Publish or Perish?

I write this out of sheer guilt! I haven't been keeping this site up to date. Mea culpa! I have so much to say, so much to share, and at the same time so much to get done, that I find myself scattered in a million different directions. So, enough whining. Here is an overview of my activities during the last couple of months. Suffice to say that after retirement in October, I vowed to get serious about my quilting, particularly since I'm hoping to be able to sell a few of my "creations" from time to time. So let this be the beginning of a more consistent presence via this blog, also through my Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtsnQuilts), where I'll be slowly--but surely--be posting stuff for sale. Right now I'm selling some lovely pincushions I made with china tea cups.

But I said I'd give a rundown of my past comings & goings, so here it is.

First of all, I decided to join a new quilt guild in my area, the Heart of Georgia Guild out of Macon, GA, encouraged by my good quilter friend Page. One of the first things we did was to have a sew-in day at one of the guild members' farm in Perry, GA, a lovely historic farm with a beautiful farmhouse. Here are some photos of that event.

Gwen

Page

A great time was had by all!

Next was the preparation for the Guild's bi-annual Quilt Show, recently held in Macon. I decided to show 10 of my previously made quilts. That meant I had to spruce them up, put sleeves on them, label them, etc. I didn't win any awards (didn't expect to), but it was fun and a bit of a thrill to see my very own quilts displayed next to such beautiful specimens; these ladies are real artists.

Me and my latest

Now the show is over and I'm trying to get my sewing room organized (again!); I've been cutting up quilt mags, clipping articles and patterns that interest me, and putting them in notebooks. This way I can go directly to the specific subject that I'm researching, without having to peruse a mountain of magazines in hopes to find the specific thing I'm looking for. This great tip was given to us by one of the guild ladies, a very smart lady to be sure.

My next project (projects) will be to, (a) whip up a small baby quilt or two for my Healing Hugs charity group--hopefully this week-end, (b) start cutting up fabric for my next Healing Hugs regular quilt, for which I will use a very colorful stash of fabric (see below).

(c) Start work on my Guild Challenge, due in November, but it will be here before I know it (also, I'd like to really put in the work on this one, because I want to make a good impression at the guild; I feel such an amateur next to all the talent that exists there, so I'd like to get an early start); (d) finish a bed quilt I started about 2 years ago, but that keeps being pushed to the back of the line; (e) organize a box of vintage patterns I bought from the Shop Goodwill website so I can also list them on Etsy. I also have many, many, many other projects I'd like to get started on: MORE QUILTS, but I just have to be patient.

So, without further ado, I'll sign off and get started! Thanks for visiting!