Prepping for Show

For the past few days, I've been getting pieces ready for exhibit.

June 14 I'll be spending the day at the Cabinet of Curiosities Gallery in Stettler as part of the annual Art Walk.  The local quilt guild show will be on at the same time -- over at the Royal Canadian Legion -- so if you're in the area, you might want to make a day of it.  The forecast includes showers, so bring your brolly!

I have 3 pieces to add to my collection for the Art Walk -- the two that had returned from Quilt Expo in Beaujolais, France:

Tree Study I  (C) 2013

and

To Everything There is a Season (C) 2013

And the one I just finished.

All three needed dowels, which I include when someone buys a piece.  I prepare them to fit the width of the piece, and fit them with eye hooks for hanging, as this system works well both on the display rack I'll be using, and when someone is hanging them up at home:

I use the hammer and wee nail to put a hole in each end of the dowel, and the pincers to help me screw in the eye hooks.  Works a treat!

The next show prep: packing Mackintosh's Garden for its trip to Houston, Texas (from where it will travel to Portland, Oregon, for the "Quilt! Knit! Stitch!" show in August.

I had a brief moment of panic when I read in the instructions that the hanging sleeve was not only to be 4" finished (mine was) but also be equal to the width of the quilt! Say what?!  Generally sleeves are finished within an inch or so of each side edge, which mine was.

I turned to my SAQA colleagues for advice and had a variety of responses.  Apparently the International Quilt Festival has a habit of asking for extra-long sleeves, but many had submitted them with the more usual "indentation" from each side and had no problem.  With less than a month to get the piece delivered, and with a border to cross...I decided to leave it as is.

One hurdle down.

Then one of my SAQA colleagues (unsolicited) went after me about how to wrap the quilt.  I know that acid-free tissue is recommended for storage purposes, but this person seemed insistent that it be used for short-term mailing as well.

Hmmm.  I had bought new white tissue (made from recycled paper) that is likely not entirely acid-free (buffered or un-buffered...that's a whole 'nother discussion!).  I live in the boonies, remember?  And there was no time to go searching in Calgary or Edmonton for acid-free tissue, let alone mail order it from somewhere.  She offered to mail me some (from her home a few thousand kilometres from here)...I thanked her and assured her all was well.  After all, I'd sent my two pieces to France the same way and they'd fared well...

I began by "de-hairing" the piece, which looked clean to the naked eye but, because I live with two cats...

Hair removed from the back

Hair removed from the front

See what I mean?

Then I wrapped it gently in the aforementioned white tissue, first by folding it in thirds (tissue between the folds), and in thirds again (ditto), and then tucking in the ends and placing it in the box, with the entry information etc. as required:

First layer of wrapping

I covered the entire thing (down the sides too) with small-sized bubble wrap, closed the box, sealed it up and addressed it.  Then I went online to Canada Post for advanced Customs Documentation, which I'll take with me to the Post Office...

Address information distorted for blog post.  :-)

On that same SAQA Yahoo group, there was some discussion last week about labels, as one of my colleagues had had her piece stolen.  I apply my labels thus:

1. Print the label by hand or on printable fabric with my inkjet printer, following instructions to set the ink;
2. Apply fusible web to the back of the label.
3. Tuck the label into the bottom corner (generally, on my right when the back is facing me);
4. Sew the label right into the side and bottom seams, and hand-sew around the other two sides.

Personal information altered for blog post  :-)

The only way to remove that label is to cut it out of the quilt, damaging it altogether...which would destroy the piece and render it worthless.  So far, this has worked well; none of my pieces has been stolen...then again, maybe I'm not well-enough known for my pieces to be valuable enough to steal! LOL!

Now...off to the Post Office!