Off to the Quilt Show

I'm taking off today to hang with some of my quilter pals who are in town for my favorite county quilt show, where I invested in this for my daughter:



The Quilting Goddess smiled on me, too, as I won a door prize:



It's so cool -- I don't own a pin magnet, and I've never made a rag quilt. Free fabric, too.

I'll be back on Monday with pictures of the show -- until then, have a good weekend.

Off with the Family

I'm taking off today and tomorrow to spend time with visiting family (and as you see here, one of my daughter's new tiny adorable baby Dumbo rats. There are three and they are all super cute.) See you on Tuesday.

Off to be Sew Happy

I am taking off this weekend to hang with some of my sewing sisters who are in town for the county quilt show. There will be no Just Write tomorrow, but I promise to bring back lots of pictures. See you on Monday.

Off to See My Other People

I'm unplugging today to go hang with my quilter pals. So that your stop here was not a complete waste, here's an open call for a LGBTQ+ spectrum themed e-zine startup I spotted over in the Paying Markets forum at AbsoluteWrite.com:

"McKay & Gray is looking for submissions for our monthly zine, “The Running Bunny”. We’re looking for comic writers and artists, spot illustrations, and previously unpublished short stories and comics. Our zine “The Running Bunny” is focused on queer content. All stories must contain at least one character on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. We’re looking for strong characters going through all sorts of struggles, from fighting dragons to finishing their math homework. Characters should be more than just their queer identities. All genres are welcome to apply. Do not submit if you are under 18 years old. This is paid work, however our rates are currently: $10 per spot illustration; $15 per comic page; $30 per short story. We hope our rates will raise as our readership grows. We want to pay you decently, we promise! Everything is out of our own pocket for now. Intellectual properties remain the creator’s. Digital rights are exclusive to McKay & Gray for one year then revert back to the creator. Digital copies will remain in the zine’s archive however."

On short story submissions: "We’re looking for short stories between 500-7,000 words. All genres are welcome, as long as one character identifies on the LGBTQ+ spectrum.

On one shot comic submissions: "We’re looking for 1-5 page comics. All genres are welcome, as long as one character identifies on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Specifications: 2000x3000 pixels; 300+ dpi; B/W or Colour accepted.

On comic series submissions: Comic artists without a writer, send your portfolio with subject line COMIC SERIES ARTIST SUBMISSION. Writers / Artist teams, send your portfolio with a pitch. We prefer to work with people who have done one-shots in the past. Comic writers are welcome to send a pitch. Please have a completed script prepared before submitting without an artist.

For more information hop (or run) over to MacKay & Gray's Tumblr blog and read the submission guidelines here.

Off to the Show

I'm taking off on my annual pilgrimage to attend one of my favorite quilt shows and hang with my other people. Have a great weekend, and see you on Monday.

Off with Mi Familia

I have family coming in today so I'm going to bail on you guys in order to look after them. So that your visit here was not entirely wasted, here's one of my favorite videos about being thankful (contains background music and some other sounds, for those of you at work):

30 gifts to 30 strangers in Sydney from Lucas Jatoba on Vimeo.

Off to Play

I'm taking the day off to hang with my other people and enjoy some summer fun. While I'm out, do check out this very cool video from Glen Milner about the birth of a book, UK style.

Birth of a Book from Glen Milner on Vimeo.

Quilt-Happy

I am bailing on you guys today so I can hang with my non-writer pals at our favorite county quilt show. We do this every year so we can talk (quilting) shop, get high on fabrics, notions and techniques, and generally be like the bird here.

When I get back I have two terrific books to talk about and give away (Charlene is to blame for hooking me one of them) and maybe some news to share. Or maybe not. I'm trying not to jinx it.

See you all tomorrow.

Prize-winning "Today I will be Happy" quilt made by Kelly Wordworth.

Off to Hang

I'm back from my favorite annual quilt show, but I'm hanging up my writer hat for the weekend so I can spend time with a few visiting quilter friends (they keep grumbling about how much I neglect them, so I'm hosting a fabric swap. You would not believe how much forgiveness a few yards of hand-dyed fabric can buy you.)

Have a good weekend, and see you all on Monday.