The Months in Review

When one thing happens to throw me off track, it is usually followed by a series of unexpected events. You know what I mean...a family emergency, elder care issues, LIFE in general?

While I have not been posting regularly (shame, shame), I have less guilt than most because I have been actively doing quilt related things. Here's the catchup:

I thought, when we (Quilters of Color Network of NY) went to Kingsborough Community College (Brooklyn, NY) in February that we would be talking to ourselves, and explaining the art of quilting to the few stragglers passing by. Was I ever pleasantly surprised. We had engaging, thoughtful conversations about quilting with a number of students and staff. One of our volunteers that thought to bring a small machine, and once we let the visitors sit down and sew....WOW. The effect was magic. The ability to sew, even for a little while, speaks to creativity, to accomplishment, to empowerment. We were all very glad we went, and special thanks go to Joanne Meyers at the school for organizing the event. We can't wait to go back!

I have completed my first full guild presentation...well actually my second. Over the years, I have been an active member of four guilds, and one online group. In addition to that, I have a sewing background. As a result I have amassed an extraordinary amount of quilting, sewing, and home dec stuff, plus the tips to go with it. In January, I showed to Empire Quilters my method of creating a database to keep you from buying duplicates of stuff you already thought was necessary to have and then forget about. ;-) The presentation I did for Garden State Quilters was called Night of 1,001 Tips. Despite some technical difficulties, I managed to keep a room of quilters interested without showing a single quilt. The tips were broken into categories: Acquisitions, Saving Money, Sewing & Pressing, Tool Tips, and the Zen of Quilting. I also included some exercises (which we actually did), because everyone needs to remember the most critical tool in the quilting room is YOU.

I am the trips host for Empire, and we have made two excursions this year: Winterthur, and the Quiltfest of NJ. Winterthur was exquisite, with small group private tours; we will surely go back. QFNJ was our first show of the year, and we were glad to get out of the city to see some of the creative pieces as well as shop. The next trip is our Paducah adventure. It is the first trip for many of us, and to say we are psyched is an understatement. I will have the computer in tow to share some daily blogging.

Lastly, two of my quilts are being displayed in the show that Empire is doing this weekend (setup was yesterday, and surprisingly, after 8 hours of lifting, reaching, walking, I am not aching...(thank you Zumba!). If you can get to NYC March 21 or 22, please come and see some awesome works of art. Show information is on the Empire site (see link above).

Now you are caught up....I am still catching my breath!