Week in Review 2020 – 05/22

In a world that is constantly changing, one thing hasn’t changed, SAQA’s annual benefit auction. Well, that may be a bit of stretch. I don’t have easy access to SAQA’s archive’s, but I do recall the first SAQA auction from my memory and it is quite different from how things are done today. My admittedly fuzzy memory recalls a single collection of 12″ x 12″ quilts made by SAQA’s luminaries and housed in a specially designed and crafted wooden cabinet. What I don’t recall is whether this was just one of the offerings or the sole offering at the auction. I’m lean towards the former with cabinet collection being the highlight. Now there are no collections, although collectors bid with their private interests in mind. The quilts remain constant at 12″ x 12″ gems. The artists are all SAQA members with a passion for the genre and the organization.

Using a photograph taken by my husband, I created the blueprint for my SAQA Benefit Auction quilt. This is the very first paper pieced pattern I have designed. Thank goodness for EQ8. It doesn’t do the work, but it does make creating a piecing pattern easier than a pencil and paper.

Yes, I am one of those passionate artist. I demonstrate my passion in several ways by:

  • Volunteering for SAQA;
  • Designing and creating original fiber art;
  • Seeking out and entering exhibition opportunities;
  • Personally promoting SAQA and my work; and
  • Making a 12″ x 12″ quilt for the annual benefit auction
Here’s what the auction piece looked like before it was squared up, all the quilting was done and some landscaping was added.

Honestly, you would think by now submitting a piece to the annual auction wouldn’t feel like jumping off a cliff with jagged rocks at the bottom, but it does. My inner dialog is far more negative than I publicly portray. Will my piece sell? If so, will it sell for a respectable price? Will the new owner be pleased or feel they got a bum deal? Nevertheless, I have taken the plunge once more, hoping the jagged rocks have been miraculously made safe by a deep, still lake of not too cold or too hot water.

This is the final product. The home is one of several neighbors’ homes we overlook.

The deadline for submitting work to the auction is July 1st. My piece goes in the mail today. Others, about 170 so far, have beaten me to the finish line. You can see their work here. Check back often. SAQA’s staff is busy uploading images and data. You are bound to find something or more than one something that tempts you.

I am linking up with Nina Marie’s Off the Wall Fridays.

By Gwyned Trefethen

I am an artist who uses fabric, thread and miscellany to create designs gifted to me by my imagination.

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