This is our good boy, Cry Baby sitting with Mommy’s handiwork.  I just didn’t feel like a traditional jack-o-lantern this year, so I went artsy!

Have a safe, Happy Halloween, all!

In all the Quilt Show hub-bub I forgot to post a link to our trip to Maggie Valley, NC.  The leaves were beautiful as was the weather (except for the one rainy day that didn’t keep us from hiking!).

Check out this fella we saw in Cataloochee Valley ~

Click HERE to see all the shots.

Despite bad weather and flight delays (upon flight delays), I made it to Houston for Quilt Market! This shot of the floor was taken early in the morning Saturday before it got busy. 

 I can’t say whether traffic was up or down from previous shows since this was my first one, but my fabric partners, Studio E said that they had a fantastic show.

Here’s me & Marlene with whom I worked closely to get my collections ~ Trés Belle and Fresh-Aire ~ just right.

Besides getting to spend time with all the great people at Studio E, it was exciting to see the wonderful designs that their product development gals ~ Debbie and Laura ~ made from my fabrics.  Many of these patterns are available as free downloads from their website.

This coat is a great example ~ my friends, fellow artists Brenda Pinnick & Phyllis Dobbs stopped by and insisted that I try it on.  It was a little too big for me, but soooo cute! (Maybe a little longer and in my size as a great dressing gown?)

I spent a couple hours in the booth on Saturday and got to meet lots of great people, including some of my blog friends ~ thanks to everyone who stopped by!

Oh, and hey ~ how fun was this ~ I was walking down the aisle and saw a woman wearing a jacket made out of my Trés Belle pattern!  Turns out she, Margaret Van Cleve works for a EE Schenck, a distributor that works with Studio E. And yes, she made the jacket!  Love that jacket, Margret!

Yesterday morning, before I left the show, I walked the Quilt Gallery.

Some were traditional, some avante garde, some were intricate and detailed, some were innovative, some were political, some were weird, some were painterly while others abstract, but all were beautiful and inspiring.  I admit it~ I do not know how to sew (but plan to learn soon), but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating the creativity and hard work that went ito these designs.  I couldn’t take photos of all ~ there were hundreds ~ so I hope you enjoy the few here by some very talented people…

Cher Cartwright….

Crane Johnson…

Karen Buckley…

Katalin Szekel….

Lutggard Gerber-Billiau…

Inge Reinholdt….

Tanya Brown…

I am sharing this now because it is one of those make-ahead gifts.  If you make it now, it will be perfect to use by the holidays.  This makes a great hostess gift, but this one is for my mother.  Don’t worry, this post isn’t a spoiler ~ she requested it!  She loves it on pizza and pasta.  It’s also pretty good for dipping fresh Italian bread.

All you need is a pretty bottle, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, black peppercorns (about a Tablespoon), a few dried chillies (more if your recipient like it really hot!), a couple cloves of fresh garlic (I smash then chop coarsely) and a few bay leaves (fresh or dried).

Drop all of the above in the pretty bottle, follow with two cups of good Olive Oil, add a cork and a swath of raffia or a pretty ribbon and viloa!  You have an inexpensive, heart-felt, not to mention tasty holiday gift.

I am thinking the next one will be fresh basil, fresh oregano, peppercorns, chillies & garlic.  Yum!

…and my very first fabric collections!

Studio E Fabrics will debut my two new fabric collections ~ Fresh-Aire and Trés Belle ~ in two great colorways each.  I am very excited about seeing my work translated into this medium and look forward to the sensory overload that Quilt Market in Houston is sure to bring.

If you’re going to be at the Market,
let me know and/or stop by the booth
and say hello!

Saturday ~ October 24 ~ 2:00-4:00 pm

Booth #1247 (49, 51)

I can’t wait! Can you???

……Jen Eskridge!   Jen said:

I would move back to Korea and work/create there.  Many fabrics are printed there, which is great for my creating.  Also, there are so many beautiful and inspiring tranquil settings.  The holidays are different, the food is amazing and the lifestyle relaxed.  The people there are absolutely wonderful.  Sure, I don’t speak more than 7 or 8 phrases in Korean… but I do love it there.  I would focus on my sewing and devote all the extra not-sewing time to drawing.

Thanks so much to all who commented ~ it was a fun question, and I was blown away by the number of people who responded.  I enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts.

My answer would have to be Paris.  There is something absolutely magical about that city and there is inspiration everywhere you look.  I think I would focus on sketching & watercoloring on location ~ that way I could incorporate my love of walking all over Paris with actually working!

In other news…

I just returned late last night from a short stay in Maggie Valley, NC.  I will post a photo journal in the near future for those of you who love leaf peepin’ like I do!  Here’s a tease….

The colors were breathtaking and the weather was cool & comfortable.  We did have one rainy day, but that didn’t stop us from hiking!  Yesterday morning when we left at 10:00 a.m. it was  38°!  Brrrrr!

When I got home I was excited to see a Fedex delivery from Casey Matthews.  I discovered this artist’s studio in Fernandina Beach this summer and fell in love with her work.  I can’t afford one of her evocative paintings at the moment, so when she offered these two fine art prints for sale on her blog, I jumped on them!

I am looking forward to framing & hanging ASAP!  (she may still have some left ~ hurry!)

Ok, so I’d better get busy catching up ~ more soon!

Is it too early for a Holiday Giveaway?  You might have seen these sweet little cards from Leanin’ Tree here a while back. The portfolio set contains 12 holiday cards (3 each of 4 designs) and printed envelopes.

Now’s your chance to win a set!  Just leave a comment answering the following question and you’ll be entered.  I’ll draw a name at random on Monday, October 20.  You’ve gotta answer the question to be entered…

If you could work/create anywhere in the world for one year, where would it be and why?  Optional bonus question: What would you focus on creating?

Ok, so I am stretching the Jack-o-Lantern reference just a smidge…

But I got thinking about how some artists are known for one style ~ you could pick their work out of a line up no matter what the subject.  This is a good thing for branding and also, I would think, for the artist when they approach a new project ~ they know how they would do it.

And then, there are those of us with more styles than you can shake a black cat at ~ and we’re conjuring up new ones all the time.  I am one of these artists.  You might have noticed this if you’ve crept around around my website or been haunting my blog.  While I am frightfully glad for this versatility, I fear sometimes that this creative wandering brands me as a schizophrenic more than as an artist!  However, it does create challenges…like when I have an idea for a design ~ which of my styles should I pull out of my bag of tricks?  Should I dig up a new one?

Also, I believe that in this industry, it is perceived that an artist designs for all occasions ~ Christmas, Halloween, Baby, Birthday, Wedding, Everyday, etc. ~ you get the idea.  I certainly try to scare up a few designs for each and every category (except Baby; I don’t do Baby.  That’s just scary.), but the truth be known, I struggle with some of them, even if the results do not appear so.  So my question is, should we artists be Jack-of-All-Trades? Do we have to in order to have a ghost of a chance in this business?

This is one of my Halloween flags from a couple years ago. I thought I would demonstrate how sometimes your concept doesn’t always get produced exactly as you designed…

Here are both my sketch and the file sent for production.

And here is the actual flag. Notice the difference?

This was done while the company was still producing appliqué flags ~ where the different colors are actually different pieces of fabric sewn together. Nowadays these flags are printed and stitching is added to give it the same appearance. I am sure this is more cost-effective to produce and as a designer, it gives a little more options where color is concerned and the design is actually produced as designed.

The biggest difference between my original art and the actual flag here is the eyes. I feel that that one small difference changes it from being a really cute design to just a cute Halloween design. Am I too picky?

I just watched the most amazing documentary (thank goodness for DVRs). Actually, the subject of the documentary is what was amazing. His name is Steven Wiltshire and he is referred to as The Human Camera because of his ability to draw buildings & cityscapes completely from memory after viewing for just a short period of time ~ right down the the exact number of windows, etc. He’s traveled the world drawing all the famous landmarks.  Even more amazing, is that Steven is autistic and has come a long way in dealing with this through his art. The documentary wrapped up with him drawing a spectacular aerial view of London (his home town) after taking just a 15 minute helicopter ride to memorize the view.

You can read more about Steven and his amazing ability here in this excellent article and see more of his images at his website.