Start the bidding....

Do I hear..???

Yes, 

Olive. Olive you  

is going home with one lucky winner some time in the next week or so....

The quilt, along with the many other "Animals We Love" quilts 

are being auctioned off on eBay

(check out the  Quilt Alliance website- she's the cover girl today!) over the next few weeks...

But the real Olive

continues to entertain us at home 

with her cuteness...

her studiousness....

her squeaky voice...

and her cuddly, lovable disposition.....

In the meantime, 

while you all are bidding on the quilts,

we  are enjoying a little cheesecake

(all one-million calories or so.... I mean, 2 lbs of cream cheese, for goodness sake!)

courtesy of Nature Boy....

and I am putting the finishing touches on my latest project...

 that is getting ready to be packed up 

along with the quilts of the fiber art group I belong to

on a journey around the USA with Mancuso Quilt Fest

 Stay tuned.....

.

Quilters Take Manhattan, take 2...

So...

while most quilters were still tucked snugly under a heap of quilts

in slumber,

I was up at the crack of dawn (which was about 6:30 AM EST)

helping set up for the main event

at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology)...

As you can see many of the volunteers and board members 

donned handmade clothing using fabric with the 

Quilters Take Manhattan logo

which is available at Spoonflower.

If you check this link to the QTM2015 facebook page

or the Quilt Alliance facebook page, 

you can see us modeling our handmade duds.

At about 9 AM, 

doors opened and in poured the quilters....

(this is my vantage point from the raffle ticket table...

from which I did NOT ultimately win any of the goodies, 

but I did win a door prize which I shared with a couple friends)

Up in the auditorium,

Ricky Tims was our keynote speaker...

He related his quilter story to us

complete with a view of his first business credit card

which read "Ricky Tims Quilt Stud"

(I guess Visa couldn't make room for the 'io' in studio!)

He asked us to be honest with ourselves 

explore our path in the quilting world...

He encouraged us all to take risks

 and had us all recite aloud this creative credo...

By this time, 

I could've used a quilt or two to warm up

(geez the auditorium was chilly)

and my lack of sleep and early rising was catching up with me!!!

Ricky was followed by

Victoria Findlay Wolfe...

who described her creative journey into the quilting world,,,

from the farm in Minnesota...

 (and the inspiration she took from the farm 

and her grandmother's work mostly in double knit fabrics)

to New York City

and her accomplishments in the world of quilting...

peppered with lots of humor

and

even a look at one of her double knit jackets... 

Since the mission of Quilt Alliance is to tell our stories,

through documentation, preservation and sharing our American quilt heritage,

the program continued with some interviews of quilters

including Edyta Sitar...

members of a local quilt guild....

 and Mary Koval telling her story of an antique quilt.

 I attended a short quilt show of Yvonne Porcella's work 

led by Meg Cox..

and then watched the Quilt Match Manhattan in which 

Karla Overland, Laurie Russman, and Edyta Sitar

competed for the coveted embellished quilt belt ...

Karla of Cherrywood Fabrics

created this masterpiece complete with the pope...

Laurie "Neon Kitty" created this work of art...

and Edyta created this beautiful collage

and took home the belt!!!

I attended the evening cocktail party but left my camera in my bag

except to catch this photo of NYC at night...

I was pretty pooped by this time

and had a great night's sleep

before the last day of QTM2015

which I will tell you about in another post....

Aaaah... the life of a jet-setter!

Yes, I like to travel!

I enjoy getting away and exploring new territory!

Texas..

France...

Israel...

Hawaii...

Vegas...

to name a few places...

BECAUSE...

I always learn something new....

I can eat foods I can't find at home 

(which is not saying much... 

food selection for a vegan is not great in an area surrounded by dairy farms!)

I can be inspired by the surroundings.

 (okay, I haven't climbed Mt Rainier ... hubby did)

Sometime, I even bring home a souvenir (or two.)

And if I am really lucky, I can forget about winter!

So this weekend,
I headed to Manhattan...
not too far away (about 3 1/2 hrs)
 but in some ways, it feels like worlds away.

My original intent for the trip was to see the Empire Quilters'
"Urban Inspirations" quilt show at FIT
but I took along my youngest, Sugarbaby,
and we hung with our good friends at their apartment in Chelsea.

Of course....

I was inspired by the surroundings...

NYC architecture makes my heart sing....

I  learned something new....

(who knew?)

Actually, I went to the panel discussion on collecting quilts
moderated by Paula Nadlestern

which included Amelia Peck (The Metropolitan Museum),
Elizabeth Warren (American Folk Art Museum),
and Roderick Kiracofe (collector, dealer and author).

I thought it was very interesting
but some did not...

I ate foods that I thoroughly enjoyed....

dairy free!

meat free!

It is a vegan paradise!!!!!

Too bad they don't deliver upstate...

Of course, the show!

Lots of wonderful quilts....

My favorite was "We Are All Too Round" by Roz Manor

Her humor is wonderful!

as is her hand work...

her embellishments...

her layout...

made me smile!!!!


and yes, I even came home with a few souvenirs...

(I have to say that Judy Gula's booth Artistic Artifacts was my fave).

Of course,
eventually I have to return home...

There is always laundry to wash.

There is homeschooling to do...

(Actually, I  Nature Boy graduates in June!)

and yes, winter to return to...

even if it is March 30th!!!