Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Rejected, Dejected .....Road Trip

Rejection is never pleasant.  I submitted a small quilt for a magazine contest.  It was about putting text on a quilt and I thought this was right up my alley.  I love putting words on quilts and have many, many ways to do it.  This contest had my name all over it.  And all you had to do was send 2 jpegs (one a full view and one a close-up) and a brief description.  No entry fee and no paperwork. It only had to be 8 1/2" x 11".   Easy!  Plus, notification was only a few days after the deadline.  I couldn't resist.  The winning pieces would be published in the magazine.

How disappointed I was when I found out that they didn't choose my quilt.  What was wrong with it?  How could they not want it?  Frankly, it stung.  I could think of many reasons to rationalize the rejection.  But it still hurt.  Our quilts are such a direct extension of ourselves.  But I do know there are many reasons why quilts are rejected and I know it is not personal.  My brain just has to convince my heart. 

So here's my piece.  I call it "A House In The Country" and it's about how this type of life brings serenity to my soul. 

 I guess the bottom line is that I had a lot of fun creating it.  I love the handwork.  Check out the polka dots that I added to the house with sequins.  I think I will use it as my piece for our guild's annual challenge to benefit the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.

So what's a girl to do?  Go shopping for more fabric.  My buddies and I headed to The Little Shop in Haddonfield, NJ.  I did a book signing there a few weeks ago and I had to go back to pick up some of my quilts. I have to tell you that Debbie, the owner, has the most fantastic taste in fabric.  She loves clear colors.  Plus she has lots of unique patterns in addition to quilty ones.  I will return there on October 1st to give a workshop on 7 Ways to do Fusible Applique.  If you're interested, give her a call.

We had a great lunch at the restaurant next door called The Little Tuna and then spent some time checking out all of the wonderful shops.  My favorite shop was The Paper Trail.  They had wonderful stationery, cards and lots of nice hostess type gifts.  I put a dent into my Chanukah gift list.  I wish I could share, but the recipients read my blog. (No peaking girls.)

While we were in NJ we decided to hit one more quilt shop - Needles and Pins in Swedesboro.  None of us had been there before.  We all were enchanted by the Gees Bend hand dyed solids.  Here are the ones I bought.  (I realized they looked a lot like my little house piece.) I haven't used solids for a while, but they really show off embellishments.

So the moral of the story is that shopping is good medicine for the aching soul.  But you already knew that!


6 comments:

  1. I think art quilts are hard to get into contests, I know a few others who have had beautiful pieces rejected, because it was an art piece and the judges look for perfection in the bindings and other areas. Not sure if I would enter one, I quilt because I enjoy it, not to be perfect;)

    Debbie

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  2. Cheryl, it's a lovely piece and the house is so cute. I think WoolenSails is right about art quilts, they're misunderstood but they're MY favorite! I feel your pain too. I'm still trying to get into the Pillsbury bake-off and I still can't get over that my cheesecake recipe didn't get chosen for anything in Taste of Home. But we just keep plugging along because we like what we're doing. I love the Gees Bend solids, thanks for sharing and keep doing your beautiful quilts!

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  3. Cheryl,

    We all know that judging is subjective. Remember the 'Awkward' Design? I have seen your quilts in person and they are amazing, A true extension of you! I say this because I know so!
    I am glad you had such a great time in NJ Next time, I am tagging along.

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  4. Yes rejection is not fun, but as long as you like it that is all that counts. You do wonderful work, they missed out!

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  5. Your fabrics look beautiful. What gorgeous colors. You should have told us you were suffering from rejection. There would have been cake involved! What's a girl to do? Magazines loss...Alzheimer's gain.

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  6. So sorry about your quilt...it is wonderful. Personally I think this calls for a Margarita and some fun sandals...

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