The SAQA Benefit Auction is coming in September....

So the donation deadline for the 2015 SAQA Benefit Auction is looming - June 1 - so I was motivated to get my little 12" quilt finished and in the mail. I had put it off and put it off waiting for this new cactus plant we were given to bloom. I had been told it would be spectacular and I had hoped to photograph it and use in the quilt, but when it finally burst open last week it was a very disappointing color and almost too prehistoric looking... So I opted for a yellow desert rose I found amongst a lot of old photos. 

I had the background... Actually the practice / warmup scrap of faux leather that I had quilted in copper metallic ( inspired by a great class with Jerry Granata) to prepare for my "I'll Be Seeing You" which is currently on show in North Carolina in the PAQA South  Reminisce exhibit. The tooled leather inspired floral pattern looked vaguely southwestern, hence the desert cactus idea. The nopales paddles are three dimensional, stuffed with a little batting and hand stitched with pearl cotton thorns. The flowers were printed on cotton and then machine and hand stitched. 

The desert lizard was drawn and coloured in with Tsukineko markers and then machine stitched .

Another lizard decorates the back label.

The auction begins online at SAQA.com on September 18. there are already many, many wonderful little works on the site. Hope you'll take a look. 

check out Off the Wall Friday's at http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com