Luana Rubin

Our new family member

Three months ago we lost our beloved sheltie, and
a month ago our beloved elder kitty died in Sophie's arms the day she finished
5th grade. It has been a rough spring at our house. So a month ago when I had
the opportunity to pick out a special puppy for our family, I decided to go for
it. (after spending a month scouring the local Humane Societies and Rescue
centers, and not finding a match for our family)

For years I have always sought out Puppy Therapy - visiting friends with new
puppies so I could soak up a little bit of that effervescent joy of life that
emanates from a canine baby.

Now we are lounging in a hottub of puppy bliss, and everyone at our house is
walking around with a silly grin. There are an awful lot of delighted squeals,
and spontaneous "Awwwww!" noises coming from our place.

So I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of the Rubin family - an 8
week old female puppy named Ruby! I've posted puppy photos on my photo page, and on my Facebook page...and if you
like puppies you can also check out my Puppy Club.

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Oklahoma Tornado Quilt Relief


Mission of Love and eQuilter are
partnering to bring a truckload of disaster relief and comfort quilts to
Oklahoma.

You can help by sending your donated comfort quilts to Mission of Love, or dropping them off
IN PERSON at eQuilter's warehouse in Boulder Colorado, by June 20. (Do NOT ship
to eQuilter, only ship directly to Mission
of Love.)

You can also help us purchase disaster relief supplies by donating funds via PayPal directly
to Mission of Love.

READ QUILT
GUIDELINES BELOW ON THIS PAGE PLEASE!

Puppy Love and Textile Exhibits

 

The last two weeks I've been driving the kids to Denver Monday through Friday (for zoo camp, then music camp) and I tried to do all the things that I don't have time to do in Denver otherwise. (It is about a one hour drive from our house.)

Friday I saved the best for last, and now I wish I'd gone earlier! The Denver Art Museum has a new set of textile galleries, and as reported in the New York Times, they are presenting a huge grouping of concurrent textile exhibits known as "Spun".

When you go to see this incredible group of textile exhibits (and YES, it is worth coming from out-of-state!) be sure to get a ticket to see the Nick Cave and Red White & Bold special exhibits.

While I was in NYC the end of March, I saw the Nick Cave costumes and performance at Grand Central Station. On June 28 there will be a Nick Cave performance at DAM, but the tickets are sold out. There is some limited availability for members to attend the dress rehearsal on June 27. (I will be there on June 27!)

In the last two months we lost our beloved doggie and elder kitty, and we recently decided we wanted to bring a puppy into our home. This weekend we brought her home, and we are all in Puppy Heaven. There is nothing like Puppy Therapy to put a smile on your face and joy in your heart. If you are on Facebook and want to see lots of cute puppy photos, check out Luana's Puppy Club!  Woof!

Down Time = Photo Safari

This weekend, I am halfway through two weeks of extreme commuting. This last week Sophie had Zoo Camp in Denver, and this week Sam has sax camp at the Denver School of Performing Arts. Driving to and from Denver Monday through Friday for 2 weeks is not a pleasant way to spend one's time, and it sure makes me appreciate my friends who have to do similar commutes in LA and other big cities. (2-3 hours in traffic per day) Wow, it is so exhausting!

However I decided to make the most of it! I am always complaining that I don't have time to go to Denver to see the museums and galleries, etc., so I am trying to squeeze in as much culture and visual stimulation as possible these 2 weeks. I guess this will be my version of Staycation 2013.

So last week I made business phone calls from the zoo parking lot for 2 hours each morning, tried to keep up with my emails on my iPhone, then I went to 2 art cinema matinees ("Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's", and "Renoir" - I recommend both for those of you who love luscious eye candy), took photos of the animals for an hour or two every day, finally visited the Art Students League in Denver, sketched animals for a few hours, and was amazed by the number of pregnant women at the zoo! Because we are members at the zoo, we can go in 30 minutes before the park opens to the public, and that is when I got my best animal photos.

Do you take reference photos for your creative work? Is there a certain time of year that lends itself to taking your favorite reference photos? This is the time of year when I take my camera everywhere. I am taking photos of the snowy peaks of the Rockies and the green foothills. I am taking photos of baby animals in the surrounding farmland. I am taking photos of the masses of flowers that are blooming this time of year.

These things are so incredibly inspiring to me. I come home and go through my photos late at night when everyone else is asleep, and start dreaming up color palettes and creative projects for the coming year.

Part of being creative is having empty space in one's head, one's studio, and one's life. It is like staring at a blank canvas, upon which we project images and ideas that well up from the subconscious. A Staycation is an empty space in your busy schedule. Leave it empty and see what happens.

What inspires you this time of year?
Feel free to share your thoughts here.

*********

This weekend is the Irish Quilt Festival, and eQuilter is sponsoring the Spirit Rising exhibit there. (made by quilters dealing with some type of physical challenge - illness, injury, loss of sight/hearing, etc.) If you have photos of our exhibit, we'd love to see them!

Check out my photos from Quilt Canada - wonderful colors and creativity from up North!

Handsome Cheetah

For some reason I couldn't get this image to load for the Creative Nudge on Tuesday night. Here is the handsome cheetah I refered to in my post. Actually... this might be the female cheetah at the Denver Zoo.

Here are more animal photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/luanarubin/sets/72157607126629714/

....and here are photos from Quilt Canada last month:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/luanarubin/sets/72157633865983372/

Here's a link to all my photos sets, if you want to keep going! *wink*

http://www.flickr.com/photos/luanarubin/sets/

 

Creative Nudge - A Week at the Zoo

 

The first part of our SAQA Andover design contest is over. After our May Call for Entry, we ended up with 190 designs from 65 artists! I am doing a blind jury now, curating the artwork into a short list before Andover and I make a final collection choices. Many thanks to all of you who submitted artwork!

Many of you are following the progress of Libby at www.caringbridge.org/visit/libbylehman - and the news May 31 was difficult to hear. The doctors have reported that she has lost her speech center. According to them, this means that she cannot speak, nor can she understand speech. Her speech center was located in the right side of her brain where the stroke occurred. Therapy will continue. The road ahead will be long and difficult. More details on the caring bridge site. Please do follow those posts as they are directly from her sisters.

You may wonder why I have a photo of a handsome cheetah this week. Sophie finally talked me into letting her do a week of camp at the Denver Zoo, which means I am driving over an hour from Boulder to Denver in the morning. Monday I drove back to Boulder during the day, which meant I was driving for almost 5 hours for 2 round trips. One day of that was enough, so I am just taking her to camp the rest of this week, and spending my time on creative studies all day in Denver until it is time to pick her up. On the way home today, I picked up a carload of Guatemalan ikat cottons from one of our suppliers. Yippee!

So I have challenged myself to walk the entire loop of the zoo each morning this week, to take animal photo portraits. This is one of the images I snapped this morning. I will add these to my photo archive for future art projects, and I'll post my favorite animal portraits on my Flickr photo page.

I also went to see a fashion documentary film at a nearby art cinema house. "Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's" takes you behind the scenes at Bergdorf Goodman with the long process of designing window displays, telling the history of the building and the company, and interviewing many iconic fashion designers. The textiles, artwork, and luxe eye candy make this a scrumptious 90 minutes of vicarious retail therapy. You may recall my Hong Kong roommate (then working for Oscar de La Renta) was Halston's head patternmaker during his heady couture days, so I'll have to talk to her about the Halston history in this film.

The first batch of quilt photos from the Quilt Canada show are up - I love all the nature themed art quilts!

The Space In Between

After traveling to 2 quilt shows in 2 countries, (Quilt Canada, and Quilt National/Dairy Barn) and seeing 25,000 fabric designs at Quilt Market, my brain has been totally saturated with Color over the last few weeks! Watch for quilt photos from Canada being uploaded this weekend.

I am happy to be home for awhile, even though there is a weedy patch in my back yard that should have been rototilled for a vegetable garden by now. Happy June!

I've been thinking about the space between Modern Quilts and Contemporary/Art Quilts. In this world that we live in today, where everything and almost everyone seems to be so polarized, I habitually and almost compulsively look for the space in the middle, when 2 sides are potentially polarized.

Remember 20 years ago when the traditional patchwork quilters often were polarized with the fledgling art quilt movement? (people used to argue endlessly online about the definition of a quilt.) Today, sometimes the modern quilters seem to be at odds with contemporary quilters.

But there is a very beautiful and attractive space in the middle, that is slowly being populated by very talented and clever quilters. Whether they like to call themselves artists or designers (or both!) doesn't really matter. What I find fascinating is that it is a fertile hot ground for a whole new genre or school of quilting creativity. Watch that space.

*************

OKLAHOMA TORNADO QUILTS -
Kathy Price (Mission of Love) and I are trying to figure out if we will have enough quilts and money for relief supplies by June 20, in time for our projected June 27 distribution date in Oklahoma. We want to maximize this truckload, so if you or your quilt group are planning to send us quilt(s) for this effort by June 20, would you drop us an email at service@eQuilter.com and let us know your plans... so we can confirm our dates?

Hurricane Sandy Quilts -
This quilt relief project has come to a close. In partnership with Timeless Treasures who processed packages and stored quilts before distribution, and of course with all of YOU who donated quilts, we donated almost 2000 quilts to hurricane victims. I am so grateful to everyone who helped with this effort, especially Joy McKeon from Quilt Magazine who made it her personal mission to deliver batches of donated quilts to so many communities.

Our last delivery was last week to Adopt-A-House in Lindenhurst, Long Island. If you still want to donate to Hurricane Sandy survivors, contact eQuilter Customer Service for the address of a relief agency still receiving quilts.

Here is a thank you message:
"We had a generous and thoughtful donation given to Adopt A House families this evening. Brand new Hand Made Quilts made for Super Storm Sandy Families. I went around South Lindenhurst tonight delivering some to families. These quilts are from all over America. Some come with custom letters of encouragement and each stitch was completed with love. Even though I saw a lot of happy faces I still saw a lot of tears from families who were touched that people all over America are still thinking of them through this long haul."

Dates to Watch:

June 20 - Deadline for Oklahoma Tornado Quilts
July 20 - Not Fade Away - Quilt Alliance
- in conjunction with Sacred Threads
Aug 8-10 - Birmingham UK Festival of Quilts

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Check out our eQuilter Facebook page!
(Sneak peeks of new collections throughout the week)

Quilt Relief for Oklahoma

On this Memorial Day weekend, we are remembering not only those who have served, those we have lost, but also those affected by the May 20 tornado in Oklahoma.

I am in Athens Ohio this weekend for Quilt National, and I will be reporting on this show in my midweek Creative Nudge newsletter.

Oklahoma Tornado Quilt Relief

On May 20, 2013, a monster tornado with the highest EF5 rating hit Moore Oklahoma, with winds topping 200 mph. 13,000 homes were destroyed or seriously damaged.

Mission of Love and eQuilter are partnering to bring a truckload of disaster relief and comfort quilts to Oklahoma on June 27-28.

You can help by sending your donated comfort quilts to Mission of Love, or dropping them off IN PERSON at eQuilter's warehouse in Boulder Colorado, by June 20. (Do NOT ship to eQuilter, only ship directly to Mission of Love.)

You can also help us purchase disaster relief supplies by donating funds via PayPal directly to Mission of Love, so we can buy in bulk and load up that truck ahead of time.

You can send your donations and quilts to:
Mission of LOVE
2054 Hemlock Court
Youngstown, Ohio 44515

Or you can make a monetary donation via the Mission of LOVE web site:
www.missionoflove.org via Pay Pal.

Please join our hands in order to extend our hands to those in need via our Mission of LOVE for the " LOVE of MOORE. " Kathy Price and I will personally hand deliver your donations of quilts and monetary donations to the real people in need.

READ QUILT GUIDELINES BELOW ON THIS PAGE PLEASE!
http://www.equilter.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/quiltrelief.html

If you are in Oklahoma and have photos of the tornado's devastation, please
send them to us and we will share them online.

************************
May 24 Update:
eQuilter *Hurricane Sandy - 1777 Quilts Received*

Thank you to Timeless Treasures and owners Ellen and Dave Brown, for providing the warehouse and staff to receive, process, store and distribute these quilts for Hurricane Sandy victims. We are so grateful that we could partner with you in this relief effort!

This project has ended and the last batch of quilts are being distributed this week. We are now starting a quilt relief drive for the victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes last week.

Many thanks to Joy McKeon from Harris Publications who has helped to transport donated quilts to distribution points.

Here is a list of organizations that have received and distributed your donated quilts to those in need - thank you Quilters - and thank you Joy!

--The Island Park Volunteer Fire Department
--Breezy Point FDNY
--Fire Departments, Community Center and Churches in the following towns: Breezy Point, Queens; Far Rockaway, Queens and Island Park, LI
--Community Center in the Edgemere section of Far Rockaway
--Shorefront Y in Brighton Beach Brooklyn - they were distributing them at a church event in a local Latino neighborhood reaching a community that doesn't frequent this Y much (this Y is located in a predominately Russian neighborhood).
--Gerritsen Beach in Brooklyn - a tent area where residents come for food and supplies.
--Far Rockaway Nazarene Church as I've read they are always in need of supplies. They serve hot meals daily and provide a clothing, food and supply pantry to the neighborhood that has been hit hard by the storm. The minister said those quilts would all be gone the next morning.
--Santa for Sandy organization in Midland, Staten Island

Hurricane Sandy Photo page:
eQuilter *QUILTS for HURRICANE SANDY*

http://www.flickr.com/photos/luanarubin/sets/72157632121717400/

*********

We wish you a safe holiday weekend, and a happy summer!



May 25 - Quilt National in Athens OH
May 30 - Deadline SAQA Andover Design Contest
July 20 - Not Fade Away - Quilt Alliance
- in conjunction with Sacred Threads
Aug 8-10 - Birmingham UK Festival of Quilts

Creative Nudge - Canada, Trends, Tornadoes & Graduation

There are so many things to write about - I don't know where to begin!

First let me tell you that this is a scene from Quilt BC in Penticton Canada from last week. An hour before the exhibit opened, several classes of schoolchildren were brought to have a preview of the quilt show. The kids were so interested in the quilts, and the white-gloved docent had a story to go with each quilt, to keep the kids interested. At the end of the exhibit tour, their teachers gave them paper and markers, and invited them to design their own quilt blocks. Brilliant!

Next I went to Quilt Market in Portland, and the trade show was full of young people with new ideas. Several fabric manufacturers previewed digitally printed fabric collections, and we'll see those starting to show up at eQuilter in the near future. The price is a little higher, but the artwork quality looks like a screen print with 30 or 40 screens! (Normally they are around 15 screens) We are excited to see this huge and very important trend take hold in the next year.

I can say that the flat color trend with simple artwork that is filled in with a Photoshop paintbrush, is being replaced by lush intricate artwork with a handpainted look. It is more sophisticated and it looks fresh after all the simple flat artwork we've seen on fabric the last several years.

Our hearts go out to the residents of Moore Oklahoma, and Tuesday I was on the phone with Mission of Love director Kathy Price. We agreed to start a new quilt relief effort for the tornado victims, and you can read the press release from Mission of Love on this information page.

Quilts can be dropped off IN PERSON at eQuilter, or shipped directly to Mission of Love in Ohio.

DO NOT SHIP QUILTS TO EQUILTER, as this will delay and perhaps prevent distribution to Oklahoma tornado survivors.

The deadline for receiving quilts is June 20.

Kathy and I will go to Moore June 27-28 to distribute disaster relief supplies and comfort quilts.

If you have questions, please call or email Dana at eQuilter Customer Service:
service@eQuilter.com

(Please do NOT try to call Kathy at MOL because she is simultaneously coordinating several different urgent relief projects right now - with no paid receptionist to answer calls or emails)

If you don't have time to make a quilt, please consider donating directly to Mission of Love via PayPal, so they can purchase relief supplies in bulk and load up a truck bound for Oklahoma. Mission of Love has no overhead, so everything you give will go straight to purchasing supplies in bulk at the best price. Kathy and her team of volunteers are masters at this, so we will also send them money to help fund the purchase of relief supplies. You may recall that I went to Guatemala in December, on a Mission of Love Cleft Lip/Palate Surgery trip.

Lastly, our daughter Sophie graduated from elementary school Tuesday night, and we are so proud of her. I have posted some photos of her from graduation night. I will also post photos from Quilt BC (Canada) on my photo page.

Thursday night I fly to Columbus Ohio for a very quick 2 day visit to Quilt National in Athens.

 

* The quilt shown above is "French Garden" by Brigitte Villeneuve of Jonquiere QC, at Quilt BC 2013 in Canada last week.

PRESS RELEASE:

Mission of LOVE Foundation

Kathy@missionoflove.org / email

330-7932388 / Phone

"YOU too can make a difference and touch the hearts and hands that are within your reach via our Mission of LOVE. " This is NO time to turn away when so many are in need of your love and compassion in Oklahoma. Mission of LOVE Foundation is going to make an effort to once again service the people in need by starting a " LOVE for MOORE " campaign to collect monetary donations, AID and new comfort quilts for those in need in Moore, Oklahoma. Our Mission of LOVE has delivered AID, quilts, homes, and money to the victims of natural disasters in Louisiana, Kentucky, Haiti, Sri Lanka, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Japan, and Honduras. Our Mission of LOVE's reputation speaks for itself, while doing this ALL volunteer service work of LOVE for over twenty five years.



We will be having drop off sites at Handels Ice Cream Stores and cannisters for monetary donations at the Austintown, Ohio ~ Boardman, Ohio and Poland Ohio stores starting May 22, 2013. We are in need of these supplies for the folks of Moore, Oklahoma.



Diapers

Sheets

blankets

Towels

T shirts all sizes / gently used and washed

Dog and cat food

First Aid Supplies

Water / Gatoraid

Personal hygiene supplies; advil, motrin, Tylenol, children’s motrin, shampoo, deodorant etc.

Gently used or new toys

Plastic forks, spoons, cups and plates

Toilet paper and paper towels

Children’s summer clothes and shoes boxed and labeled as to size boy or girl

Please NO other clothes except for the children in need.

Please join our hands in order to extend our hands to those in need via our Mission of LOVE for the " LOVE of MOORE. " I will personally hand deliver your donations of quilts and monetary donations to the real people in need.



You can send your donations and quilts to;



Mission of LOVE

2054 Hemlock Court

Youngstown, Ohio 44515



Or you can make a monetary donation via our Mission of LOVE web site; www.missionoflove.org via Pay Pal.



With love and gratitude,



Kathleen M. Price

Mission of LOVE ~ Founder & Director since 1989

kathy@missionoflove.org / email address

www.missionoflove.org / website

Kathleen Price / Friend on Facebook

330-793-2388

Libby has had a couple of days without much noticeable progress. Please continue your prayers, cards, and well-wishes.

In case you missed it, please sign Libby's guestbook on CaringBridge, the link is below. If you have signed it, take a moment to write again. Your comments are very encouraging to the family.

Also, please "share" this post on your FB and elsewhere so that others will get the message about the CaringBridge page.

visit

www.caringbridge.org/visit/libbylehman

Send only cards and quilted cards to:
Libby Lehman
617 Caroline
Houston, TX 77002.