…for the World Series Challenge benefiting the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. All eight quilts look like the quilter who made them. Remember as you look at these that they are all 16" x 16"!

Ricky Tims's entry is very convergence-y:

Mary Sorensen's applique is flawless…

Sue Nickels' (who is on my team) has made an even more amazing whole cloth entry:

Hollis Chatelain's finished quilt is haunting and amazing (she's on my team too):

And John Fllynn's quilt, quilted, is even more stunning (luckily, he's on my team too. Or I should say that I'm on John, Sue, and Hollis's team!):

I've shown Caryl Fallert and Judy Mathieson's quilts on the blog already. Trust me, you'll probably see them again before the auction.

Click here to go the link to the Challenge home page. The idea here is to raise funds to Alzheimer's awareness. The smaller part of the challenge is the actual 'challenge' part. I admit to being just a little competitive – I would love it if my quilt raised the most money! So save your pennies and buy my quilt quilt for the most money (how's that for a naked appeal for your money!). Here's my quilt (which you've seen before and will see again). Read more about my entry here.

You can go here and vote for your favorite quilt. Every vote is a dollar and every vote (and dollar) counts.

Just because they are pretty…

I think if you click here you can get to all my gallery of Paducah photos.

I'm on my way to Australia as you read this with Steve, my husband and sherpa. I really like having my own sherpa! Since I'm likely to be to bleary to post I thought I'd give you a two more days of photos from Paducah.

I love this shot. Who knows why.

Of course an artist lives here! I want that screen door…

I have two pots by the pool that are so much in the sun that the plants keep wanting to die. This may be what I need!

I got to go to a potluck dinner at the home of the artist who made this guy. I love it!

Paducah is at the convergence of three navigable rivers. It's a seriously important inland port. When there are floods, Paducah is at risk but they have a wall to keep the river out of town. Artists have painted murals all along the wall in town. Imagine the water up to the top of that wall!

Here's a detail of one of my favorite murals:

First – do you know that the National Quilt Museum is not financially supported by AQS? I didn't. Of course the Meredith Corporation does support the Museum, but the Museum is a separate, non-profit entity. As is true for every other non-profit, they need money. They REALLY need money. So, if you have a bit and can write a check to support this premier museum for quilters, click here for how to give your support.

FYI – I got to get up close and personal (no touching, just looking) with last year's best of show – Tribute to Tolkien by Sue McCarty. Well, it is an amazing quilt to see. Of course it was best of show! I had forgotten that one of the most wonderful aspects to this museum is that you can get really close to the quilts. You should go.

Caryl took me on some morning walking tours of Lower Town Paducah. Paducah has made a real effort to bring in artists and the Lower Town artists' community of thriving. I was lucky enough to go with Caryl to a couple of events. It's been a while since I've been to Paducah and I've never seen the city this way – empty of the thousands of quilters who come for the big show. 

So many of the warehouses and houses in Lower Town have been renovated. It is beautiful to see. The textures and colors made me happy.

The Finkel building is used during the quilt show but in the off-season it houses a Christian motorcycle group. I really love the look of this building!

More tomorrow….

Today was a background making day. My students are working from our book Applique Outside the Lines and so were piecing backgrounds and not using a ruler. It's not easy when you aren't used to it but everyone's background turned out well. I took photos, but they didn't all turn out. Here is Rene with her background:

And Toni with her background:

And isn't this a pretty spread of fabric?

Tomorrow I begin teaching a 3-day class at the National Quilt Museum! It's going to be fun and I hope to be able to share some of that with you. I'm lucky enough to be staying with Caryl Bryer Fallert in her very fine studio here in Paducah. Caryl's studio includes the space where she holds her retreats. Oh my – it's very nice!

Today Caryl took me out to see an art installation in progress. Well, it's seriously hot in Paducah and the art was (slowly) happening outside so we went inside Etcetera, the coffee shop in the arts district. I met these lovely ladies who are members of the Radioactive City Roller Girls – it's roller derby time in this part of the world!

From left to right: Jennifer Blair (Smackeroni N' Cheese), Emily Sands (Mean Mean Mississippi Queen), Claudia R. Harris (Dollface Delilah who was celebrating birthday #20), and Kelsey Doyle (Scream Queen). They are getting ready for a fund raising event this weekend benefiting Charles Bradford, a local window washer much beloved here, who fell from a 2nd story window and suffered extensive injuries. These ladies are characters in the best sense of the word – lots of fun and very friendly!

Etcetera itself is very arty. I was especially taken with the tabletops, painted by local high school art students…

I think they are painted in acrylics and then covered with an epoxy resin finish.

I have two tabletops that are crying out for this… don't know when I'm going to get to them but at least now I'm developing a plan!