When I think of green, I think of bright apple green. Add deep purple and gold, and you get Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras actually is an outgrowth of the Catholic religious calendar. It is celebrated on the day before Ash Wednesday, which begins the more austere Christian season of Lent. Even in New Orleans, celebration activities are stopped at midnight on Fat Tuesday. At our church in The Woodlands, TX, the entire parish instead gets together on the last Saturday night before Lent, celebrating “Fat Tuesday” in traditional Mardi Gras style. There’s a gumbo cook-off, “King” (red velvet) cake is served, there is live music and dancing, and brilliant beads are given out. My quilt Fat Tuesday is a celebration paralleling this joyous Christian event.

Quilt history: Shown at Focus on Fibre Arts 8^th Bienniel “Green,” Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Awarded second place and received a cash award. Traveled to other Canadian venues. Second Place, Walla Walla County Fair and Rodeo, Large Quilt Wall Hanging, September 2011.

McQuaid's Art Gets Northern Exposure

Fat Tuesday Wins Second place!

#73, Fat Tuesday, 32"w x 47"h, 2010. #73, Fat Tuesday, detail.

Focus on Fibre Art Association (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) Biennial Competition 2010: Green, has chosen Salli McQuaid's quilt Fat Tuesday as second place in Category 3a, for a medium quilt 80 inches or less and "an original design created and developed by the entrant." "I am absolutely thrilled that our neighbors to the North have honored Fat Tuesday with this award," said Salli. "It was validation enough just to have the quilt accepted into the exhibition. "Since I had visited New Orleans several years ago and loved the city and its culture so much, I began picking up some 'Mardi Gras appropriate' fabrics here and there," she said. "When the FFAA came up with the theme 'Green' for the 2010 competition, it was perfect, because Mardi Gras colors are green, purple, and gold. I finally had a directive to begin the Mardi Gras quilt I had been longing to do." The quilt is on view in Edmonton, Alberta, CA,  at various venues. It may travel to other Canadian sites. See the FFAA website for further information. Awards were given by a panel of esteemed judges. In 2008, McQuaid's quilt Pink Strength was included in the FFAA 2008 Biennial "Wild Child" and received a cash appreciation award.