Atlanta 2-Day Walk & Brazenly Radiant Art Fundraiser

I am once again taking the challenge of walking in the Atlanta 2-Day walk for breast cancer. It is a 2-day, 30 mile event that really is life changing. I am so excited to participate again as I was not able to this past year. Here is the info on our fundraising project.

Brazenly Radiant Art(BRA)

You can make a difference!!

Simply make a 5 x 7" piece of art using whatever medium you wish and donate it to Brazenly Radiant Art (BRA) sponsored by Fiber on a Whim for It's the Journey, Inc. ITJ is a non-profit organization located in Atlanta, GA. They support local research, awareness and support of breast cancer. FOAW will start collecting donated artwork immediately. Please make sure it is some of your best. Your donation will be put up for auction March 29-31, 2010. The artwork will be available for a $30 donation to It's the Journey, Inc. Please make sure all donations arrive to us by March 22, 2010 to allow time for photographing and posting. Please mail pieces to our office at FOAW 4317 Sprucebough Dr. Marietta, GA 30062. For more information on It's the Journey please visit http://www.itsthejourney.org/



To make a direct donation please visit:

www.2daywalk.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=314340&lis=1&kntae314340=21AF47EAACB947C380B9A852EA99A10B&supId=274259378

Also feel free to join our Yahoo Group: BrazenlyRadiantArt_BRA

Artist Open House

Fiber on a Whim presents:

Artist’s Holiday Open House
December 4th 9am-6pm
December 5th 9am-4pm

This open house will have a variety of items to choose from. This includes some shop models as well as other items made by us or invited artists. We have quilts, jewelry, pillows, garments, scarves, hats, mixed media gifts, and more. Stock up on handmade gifts for the holiday or splurge on an item for yourself.
Less than 1 mile from the Apple Annie’s event. Look for signs as to exact house.
Sprucebough Dr. Marietta, GA 30062 Ph: 404-705-9164

Day #9-16 AED & Space Shuttle Launch

Somehow we find ourselves in Florida. I guess even though we are absolutely tired of traveling we decided to take a vacation. We are down here in Orlando and heard about the shuttle launch over at Kennedy Space Center. So all of a sudden this morning on a complete WHIM we decided to head to the coast to go watch. Never having been or knowing what to expect was a blast. Here are some of the photos.

Gotta love the two men sitting on top of their semi!!!

I've been so bad about posting to the blog the pics of what all I've been doing this month so here is what I've been working on in the past week.

This is actually a quilt top mom is working on with scraps from a shop model from years ago.

We decided that even though we were on vacation we were going to make it more like a retreat. Look at the dining room table. This is on mom's side of the condo. I have an equally messy table on the other side of the condo.

Here is a little baby quilt I've pieced from a flannel charm pack.

Here is the T-shirt quilt I've been working on for the customer. I still have to back it and quilt it. I've got 5 more t-shirts to work into the backing of it.

Here is a scarf I've been knitting in the car. It will be felted so that is why it is so wide.

Here is a scarf that I crocheted last night. Lol....can you see that I get bored easily and have to change projectsjust so that I keep working on something.

Will post more as we complete more work this week. Hmmmm......as long as the pool doesn't call out too loud to either one of us!!! I mean it is in the 80's here and for us to be able to sit by a pool in November is quite weird.

Website Problems

We apologize for any inconvenience this current problem is creating. Our website has been done for over 3 hours now. We are aware of the problem and have been in communication with the company that hosts our site. They are doing everything in their power to correct the down server and get the site back up and running. In the 4 1/2yrs that we've been with this company this has never happened before. Once again we apologize as I know we sent out a newsletter with information and sales that you can't get to since the site is down. We will keep our fingers crossed that everything is corrected soon.

Day #8 AEDM

This project of art every day has not started out on the good side so far. I've slacked the past couple of days. We all know how life gets in the way some times. On Friday I did work on something in the morning. It didn't turn out at all like what it was in my head. I think it still needs something so I haven't finished it nor taken a pic of it. Then in the afternoon I got to pick up this cutie pie pictured below. He is my 4 year old nephew and it was his birthday. So I spent the rest of the day with him. That ate up Day #6 with no photo or art completed :( but it was well worth it.


Day #7 was then spent at a friend's baby shower and my nephew's birthday party. The best I could do yesterday was say that I gave a crocheted afghan to my friend. Lol....didn't make art but gave art that was already completed.

So that leads us to today Day #8. I've been a little sick this week so I basically took it easy and watched football but here are pics of what I did accomplish.

I got hired to make a t-shirt quilt for a customer. Here are several of the t-shirts that I've gotten cut and on to interfacing. Only a few more to go. Then have to figure out how I want to lay it out. She only wants a throw quilt so it might end up being a two-sided one. Hmmmm......how to best quilt that? I'll have to keep thinking about that.

I finished the scarf. Yippeee.....no more pics of the orange scarf. I've got to come up with some other knitting projects. I've also gotten hired to knit a sweater for a customer and am just waiting for her to drop off the yarn. Can never be without at least one project on the needles or hook.

Day #5 AEDM

Well.....somehow have no photos today. Decided against photographing the scarf again! Lol....I got a lot of work done on it and it is almost complete. I also was working on the mixed-media canvas I mentioned. I'm not finished with it as I ran into a slight dilemma. The soft gel wouldn't adhere the paper to the styrofoam balls! I know this sounds funny but I wanted the canvas to be dimensional and styrofoam was the most logical. Didn't realize it would be so hard to get it to do what I wanted. Ended up putting gesso on them to seal them somewhat. Had to let that dry and then I was able to adhere the papers. Have a few touches left to add so I didn't want to photo it till it was done. Should be able to finish it tomorrow.

Day #4 AEDM

So as I'm sure you've realized there was no art yesterday! We attended the funeral of a fellow shop owner/friend yesterday and I don't think either one of us felt like doing much after that. I knitted a few rows on the scarf but nothing noticeable.


Today author Kate Jacobs, who wrote The Friday Night Knitting Club series, spoke at Georgia Center for the Book in Decatur. She is promoting her third book of the series that just came out yesterday. I talked a friend of mine into going with me to hear her. I thought it was going to be more of a knitting event. There were people knitting but there were far more people just there to hear her speak. She talked a lot about how she got started writing, her creation of the characters, and how she got into knitting. She is a very funny and insightful individual. Here she is in the middle of her talk.


This is my friend Ndidi who is currently mad at me for encouraging her to knit a baby sweater on size 3 needles!! This is her first sweater and she's doing great. She just feels she's moving at a snail's pace. Size 3 needles will do that to you!

Here's the scarf as it currently stands. I'll probably work a little more on it tonight.

Tomorrow I've got planned out a mixed-media canvas to do and I'll finally get that pic of mom's quilt she's piecing.

Day #2 AEDM

Would have posted this last night but the internet went down. Yesterday ended up crazy busy with appointments and such so that there wasn't too much time for art. I did manage to work on the scarf while sitting at guild last night. I'll also snap a pic of the quilt mom was working on some yesterday and post it.

Day #1 Art Every Day Month

Waking up today to a bright sunny day was an absolute amazing feeling. We've dealt with so much rain and clouds here in Atlanta lately that it seems like the sun is some foreign object. Stepping outside to find the temp was great too just made it a day for exploring. So off to Helen, GA with cameras in tow we headed. Here are some of the photos we collected along the way.

This structure sits atop an Indian mound.

Along the way I was knitting. I finished up this scarf on the way back home. A friend of mine bought this yarn but found she couldn't handle it well. I told her I would knit it up for her. Now I just have to do the finishing work and maybe some fringe and it will be complete.

Since I finished that one I had to start something else. Lol....so here is another scarf in the works.

See you tomorrow.

Art Every Day Month

It has definitely been a crazy year for us. With all the business travels and personal issues we haven't made a whole lot of art. Even today we found out some sad news that Nancy Briley had passed away yesterday. Our thoughts are with everyone of the Ashby Sewing Family during this difficult time.

I decided (after seeing Jane Davila's challenge) to participate in Art Every Day Month. I will try to work on art every day for the month of November and post to the blog about it. This challenge will be not only with the art but to get me back in to posting regularly on the blog. So if you'd like to join in as well click on the link below and register.

http://creativeeveryday.com/art-every-day-month

Houston 2009 Day #1

I've finally gotten a moment to blog about Houston. It is the end of day #1 and Festival is going strong! We are having fun visiting with everyone! One year can be an eternity but somehow it feels like you just saw the person the other day. Here are a few photos that we've snapped since the beginning.


Set up day brings a bunch of people to a queue of sorts waiting to get in to unload. Here is a pic of all of us waiting.



Unfortunately there was so much rain on Monday that it created mud pits where we were waiting!!

Here is a pic of our booth one set up was complete.

My first Make It University was on preview night and here is a pic during the middle of the class.

Here is a pic of Judy Gula of Artistic Artifacts doing her MIU class this morning.

Here is Jane Davila upon realizing she couldn't find a very important key that she

needed in order to ring up sales!!!

Here she is much happier prepping for her MIU class.

This is Cara Gulati of Doodlepress enjoying her day of shopping.

Houston 2009 & Atlanta 2-Day Walk 2010

We have finally arrived in Houston. Tomorrow we will attend market and see what is new and exciting. Then we get to have Monday off to finish all the prep work for Festival. Tuesday brings set up and Wednesday brings the start of the show. Overall we are here for 9 days and even though the work is hard we have so much fun. Seeing all the friends we've made over the years will be awesome. We have a camera along and we will keep you posted on all the fun. If you are here, stop by and say hi! We are in booth #1158 in the MIU section of the floor.

Some of you might remember that I participated in the Atlanta 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer in 2008. It was an absolutely humbling experience. I didn't get to participate this year but have registered for the 2010 walk. It is Oct. 2nd & 3rd in Atlanta, GA. I've convinced a friend to walk with me but if anyone else would like to join us simply let me know.

I have to raise at least $1,000 for the walk and in 2008 had a blast hosting Brazenly Radiant Art (BRA). I think I will do that yet again. I have some pieces that remained from the 2008 event and will have those available in our booth here in Houston. Check us out at booth #1158 to see if you'd like to take one home. In the coming weeks I'll post a call for new artwork with the size remaining at 5 x 7". Each piece was available for a $30 donation to It's the Journey, Inc. So if you read this and would like to contribute a piece of art be looking for a post in the near future containing more details.

If you would just like to make a simple donation and sponsor me you can do so at the following link: http://www.2daywalk.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=314340&lis=1&kntae314340=B1504363B4D74F4793B0592FA509F22B&supId=274259378

Keep in mind your donation is completely tax deductible and you receive an immediate receipt with online donation. Thanks for reading and for your consideration of making a donation whether it be monetary or that of art.

Make It University Houston 2009

It's official! We are once again participating in MIU at International Quilt Festival in Houston. We will be located in booth #1158. Make sure to stop on by this great section while you are at the show. You can enter your name into the lottery bins for your chance to take a class. If your name is drawn from the bin then you are in and the cost is only $10! You will be given a kit that includes everything you need to complete the project in the hour long class. We will be featured twice with our Mixed-Media Needlecase project. You can find us at the following times:

Preview Night Wednesday Oct. 14th from 9-10P

Saturday Oct. 17th from 11:45A-12:45P

Here are just a few pictures of the project that you can make in class!

Mixed-Media Needlecase by Kristin Rodriguez

New York City

First let me start by saying that I'd never been to New York City before. When my friend called to say that she had gotten engaged and was going to be getting married I nearly shot through the roof. Finally a great reason/excuse to go to the city. I'd always wanted to go but never had gotten a chance. I'm glad that my chance came when it did because 6 years ago I wouldn't have even thought to go to the Garment District or hunt out quilt shops. Now I did.


I had a total of 3 days to run around in Manhattan after the wedding. My ultimate last stop was The City Quilter on W 25th St. Wow what a shop!!! At first I thought I wasn't headed in the right direction on the street because it all seemed residential. Then the red awning popped into view. I was so excited about going in that I missed the sign that said "Ring bell to enter". Lol.....my fault that I was jumping ahead of myself. Once inside I could appreciate their use of the space they have. Some quilt stores go overboard trying to cram so much into a small space so as not to miss out. The City Quilter is just right! They have a lot of product in a small space but with such a light open feeling. It makes you want to stay for a long time and browse.




Unfortunately my pic doesn't do justice to the inside of the place. They have very bright contemporary/funky novelty/great silks/NYC motif/Ethnic fabrics as well as some more traditional. They have a great selection of books and patterns. Then here is the be all and end all......they have GREAT customer service. The ladies inside were very welcoming and extremely helpful. All in all I say if you are ever in the city you have to make this a priority to stop at!



Walking around the city your head feels as if it is on a swivel. There is so much to look at both at street level and at sky level sometimes you just don't know where to stop. I found myself photographing clocks all over the city. This is just one of the many ones I found.....I believe it was on 6th Ave.

Just loved how the buildings looked through the street lights.

Sunday morning I woke early and went down into Times Square. I quickly found my way to Duffy Square at Broadway and W47th where there is a TKTS booth that sells same day Broadway tickets at a discount. They don't have tickets to all shows but a decent variety. At the window I somehow found myself with a 5th row Orchestra ticket to Rock of Ages. It was a great show!!!!!!! It was all centered around 80s music and was like going to a concert. The whole audience was singing along at times. Here is a pic of the theater where the show is on W 47th.

On Monday I went to the Empire State Building. Here is a view of it from the street.

After the ESB I went to the Garment District. It is so much fun to walk the streets and see fabric store after fabric store. I have to admit though at a certain point it was so overwhelming. I felt like I was trying to follow the Project Runway footsteps and found Parsons School of Design which somehow I didn't take a pic of. I also found Mood fabrics which lets just say I got into the most trouble there. They have an absolutely amazing collection of buttons!!!

This pic though is of NY Elegant Fabrics on W40th street. This is just a part of their back wall. Most stores were like this with fabric stacked floor to ceiling. Hence you can see why one can get so overwhelmed.

At Paron Fabrics I found this gorgeous piece of gray fabric that was iridescent from a chartreuse green to a purple. It just screamed out background fabric.

On my last day Tuesday I took the Ferry out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was a truly amazing experience. One I recommend to anyone that can.

This is a part of a window on the main building at Ellis Island. The amount of work they have done to create an Immigration Museum is incredible. I could have spent hours upon hours in the museum. It was very humbling to see the passports and ship manifests. Not to mention reading the statements of immigrants as to what they went through just to reach this country.

After the ferry I walked up Broadway from Battery Park. I saw the bull associated with Wall St. At the intersection of Broadway and Wall St. is Trinity Church. The architecture of this church is gorgeous. This is a side view from the cemetery.

I then walked over to Ground Zero where they are currently working. They have it fenced off as they are working so you can't see the main portion of it. However, after walking down the streets filled with skyscrapers the impact of this immense open area is beyond words. They have made a museum nearby but I was unfortunately not able to make it there. I heard it is amazing though.

Alas my trip ended to0 soon. Hopefully I'll be able to make it up there again soon as there is so much of the city I was not able to see. What I did see though made a lasting impression of what a great city New York is.