Tomorrow will be the start of a busy next two weeks

in my life as a curator and member of the guild. 
On Friday early I will be on the road to Daytona Beach to open the boxes and shipping containers filled with the art work that was submitted for the "Faces of Color" exhibit.  I am looking forward to seeing if the art I saw as digital images lives up to those submitted images.
I have only today to decide if I am entering a piece in the "Ah Spring" exhibit for the Quilts Inc Cincinnati Show.  I keep telling myself I really should.
I have at last reached the end of the guilds 2012 calendar year and the planning for and scheduling of programs and teachers and workshops and searching for a place to hold the classes and arranging buses for the guild's two bus trips.  One to the Jacksonville, Fl quilt show and the other...tada, Houston, yes Houston for the biggie.
In my in between times I have been quilting and listening to a book on CD that is not terribly interesting but I hate to give up on it because I do really want to know who killed the man found in the drainage pipe.  Yes it is a who done-it.
Update:  finished the prospectuses for two more exhibit I have planned for Bethune Cookman.  If you are interested, check out my web site.  One is for collage art.  I am accepting fiber in this one and the other abstract art.

I kinda, sorta forgot

what it meant to be an active member of a quilt guild that leans more to the traditional than toward the art.  Don't get me wrong.  There are many in the group who do create original work.  And because I love quilts in all styles and form I do apprciate a well crafted quilt of the traditional kind.  Saying that leads me to say that being an active member also means I have to get aboard and support what is happening with the guild and one of the things is "Fun Night". 
For one of the Fun Nights I proposed we do a quilt making race.  A race to see who can construct a quilt top the fastest using a "Jelly Roll". Of course prizes will be given to the three who do it the fastest. 
 For those of you who do not know about this jelly roll thing,don't feel left out of the quilt making loop.  I was  until last fall.  Let me tell you there is a whole new trend out there that had totally escaped me. 
Jelly Rolls came about because the different fabric companies wanted a novel way of giving out samples of their new fabric lines to shoppers at the "market".  Now they are packaged by most of the major fabric companies and sold to us quilters who are always looking for the newest thing.  Jelly Rolls in a great variety of fabrics from juvenile to seasonal, solids, 30's look, batik, you name it.  The choices are mind boggling. 
Not wanting to be mind boggled I send my daughter Lyn off to pick one up for me so I could time how long it would take me to make a quilt using those 40 uniformly cut 2-1/2 inch x approx 44 inch strips. 
My time was 2-1/2 hours which for me I didn't think was bad.  It's been a long long time since I have sat at my machine and done nothing but run pieces of fabric through the machine.  I've never done it at top speed.

While I didn't find it  "fun" to make this quilt top...  I would much rather be painting.  On top of that I couldn't hear the television over the sound of my machine motor racing at full throttle.  But in a group of other quilters who are sewing as fast as they can trying to finish first I can see where this intense sewing could possible be FUN.  At least that is what I am hoping because I proposed this quilt making race to the guild. The race will happen in March.  Above is the image of the top I made.  It measures 52" x 65". 
 Lyn not being a quilt maker said she selected this bunch of fabric because she thought the colors were ones I would like. Well they kinda sorta are.  But the pattern in the fabrics aren't.  And the look is way to lousy goosy for my taste.  I have no clue what I will do with this top now that it is finished.  I can't see myself spending hours quilting it. 
Maybe I'll hire it out to a long armer and use it to cuddle on the couch under if I was a cuddle on the couch person.

I also agreed to do another program for the group for our 2nd Saturday programs.  These are sort 3 hour sessions schedule for yes, the 2nd Saturday in the month, that are taught by one of our members so again I made a project that I had to time.  This one was a little more fun.  Less piecing, but a lot of straight stitch quilting lines, but then I got to paint.  Not in the style you know me best by but was painting none the less.  So now I am going to sit for a while and sew the binding on.
My life is going to be a bit cluttered with out of the house meeting for the next ten day with stuff to do for the guild and the University so I will try to check in, but if I don't get back for a spell.  Will update you on my doings when I do.

Creating PR stuff is almost as much fun as creating a quilt

not so.  That is why I like having a daughter that knows her way around publishing programs.  As a result  I am

 getting to know my computer better.  a few minutes ago I had no idea that you could take a document and change it into a gif file(?) and then publish that file to my blog.  Oh the wonders of the times we live in.

Now I am back to the sewing machine were I was able to put in several hours of interrupted stitching yesterday.

Given the choice

on most days I would rather be sitting here

rather than here.

Making art is fun and sitting at this desk for hours is work.  And there I was "silly me" thinking I had retired.
 But I must admit I have gotten really excited about being an independent  curator and gallery consultant.   I am truly looking forward to working out all the details, even problems associated with getting all of the exhibits I have planned for the 2012-2013 Visual Arts calender for Bethune Cookman University and their gallery space in the Performing Art Center and Visual Arts Gallery installed.

One of the exhibits I am most happy about organizing is an art quilt exhibit that I hope will develop into an annual event much like "Form Not Function" at the Carnegie that I was in on the development of from the beginning and still support.   

"Stitched Through" will keep the same format from year to year as it relates to size and no theme.  I love seeing what's new in "art quilts" and I love eclecticism.  If you have not heard about "Stitched Through" click here and you will be directed to the prospectus.  The other  events on the calendar are "Faces of Color" which will open on Feb. 3 with a reception.  This is a mixed media exhibit that will have several art quilts on exhibit.  If you are in the Daytona Beach area on Feb. 3 come join me.  Reception hours are 6 - 8PM.

The next exhibit scheduled is Palette: the art of water color and acrylic. This exhibit is open to Florida residents only followed by Collage: from French meaning glued on. Submission from fiber and quilt artist working in the collage style will be eligible to enter this mixed media exhibit.  The Prospectus for this will be published soon.

Abstract...Abstracted...Abstraction. is the last mixed media exhibit, but as of now I haven't quite worked out all of the details for this one yet.  I do know that I will allow submission of art quilts for this exhibit as well. 
I think I need a few hours of letting that part of my brain that deals with mulling over details rest and I know a few hours of sitting at the sewing machine will be the best place to do just that.

Hope this new year is getting off to a good start for you.