Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival and MQX

Some nice things have been happening for me lately and I feel very blessed. One of my pieces, "From Winter We Emerge", was in the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival out in Virginia on the east coast and it won Best Hand Workmanship in the Wall Quilts category! My first national award and I was very excited about it! The quilt then traveled to the New Jersey Quilt Fest and I should be getting it back any day now.

Then I got two pieces accepted into the juried MQX (Machine Quilting Exposition) show in Providence, Rhode Island which I believe is the largest machine quilting show in the country. I will be shipping those off shortly!

I recently took a number of pieces to The Frame Shop and Gallery at 325 W. Main Street in Hamilton, Montana and they sold a small piece already. They have some other fiber artists and some other 3-D art displayed very nicely together, so go take a look if you're in the area!

I finished the piece I have been showing you and talking about and I think it turned out really beautifully. I will not be showing it around except here on my blog since it will be one of my new pieces for my gallery show in May. I love how the quilting and beading work together and really bring the whole piece together. It is going to be entitled something to do with blackberries and possibly dandelion tufts. Haven't got that quite decided on yet!  Some of the beading and threadwork on the piece is not evident in this picture, so if you are in this area be sure to see it at my show---it is really lovely.  One I am rather proud of.   

Also, about a week ago I had called the Missoula Art Museum to find out if there might be any opportunities for showing my fiber art there.  I was forwarded to the curator and left a message on his voicemail, including my website address.  This morning the curator called me and asked me if I would rather have them visit my website or bring some of my work in to show them.  Of course I'd rather show them in person since pictures never do justice to my work so I enthusiastically made an appointment for later this month.  I was thrilled to have the opportunity, although I have no idea if this will lead into anything at all.  At least they might give me some feedback as to my work and where it might fit into the museum in the future.  Always the optimist, I'm hoping they will love my work and schedule me in!  I know they are in the business of promoting art and artists, particularly Montana/local ones, so they might be willing to look at the work of any artist who approaches them.  Hopefully mine is worthy of their time and they receive it enthusiastically.  It would be a great honor to have my work in this museum as it is a wonderful building with beautiful space that is well respected in the community.  Well, we'll just have to see where, if anywhere, this opportunity might lead....  It pays to show your work to everyone you know at every opportunity.  I've sold many pieces that way!  And I always put my website and blog at the end of my e-mails and when I go to galleries or other possible venues for showing my work, I always conveniently have a few pieces out in the car just in case they have a few minutes to take a look!  It's worked for me more than once!