If you've been reading our blog you know that I've just completed three weekends of art fairs--the last two were both 2-day affairs.  It's been exhilarating and exhausting.  You never know what to expect in a day at one of these shows, but I always have memorable events.  One of those memorable moments from Occasion for the Arts came Sunday morning just after the show opened when the Colonial Williamsburg Fife & Drum Corps stopped right outside my tent to play several tunes.  It was a rousing start to the day.

I always enjoy seeing them perform.  They are "just" teens, but they are so professional in their demeanor and so into their characters.  Their seriousness and precision never ceases to impress and move me.

One of the things I will remember most from the Port Warwick Art & Sculpture Show was really a series of moments, not a single event.  It's really a small thing, but I just loved watching the shadows on my tent created by the tree right next to me.  They constantly changed, but I thought they were a very apropos background for my "Seek Truth" artwork.

Of course it's also exhilarating when your work finds a new home.  That brand new jacket that I highlighted in my last blog post has a new owner already, while an older one was just the thing for an upcoming wedding.   It really does make you feel good when your work brings joy to others.  And you never know what connections you will make.  At the Contemporary Artisans show a friend from my water fitness class came by with a friend visiting from Rhode Island.  Turns out her friend's daughter had just moved to Lowell, Mass.  Sonja and I were tickled to be able to share tips on things to do in Lowell, like Western Avenue Studios and Mill No. 5 and recommend our favorite hairdresser.  We hope her daughter loves that place as much as we do.

Of course, there's always more work to be done even when the show is over.  After the car's been unloaded, there's still accounting to be done, inventory to be sorted and stored, and a myriad of details to take care of.  It's Friday and I'm just beginning to  get back to my normal routine again.

Though I took time this week to make sure that Dahlia's and A Touch of Earth had new scarves for the upcoming holiday season, I also made sure that I made time for creative work as well.  (Side note - if you click on the links for these wonderful shops, be sure to look carefully at the pictures to see if you can find my scarves!!  I was pretty excited to see them.)  I spent time at the sewing machine--doing the piecing that I do when I'm not ready to commit to a major project.   Starting with a pile of blues, my favorite color, I just kept piecing the scraps together trying to use as many as I could.  It was "mindless" time well spent.  I think I'm going to have pieces big enough for another jacket.

Evenings I continued to work on my latest "therapy" quilt.  I think it's nearing completion.  I wasn't too sure, but yesterday I tacked it up to my design board and added some skeleton leaves.  I'm continuing to study it, but I think with the addition of the leaves, it will be ready for the basting stitches to go and for binding. 

This one doesn't have a definite name yet, for now I'm calling Nature's Bounty.  To help me cope with and renew my feelings of optimism, this quilt riffs on all the joys we gain from our time in the out-of-doors.  I hope it evokes calm and motivates us to do all we can to sustain our environment for our children and grandchildren.

I just finished loading the car.  I have to be downtown right after lunch to set up for Williamsburg's Occasion for the Arts.  The show opens tomorrow morning.  It runs from 10 am to 5 pm both Saturday and Sunday.  I'm in space G 54.  I hope if you're in the area, you'll stop by to see me.

I finished one more jacket this week so I'll have VERY new inventory.  I mentioned this one in my last post, sharing the crazy mix of fabrics I'd picked out.  My fabric selections often look kind of crazy to me when I first start, but the stack of colors always connect somehow.  Then getting the design to work together usually just involves getting the right arrangement and the individual pieces the right size.  This time it didn't work.  The fabrics looked good together in a stack, but I just couldn't find an arrangement that looked pleasing to me.  I didn't end up starting all over, but only about half of my original fabrics ended up in the final design.

Just to remind you, here's the set I started with.

Here's the completed jacket.

I decided to make the half-yard cut of Indonesian batik I'd purchased last spring the focus fabric.  This one really needs to be seen in person to really appreciate the intricate patterning in the batik.  (Side note - I bought this fabric from Usha of Handloom Batik.  She sells at many quilt shows and has wonderful fabrics and wooden stamps and such.  Look for her.  You'll be glad you did.)