About a Year Ago...

I was in Denver at the SAQA conference.  It was all about 'visioning' and the participants in the Visioning Project's first year (Oct. 2009 - 2010) were there in numbers, including these Creative Canucks.

Front - L to R: Mary Pal, me, Paulette Cornish
Rear - L to R: Teri Springer, Carol Howard Donati

I made new friends, some with whom I'm still in touch, and learned a great deal about art, quilts, quilts as art, creativity, quilt and textile art history, technology, the workings of galleries and museums -- and where I wanted to take my life and my work.

In this past year, I've slowed down to a pace I can manage, have dropped more than a dozen pounds, two clothes sizes, and a couple of bad habits.  I sleep better, have more energy and fewer pity parties.  I'm making less, but I'm taking more time, and enjoying the process.   I'm closing in on 1,000 blog posts, and many thousands more stitches taken by hand and by machine.  I have a milestone birthday in September, and the celebration of a decade of blogging coming in early February '13.  Life continues to be a 'visioning' process, sifting and sorting, thinking and praying, reflecting and acting intentionally to create a balanced design that invites others to take a second look.

Thanks again, SAQA, for that turning-point experience, and for being a place of learning and growth, friendship and support in my fibre art journey.