November AAQI and Houston

Right now my favorite thing is the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (November auction going on now, by the way [EDITED: Auction ends tonight!). November's AAQI monthly challenge - one of them - is a self-portrait so I decided to do a portrait of my daughter instead. She is a lot easier on the eyes. I read about the technique below on the Internet somewhere. Ah yes - it was the Interpret This! challenge hosted by Debra Spincic a while back.

I took a picture of my daughter doing what she does frequently, drinking coffee, then edited it on Piknik where you can choose an application called "posterize". This gives you a sort of outline which I traced with a big sharpie, then traced onto fusible web. Next step is to chose the fabrics.

I've never done this before so  I hope I don't get hung up on getting it "right". In fact I might go for some truly whimsical fabrics just to force myself out of that box.

I read Debra's rundown of the Houston quilt show and I pretty much agree with her assessment. I do love the Japanese quilts, however. I doubt I will ever tire of them. I know Debra likes lots of color and I do too but I love the elegance of the Japanese quilters. I agree with Debra - not much new, nothing really blew me away. I did love the 12 x 12 International Art Quilt Challenge which I thought was the most original exhibit there. Lots of inspiration in those pieces.

I'm kind of over the extreme machine quilting I see. The top honors for a couple of years have gone to phenomenal quilts but it make me wonder how much farther can this go?  It's certainly admirable and has it's place.  I really am more impressed with handwork:  applique is my favorite. The Baltimore Album quilts last year alone were worth the trip. Scrap quilts are a very, very close second.

It's all in the process for me. I love making quilts and giving them away or donating them. Quilting should be enjoyable for everybody and there is room for everybody. I've learned that every quilt I make doesn't have to be the best quilt in the world. But it sure is great to see those breathtaking examples of human creativity. 

Tomorrow: pictures of REAL authentic UFOs.