Tribute-Honor-Credit

Did you ever have one of those little things that drives you absolutely insane.  I have a few -- really, you don't say?  Anyway, one of them is giving credit where credit is due.  Especially due to the fact that I am a longarmer... not only do I create my own art, I also quilt for hire (you can follow all my customer work on my other blog here).  Now anyone that thinks a custom longarmer does not add anything to a quilt might as well stop reading right now.  Go ahead, be gone... the stitches that WE (custom quilters) add to the quilt most definitely CHANGE the appearance of the quilt, most usually for the better.  A good longarmer sees beyond the blocks and creates magic.  The stitches can make an ordinary quilt create movement, interest, and make the quilt come alive!  For example, here is one of my quilts, just after piecing - a very simple strip quilt cut into diamonds with setting triangles and a plain border.  This was pieced together in a  weekend - simple quilt, right?

Well, look what happens after a custom quilter get their hands on it:

"Clouds in My Latte"

detail of "Clouds in My Latte"

So please go ahead and tell me that the machine quilting on this super simple pieced quilt added NOTHING.  The custom quilter ADDS their own individual ART to any quilt they work on.

Most longarmers want to be recognized and acknowledged for the work they do.  If they don't want the recognition, you probably don't want them stitching on your quilt.  I could go on for hours showing before and after pictures, but I won't.  I think you get the idea... I HOPE, you get the idea.

To get back to the point of this post...
I was at guild last night, we had a speaker.  I'm not naming any names, but she showed many quilts.  She mentioned on some "I quilted this".  On others see mentioned nothing.  This was tolerable for maybe two quilts -- were we, as an audience to assume that she had quilted them all?  My table was "shushed" multiple times, we were discussing several things, including WHO quilted them.  Finally on the third unmentioned quilt, one of my lala (longarmer) friends asked, "Did you quilt that?"... she replied "no" while looking at the label.  She did mention that she belonged to a very large guild of 250 or so women, with at least 10 longarmers.  She mentioned this in a stern voice.  I got the impression she was trying to make this sound impressive.  Well, little did she know, in our group of about 50 last night there were quite possibly close to 10 longarmers in the room, there were 3 just at my table!  Needless to say, this really bothered me.  It does not matter how many longarmers are in your guild, it does not matter how many longarmers you use... YOU GIVE CREDIT to the person that stitched on your quilt!  PERIOD!

Honestly, I feel this bothered me soooo much, because I have been to multiple quilt shows and looked at a quilt that I had quilted and yet nothing about me, my name is not listed on the card, not in the show program, nothing.  Did this customer think that she was going to enter this show as if she had pieced/apppliqued, and quilted this quilt?  WRONG... both piecer and machine quilter deserve recognition, the piecer for creating and the machine quilter for adding to.

Another of my customers emailed me just last week telling me I never have to worry about this.  She always gives me credit (which I know she does).  She had the same thing happen to her, except that a family member claimed her work as their own.  Seriously... people, what is wrong with this society!

So, all I'm trying to say is give credit where credit is due.
I'm done ranting... for now!  Happy Day Quilties!

More NQR super coolness...

I've already filled you in on the super cool VidCast that Bonnie McCaffery filmed of my art group.  That was one of the two more things I need to share are few posts back, and here is the other cool tidbit I was waiting for...

I follow Dear Photograph.  If you don't, you should, they have a website, they tweet, they facebook -- check them out, follow them, stalk them quietly (you know lurking, in the good way), but make sure you visit them somehow!



So back in May Dear Photograph turned 1 year old.  Yeah!  In celebration of this they were having a trivia contest asking a new question for each of five days and giving away copies of their book.  Guess what, on Day One I answered and won.  Super cool... super fun... and I was absolutely thrilled that I won. Well, guess what UPS brought on Friday... yep, you guessed, the book!

The photos in this book are amazing, they give me chills.  The only thing I can explain is that almost every picture is like a mini time warp where two pieces of time are brought together all at once - see makes the little hairs on my neck stand up and gives me the idgies (little sparks of energy that run up and down your spine - or at least mine).  Even though I have been looking through the book all weekend, I have yet to sit down and read page by page.  So far I've only flipped through as it is like an emotional overload -- some of the pictures bring tears to my eyes, others make me laugh, and some even spark memories of my own childhood.  I am in awe of this book, along with all of their facebook posts - I look forward to them!  And, just so you all know, I'm working on pulling out old photos for my own "dear photographs"...

And, yet another NQR post.  Well, if I didn't keep posting "other" things, you would never get to know the real me, beyond the quilty part -- sorry to say, but there is a lot to ME, maybe one day you'll meet all of it - LOL.

Journeys Thru Art *NEWS*

I think you all know I belong to an art group - Journeys Thru Art.  And what a great group we are!  You remember back in February when I told you all about the class with Bonnie McCaffery and the dinner and the vidcast... no, then you can read up on it here.

Here's the great part, the VidCast is done and edited and is up on Bonnie's website, along with a bunch of other amazing vids.  Please take the time and check her site out, loads of amazing fun things.

Here we are, Journeys Thru Art, with our door challenges, along with some of our other quilts:

Check out these previous posts on our doors along with posts about my door quilt's process (they are from the other blog):
http://creativelongarmquilting.blogspot.com/2011/11/world-quilt-show-florida-iii.html
http://creativelongarmquilting.blogspot.com/2011/09/omg-she-types.html
http://creativelongarmquilting.blogspot.com/2011/08/door-challenge-update.html
http://creativelongarmquilting.blogspot.com/2011/06/door-challenge-update.html

Catch up... not ketchup, that would be messy!

Oh my, this is going to be a VERY LONG post.  Sooooo much has been going on that I don't even know where to start.

I guess I'll start with Mabel since she is weighing on my mind the most.  We finally got her regulated to the point that she was getting insulin at 50 units am and 45 units pm -- this was keeping her urine glucose in check.  Well, right when you think things are okay... NOT.  Memorial Day she had her first diabetic seizure.  Break out the karo syrup and attempt to get it on her tongue while her teeth are clenched shut... it was rough, we got through it.  No insulin that night.  Tuesday morning no sugar in pee, no insulin, Tuesday night, pee glucose at 500, dropped her down to 40 units of insulin... this went on with no rhyme or reason until Thursday morning... forty minutes after her insulin she had another seizure.  Rushed her to the vet for blood work, okay.  Get home, within minutes another seizure.  The vet says the best part of this is that we had blood work one hour after a seizure and one hour before a seizure, apparently speaking "vet" this was the best opportunity for blood work to see what was happening during the seizures.  Turns out her blood sugar was almost zero - so close to diabetic coma... okay, can't even go there mentally.  It also showed that her fructosamine was mid-high.  I'm not a doctor/vet but apparently this shows what has been going on with her for the past 6 weeks.  She most definitely needs insulin.  So now we are back to 20 units am and 20 units pm.  Apparently Mabel is just like the rest of this house and runs hot and cold... never a middle ground.  The vet decided that instead of following her urine glucose levels, we'll just track them and use her thirst levels for insulin adjustments.  All I can say is thank God I work from home and can monitor her as much as possible.

I guess my weight loss would be next.  I haven't lost any weight in almost three weeks, I guess the good in this is that I've been adding carbs back and haven't gained any weight either.  Strange part is my weight is moving around, if that makes any sense at all?  Here are three pics to date, the right being the most recent, still weighing the same, fat's just moving somewhere?  Oh goodness, I'm wearing shorts too, I haven't done that in a very long time!  See, I told you I have a bunch of these shirts, super thin oh-so-comfy t-shirts (now getting super baggy).  Oh, one more thing, in case I haven't mentioned this, thank you all for being so very supportive through this!

Up next... a recent trip to Joann's to use up my expiring coupons resulted in an awesome deal.  I purchased yet another 6.5" ruler.  I own two, well three now, but this way I am able to lose it, just like the others!  I also got some bigger mirrors (12") for wholecloth designing.  But the best deal was a faux-silk (yep, did the burn test) in a luxurious copper-penny color.  Ready, it was originally 21.99 (a bit high for faux I think), marked-down three times to $6 and since it was 50% off Red-Tag fabric I got it for $3/yard.  WOW, that was a super unexpected sale! 

Isn't it gorgeous!  I am amazed that is is faux - it catches the light and adjusts color just like real silk, but yet it melted like plastic.  Guess it's just a really good faux silk - as beautiful as it is, I will accept it!  Here is a little peek of what is going on it... sorry, but that's all you can see right now!

See, I told you tons of stuff going on over here...

On to old/new business.  A while ago I received some embroidery files from Cristy at Purple Daisies.  For those of you that don't know, she is daughter to the amazing Sharon Schamber (someone I am both honored and proud to call friend).  Anyway, Sharon has been working on digitizing her beautiful quilting into embroidery files.  Let me tell you, they are amazing!  I had made this super cute mini-quilt using the files Cristy sent.  For those of you that don't know me well, I created it, quilted it, binded it, and the put it on the table and covered it... normal-ness in my house.  Well, I just found it the other day and shipped it right off to Cristy with an apology for being my own forgetful self... gotta take the good with the bad right?  Anyway, here are some pictures

These are from the Sea Foam Feathers collection and they are absolutely beautiful!  Make sure you visit Cristy's website and order some for yourself!

Oh, almost forgot, Wonderlust has been accepted into Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, PA -- if you're anywhere near there at the end of July make sure you stop in to visit it for me!

I have two more bits to share with you, but they will have to wait until next time!  Happy Day Quilties!

#PHOTOADAYMAY

Another month has gone by... I know this because I photographed each day.  May was fun, interesting, and a little challenging.  Here is May's challenge list as posted by Fat Mum Slim

Here are my photos for #PHOTOADAYMAY.  

Day 1 - peace

Day 2 - skyline

Day 3 - something you wore today

Day 4 - fun!

Day 5 - bird

Day 6 - you

Day 7 - someone that inspires you
~Mother Nature~

Day 8 - a smell you adore

Day 9 - something you do every day

Day 10 - a favorite word

Day 11 - kitchen

Day 12 - something that makes you happy

Day 13 - mum

Day 14 - grass

Day 15 - love

Day 16 - what you're reading

Day 17 - snack

Day 18 - something you made

Day 19 - a favorite place

Day 20 - something that you can't live without

Day 21 - where you stand

Day 22 - pink

Day 23 - technology

Day 24 - something new

Day 25 - unusual

Day 26 - 12 o'clock

Day 27 - something sweet

Day 28 - the weather today

Day 29 - a number

Day 30 - your personality

Day 31 - something beautiful

I've decided to continue on this #PHOTOADAY journey for June as it is actually a lot of fun.  So many friends on facebook are following along as well, maybe you should too!

See the previous #PHOTOADAY posts here: http://karenmarchetti.blogspot.com/2012/05/photoadayapril.html