The Pacific International Quilt Festival is opening in Santa Clara on October 17, and will run through the weekend. "Valley of Fire" will be included in the Fibervision exhibit, Transformation.  This is a small detail inset of the overall piece which measures 42 X 42 inches. The artists in Fibervision will have some beautiful and thought-provoking work on display.  PIQF will also have Carol Larson's "Tall Girl" series, which I am anxious to see in person. Check out her website and blog for more on her upcoming exhibits.  If you are in the Santa Clara area next month, don't miss the opportunity to see the wonderful contemporary art quilts in the non-traditional section of the PIQF quilt show.

Today I received my SAQA Benefit Auction purchase--a piece by Judith Trager called "Regeneration".  It is so lovely, far beyond what can be seen on the internet.  The tree leaves are a gold metallic scrim, and the thread variations add immensely to the piece.  I can't wait to hang it alongside my small, but growing 12" X 12" collection.

My 2013 SAQA Benefit Auction donation was this piece, "Agapanthas in Winter".  It was purchased by Wil Opio Oguta.  The proceeds of the auction are used to promote quilt art as a medium, and to support the fiber and textile artists who express themselves through art quilting.  SAQA sponsors exhibitions, and provides forums for information exchange and discussion at regional meetings and annual conferences.  Watch for SAQA sponsored exhibits at your local venues for art and quilting.

Santa Ana Winds

I recently finished another piece in the series that I call "Celebration".  All of the Celebration works are pieced so that there is the feel of confetti or streamers running throughout.  This one is called Santa Ana Winds.  All of the fabrics in the piece are hand-dyed Kona cotton.  You can see the shibori "stripes" in the yellow and teal strips.  The background, which is a soft melon color is quilted using teal thread to knock back the color and give the piece a dustier look, much like you would expect when the Santa Anas blow through.  The blowing leaves are screen printed with metallic paints.  The entire piece is free motion quilted.

Agapanthus in Winter

After weeding the gardens around our deck of the dead foliage from last summer, I accumulated a pile of dead agapanthus (Lily of the Nile) stems.  They looked a little skeletal and sad, but I liked the way they looked almost as much as when they were in bloom.  Using that inspiration, I created my 12" X 12" SAQA Benefit Auction piece.  The piece is Kona cotton, hand-dyed, and over-dyed using a Shibori technique.  The agapanthus stems and leaves are raw-edge appliqued, then thread painted.  I free-motion quilted the background.