for a client, so thought I would show it to you. It is custom made completely: she picked the design, shape, sleeve length, and the colors she wanted from a selection of fabrics. I did the rest, and it came out beautifully.

The jacket is assembled in my personal collage style. I create my art quilts, Magic Baby clothing and wearables for adults in the same way: put bits and pieces of this and that together to create a quirky, fun and beautiful finished design. Hope you like it!


Detail of closures, jacket front



Jacket back in beautiful batik

Next up: a busy week ahead. I am giving a lecture and book signing for my book Thursday evening at the Medina Public Library. On Friday, I need to pick up my work from the exhibition Piecing it All Together: The Art of Collage. That means also either rehanging it or preparing it for storage once I get it home. I really need to schedule an appointment for professional photography of the pieces I finished for the show at the last minute, too!

Speaking of exhibitions, my friend Terry Jarrard Dimond is participating in an art quilt exhibition at BookSmart Studios. I received her invitation this week. I also received the Call to Entry information for The Artist as Quiltmaker XV from the new curator, Ruta Marino. The entry deadline has been pushed back from September to January 23, 2012, so get busy with your entries now.

Mother's Day Update

Howdy stranger! I have been absent a bit this past week or so, as I have been heads-down working, and trying to balance paperwork, computer time and actual studio time.

Oh, yeah, and Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there who are mothers. We had a nice, quiet day here. The sun even came out, so I was pleased.

Rearranging closets recently, I came across this handsewn silk jacket that belonged to my mother. She has been gone twenty years this year; hardly seems possible. Anyway, she had given this to me many moons ago, and I have tried to care for it to preserve it. It is absolutely gorgeous in its construction and detail, especially the hand quilting and the hand made trim.

My own Mother's Day and upcoming birthday are made special by my sweet daughter helping me to set up a website and separate blog for Magic Baby Designs. I am so excited, and I hope you will also check it out when you get a chance. The website isn't 'live' yet, but the blog is begun. More to come!