Hi all, I’m thrilled to share with you news that I’m included in a new book on art quilts will be out by the end of April:

You can pre-order this beautiful book , autographed, from www.marywkerr.com

Yep, I am among the lucky 51  contemporary quilt artists to be included in its 160 pages!  You can order autographed copies of the book from editor/author/curator Mary W. Kerr on her website here; scroll down just a bit and you’ll see the link to pre-order.

The “blurb” says:  “Accompanied by 270 color images, fifty-one quilters share their love of the craft and encourage others in the field of textile art by offering design and technique tips. Design processes include color play, alternative fiber, threadwork, and embellishments. This book is a great resource for quilt lovers, textile collectors, and design students.”

Mary put out a call for submissions quite some time ago (publication is a lengthy process).  I am thrilled not only to be included, but to know that this book is people who may very well not be known to your or just coming to your attention–it’s a new generation.   I’ve admired the work of many of those included some for years and am so honored to be included in their company.   I can’t WAIT to see my copy!

Just quickly popping in to share a photo ot three before another week evaporates!   After returning from teaching in Florida, I left about 16 hours later to attend the New England (High School) Wrestling Championships with Paul and Eli, and since my return from that have been slamming on multiple deadlines between now and March 15th!   But wanted to share a photo or two, let you know I haven’t disappeared, and will be back with more.  First, the eye candy:

After class Tuesday, my host Betty Jordt took me to Sharky’s on the pier for supper. Shrimp and a sunset—perfect!

And a teaser about the class:

In my quilting design class, where we brainstorm ideas for tops folks bring in. Not sure who took these photos for me, but thank you! I forgot to take photos on Tuesday, so really glad to have this one!

And what FUN…. Rebecca H. from Camden is a snow-bird, and she and her friends traveled to Venice from their Florida winter homes to come to my lecture!  SO FUN to have familiar faces in the audience!  THANK YOU for coming!

With Rebecca and her friends just before my lecture to 200+ (!!!!) people.  I’m on the far left with Rebecca next to me.  Great quilters choose good colors LOL…totally unplanned!

Let me knock off a few urgent items (like magazine submissions!) and I’ll be back!

and you’ll need to not “blink” with your ears or you might miss me!  I’ll be on at about 3:20 Eastern (US) time.

Creative Mojo radio with Mark Lipinski

But I’m happy to report I’ll have my two minutes (literally…that’s all:  two minutes, but much appreciated)  of fame tomorrow, live on Creative Mojo with the irrepressible Mark Lipinski.  You can tune in here, on Toginet.   Or if you are someplace you can’t log on and tune in (or perhaps like me get so involved in stuff you forget what time it is and miss stuff), you can always catch the Creative Mojo podcast, here.   The website tells us:

CREATIVE MOJO WITH MARK LIPINSKI is a live, two-hour entertainment program broadcast on the Internet. It’s fun, entertaining, informative, inspirational and illuminating.

and

• Just log onto www.toginet.com for a brand-new,
• LIVE, 2-hour
• Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski!
• 3 pm -5 pm EST    2 pm – 4 pm CST 1 pm – 3 pm MST    12 pm – 2 pm PST
• Call in anytime during the live show with your questions or comments for my guests
• (877) 864-4869

AND I just discovered you can go to iTunes and subscribe to his podcast! WOOT!

As for what I’ve been up to since I last posted, I had a *really* long commute to work last week:  flew from Maine to Florida and back so I could spend two wonderful days teaching for and lecturing at the meeting of the Venice Area Quilt Guild.  Many thanks to my host and program chair Betty Jordt and the folks of the guild AND some folks who know me who actually came to the lecture!   I’ll blog soon!

Since returning on Thursday afternoon, I left within 16 hours to head south to Rhode Island to support two of the members of Eli’s high school wrestling team who made it into the VERY competitive New England Regional Wrestling Championships:  to get IN you have to be a State Champion from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island or Connecticut.  Talk about stiff competition!   Both boys did well and one even placed!   It was a great trip but I’m REALLY glad to return home on Sunday.  Yesterday was lots of bookkeeping and paperwork stuff, and today was spent researching patents!  I have an idea for a quilting tool, and may be dashing off a provisional patent application in the next week before a new law goes into effect on the 16th of this month (ERK).   So I’m going to be scarce while scrambling to do something that should take me months and consultation with a lawyer (not to mention a patent search that goes back 120 years), but I’m gonna try anyway.  Stay tuned—maybe in a year I’ll have some good news if the provisional application goes through and I can find a manufacturer and funding!  (Can you say Kickstarter campaign?)

But in the meantime, I’m looking forward to a couple minutes on the phone and radio tomorrow with the ever-funny Mark Lipinski!

Hi all!  I’ll be teaching and lecturing this week in Venice, Florida!  My departure was scheduled for today, but due to snow I’m leaving Monday but will be there in time for teaching on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the Wednesday evening lecture.   Here is some info from the Venice Area Quilt Guild website:

February 27, 2013 regular meeting at 7:00 pm at the Venice Community Center, 326 So. Nokomis Avenue, Venice, FL 34285.

Our regular February 27, 2013 meeting will begin after the special meeting with guest speaker quilt artist Sarah Ann Smith.  Sarah’s talk will be “How did she do that?”.  There will be a $5 admission fee for non-members.   The doors open at 6:15 for socializing and guild business.  The meetings will begin at 7:00 pm.

I’m teaching one of my favorite courses to teach:  Quilting Design!  The one-day class will be held on both days.  There are still a few openings, so if you’d like to attend, contact the guild!

If you’d like to read more about the class, go to my classes page and scroll down to “Quilting Design.”  The class supply list is also available as a pdf in that description, just click the link.   And if you’d like to book me to teach the class, I’d love to do so!   The class is best as a 1 1/2 or 2 day class, but can be squeezed into a day with Some exercises you can take to do at home instead of in class (where you get feedback).  Hope to blog pictures later in the week!

Seven out of 14 of last year’s varsity wrestlers graduated.  The average age of this year’s varsity team is 15—very young for a high school team.  We had two seniors, two juniors (one of whom began wrestling in November), nine sophomores (one new to wrestling) and one Freshman (Eli) on the varsity team.  At the beginning of the season, Camden seemed poised to have a “rebuilding” year and not be the usual powerhouse team in the state. Prognosticators said Camden would likely end the season at 12th, not the usual 1 or 2 spot.   Apparently, no one told the boys and girl of the team.

Camden Hills Wrestling Team 2012-13, State Champions, and new friend and adopted teammate Michael Alvarez (State Champion at 152) of Morse in Bath, Maine–read below to find out why he’s so wonderful.

Twelve of them, including the two boys new to wrestling, qualified for STATES!  The team was undefeated in dual meets at 25-0.  They won the Class B title at the all-schools (class A, B) Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference.  They won Eastern Regionals.  At this point, the sports pundits revised their thinking and said Camden would likely finish third, possibly second but not first.  Once again, no one told the kids.  In a nail-biter finish, Camden beat Fryeburg Academy to win the State Championship 131.5 to 128.5 points…by a mere three points!  As coach Patrick Kelly pointed out to the local newspaper, EACH and EVERY kid who wrestled helped win (or not give away) critical points.  It was truly a team effort, capped with two State Champions, two runners up, two at third, one at fourth and an ELATED group of kids, coaches, parents and wrestling alums.

The coaches and this year’s graduation seniors, from L to R: Paul Smith and Perry Goodspeed (assistant coaches), Calan Bragg (132-lb and newly minted State Champion), Tia Silverio (Team Manager), Coleman Powers (154-lb and newly minted State Champion), Coach Patrick Kelly and Asst. Coach True Bragg (cousin to Calan)

It is now 4-5 days since the kids won, and I think we are all still floating on air.  I’ll share a bit about each of the boys who came home with a medal, a bit about Eli, and tell you about Michael.  I don’t think I’ve EVER heard of a team cheering so wildly for another team’s kid to win!

Eli had an amazing year, not only being ON the varsity team as a Freshman, but in making it to States.  He is the same weight as Coleman, but Coleman as a senior got to choose which weight class he wanted to wrestle (and frankly he could beat Eli easily so was a stronger component of the team in terms of contributing to team points).  That meant Eli had to wrestle up a weight class–and let me tell you wrestling against someone 7+  pounds heavier and older is a challenge.  Nonetheless, Eli did really well.  If they had places below 4th, Eli would have come in 5th or 6th at States–as a Freshman!  WOW!

Eli is in back and in control as he takes his opponent down to the mat to attempt to pin him.

Eli has control of his opponent’s arm, which allows him to turn him over and (in a few moments after this picture) pin him for the win.

And  proud papa Paul (and asst. coach) with Eli holding the team’s trophy for the State Championship:

Paul and Eli enjoying the team’s victory.

The team’s success came with  every single point scored or not given up to second place Freyburg Academy, including wins and scores from the boys who didn’t medal.  Those who did medal, brought extra critical points. Sophomore John Underhill had a couple of matches where he absolutely dominated:

John Underhill is very close to pinning this kid in an earlier match in the day. John came in fourth–well done!

John is getting close to another pin

Sophomore Jared Gilbert came through and won 3rd in the consolation finals:

The ref is checking as Jared presses his opponent into the mat

It is so nice to get the “hand up”! And I’ve finally, after years of trying, figured out when to snap so I actually get the shot in the nano-second the hand is UP! Jared WINS. You can see on the scoreboard that he won by a pin, because the clock has stopped with time in the second (of three) periods. Good job!

Sophomore Chriss Weiss (we’re so glad you’re back in Camden!) took another 3rd for Camden in a talent-laden weight class (126 lb).

Typical Chris: on top, in control, and ready to roll-em over.

Chris is just seconds away from the ref calling the pin and taking third! He needs to get the Mountain Valley boy’s left shoulder down, and it’s done.

James Archer (113 lb) and Connor Winchenbach (138 lb) came in second in the Finals against tough opponents.

The ref slams the mat in the “Pinned!” gesture in an early match. From this shot, you can see that the boy on the bottom has his shoulders flat on the mat…done for!

In the finals match, Connor wrestled one of the best wrestlers in the state, senior Daniel DelGallo from Gardiner. DelGallo is now a three-time state champion, but Connor wasn’t going to make his trip to the top of the stand easy! That’s Connor in front, yanking DelGallo off his feet.

Sophomore James Archer wrestled another State Champion, Fryeburg senior Connor Sheehan, in the finals.  Sheehan won his third state title and James came in second.

James Archer in an earlier match controls his opponent.

James gets the pin (with Eli shouting in the background)

Seniors Calan Bragg and Coleman Powers won their first State titles and absolutely decimated the competition.  Luckily, I got some great shots of them.  Glad I finally figured out how to get the shots before the season was over!

Calan Bragg is working his opponent down, but the Ellsworth boy is arching his back (it’s called bridging) to keep his sholders off the mat. The referee on the left is one of our favorites…a really nice guy who is fair and takes time to instruct the kids in the sport as he refs a match.

Calan flips his opponent over and is bringing him down to the mat.

Calan keeps working, getting him closer. Wrestling is a sport of mental as well as physical toughness. Determination pays off!

Coleman is SO darn fast that I have a hard time getting photos of him–he’s usually a blur! The first photo is from an earlier match in the tournament, the others during his Championship Finals.

Can you say “dramatic move”…. unbelievable! And the wrestler must control the opponent all the way down so that he lands safely (although sometimes hard) on the mat.

Coleman getting ready to crank his opponent over onto his back!

Coleman takes down his Freyburg opponent in the Finals. Coleman pinned him in 53 seconds in the first round.

But even with all that excellence, the win for the team title was NOT in the bag.  We were leading Fryeburg by only a few points.  Fryeburg had two more boys in the finals.  If both won, they would win the State title for their team.  If one came in second, Camden would win by a slender three points. The second boy won.  The first of the two Fryeburg boys was in the 152 pound weight class up against Michael Alvarez of Morse (Bath, Maine).  At the KVAC tournament several weeks ago, Eli pointed him out as they were in the same weight class and told me:  see him, he’s the one that’s gonna win states.  Can I say how ELATED WE ALL ARE that he DID!

The Camden team, parents, and supporters were watching the VERY close match, which changed lead a couple of times, screaming and cheering loudly.  Michael won by a narrow margin on points at the end of the third period, and the Camden crowd went crazy!  I think every kid on the team and half the parents sought him out to congratulate and thank him.  The kids even invited him to join us for a team “victory” photo with the trophy, and he did.  Here he is kneeling down in front to join the team as they all give him a round of applause and Coach Goodspeed shakes his hand.  And it turns out he’s a really nice kid, too!

In blue (kneeling in front on right, shaking hands with G), Michael Alvarez of Morse school in Bath. Congratulations, Michael on your State Championship and the best of luck at New Englands!

So as you might guess by this massive post, we are all SO HAPPY and still floating on air.  The kids were amazing–all of them, including the JV members of the team who helped their teammates during the season.  The coaches did an amazing job bringing out the best in this young squad.  Looking forward to next year–so proud of all of them!

Next, we will return to actual quilting in Hope, Maine!