Winter Gardens

Sunday I walked around my garden and took photos of the beauty all around me. If you would like to see more flowers, leaves and berries - Nature's Eye Candy -- check it out at http://nancygcook.blogspot.com/.

Nancy

Alliance for American Quilts auction has started.

My entry is #53: "PLAID - Peace Loving Alliance of Imaginative Dabblers".

It goes up for auction in Week Three (Mon, Nov. 28 – Mon, Dec. 5).

For more info on this auction, see http://www.allianceforamerican

quilts.org/projects/galleries/Alliances/gallery/.

--- PJ ---

“Maximum Cat Nap” wins at IQF-Houston!

I am honored to announce that “Maximum Cat Nap” won third place in the Art Quilt-Miniature category at the 2011 International Quilt Festival – Houston. Woo-hoo! For a complete list of all the winners, please go to the International Quilt Association website. 

I attended both International Quilt Market and International Quilt Festival this year, and have started posting photos and commentary from these events on my blog. I collected so much stuff (freebies and purchases) that I had to mail about 50 pounds of stuff back home while I was there. And my suitcase was still overweight on the way back home!!! I’ll be sharing some of this loot with my blog readers in the next few weeks. 

I’ll also be posting soon about my experiences with teaching (this was the first time to teach at IQF), and with participating in an exhibition (I had work in The Space Between exhibition). 

Push Stitchery - Wow! What a Book

Loved this little book curated by Jamie Chalmers from first look and touch.
It is the perfect size to present work that is often somewhat diminutive, and fits the hand well for a long sit down and read. I read the book from cover to cover within the first 24 hours and loved every minute of it.

There are 30 top stitch artists in the book with a lovely spread of each one including lots of photos of work, insightful interview questions, and lovely details to bring the work up close and personal.
The first two photos are from a portrait done by Cayce Zavaglia from the USA. She has masterful use of space and thread color. As well done as any portrait in oil.

Yes, that is a shovel that has been drilled and cross stitched by Lithuanian Severija Incirauskaite-Kriaunevciene.

In Root Deep Meagan Ileana plays with the female form in just a touch of hand and feet with a strong sense of the goddess.


I want a pillow. Charlene Mullen of UK is best known for her blackwork embroidery of London landscapes. She has really pushed the envelop on taking "craft' at its most mundane level of both form and method and pushed it to art.

And the Lady in Red by Marloes Duyker, Netherlands, is a testament to what heights one can take free motion embroidery and a few bits of old lace.

This is a book that I will love and enjoy for many years to come.

Great News! Just got an email from Lark, that I can get a copy of the book to give away. Leave a message here, with your email address by November 10 and I will draw a random name to send the book to.

Nancy

Denver Art Trail Last Weekend -- they caught me weaving!

A photographer for our local weekly newspaper came by our stop on the Denver Art Trail last weekend and managed to catch me doing a little cardboard weaving. I don't think any of my woven items sold, but folks seemed to have a lot of questions about how they were made.

See http://denverncweekly.com/news/2011/10/sights-along-the-trail/ for more trail photos.

The Sketchbook Challenge

Looking for a way to re-energize your art? Consider joining me in 2012 with The Sketchbook Challenge.

I will be one of the host artists for 2012. 

In January of 2011, Sue Bleiweiss and a group of other artists came together and started The Sketchbook Challenge as a way to encourage others to start working in a sketchbook, or revitalize their sketching, with the belief that keeping sketchbooks is extremely valuable to artists. 

While I have occasionally sketched, I’ve never done it in a disciplined way, and I took the Sketchbook Challenge last year and was doing great until my mom died in late January. But the sketching I did do this year convinced me that I would benefit from trying to sketch more often. In 2012, I’ll be working along with the other hosts; we will post themes for each month, and by posting their sketches in the Flickr group, participants put themselves in the running for substantial prizes.

Each day, there are posts that include lessons and insights by the host artists. I hope you’ll join me on this journey! Participating host artists for 2012 are:  

Jill Berry :  blog    /  sketchbook profile

Sue Bleiweiss :  blog  /    sketchbook profile
Pam Carriker  :  blog   /   sketchbook profile

Jane Davies  :  blog    /  sketchbook profile

Jamie Fingal :  blog    /  sketchbook profile

Leslie Tucker Jenison  :  blog   /   sketchbook profile
Lyric Kinard :  blog   /   sketchbook profile

Susan Brubaker Knapp  :  blog   /   sketchbook profile

Jane LaFazio  :  blog    /  sketchbook profile

Kelli Nina Perkins :  blog  /    sketchbook profile
Carol Sloan :  blog   /   sketchbook profile  
Susan Sorrell :  blog  /    sketchbook profile

Diana Trout :  blog    /  sketchbook profile

Laura Cater Woods :  blog   /   sketchbook profile

Denver (NC!) Art Trail this weekend!

Just a quick reminder that the Denver Art Trail is tomorrow (Sat, Oct 22) and Sun. Come to stop #11 at the Blue Heron Bed & Breakfast and see my fiber uniquities. For a list of all the stops, see http://michellenantz.com/2011/10/09/6th-annual-denver-art-trail-2011/ -PJ-

Barnful of Quilts 2011

It was a beautiful, clear, cool day yesterday for Barnful of Quilts 2011, a benefit for Samaritan’s Purse at the Fox Family Farm in Waxhaw, NC. I ran around and took photos of everything, so I’ll let the photos tell most of the story. 

 

The Prim Merchant – Alisa Deshields – www.theprimmerchant.weebly.com

Twisted Fibers – Ginny Long – s-g-long@msn.com

Amani Children’s Foundation – 704.542.0425

Carolina Llamas – www.carolinallamas.com

Members of Fiber Art Options were the featured artists, in the center ring:

 Inspired Spirits – Joan Stephens – www.inspiredspirits.com

Handwovens by Sally – Sally Hagerty – 803.628.6238

Things She Carried – Cathe Hawley – www.thingsshecarried.etsy.com

 

Bev Nagy – ART McGuyver – www.bevnagy.com

 

 

Barbara Warholic  – www.martingale-pub.com/store/index.php?author_id=295

 

 Jan Smiley – www.jansmiley.com

Willa McNeill – willa.mcneill@gmail.com

Curlytail Creations – Kim McNeill – mkmcneill@hotmail.com

Carolina Sampler Guild meets the first Wednesday of the Month at Wing Haven Garden, Ridgewood Avenue, Charlotte. Contact Sharon Huffstetler at sehuff@aol.com.

Overall Quilter – www.overallquilter.com

And lots more!