Organizing Stinks... like roses!

Before I get in to the real post, I have to share a video.  Here is Bonnie McCaffery's Vidcast from Houston (IQA Festival).  Not only do you get to see a bunch of fantastically wonderful quilts, you get enjoy where Bonnie talks with some amazing artists -- me being one of them!  Watch, enjoy, and share!  Hey, I think I just called myself amazing... hmm, I kinda' like that!

Okay.  Now back to the actual post.  I've shared before that I am a borderline hoarder when it comes to papers, tiny little fabric scraps, stuff in general -- okay, just a borderline hoarder!  Yes, it's bad, but admitting something is always the first step right?  And yes, hoarding is an actual disorder -- I know this, I've got a few of them!  BUT... but, something wonderful has happened to make it necessary for me to organize a giant part of my life -- my studio.  And, the rough part?  In order to organize my studio I also must organize my office/sewing room.  Haha... not sure where the /sewing room part fits into that; I haven't sewn in there in years.  Probably because of the mess -- and no, I will not share the mess photos.  I love sharing but there comes a point when I need to control my anxiety.  You see, part of my hoarding issue is due to the fact that I suffer severe anxiety when *trying* to organize, file, clean, etc.  So, this was a BIG step for me.  It has taken me a little over two weeks, and a lot (and I mean a lot) of help from one of my besties!  She will never know how important all of her help was, she could see the anxiety building and would help to divert my mind to something else.  Thank you Nancy, I love you!  Oh, and she also got first dibs on just about everything in the studio that wasn't staying - that probably helped too!

So here are a couple of peeks into my newly organized world:

Here we have the *clean* office/sewing room -- and into that great open space goes the shelves of quilts:

Look what Nancy found hiding under 85 pounds of batting scraps:

And, of course, I had to make some cute curtains for the french doors, right?

Why do I need curtains you ask?  Because without them I would stare at the pool all day!

A super clean cutting table -- this table is great, but it is getting cut into two smaller pieces.  WHAT, you ask... no worries, it has been buried with so much stuff for so long that I haven't used it and I'm not going to miss it anyway.

Look -- you can actually see my legs!

The the view from behind the Gammill:

The the view from the other side of the room:

The the entire room (yes that messy area there in front of the Gammill, that still needs to be organized and put away.  And in that mess is a bunch more ribbons that need to be hung on the wall.

Soooo.... I still can't share WHY all this is happening.  I'll be able to soon and then you'll all be as excited as I am, well at least I hope you'll all be excited.  But seriously, I'm excited enough for us all!

Home from Houston

Home from Houston.  Festival was a blast!  I was there three days and it totally feels like a few hours.  Everything has blended into one giant blur.  Glad I managed to take some pictures, it helps to jog the memory.

My day started at 3:30 am on Thursday.  Honestly, Wednesday never really ended I just took a short nap and started Thursday super early!  I get to the airport only to find out I could have slept longer -- like 2.5 hours longer!  So, I sit... and sit... and sit some more.  Finally they let us board the plane - one step closer to Houston.  I really shouldn't complain as there were many people in the NE not flying at all thanks to Superstorm Sandy!

Pictures -- I took a few - some I'll share and some I won't (those that received these via text are probably still giggling).  Anyway, I'll start with candids, you'll have to wait for another post to see some of my favorite quilts from the show.

So anyone that has walked through the Hilton Americas Lobby has seen this fountain wall... Nat and I being the curious bodies we are just wanted to see if you could actually touch the water... yup!

So then I had to rush over to the Gammill booth and formally meet the Gammill peeps.  This is Betsey - isn't she just the cutest - a truly wonderful person!

 So while I'm there I've got to stitch, right?

That's Betsey and Dave watching.  Once I'm truly in the zone I don't even know anyone is there.  And no, I don't normal hunch down like that when I stitch.  The tables are set for "normal" peeps -- you know me, not anywhere near normal - LOL... no really, my table is set much higher than these.  It was great meeting the Gammill family!

Then a quick run over to the Purple Daisies booth to visit with Cristy and Sharon.  Oh and see that super cute purple sample behind me... I stitched that for Cristy using Sharon's embroidery designs and then quilted the background fills.  I didn't get a picture with Sharon (strange I know), but here she is creating her magic!

From there it was over to the Meander Publishing booth to say hi to Clouds in My Latte - she was hanging in their booth making people stop in their tracks (at least that's what I've been told).  You can also see and read about Clouds in the Sept/Oct issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine.  Here I am with Vicki Anderson in front of Clouds.  And a big shout-out to Lisa for schlepping my quilt in her luggage so it could be there in time for Market and Festival (((HUGS))).

The rest of the day is a blur... I do remember hearing my name from across the second floor... Bonnie McCaffery was calling me.  I'll share more on that later.  Then we caught up with Candace (a facebook friend) and spent the afternoon wandering the vendor booths.

And we even managed to run into a good friend, Eyvonne, one of our Journeys Thru Art members:

Then off to dinner...

Good times - great company!  And the scenic journey back across the street...

 

Day two started similar... in the Gammill booth.  Seriously peeps, I can't go a day without stitching!  And who wouldn't want to stitch on these brand new beauties!

Then Nat and I walked through all the quilts... beautiful, amazing, inspiring quilts.  More on that in a separate post.

Then it was time to meet up with Bonnie McCaffery.  She wanted to film Wonderlust to inlcude in her vidcast of Festival.  Of course, I was totally honored!  Here she is setting up and the both of us in front of Wonderlust.

Oh, and Bonnie totally taught me a new stance -- Lisa calls this the "hot mama in front of your quilt" stance!  Thanks Bonnie standing like this is way cheaper than plastic surgery and makes you look amazing!  Yes, all the rolls and chins are still there -- they're just hiding while the picture gets snapped!

Here's a pic of Natalie and me with Gail Thomas (wonderful quilter and friend) in front of Belief, Intuition, and Faith a collaborative quilt by Sharon Schamber and Gail.

And, back in the Gammill booth -- Alex Anderson decided to try out the new sit-down Gammill.  Oh, and make sure you visit Gammill's facebook page.  They are having a name that baby contest.  If they pick your name you could win a brand new sit-down machine!

And finally back home, my hubby is happy that I took more pictures than spent dollars!  Here's a peek at my purchases -- not too bad, very proud of my controlled-spending self!

Some amazingly wonderful things happened while in Houston and I can't wait to share them with you -- soon, but, that is all for today.  Another post soon with some of my favorite quilts from the show!  Happy Day Quilties!

Floating on Cloud Nine

No, it's not the name of a new quilt... it's how I'm feeling!

For those of you that are facebook friends this is going to sound like bragging.  It's not... well, it is, but it's not! Really!  I have a lot of people over here in blogland that want nothing to do with facebook, so I've got to tell them all the fantastic news too, right?  And it's not bragging - it's tooting.  Yep, if I don't toot my I'm-so-freaking-proud horn who will?

Okay, back to cloud nine...
Over the past couple of days was a quilt show in Portland, OR... MQX West to be exact.  Wow, just to be accepted and to hang at this show is an amazing accomplishment.  BUT (there it is), to win a ribbon... honor!  Hold on... it gets better... two ribbons!  Both of my quilts took ribbons -- I am beside myself with joy.  BUT (another one) hold on again... it gets even better than all that!  I persuaded one of my customers (Cathy) to enter her quilt and she took a ribbon as well!  OMG... three ribbons - two of my own and one on a customer's quilt -- the quilty angels are definitely looking down on me, and I do believe they might be singing!

Here's a peek at all of them (again, thank you to Teri Lucas for taking the photos and for sharing them)!!

Stella Luminosa - 1st Place Wall Hanging Small

some older posts about Stella Luminosa:

http://creativelongarmquilting.blogspot.com/2011/11/world-quilt-show-florida-iii.html

http://creativelongarmquilting.blogspot.com/2011/10/not-quite-as-crazy-but.html

http://creativelongarmquilting.blogspot.com/2011/05/over-challenged-under-idead.html

Clouds in My Latte - 3rd Place Wall Hanging Large - Traditional

some older posts about Clouds in My Latte:

http://karenmarchetti.blogspot.com/2012/08/super-secret-1-revealed.html

http://karenmarchetti.blogspot.com/2012/06/tribute-honor-credit.html

http://karenmarchetti.blogspot.com/2012/03/quilts-shows-and-schedules.html

http://creativelongarmquilting.blogspot.com/2011/11/world-quilt-show-florida-iii.html

http://creativelongarmquilting.blogspot.com/2011/10/not-quite-as-crazy-but.html

http://creativelongarmquilting.blogspot.com/2011/08/quilts-shows-ribbons.html

http://creativelongarmquilting.blogspot.com/2011/05/another-mqs-ribbon.html

http://creativelongarmquilting.blogspot.com/2011/03/name-finally.html

Lavender Bouquet  (Cathy Landon, quilted by Karen Marchetti) - 3rd Place Custom Heirloom Show Bed

Click here for a post on my customer blog about Cathy's quilt

The MQX West winners list is available here.  Congratulations to all the winners, there are some amazing quilts and quilters on that list -- I am absolutely honored to be included!  Also, make sure you take some time and visit the MQX website -- they have two shows East and West.  I must send a shout-out to Teri Lucas, she graciously took and posted photos of my quilts (as well as Cathy's) as I couldn't be at the show and now I get to share them with you!  Take some time and swing by her blog and check out her winning quilt, Tilde (photo to left) - gorgeous!  I borrowed this picture from Teri (I don't think she'll mind)!

See, now you understand why I'm floating!  Happy Day Quilties!

Oh, and I almost forgot!  Right after MQX West Clouds in My Latte is getting overnighted to Lisa and hitching a plane ride to Houston!  You'll be able to get up close and personal as it will be hanging in the Machine Quilting Unlimited booth at both Market and Festival!  Make sure you swing by their booth and check out a really great magazine and take a peek at Clouds while you're there!  Oh, and my other quilt, Wonderlust, will be hanging on the other side of the Brown Convention Center - on the show floor!

Okay, now.... Happy Day Quilties!!!

Wonderlust... on the road

On Monday I shipped Wonderlust off to Hershey, PA.  Next week she will be competing at Quilt Odyssey - a fantastic show.  If you're anywhere in the area, make sure you stop in and visit, you won't be disappointed.  It runs from 7/26-7/29.  Here's the website for more details.  I was honored to take two ribbons there last year, a Third Place on Oliver and a Second Place on Clouds in My Latte.  Surely this year's quilts will be incredible.  Unfortunately I won't be able to attend... busy here quilting away on customer work.  If you do happen to go, feel free to snap some photos for me!

Once Wonderlust is finished at Quilt Odyssey, she's being rushed home, and immediately rushed back out for a super-secret something.  I can't share yet, but don't you worry. As soon as I can, I will.  I also have some super-secret info on Clouds in My Latte... to be shared at a later date.  Oh... loving all these secrets -- feeling so spy-esque!

But the best news happened this afternoon.  Wonderlust is going to Houston!  WooHoo!!!  I received my Finalist Notification late this afternoon.  I am beyond thrilled.  This is my second year in a row competing at Houston.  You'll remember, Oliver was there last year.  If not, read about it here, he even made it into International Quilt Festival's 2011 Quilt Scene magazine.

Let me tell you, my stomach had been in barfy-butterfly mode all afternoon.  So many talented quilters were posting on facebook that their quilts had been rejected.  I was so nervous, anxiously awaiting my email... whether it would be an acceptance or a rejection.  The levels of anxiety today were off the charts.  Thank goodness I had a guild meeting, it helped to keep my mind off it, if only for a little while.

And don't worry, I'll keep you informed about all that super-secret stuff real soon -- I promise!