This lovely work was last week's quilt. I was playing with several of the principles and elements of art, as well as some of the "pseudo-elements" which aren't considered canon "P&E of Art". First, I was working with color. Next, my compostition is circular and "open". I have an odd number of pears, and I am also using transparancy. I got to work with some of the hand dyes from Cherrywood fabrics, which is what gives the pears that velvety look. I really enjoyed making this. It was a bit like Robbi Joy Eklow's works, though that was unintentional until it was finished and I was looking at it. 
Oh my gosh, how can I describe loving Little Twin Stars as a child? Who am I kidding? I love them even now! Kiki and Lala (respectively) are part of who I am when it comes to artwork. I copied Lala's pink hairstyle onto countless characters of my own as a kid, winning me some coveted ribbons in the 4th grade Art Fair. I still collect what I can from Sanrio that bear Little Twin Stars. In the theme of "shrines", as a child I lined up all of my LTS merchandise on a special shelf in my room, and still have all of that stuff to this day.
This pear was entirely painted. I drew a funny pear with a face on it for a swap at my favorite ATC trading site a few weeks ago. I decided to do an all painted quilt for this week's work.
I made several trips to the Cherrywood Fabric booth, and spent over $30 each time. 
A pattern I coveted from last year's show(!), a jelly roll for a couple of baby quilts I am making, and two fat quarters of dupioni silk from Vogue fabrics.
18 inch batting samples from Hobbs. These were $8 a bundle, and there's 2 different bundles here.
Only at a show like this can you find tools you can't find in stores. These Clover pompom makers and needlefelting molds are exactly that.
Lakehouse fabrics bought at the Tammy Tadd booth. There's about $90 worth of fabric here.
I plan to try some dyeing this summer, so I bought a gradation kit from Pro Chemical and Dye. 
Two orphan blocks of embroidery that I bought for $5 a piece. I love the idea of rescuing these poor things. The Kewpie doll is really ugly, and I had to have it!
Another place I can drop some serious money is at the Quilting Arts booth. I bought some cool embellishing kits, and the first season o fthe Quilting Arts program on DVD. The little hearts are from an antique quilt booth, made of a cut up quilt with hand piecing and quilting on them. Not sure what I will use those hearts for, but they were 50 cents each. 
Booths selling wool were everywhere. And while i am not looking to get into making quilts or projects with wool, I do have a DVD bu Jane LaFazio who does a little wool applique piece I would like to try. So with access to great hand dyed wools at the show, I indulged a bit. There's $20 worth of wool here.
Lastly, a bit about being Teacher's Pet. In my experience, I have gotten a "gift" from each teacher I was the Pet for. Now, I will say, that I NEVER expect this, and it's a wonderful thing that they do, but I must say that I also EARN my rewards. As Teacher's Pet, you are not paid, and you also paid for your enrollment to the class, so the job should not be so overwhelming that you do not get to enjoy it. You get a pin to collect as your reward, but this is something extra that teachers may do. I always get there very early, ask the teacher throughout the class if they need anything, and also help them pack and clean up IN ADDITION to the duties given by the show organizers. These kits were my reward for the classes I took.
I don't know why I picked "pears" for this month's theme. After the "Incident", the pears I stamped out of foil have been on my mind. This is one of my class samples from my foiling class. 
I guess I was so busy with the challenge piece for the last week of April, that I forgot about the work I did in NYC! I unpacked the rest of my suitcase this week and found this in there. Ugh.
