I am proud to be a sponsor of an AAQ Fundraising event.

Here is the press release from AAQ:

The nonprofit Alliance for American Quilts will host two fundraising events in Washington, DC on Thursday, March 4.

The "Connected by Threads" events will celebrate quilts, quiltmakers and quilt history through the lens of two speakers, Dr. Carolyn L. Mazloomi and Le Rowell, both board members of The Alliance for American Quilts (AAQ). Mazloomi will speak at the Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm including a tea reception, and Rowell will speak at a dinner and silent auction from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the DACOR Bacon House. The events will benefit the nonprofit AAQ, a national organization that documents, preserves and shares the rich history of quilts and quiltmakers (www.AllianceforAmericanQuilts.org). Both Mazloomi and Rowell will be sharing quilts from their own collections and studies. "Connected by Threads" is sponsored by Lisa Ellis of the Sacred Threads Exhibit and maker of Art Call, the on-line artist registration, jurying and exhibit administration system, http://www.ellisquilts.com/, and the Rowell Family Charities. An individual ticket including both events is $85 for AAQ members and $100 for nonmembers. Individual event tickets are also available.

Read the full press release: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs011/1101594196900/archive/1102956828989.html
Find complete information and online ticket sales: http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/support/events.php.

Signs of the Times. Work in Progress - Part 1

I am really blessed that my husband can draw. I am working on a piece for an exhibit called "Signs of the Times". I asked Mike to draw me an Uncle Sam skate boarding on a graph representing the Dow or unemployment while using a smart phone. He came back to me with this:

This is my second piece featuring Uncle Sam. My first was made in 2007 for Vintage Revisted and is called Trying to Keep the Balls in the Air:

I'll post more pictures of my new piece as it comes along.

New Work: Go Green Challenge

I haven't had much time in my studio lately. I have been focused on my software company's clients SAQA and my newest one Quilts, Inc. The on-line registration software is going very well.

But I did get this piece made. It's 30" x 30". I am participating in a challenge with quilters from the west coast and the UK. This is a traveling exhibit called "Go Green". I call this piece "View from Space". I imagined what the earth might look like if it was going green and spewing excess green color into the universe.

I had fun playing with trapunto.It's machine appliqued and quilted.

A new piece for my church

Today we celebrated our clergy at church in recognition of Clergy Appreciation month. I created this piece called 'Filled' which depicts the scene in Acts 2:4 when the Holy Spirit descends and fills the discples. This event is referred to as Pentecost and is celebrated 40 days after Easter. This piece was inspired by a painting by Vanessa Williams and was used with her permission.

"Art Under the Microscope" Exhibit Is Hanging

On Monday night, I was thrilled to attend a reception for the scientists that created the Bio Artography images. This is a shot of me with my folks, Bill and Dee Brehm. My piece is called Escher's Needlepoint and is based on a photo by scientist Kaelyn Male.

Here, scientist Linda Samuelson, is describing what is happening in Guts and Glory. The quilt is by Carole Nicholas. The scientific image is by Lymari Lopez-Diaz.

Maria Morrell is showing me her image called Green Feather. The quilt is by Annabel Ebersole.

Check out all the quilts by visiting our Fiber Artists @ Loose Ends gallery page.

Knitting: No, No, No

For years now, I have sat in meetings with fellow quilt artists and watched them knit. I would say to myself, "I do NOT want to learn to knit. The last thing I need is another activity to fill my brain and more stuff to put in my studio."

So while I was in Houston, I visited a booth called Gita Marie. She makes beautiful enamel pieces of jewelry and shawl pins. The booth folks were sporting beautiful shawls as examples of their kits which include one of the stunning pins. They assured me that it was a beginner's project and very easy to do. Friend Kathy Lincoln told me she would show me how to knit while in Houston. So.... I bought the kit and a pair of knitting needles. And sure enough, ten minutes before we were to leave the hotel for the airport, Kathy showed me how to cast-on, knit and decrease.

Two days later, I was at my Fiber Artists @ Loose Ends meeting and am knitting on a sample ball of yarn I purchased to practice. Friend Sandi Goldman then showed me how to purl and Barb Hollinger showed me how to hold the needles differently so that I could wrap the yarn more efficiently with my left hand. So between Kathy, Sandi and Barb, I felt ready to tackle my shawl project.

So here it is... my first knitting project.

And sure enough, what I tried to avoid has happened. I dragged my husband out to visit a cool yarn shop about 45 minutes from our home, to purchase some nice yarn to make more scarves. NO!!! I have no room in my studio or time. But it's so much fun!

Art For Healing Causes

Healing quilts is one of my passions. There are so many ways to use our artwork to make a difference in the lives of patients.

My FiberArtists at Loose Ends group creates exhibits that hang in hospitals and other healing centers. I donate my own artwork to raise money and awareness. And I purchase pieces to raise money to search for cures.

Art Now for Autism recently had a reverse auction. I purchased this piece called "Peaceful Presence" by Beth Wheeler. I love it and it helps support this terrible disease. Thank you to Beth for donating this piece and to Claudine Intner for her leadership in developing this initiative.

Back from Houston

I have returned from a fabulous four days at the International Quilt Festival. It was truly a thrill to have two pieces in the juried show this year. The first was my pirate quilt called "'Twas Me First Day With Me Hook". It is based on the favorite joke about a pirate walking into a bar and the bartender asking him how he lost his eye.

The second piece is called "Canna from Ellis Hollow" and is based on a photo by Craig Cramer of the Ellis Hollow blog and is used with his permission.

Thank you to Kathy Lincoln for taking these pictures of me with my quilts.

Quilts are Delivered to Michigan

I felt like Santa Claus making the delivery of the Bioartography pieces. It was like Christmas morning unwrapping the quilts and seeing the joy on their faces as each piece was revealed. Here are some of my favorite shots.

This is Kathi Talley unveiling Judy Busby's piece called Fibroblast.

Here is my piece called Escher's Needlepoint pictured with me, Kathi and my mom, Dee Brehm.

Here is Guts and Glory by Carole Nicholas:

Sunburst by Bunnie Jordan:

The exhibit goes up on October 19th. To see images of all the pieces, check out our BioArtography Gallery page.

How Do You Carry Twenty Quilts?

Tomorrow I am going to Ann Arbor, Michigan to visit the Gifts of Art folks and deliver the Art Under the Microscope exhibit. My art group, Fiber Artists @ Loose Ends has created this exhibit based on scientific images by U of M researchers. Check out the gallery of our pieces by clicking here. (This is really worth clicking on. The quilts are spectacular).

I asked my husband Mike to help me figure out how to carry them. Here is what we did.

Step 1. We stacked the quilts and placed acid free tissue paper between each quilt and folded up over the sides. We used bubble wrap on the bottom and top.

Step 2. We folded bubble wrap around the entire package.

Step 3. We bought stretcher bars from the local craft store and constructed two square frames. The frames were screwed to pieces of heavy duty foam core. Then Mike drilled holes in the frames to accommodate string. Then he wrapped the string to hold it all together.

Step 4. Mike made handles so I can carry it. Here I am giving it a try.

It's not too heavy! And the quilts are well protected.