One of the places that we see trends and new techniques popping up first is in the wealth of contemporary and international quilt magazines available to us today. This week we had magazines from 3 other continents, and these imported publications always spark our imagination.
It is so interesting to go to the quilt shows overseas to see what all of you are up to in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa and of course all across Europe. In some places quilting is a "new" crafting craze, with brand new guilds and clubs forming in Eastern Europe for instance. In other countries, such as Japan, there is a long tradition of quilting that is soaring to new creative heights with their art quilts.
For those of you in Mexico and South America, we are bringing in Spanish language publications soon. I have met a couple times with the publisher of the quilt magazine from Spain, and we'd like to help her expand her publication to reach all of you in Spanish-speaking countries.
Over the last year I have made a point of traveling to quilt shows around the world, to have a larger perspective of what's happening in our industry. If you've been following my newsletters, you know that in the last 12 months I've been to Prague, Budapest, Vienna, England and Scotland, Bali and Japan. On these trips, if I am not at a quilt show, I am taking photos with lots of color and design inspiration, so I can share with all of you on my photo page. (I was in London and Birmingham during the riots …how much excitement can one girl take?!)
The award that eQuilter sponsors in Houston is called "A World of Beauty" and that is certainly appropriate, don't you think?
We have a couple more Houston videos that we are tweaking, including a review of the SAQA exhibit in Houston. (Online soon, I promise!) I was asked to be on the SAQA President's Advisory Committee in Houston, and was honored to have a chance to contribute to this great organization!
As the year winds down, I can say that the best part was shipping 2155 of your quilts to Japan, (thanks to Mission of Love) and raising about $100K for charity.
We are counting our blessings, and sending a big thank you to all of you who have contributed to our charity and disaster relief efforts in 2011.
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