Iridescent Exuberance

Well, now I know it's coming.

Lambs up the street? Check (sorry, no pic)

Crocuses?

 Check

 Cherry Blossoms? 

Check and Check

Grackles?

Check!!

When I was writing the artist statement for my Houston IQA entry last year, I was admittedly a little punchy. I wrote that the "iridescent exuberance" of grackles fascinates me, and that though some folks count on robins to announce spring, I really know that it's coming when the grackles show up. And this year, that day was yesterday. Welcome, Spring!

Cover Girl

First off, many thanks to everyone who took the time to offer an opinion the day before yesterday. It was very interesting to see what everyone thought! I've started to quilt the bird, but have decided not to try and rush it. We've reached the unprecedented situation of having every family member on an antibiotic simultaneously, so I'm taking it a little bit easy today.

The same day I received the email from Pokey Bolton about appearing on Quilting Arts TV, I received another very exciting email. Barbara Polston of the NQA  let me know that The Gathering was selected to be the cover quilt for The Quilting Quarterly, the NQA publication. Yesterday my copy arrived, and I'm so honored and grateful. Here's a picture of the magazine -

We're still waiting for spring here. I saw a single crocus blooming the other day in a neighbor's yard, and the willow trees are starting to green up, but otherwise we're off to a slow start.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Japan today.

Decisions, Decisions

I'm trying to finish a small piece for this year's SAQA Benefit Auction.  The "early bird" deadline is next week, so I'm hoping to finish up a piece by this Friday. The two (as of yet unquilted) contenders are below. Which do you prefer, and why? You can see a bigger view if you click on the pictures.

March Issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited

It's always fun to receive the writer's copy of a magazine when I have an article in it. It usually arrives a few days earlier than a subscription, making me feel a little bit like one of the cool kids. I just received the March issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited and it's beautiful. Here's a peek at my article, the second in a series of six on machine quilted fillers:

I know I say this every time, but this is a really great issue. If you're interested in using colored pencils on quilts, curved crosshatching, integrating machine quilting with machine needle felting, or learning more about straight of grain and stitch regulators, it's all there! Be sure and check it out.