Phew! What a whirlwind I have had in the last month!
First, my quilt Main Street Tonopah won Best of Show (Solo) and First Place Pictorial at the Arizona Quilters Guild show in Mesa, Arizona, which was a huge honor. I really hadn't anticipated that because for all the years I've been going to that show the Best of Show went to a more traditional type of quilt.
My quilt Main Street Tonopah
The original photo the quilt was based on - photo and quilt by me
THEN I went to Paducah after Bill Schroeder of American Quilters Society (who is the nicest man ever, by the way) called me with his congratulations and asking if I was coming to the Awards Ceremony. I had no idea which quilt won or what award until the actual ceremony but I was dying to have that experience so, last minute airfare being terribly expensive and all, I went!
Long story short, Ohio Barn in Early Morning Light won Best Wall Quilt! And right now it's hanging in The National Quilt Museum, one of my favorite places. I love the way they honor the quilts by not crowding them and with superb lighting and signage. A real class act.
It's so funny, along with being just gobsmacked (watching too much BBC on tv) I suddenly felt anxious - like maybe it was a fluke, are they taking it back? But no, it wasn't a dream and I am so happy to have that piece appreciated. It truly was a labor of love while I was working on it, with all those greens being a very healing color for me.
It was so interesting when I was holding court on Wednesday at Paducah, just savoring sitting there by my piece, a very nice lady came by and said she lived near that barn and she had driven by it many times. Unfortunately, there had been a bad storm with much damage to the barn and it had to be taken down, so I am so happy I managed to get that photo and do THAT quilt. The barn lives on! That was a very happy day for me, just talking to so many people about my quilt. So much of my time is spent in my sewing room (aka studio) by myself - not a bad thing but still...
Ohio Barn in Early Morning Light in process...
Ohio Barn in Early Morning Light
So my Paducah dream really did come true. Now on to my next challenge... more later on that.
So here's a quote from my daily devotional that I keep going back to again and again:
"Never pray for tasks equal to your power - pray for power equal to your tasks. Then doing your work will be no miracle - you will be the miracle."
For me, the image is always what I am working toward and I just accomplish the challenges to the top of my skill level at that very time - not how skilled I will be in a week or a month but right then as I am working. If I can do that, I'm satisfied. The awards are gravy on top. Reaching people on an emotional and spiritual level with my work is the highest reward
Thanks to everyone for giving my quilt your attention. That is a gift.
LeAnn
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